Successful aging is an important concept, and one that has been the subject of much research. During the last 15 years, the emphasis of this research has shifted from formulating criteria for successful aging to describing the processes involved in successful aging. The main purpose of the present article is to review psychological models of successful aging. The model of Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC-model) proves to be one of the leading models in this field. Although evidence about its value is accumulating, we argue that this model mainly focuses on how people react to losses and that proactive coping aimed at preventing potential threats to goals may also be a valuable strategy. We propose that proactive coping may be important for successful aging, since it results in a prolonged availability of resources for optimization and compensation processes and a delay in disengagement from important goals.
This study demonstrates that patients with BED display decision-making deficits on the IGT comparable with other forms of disordered eating. Future research should focus on unravelling the processes underlying the deficits.
The Amsterdam Executive Function Inventory (AEFI) is a newly developed brief self-report questionnaire to assess three important components of the executive aspects of daily-life behavior--that is, Attention, Self-Control and Self-Monitoring, and Planning and Initiative. In a population-based study, the AEFI was administered to N = 6,730 Dutch adolescents aged between 15 and 18 years. Psychometric analyses showed that the construct validity and the reliability of the AEFI were adequate. Educational level and gender affected the different AEFI scale scores. Regression-based normative data that took these demographic influences into account were established, so that the AEFI can be used by clinicians and researchers who need to assess executive aspects of daily-life behavior.
De Groot, R. H. M., Ouwehand, C., & Jolles, J. (2012). Eating the right amount of fish: Inverted U-shape association between fish consumption and cognitive performance and academic achievement in Dutch adolescents. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes, and Essential Fatty Acids, 86(3), 113-117. doi:10.1016/j.plefa.2012.01.002Fish consumption has shown its benefits for cognitive functioning in the elderly or children with disorders (e.g,, autism, ADHD), but has rarely been investigated in relation to cognitive performance and school performance of healthy adolescents. We executed an observational study in 700 Dutch high school students aged 12-18 years. Fish consumption data, end term grades, scores on the Amsterdam Vocabulary Test, and scores on the Youth Self-Report were collected. Results revealed that 13.6% of the Dutch adolescents never ate fish, 6.4% met national guidelines, 16.9% reached half of the norm, and 63.1% did eat fish but too little to meet at least half of the norm. Analysis of variance, controlled for relevant covariates, showed significant differences between the four fish consumption groups in vocabulary (p= 0.05). A trend for significance was found for end term grades (p= 0.07). Contrast analyses demonstrated significant quadratic associations between fish consumption and vocabulary (p= 0.01) and end term grades (p= 0.01). Thus higher fish intake was associated with more advanced vocabulary and higher end term grades. However, eating more fish than the described norm seemed no longer beneficial
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