Ageism on the Therapeutic Couch: Aging Attitudes and Late-Life Psychotherapy

Ageist stereotypes characterize older adults as depressed, demented, and dependent. A large body of research has documented the adverse physical and emotional impact of ageism on older adults. Mental health professionals, however, often see the minority of older adults who, in fact, are depressed, have cognitive impairments, and/or are increasingly dependent on others. To what degree do pre-existing attitudes about aging come into play in psychotherapy with older people? With all age groups, psychotherapists often help clients better understand and challenge longstanding negative assumptions about self and world (sometimes called “the unconscious” or “underlying schemas”). These assumptions often impede the individual’s ability to successfully contend with life problems. This presentation will discuss ways in which psychotherapists can assist older clients in clarifying their underlying (and often self-limiting) negative assumptions about aging, moving beyond them to better contend with late life stressors, and improving emotional well-being.

Cohort Differences and Similarities in Women's Attitudes About Self and Aging

This panel focuses on four complementing and international views of women’s aging, with a special emphasis on cohort comparisons and using three different studies of women, with contrasting methodological frameworks. In so doing, we present evidence related to trends in social percepetions of aging, attitudes about aging and identity, and ideas about control and objectification. Dr. Newton presents data on older Canadian women showing the connection between physical aging and identity maintenance, using both qualitative and quantitative data and using the lifecourse perspective. Dr. Ryan, using data from the Health and Retirement Study to compare cohorts of women from the 2008 and 2018 HRS waves, reports cohort differences in negative self-perceptions of aging, and that both cohort and negative self-perfections are associated with life satisfaction, using the life course developmental framework. Ms. Tran compares younger and older cohorts of women on a measure of self-objectification, finding that the older cohort reported lower objectification, consistent with a selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) model. Finally, Dr. Sherman, using the same data set as Ms. Tran, shows that control beliefs are associated with objectification, regardless of cohort, consistent with objectification theory predictions of consistency over time regarding the impact of objectification experiences. Dr. Jamila Bookwala will provide discussion of this group of papers.

Effects of Aging Attitudes on Development in Old Age

This session will focus on aging attitudes and their effects on different aspects of development in old age (e.g., preparation, age stereotypes, age discrimination, and well-being). Cultural differences and how they shape individual aging are also explored. The first two presentations focus on cross-cultural differences in preparation for old-age. Nikitin et al. examine financial preparation and how expectations about support from the state influence it. People’s beliefs about the utility and the risk of aging preparation and their role in preparatory activities is investigated by Kim-Knauss et al. Tsang et al. explore age differences in pursuing autonomy and independence during the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of perceived social obligation. Cultural differences in the accuracy between perceived retrospective changes in well-being and actual changes is explored by Park et al. The last presentation (de Paula Couto et al.) focuses on country- and age-related differences in personal experiences of age discrimination in different life domains. Taken together, findings suggest that attitudes toward, and preparation for aging, are not static. Situational contexts and personal assessments of the contexts can shape such attitudes and behavior.

Retrospective Perceptions of Changes in Well-Being: The Impact of Age, Culture, and Aging Attitudes on Accuracy

Aging attitudes have important consequences on functioning in later-life. A critical question concerns whether such attitudes may bias perceptions of one’s own aging, with potentially negative effects on important outcomes. Using data from adults aged 30 – 85 in the US (n=315), Hong Kong (n=317), and Germany (n=623), we examined the impact of age and aging attitudes on accuracy of perceptions of change in well-being over five years in different domains of functioning. Across contexts, comparisons revealed good correspondence between retrospective reports and actual change. However, older adults and those with negative attitudes retrospectively reported less positive change over this period. Accuracy of perceived change was affected by aging attitudes, with positive attitudes being associated with greater accuracy across most domains, although culture moderated these effects. The results highlight the complex relationship between culture and perceptions of well-being, as well as the potentially insidious effects of attitudes on their accuracy.

Age, Attitudes to Aging, and Identity in Older Canadian Women

The life course perspective emphasizes social structure, personal agency, and their interdependencies (Settersten et al., 2020), serving as the theoretical framework for this study. Given stereotypical societal views of gender and aging (e.g., Sontag, 1979), physical aging is often the focus when examining women’s aging attitudes and concomitant changes in a sense of personal identity. Additionally, studies of midlife women have found relationships between age and identity (e.g., Stewart et al., 2001). Using quantitative and qualitative data, the present study examines associations between age, personal identity, and attitudes to physical, psychological and social aging in older Canadian women (N = 190, Mage = 70.38). Results show that while attitudes to physical aging contribute to identity maintenance, attitudes to social and psychological aging are also important for older women’s identity maintenance. Interactions between age and attitudes to aging associated with personal identity are discussed with reference to the life course perspective.

Decreasing Social Isolation to Enhance Mental Health among Older Adults in China: A Mediation Analysis of Aging Attitude

A large body of literature has examined the relationship between social isolation and mental health in older adults. However, only a few studies have examined the mediating effects of aging attitudes on this relationship. This study investigated the impact of objective isolation (family isolation, friend isolation, and community isolation), and subjective social isolation (perceived isolation) on the mental health of Chinese older adults, and the mediating effect of aging attitudes. Mental health was assessed through depressive symptoms, using the Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. The research sample comprising 7,024 elderly adults (60 years old), was obtained from the nationally representative 2014 Chinese Longitudinal Aging Social Survey. The regression analysis indicated that objective social isolation and subjective social isolation are independently related to mental health among older adults. Furthermore, in the mediation analysis, aging attitude was found to play a significant mediating role between social isolation and mental health. Our study concludes that though, objective and subjective social isolation are issues affecting mental health in older people, however, aging attitude also needs to be factored in that relationship as we have shown that there is a significant mediating effect.

American Older Adults in COVID-19 Times: Vulnerability Types, Aging Attitudes and Emotional Responses

Background: The Coronavirus disease aroused challenges to the emotional well-being of vulnerable older adults in hard-hit areas. This study investigates different vulnerability types among American older adults and how modes of vulnerability are associated with aging attitudes and emotional responses. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with 2003 American respondents aged over 50 from the Health and Retirement survey. Emotional responses and aging attitudes were assessed with I-PANAS-SF and ATOT. The vulnerability was evaluated by 16 kinds of difficulties people had during the pandemic. We used Latent class analysis to identify the vulnerability pattern of individuals. Hierarchical linear regressions were further used to examine the relationship between vulnerability type and positive aging attitudes with positive and negative emotional responses. Results: We detected three vulnerability types among American older adults: the slight vulnerability (72%), the healthcare use vulnerability (19%), and the dual vulnerabilities (9%). No significant difference in positive emotions was found between vulnerability types. However, more negative emotions were found among older adults with healthcare use vulnerability (B=0.746, SE=0.759) and dual vulnerabilities (B=1.186, SE=0.274) than those with slight vulnerability. Positive aging attitudes associate with more positive emotions (B=0.266, SE=0.017) but less negative emotions (B=-0.183, SE=0.016) and had significant moderation effects on the relationship between vulnerability types and negative emotional responses (B=-0.118, SE=0.045). Conclusion: Older adults' emotional well-being should not be neglected as they deserve the support of prevention and intervention strategies, in particular when they have vulnerabilities in healthcare use and financial sustainment. Female, non-white races, and those aged below 65, been uncoupled, less educated, and with ADL difficulties should prioritize.

American older adults in COVID-19 Times: Vulnerability types, aging attitudes and emotional responses

Background: The coronavirus disease aroused challenges to the emotional well-being of vulnerable older adults in hard-hit areas. This study investigates different vulnerability types among American older adults and how modes of vulnerability are associated with aging attitudes and emotional responses. Methods: Using Latent Class Analysis, we investigated 2003 respondents aged over 50 from HRS. Hierarchical linear regressions with the affective profile as cluster identity were used to examine the relationship between vulnerability type and positive aging attitudes with positive and negative emotional responses. Results: We detected three vulnerability types among American older adults: the slight vulnerability (72%), the healthcare use vulnerability (19%), and the dual vulnerabilities (9%). No significant difference in positive emotions was found between vulnerability types. However, more negative emotions were found among older adults with healthcare use vulnerability (B=0.746, SE=0.759) and dual vulnerabilities (B=1.186, SE=0.274) than those with slight vulnerability. Positive aging attitudes associate with more positive emotions (B=0.266, SE=0.017) but less negative emotions (B=-0.183, SE=0.016) and had significant moderation effects on the relationship between vulnerability types and negative emotional responses (B=-0.118, SE=0.045). Conclusion: Older adults' emotional well-being should not be neglected as they deserve the support of prevention and intervention strategies, in particular when they have vulnerabilities in healthcare use and financial sustainment. Female, non-white races, and those aged below 65, been uncoupled, less educated, and with ADL difficulties should prioritize.

AGING ANXIETY: A STUDY OF FACTOR INFLUENCING ATTITUDES TO AGE AMONG CIVIL SERVANTS IN NIGERIA

The present study aimed to examine religious commitment as a scarcely explored variable that could predict aging attitudes. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey. A total of one hundred and eighty-seven civil servants were randomly selected as the research participants. The respondents completed self-report measures of religious commitment scale and attitude to owns aging scale. A linear regression analysis was performed on the data, and the result revealed a significant association between religious commitment and attitude towards aging. It was indicating that religious commitment predicted attitude towards aging. The research finding, implications, and conclusions are discussed.