According to recent surveys, dementia worry (DW) is a widespread phenomenon in mid-life and old age, at least in Western populations. DW has been shown to be only loosely related to sociodemographic factors. Unfortunately, the concept of DW has found only very little conceptual and empirical attention in previous research. In this conceptual review, we take (mostly) a psychological approach to DW. First, we define DW as an emotional response to the perceived threat of developing dementia. We then conceptualise DW as a hybrid, combining elements of ageing anxiety and health anxiety. On the population level, we argue that the high prevalence of DW may be reflective of the increasing awareness of dementia in times of increasing ''dementia encounters', widespread misperceptions of risks and consequences of dementia and a perceived lack of coping resources. Finally, we propose that DW may affect a range of important behaviours, such as how people interpret evidence of their own or others' age-related cognitive changes, how they interact with people with dementia, how they anticipate and plan for their future, how they engage in screening and prevention behaviours and how they exploit healthcare resources. We conclude with suggestions for future research, including a further in-depth investigation of psychological and micro-/ macrosocial factors associated with DW.

Views on ageing (VoA) have special relevance for the ageing process by influencing health, well-being, and longevity. Although VoA form early in life, so far, most research has concentrated on how VoA affect later middle-aged and older adults. In this theoretical article, we argue that a lifespan approach is needed in order to more fully understand the origins of VoA, how they change over ontogenetic time, and how they shape development across the full breadth of the lifespan. We begin by explicitly linking VoA to fundamental principles of lifespan development. We review existing theories of VoA and discuss their respective contributions and limitations. We then outline a lifespan approach to VoA that integrates existing theories and addresses some of their limitations. We elaborate on three core propositions of a lifespan approach to VoA: (1) VoA develop as the result of a dynamic, ongoing, and complex interaction between biological-evolutionary, psychological, and social-contextual factors; however, the relative importance of different sources changes across the lifespan; (2) VoA impact development across the whole lifespan; however, different outcomes, mechanisms, and time frames need to be considered in order to describe and understand their effects; and (3) VoA are multidimensional, multidirectional, and multifunctional throughout life, but their complexity, meaning, and adaptivity change across the lifespan. We conclude with recommendations for future lifespan research on VoA.

Dementia worry" (DW; i.e., concern about developing dementia) is highly prevalent in the general population. However, research on the characteristics associated with lower and higher levels of DW is still limited. Based on previous empirical and conceptual work, we examined the extent to which DW was related to a comprehensive range of objective and subjective characteristics (sociodemographics, contact with people with dementia, physical health-related risk factors, well-being/ psychological distress, aging self-perceptions, social-cognitive health beliefs about dementia). A convenience sample of N = 219 German adults 40 + years (M = 65.50 years, SD = 11.34; 40-94 years) reporting no dementia or cognitive impairment diagnosis completed questionnaires. We improved upon previous research by using a ten-item scale to measure DW. We used bivariate correlations and multivariate regression to examine the extent to which DW was related to the potential concomitants. 41.1% of the participants indicated DW. Together, the predictor variables explained 53.3% of the variance in DW. DW was related to psychological distress, perceived memory change, aging anxiety, and personal risk perception in both the bivariate and multivariate analyses. There was a quadratic (reverse U shape) relationship between age and DW. Physical health-related risk factors were not related to DW. Our findings suggest that DW represents a hybrid of psychological distress, aging self-perceptions, and a specific type of health concern. Healthcare practitioners should consider a person's psychological characteristics when deciding how to intervene when someone indicates moderate or high DW.

Our findings can be used to inform interventions to improve older adults' ATSMHS. Interventions that seek to improve older adults' representations of their own aging as well as of psychotherapists may be useful for reducing the treatment gap.

Although rare, when older characters did appear, they were depicted as socially engaged. We compare this portrayal with real-world gerontological evidence and age stereotypes and discuss how the portrayal might affect viewers.