Although extensive findings underscore the relevance of future time perspective (FTP) in the process of aging, the assumption of FTP as a unifactorial construct has been challenged. The present study explores the factorial structure of the FTP scale (Carstensen & Lang, 1996) as one of the most widely used measures (Ntotal = 2,170). Results support that FTP reflects a higher-order construct that consists of 3 interrelated components-Opportunity, Extension, and Constraint. It is suggested that the flexible usage of the FTP scale as an all compassing 10-item measure or with focus on specific components depends on the concrete research question. (PsycINFO Database Record
We review the contribution of social integration on the process of successful aging. Building on empirical findings, we describe three major challenges and potentials of social contexts that are related to the elasticity, role differentiation, and the risk potentials of social relationships in adulthood. We propose a model of aging well together that advances concepts of selection, optimization, and compensation to social aging and to the mastery of relationship demands. According to the model, individuals are choosing and seeking positive social experience, improving the fit of their social environment, and they counterbalance the risks of social contact. We provide exemplary empirical evidence for the existence of such regulatory contributions of social bonding on aging well. Several implications for researchers as well as practitioners in the field of gerontology are extracted. Future research needs to further disentangle the dynamic and complex nature of social relationship effects on positive aging.
This study investigated age differences in anger and sadness in a sample of 82 younger (Mage = 26, SDage = 4.05) and 80 older (Mage = 70, SDage = 3.95) adults. Participants were instructed to first relive a personal memory that was characterized by either anger or sadness and to subsequently think aloud about this memory. Across different emotional response systems (i.e., subjective feelings, verbal expressions, facial behaviors, physiological arousal), older adults reacted with less anger than did their younger counterparts, whereas age differences in sadness were less pronounced. Together the findings corroborate the idea that age differences in negative emotional reactivity are multidirectional and suggest that a discrete emotions approach may complement dimensional approaches to emotional aging. (PsycINFO Database Record
Recent research has emphasized the critical role of personality in the caregiving situation, but not much is known about how individual differences shape the transitions into and out of caregiving. Based on longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP, N= 14,495), we explored how personality is associated with adopting and maintaining the caregiving role. The results revealed that individuals with less emotional stability were more likely to take over the responsibility to provide care. Moreover, care-related personality change was affected by sex and age. In detail, female care entrants were more burdened than their male counterparts, and younger caregivers seemed to adapt better to the caregiving role than older ones. The findings point to the interplay of personality and sociostructural conditions in the caregiving role over time.
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