College students (N = 3,435) in 26 cultures reported their perceptions of age-related changes in physical, cognitive, and socioemotional areas of functioning and rated societal views of aging within their culture. There was widespread cross-cultural consensus regarding the expected direction of aging trajectories with (1) perceived declines in societal views of aging, physical attractiveness, the ability to perform everyday tasks, and new learning, (2) perceived increases in wisdom, knowledge, and received respect, and (3) perceived stability in family authority and life satisfaction. Crosscultural variations in aging perceptions were associated with culture-level indicators of population aging, education levels, values, and national character stereotypes. These associations were stronger Löckenhoff et al. Page 3 Psychol Aging. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 September 3. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript for societal views on aging and perceptions of socioemotional changes than for perceptions of physical and cognitive changes. A consideration of culture-level variables also suggested that previously reported differences in aging perceptions between Asian and Western countries may be related to differences in population structure. KeywordsAging; stereotypes; cross-cultural; values; national character stereotypes Perceptions of aging influence societal behaviors and expectations towards older people (e.g., Pasupathi & Löckenhoff, 2002) as well as older adults' well-being and coping with the aging process (e.g. Levy, 2003;Levy & Myers, 2004). The majority of studies in this field have focused on individual differences in perceptions of aging within (mostly Western) cultures, but there is growing evidence that views of aging may differ across cultures as well (e.g., Arnhoff, Leon, & Lorge, 1964;Giles et al., 2000). The present study extends previous research by comparing multiple aspects of aging perceptions across 26 cultures and examining their culture-level associates. To provide the background for this work, we review previous research on intercultural differences in perceptions of aging and discuss theoretical perspectives on the causes of such differences.According to social representations theory (Moscovici, 1984(Moscovici, ,1988) the views of aging held within a given culture are a form of shared cultural representation. They constitute systems of ideas, values, and customs related to aging that are treated by members of the society as if they were established reality. Perceptions of aging are multi-dimensional in nature (e.g., Hummert, 1990), encompass both positive and negative characteristics (e.g., Hummert, 1990;McTavish, 1971;Heckhausen, Dixon, & Baltes, 1989), and reflect a mix between accurate depictions of age-related changes and distorted views of older people (Kite, Stockdale, Whitley, & Johnson, 2005). Healthy aging is associated with predictable biological changes (Digiovanna, 2000) that lead to systematic age differences in physical ...

Age trajectories for personality traits are known to be similar across cultures. To address whether stereotypes of age groups reflect these age-related changes in personality, we asked participants in 26 countries (N = 3,323) to rate typical adolescents, adults, and old persons in their own country. Raters across nations tended to share similar beliefs about different age groups; adolescents were seen as impulsive, rebellious, undisciplined, preferring excitement and novelty, whereas old people were consistently considered lower on impulsivity, activity, antagonism, and Openness. These consensual age group stereotypes correlated strongly with published age differences on the five major dimensions of personality and most of 30 specific traits, using as criteria of accuracy both self-reports and observer ratings, different survey methodologies, and data from up to 50 nations. However, personal stereotypes were considerably less accurate, and consensual stereotypes tended to exaggerate differences across age groups.

Although large international studies have found consistent patterns of sex differences in personality traits among adults (i.e., women scoring higher on most facets), less is known about cross-cultural sex differences in adolescent personality and the role of culture and age in shaping them. The present study examines NEO Personality Inventory-3 (NEO-PI-3, McCrae, Costa, & Martin, 2005) informant ratings of adolescents from 23 cultures (N = 4,850) and investigates culture and age as sources of variability in sex differences of adolescents’ personality. The effect for Neuroticism (with females scoring higher than males) begins to take on its adult form around age 14. Girls score higher on Openness to Experience and Conscientiousness at all ages between 12 and 17 years. A more complex pattern emerges for Extraversion and Agreeableness, although by age 17, sex differences for these traits are highly similar to those observed in adulthood. Cross-sectional data suggest that (1) with advancing age, sex differences found in adolescents increasingly converge towards adult patterns with respect to both direction and magnitude; (2) girls display sex-typed personality traits at an earlier age than boys; and (3) the emergence of sex differences was similar across culture. Practical implications of the present findings are discussed.

BackgroundFemale sexual dysfunction is a common condition that extremely affects reproductive health and quality of life. To assess this health condition, a valid and reliable questionnaire is required. The aim of this study was to translate and validate the Sexual Quality of Life-Female (SQOL-F) questionnaire in Iran.MethodForward-backward procedure was applied to translate the questionnaire from English into Persian. After linguistic validation and pilot examination, a cross-sectional study was carried out and psychometric properties of the Iranian version of questionnaire were tested. One hundred reproductive aged, married, healthy and sexually active women completed the questionnaire. Reliability was assessed by internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha), and test-retest (intraclass correlation coefficient) analyses. In addition, content, and face validity were assessed and the factor structure of the questionnaire was extracted by performing exploratory factor analysis.ResultsThe mean age of participants was 33 (SD = 8.07) years, and the mean quality of sexual life score was 86.4 (SD = 1.78) ranging from 36 to 108. Most women were housewife (n = 92). Reliability evaluation revealed high internal consistency and good test-retest reliability. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.73 and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.88. The mean scores for the content validity index (CVI) and the content validity ratio (CVR) were 0.91 and 0.84, respectively. The results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) indicated a four-factor solution for the questionnaire that jointly accounted for 60.8% of variance observed.ConclusionThe findings from this study suggest that the Iranian version of SQOL-F questionnaire has good psychometric properties and it will be useful to assess the female sexual quality of life in reproductive health care settings.

Background and AimEvidence of the efficacy of existing psychological interventions for self-management in diabetes is limited. The current study aimed at assessing the effects of group-based ACT on self-management of patients with T2DM, considering the moderating role of coping styles.MethodsOne hundred and six patients with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned either to the education alone (n = 53) or to a combination of education and group-based acceptance and commitment therapy (n = 53) over a period of 10 sessions. In each group, 50 participants completed a 3 month follow-up assessment.ResultsAfter 3 months, compared to patients who received education alone, those in the group-based acceptance and commitment therapy condition were more likely to use effective coping strategies, reported better diabetes self-care, and optimum glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) levels in the target range.ConclusionsConsideration of the role of coping style for a more accurate evaluation of the effects of acceptance and commitment therapy may be a useful addition to services provided for patients with type 2 diabetes.

Numerous studies have documented subtle but consistent sex differences in self-reports and observer-ratings of five-factor personality traits, and such effects were found to show well-defined developmental trajectories and remarkable similarity across nations. In contrast, very little is known about perceived gender differences in five-factor traits in spite of their potential implications for gender biases at the interpersonal and societal level. In particular, it is not clear how perceived gender differences in five-factor personality vary across age groups and national contexts and to what extent they accurately reflect assessed sex differences in personality. To address these questions, we analyzed responses from 3,323 individuals across 26 nations (mean age = 22.3 years, 31% male) who were asked to rate the five-factor personality traits of typical men or women in three age groups (adolescent, adult, and older adult) in their respective nations. Raters perceived women as slightly higher in openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness as well as some aspects of extraversion and neuroticism. Perceived gender differences were fairly consistent across nations and target age groups and mapped closely onto assessed sex differences in self- and observer-rated personality. Associations between the average size of perceived gender differences and national variations in sociodemographic characteristics, value systems, or gender equality did not reach statistical significance. Findings contribute to our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of gender stereotypes of personality and suggest that perceptions of actual sex differences may play a more important role than culturally based gender roles and socialization processes.

Consensual stereotypes of some groups are relatively accurate, whereas others are not. Previous work suggesting that national character stereotypes are inaccurate has been criticized on several grounds. In this article we (a) provide arguments for the validity of assessed national mean trait levels as criteria for evaluating stereotype accuracy; and (b) report new data on national character in 26 cultures from descriptions (N=3,323) of the typical male or female adolescent, adult, or old person in each. The average ratings were internally consistent and converged with independent stereotypes of the typical culture member, but were weakly related to objective assessments of personality. We argue that this conclusion is consistent with the broader literature on the inaccuracy of national character stereotypes.

A culturally sensitive, reliable and valid instrument is crucial to better understand the self-efficacy of childbirth as a basis for developing effective interventions to increase normal childbirth among Iranian pregnant women.