Differences in subjective age by filial caregiving status among US adults in mid and later life

Subjective age is an important indicator of age identity and is associated with both psychological and physical well-being. Previous studies have revealed that older adults who feel younger than their chronological age show better health status, better life satisfaction, and less risk of mortality. Considerable evidence shows that stress contributes to feeling older than one’s chronological age. Given the fact that taking a caregiving role involves stress, it is expected that caregiving might accelerate subjective aging. This study examined the association between the stressor of caregiving and subjective age in mid and later life. Data were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study in 2014 and 2016. Participants aged 50 years and over (n=1,087) were identified according to adult-child caregiver status at across the two waves: those who provided care consecutively (long-term caregivers), those who became caregivers in 2016 (new caregivers), those who were no longer providing care in 2016 (recent caregivers), or those who did not report providing care in both 2014 and 2016 (non-caregivers). Linear regression analysis showed that new caregivers reported feeling older than their chronological age compared to non-caregivers. However, long-term or recent caregivers did not show significant differences in subjective age compared to non-caregivers. The finding is consistent with the stress process theory and adaptation hypothesis. Although the onset of caregiving stress may accelerate subjective aging, this deleterious effect may decrease over time due to family caregivers’ adaptability. Future research will examine the role of support, resilience and mastery in this pathway.

C-Reactive Protein Mediates the Association Between Subjective Aging and Incident Heart Disease

Recent studies have shown that negative perceptions of subjective aging are associated with a heightened risk of cardiovascular events (Stephan et al., 2020) and increased C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker associated with inflammation (Stephan et al., 2014). Because inflammation is deleterious to cardiovascular health, CRP might mediate the association between subjective aging and cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between subjective aging (i.e., negative self-perceptions of aging [SPA] and subjective age) and incident cardiovascular disease (e.g., heart attack, angina, congestive heart failure), and to determine whether CRP mediates this relation. We used up to five waves of repeated measures data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, 2008 - 2016) with adults aged 50 to 101 (n = 9,531). Two separate models were conducted in MPlus with bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals and controls for respondent age, sex, education, race, ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), diabetes, hypertension, depressive symptoms, and physical inactivity. There were significant indirect effects of both SPA and subjective age on incident cardiovascular disease through CRP (indirect effect SPA model = .02, CIs [.01, .03], p < .05; indirect effect subjective age model = .05, CIs [.02, .10], p < .05). In both models, CRP fully mediated the association between subjective aging and incident cardiovascular disease. Taken together, these findings underscore the importance of considering older adults’ views of aging for understanding physical health and suggest that interventions aimed at improving views on aging may reduce inflammation and promote cardiovascular health.

Examining Subjective Aging through the Lens of the Caregiver Experience

Caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD) often experience burden that has been associated with poor physical and psychological health outcomes (Andren & Elmstahl, 2007; Zimmerman et al., 2018). However, very little research investigates how the caregiving experience may impact an individual’s subjective aging experience. Various aspects of subjective aging have been implicated in health outcomes and memory function (Brothers et al., 2017; Stephan, Sutin, Caudroit, & Terracciano, 2016). The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in perceptions of subjective aging between caregivers and non-caregivers. Participants (N = 185) completed a survey assessing several aspects of subjective aging, including subjective age, or how old an individual feels, memory function, well-being, attitudes towards aging, and aging stereotypes. A series of independent t-tests indicated that there were significant differences between groups on subjective age (p = .013), and subjective memory function (p = .013). Caregivers (n = 93) reported feeling significantly older than their chronological age, reported significantly more subjective memory complaints, and also reported poorer subjective memory function when compared to the non-caregiver (n = 92) control group. Previous literature does suggest that older subjective age ratings are associated with poor subjective memory function, so these results are not necessarily surprising. However, these results suggest that caregiving for individuals with ADRD may negatively impact caregivers’ perceptions of their own aging experience, but not necessarily their perceptions about aging in general.

Subjective Aging in Context: Neighborhood Social Environment and Self-perceptions of Aging among Older Adults

Self-perception of aging (SPA), one’s attitude toward one’s own aging, has been associated with health and well-being in later life. Whereas existing literature identifies individual-level predictors of SPA (e.g., education and health), little is known about the role of neighborhood context. The present study examines whether 1) neighborhood social environment is related to SPA and 2) age moderates this relationship. Our analytic sample includes 11,394 adults aged 50+ from the 2014 and 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (Mean Age=68, SD=10.14, range 50-98). Indicators of neighborhood social environment include (a) perceived neighborhood social cohesion (the trust and social ties among community residents), (b) neighborhood friends, and (c) relatives living in the neighborhood. Regression analyses were performed to investigate the associations of each neighborhood-level indicator with the positive and negative dimensions of SPA. The models controlled for demographic, socio-economic, and health covariates. Greater neighborhood social cohesion (B=0.13, SE=0.01, p<.001) and having neighborhood friends (B=0.14, SE=0.02, p<0.001) were associated with higher levels of the positive SPA. As for the negative dimension of SPA, neighborhood social cohesion was the only significant predictor (B=-0.13, SE=0.01, p<0.001). Furthermore, we found significant interaction effects between neighborhood social cohesion and age: higher neighborhood cohesion was associated with more positive (B=-.003, SE=.00, p<.001) and less negative SPA ratings (B=-.003, SE=.00, p<.001) at younger ages than older ages. Our findings provide insights into how neighborhood social context shapes subjective aging, suggesting that a socially cohesive neighborhood may promote more favorable perceptions of aging, particularly for younger residents.

Awareness of age-related change and its relationship with inductive reasoning and ageism

Subjective aging is important due to its relationship with well-being. Diehl and Wahl (2010) proposed Awareness of Age-Related Change (AARC) as a measure of subjective aging; their theoretical model proposed that cognition’s relationship to AARC is mediated by ageist experiences. The current study tests this model and proposes an alternative model where cognition is hypothesized to mediate the relationship of ageist experiences to AARC. Inductive reasoning was used to measure cognition due to its susceptibility to ageism. Participants were 283 older adults aged 66-90 years (M=69.08, SD=3.36) without a dementia diagnosis or cognitive impairment. Inductive reasoning was measured by Word Series, Number Series, Letter Sets, and a composite score. AARC total losses, cognitive losses, total gains, and cognitive gains were used. Age, gender, and education covariates were included. Analysis of Diehl and Wahl’s (2010) model showed that the composite and individual reasoning measures had negative direct effects on all AARC measures. Ageism mediated the effect of the composite and individual reasoning measures on AARC total and cognitive losses. In the alternative model, ageist experiences had positive direct effects on AARC total and cognitive losses. The composite, Number Series, and Letter Sets mediated the effect of ageism on all AARC measures. Word Series mediated the effect of ageism on total and cognitive losses. Overall, inductive reasoning seems to play an important role in understanding the relationship of ageism with AARC. Thus, inductive reasoning abilities may be a potential intervention point to cultivate well-being. Future research should assess additional domains of cognition.

Variation in Subjective Aging Among Middle-Aged and Older LGBTQ+ People: An Exploratory Study

Studies suggest that women and men have different experiences of subjective aging—including interpretations of age norms, timing of life course stages, and aging anxieties—but few have addressed variation within sexual and gender diverse communities. Drawing on a sample of middle-age and older LGBTQ+ people from Alabama, North Carolina, and Tennessee (n=923), we analyze how four dimensions of subjective aging (age-related self-perceptions, generalized views of aging, aging bodies, and aging anxieties) vary within the LGBTQ+ population by comparing gay and bisexual cisgender men (GBCM), lesbian and bisexual cisgender women (LBCW), and transgender, gender nonconforming, and non-binary (T/GNC/NB) people. Using multivariate regression models, we find that LBCW reported younger ideal ages, more elongated perceptions of the life course, more negative predictions of prospective health, and less aging anxiety compared to GBCM. Regarding self-perceptions and generalized views of aging, T/GNC/NB people reported younger ideal ages and more condensed perceptions of the life course compared to GBCM. Regarding perceptions of aging bodies, T/GNC/NB people reported more positive views of physical changes within the last five years and more negative predictions of prospective health compared to GBCM. Finally, T/GNC/NB people were less anxious than GBCM about future sex lives but were more anxious about not being able to support other people in the future. Overall, while some results align with studies of the general population, we find that sexual and gender diverse people may have different subjective aging trajectories, and thus experience differential physical and mental health outcomes, compared with cisgender heterosexual adults.

The Effect of Social Media Use on Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults with Self-Reported Hearing Impairment: An Empirical Study

Older people with hearing impairment are more likely to develop depressive symptoms due to physical disability and loss of social communication. This study investigated the effects of social media on social relations, subjective aging, and depressive symptoms in these older adults based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework. It provides new empirical evidence to support improving the mental health and rebuilding the social relations of older people. A formal questionnaire was designed using the Wenjuanxing platform and distributed online through WeChat; 643 valid questionnaires were received from older people with self-reported hearing impairments, and SmartPLS 3.28 was used to analyze the data. The results show that (1) social media significantly impacts the social relations of older people with hearing impairment (social networks, β = 0.132, T = 3.444; social support, β = 0.129, T = 2.95; social isolation, β = 0.107, T = 2.505). (2) For these older people, social isolation has the biggest impact on their psychosocial loss (β = 0.456, T = 10.458), followed by the impact of social support (β = 0.103, T = 2.014); a hypothesis about social network size was not confirmed (β = 0.007, T = 0.182). Both social media (β = 0.096, T = 2.249) and social support (β = 0.174, T = 4.434) significantly affect the self-efficacy of hearing-impaired older people. (3) Both subjective aging (psychosocial loss, β = 0.260, T = 6.036; self-efficacy, β = 0.106, T = 3.15) and social isolation (β = 0.268, T = 6.307) significantly affect depressive symptoms in older people with hearing impairment. This study expands the theories of social media aging cognition, social support, and social networks and can provide practical contributions to the social media use and mental health of special persons 60 years and older.

Acceleration of Biological Aging and Underestimation of Subjective Age Are Risk Factors for Severe COVID-19

In an epidemic, it is important to have methods for reliable and rapid assessment of risk groups for severe forms of the disease for their priority vaccination and for the application of preventive lockdown measures. The aim of this study was to investigate risk factors for severe forms of COVID-19 in adults using indicators of biological and subjective aging. Longitudinal studies evaluated the severity of the disease and the number of cases. Respondents (447) were divided into “working group” and “risk group” (retirees with chronic diseases). During the lockdown period (in mid-2020), accelerated aging was observed in the group of workers (by 3.9–8 years for men and an increase at the tendency level for women). However, the respondents began to feel subjectively younger (by 3.3–7.2 years). In the risk group, there were no deviations from the expected biopsychological aging. The number of cases at the end of 2020 was 31% in workers and 0% in the risk group. Reasonably, the risk group followed the quarantine rules more strictly by 1.5 times. In working men, indicators of relative biological and relative subjective aging (measured in both 2019 and mid-2020) significantly influenced the incidence at the end of 2020. In women, only the indicators obtained in mid-2020 had a significant impact. The relative biological aging of an individual tested in the middle of 2020 had a direct impact on the risk of infection (p < 0.05) and on the probability of death (p < 0.0001). On the contrary, an increase in the relative subjective (psychological) aging index reduced the risk of infection (at the tendency level, p = 0.06) and the risk of death (p < 0.0001). Both the risk of infection and the risk of death increased with calendar age at the tendency level. Conclusions: Indicators of individual relative biological and subjective aging affect the probability of getting COVID-19 and its severity. The combination of high indicators of biological aging and underestimated indicators of subjective aging is associated with increased chances of developing severe forms of the disease.