Age Identification in the Framework of Successful Aging. A Study of Older Finnish People

2003 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virpi Uotinen ◽  
Timo Suutama ◽  
Isto Ruoppila
Keyword(s):  
Successful Aging ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Age Identity ◽  
Community Dwelling Older People ◽  
Better Than

A person-oriented approach was used in a study of age identification among community-dwelling older people. The study was based on 8-year follow-up data; 843 persons aged 65–84 were involved in the first phase of the study, and 426 persons aged 73–92, in the second phase. Loosely, on the basis of the distinction between successful, usual, and pathological aging (Rowe & Kahn, 1987, 1997), participants were grouped according to their self-ratings of cognitive and physical functioning as “Positive,” “Negative,” and “Others.” Participants possessing at least 4 out of the 5 criteria used as indicators of successful aging in the study (no illness or injury presenting problems in daily life, no health problems imposing limitations on hobbies, self-rated cognitive functioning better than satisfactory, age-comparative functional capacity as good, and no signs of depression) were assigned to the “Positive” group. The results showed these individuals typically to have a more youthful age identity, indicated by a lower feel age and thus a lower subjective age-perception score, lower mental, physical, and look ages, and a less frequently reported sense of age weighing on them. Moreover, this group reported a higher ideal age and had a chronological age satisfaction score closer to 0, suggesting higher satisfaction with chronological age. Also a tendency to set the onset of old age later and a willingness to live to 100 years of age were features that were more characteristic of the “Positive” than the other groups. The findings, supported by multivariate analyses, were in line with those of previous variable-oriented studies on age identification, suggesting that an association exists between perceptions of personal aging and physical and psychological well-being.

Felt Age, Desired, and Expected Lifetime in the Context of Health, Well-Being, and Successful Aging

2017 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neala Ambrosi-Randić ◽  
Marina Nekić ◽  
Ivana Tucak Junaković
Keyword(s):  
Successful Aging ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Psychological Variables ◽  
Age Identity ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Length Of Life

This study examines the interrelations of three different aspects of the subjective age: felt, desired and expected, as well as their relations with the chronological age (CA), health, and psychological well-being variables. Four hundred and twenty-three community-dwelling Croatian adults, aged 60–95 years, participated in the study. All three subjective age measures significantly correlated with the CA. Self-rated health were better predictors of the subjective age compared to the psychological variables. Among psychological variables, successful aging was the only significant predictor of the felt and expected age, while optimism showed to be the only significant predictor of the desired age. Results indicate the importance of some sociodemographic, psychological, and health variables for understanding older persons' subjective age identity and their desires and expectations regarding length of life. Besides the CA, it is very useful to include subjective age measures in research with elderly people.

scholarly journals Are Different Diseases in Old Age Connected With Different Attitudes Toward Own Aging and Subjective Age?

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 589-589
Author(s):  
Anton Schönstein ◽  
Hans-Werner Wahl ◽  
Michael Denkinger ◽  
Dhayana Dallmeier ◽  
Dietrich Rothenbacher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Community Dwelling Older People ◽  
Subjective Views

Abstract Subjective views on aging (VoA; e.g., subjective age, attitude toward own aging “ATOA”) are regarded as important biopsychosocial markers of aging but their antecedents are not entirely clear. Besides general risk factors (depression, cognition, activities of daily living), we compared multiple disease groups to establish connections between specific morbidities and risk for negative VoA. Data was drawn from the ActiFE-Ulm study for which a representative sample of community-dwelling older people (65-90 years) was recruited. Follow-ups were conducted 7.7 years (median) after recruitment (T2; N=526). Self-reported depression at T1 was the strongest general risk-factor for negative VoA at follow-up (both subjective age and ATOA). Back pain predicted negative ATOA, whereas rheumatism was associated to both negative ATOA and older subjective age. We conclude that diseases are differentially associated with VoA. Further, mental health problems such as depression seem to be of higher importance for VoA as compared to other factors.

Attributes of age-identity

2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANN BOWLING ◽  
SHARON SEE-TAI ◽  
SHAH EBRAHIM ◽  
ZAHAVA GABRIEL ◽  
PRIYHA SOLANKI
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Functional Status ◽  
Health Anxiety ◽  
Postal Questionnaire ◽  
Social Characteristics ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Additional Contribution ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Age Identity

Chronological age can be an unsatisfactory method of discriminating between older people. The lay concept of how old people actually feel may be more useful. The aim of the analyses reported in this paper was to investigate indicators of age-identity (or subjective age) among a national random sample of people aged 65 or more years living at home in Britain. Information was initially collected by home interview and a follow-up postal questionnaire 12–18 months later. The age that respondents felt was a more sensitive indicator than chronological age of many indicators of the respondents’ health, psychological and social characteristics. Multiple regression analysis showed that baseline health and functional status, and reported changes in these at follow-up, explained 20.4 per cent of the variance in self-perceived age. Adding baseline mental health (anxiety/depression), feelings and fears about ageing at follow-up explained a further 0.8 per cent of the variance, making the total variance explained 21.2 per cent. It is concluded that measures of physical health and functional status and their interactions influenced age-identity. Mental health status and psychological perceptions made a small but significant additional contribution.

scholarly journals Bidirectional Relationship Between Subjective Age and Frailty: Findings From the NHATS

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 271-271
Author(s):  
Yuxiao Li ◽  
Minhui Liu ◽  
Christina Miyawaki ◽  
Xiaocao Sun ◽  
Tianxue Hou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Clinical Syndrome ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Bidirectional Relationship ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Hispanic White

Abstract Frailty is a clinical syndrome that becomes increasingly common as people age. Subjective age refers to how young or old individuals experience themselves to be. It is associated with many risk factors of frailty, such as increased depression, worse cognitive function, and poorer psychological wellbeing. In this study, we examined the relationship between subjective age and frailty using the 2011-2015 waves of the National Health and Aging Trends Study. Participants were community-dwelling older adults without frailty in the initial wave (N=1,165). Subjective age was measured by asking participants, “What age do you feel most of the time?” Based on the Fried five phenotypic criteria: exhaustion, unintentional weight loss, low physical activity, slow gait, and weak grip strength, frailty was categorized into robust=0, pre-frail=1 or 2; frail=3 or more criteria met. Participants were, on average, 74.1±6.5 years old, female (52%), and non-Hispanic White (81%). Eighty-five percent of the participants felt younger, and 3% felt older than their chronological age, but 41% of them were pre-frail/frail. Generalized estimating equations revealed that an “older” subjective age predicted a higher likelihood of pre-frailty and frailty (OR, 95%CI= 1.01, 1.01-1.02). In contrast, frailty predicted an “older” subjective age (OR, 95%CI= 2.97, 1.65-5.35) adjusting for demographics and health conditions. These findings suggest a bidirectional relationship between subjective age and frailty. Older people who feel younger than their chronological age are at reduced risk of becoming pre-frail/frail. Intervention programs to delay frailty progression should include strategies that may help older adults perceive a younger subjective age.

scholarly journals Meaning of Life and Well-Being: Preliminary Results of the Successful Aging Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 112-112
Author(s):  
Zvi Gellis ◽  
Kim McClive-Reed ◽  
Bonnie Kenaley ◽  
Eunhae Kim
Keyword(s):  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Successful Aging ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Life Questionnaire ◽  
Presence Of Meaning ◽  
Aging Study ◽  
Proxy Measure ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract Meaning in life for older persons has become a focal research point, with findings that a greater sense of meaning is associated with better outcomes on a range of health and well-being factors. Our study examined relationships between scores on several personality scales, including the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (Steger et al., 2009) and the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, a proxy measure of mood/depression. Community-dwelling members (N=535) of Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes aged 50 and up (mean age 71.4, SD = 6.93) at 3 U.S. sites completed surveys. Higher wellness levels were significantly correlated with increased resilience, optimism, life satisfaction, and presence of meaning in life, while lower levels were associated with greater searching for meaning in life. A multivariate linear regression model (F = 55.597, df = 4, p = .000, R = .566, R2 = .320) showed that wellness scores increased with higher scores in optimism (ß = .348, p =.000), resilience (ß = .183, p = .000), and presence of meaning in life (ß = .106, p = .019). However, searching for meaning in life significantly predicted decreases in wellness scores (ß = -.084, p=.019). These results support those of previous studies, suggesting that for older persons, an ongoing search for meaning in life is linked to negative outcomes than a perception of existing meaning in life. A variety of available interventions aimed at increasing meaning and purpose in life (Guerrero-Torelles et al., 2017) may contribute to better health and well-being in older adults.

scholarly journals Views on Aging and Well-Being in the Covid Crisis – A Longitudinal Study in Luxembourg

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 961-961
Author(s):  
Anna Kornadt ◽  
Martine Hoffmann ◽  
Elke Murdock ◽  
Josepha Nell ◽  
Isabelle Albert
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Health ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Individual Development ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Social Loss ◽  
Physical Decline

Abstract During the Covid-Crisis, stereotypes of older adults as helpless and vulnerable were spread, and intergenerational conflict was stirred more or less openly. We thus focused on perceived ageism during the crisis and its effects on well-being and health of older adults. Since views on aging are multifaceted and can be both, risk and resource for individual development, we assessed people’s self-perceptions of aging (SPA) as social loss, continued growth and physical decline and subjective age (SA). We hypothesized that people with SPA of social loss and physical decline would be more susceptible to negative effects of perceived ageism, whereas those with SPA of continued growth and younger SA would be less affected. NT1 = 611 community-dwelling adults aged 60 – 98 (Mage = 69.92 years) were recruited in June 2020 online and via phone in Luxembourg. In September 2020, participants will be contacted again for a follow-up. Analyses with cross-sectional data show that participants who felt more discriminated reported lower life satisfaction after the onset of the crisis (r = -.35) and worse subjective health (r = -.14). SPA of social loss and higher SA increased the negative effect of ageism on well-being (beta = -.57) and subjective health (beta = -.53), respectively. Our results point to mid- and long-term consequences of age discriminatory and stereotype-based crisis communication for the well-being of older adults and the importance of individual SPA in critical situations.

scholarly journals Does the Meeting Centres Support Programme reduce unmet care needs of community-dwelling older people with dementia? A controlled, 6-month follow-up Polish study

2019 ◽  
Vol Volume 14 ◽  
pp. 113-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Mazurek ◽  
Dorota Szcześniak ◽  
Katrzyna Urbańska ◽  
Rose-Marie Dröes ◽  
Maciej Karczewski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Support Programme ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Polish Study ◽  
Community Dwelling Older People

scholarly journals Psychosocial resources related to survival among non-robust community-dwelling older people: an 18-year follow-up study

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-481
Author(s):  
Sirkku Lavonius ◽  
Marika Salminen ◽  
Tero Vahlberg ◽  
Raimo Isoaho ◽  
Sirkka-Liisa Kivelä ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Psychosocial Resources ◽  
Follow Up Study ◽  
Community Dwelling Older People

scholarly journals Motoric cognitive risk syndrome and incident dementia in older adults from the Québec NuAge cohort

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Beauchet ◽  
Harmehr Sekhon ◽  
Liam Cooper-Brown ◽  
Cyrille P Launay ◽  
Pierrette Gaudreau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Successful Aging ◽  
Walking Speed ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Slow Walking ◽  
Cognitive Risk ◽  
Incident Dementia ◽  
Cognitive Complaint ◽  
Slow Walking Speed

Abstract Background The co-occurrence of slow walking speed and subjective cognitive complaint (SCC) in non-demented individuals defines motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR), which is a pre-dementia stage. There is no information on the association between MCR and incident dementia in Québec’s older population. Objective The study aims to examine the association of MCR and its individual components (i.e. SCC and slow walking speed) with incident dementia in community-dwelling older adults living in the province of Québec (Canada). Design Québec older people population-based observational cohort study with 3 years of follow-up. Setting Community dwellings. Subjects A subset of participants (n = 1,098) in ‘Nutrition as a determinant of successful aging: The Québec longitudinal study’ (NuAge). Methods At baseline, participants with MCR were identified. Incident dementia was measured at annual follow-up visits using the Modified Mini-Mental State (≤79/100) test and Instrumental Activity Daily Living scale (≤6/8) score values. Results The prevalence of MCR was 4.2% at baseline and the overall incidence of dementia was 3.6%. MCR (Hazard Ratio (HR) = 5.18, with 95% confidence interval (CI) = [2.43–11.03] and P ≤ 0.001) and SCC alone (HR = 2.54, with 95% CI = [1.33–4.85] and P = 0.005) were associated with incident dementia, but slow walking speed was not (HR = 0.81, with 95%CI = [0.25–2.63] and P = 0.736). Conclusions MCR and SCC are associated with incident dementia in NuAge study participants.

scholarly journals INFLUENCING FACTORS OF SUBJECTIVE AGE: FINDINGS FROM THE KUSATSU LONGITUDINAL STUDY ON AGING AND HEALTH

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S695-S696
Author(s):  
Tomoko Ikeuchi ◽  
Satoshi Seino ◽  
Yu Taniguchi ◽  
Miki Narita ◽  
Takumi Abe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Years Of Schooling

Abstract Background: Subjective age (SA) has been found to be a biopsychosocial marker of aging, yet little is known about factors that influence SA development. This study examined factors influencing SA using longitudinal data of community-dwelling older Japanese. Methods: Data drawn from the Kusatsu Longitudinal Study were collected during annual health check-ups in 2017 and 2018 from participants (aged 65-95) who completed all the measurement items used for this analysis (N=981). SA was indexed by asking participants to specify in years how old they felt. Proportional discrepancy scores ((subjective age - chronological age)/chronological age ×100) were calculated to indicate younger or older SAs and used as a dependent variable. As influencing factors of SA, chronological age, sex, years of schooling, history of smoking, cognitive function (using MMSE scores, range 14-30 at baseline), depressive symptoms, physical function (gait speed), and social function (employment status) were examined. Analyses were performed with random-effects GLS regression models. Results: Significant partial regression coefficients were found for cognitive function (0.48%, CI: 0.18, 0.79), years of schooling (-0.42%, CI: -0.69, -0.15), depressive symptoms (0.32%, CI: 0.11, 0.53), and chronological age (-0.18%, CI: -0.30, -0.68). Implications: This study found that older age and longer years of schooling were associated with younger SA, while better cognition and depressive symptoms were linked to older SA. Better cognition being associated with older SA was inconsistent with existing studies. This may be due in part to the association of better cognition and the level of satisfaction influenced by awareness of age-related physical/social changes.

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