Age-related change in self-perceptions of aging: Longitudinal trajectories and predictors of change.

Abstract

Using data from the German Ageing Survey (Deutscher Alterssurvey, DEAS; N = 4,712), this study examined age-related change in three dimensions of self-perceptions of aging (SPA): perceptions of physical losses, social losses, and ongoing development. Participants ranged in age from 40 to 85 years at study entry (1996, 2002, or 2008) and were followed for up to 21 years. Time-invariant, context-specific and timevarying, person-specific predictors of the observed age-related changes were examined. Findings from longitudinal multilevel regression analyses showed significant nonlinear age-related change for all three dimensions. Specifically, starting at about age 65, participants showed age-related increases in perceptions of physical and social losses, with increases getting steeper in old age. Starting at about age 55, participants reported increasingly fewer perceptions related to ongoing development. The decline in perceptions of ongoing development also became increasingly steeper after age 70. Region of residence was a significant context-specific predictor of the intercepts of the three SPA dimensions. Health-related variables (i.e., number of chronic diseases, self-rated health), affective well-being (i.e., positive and negative affect), and measures of social integration (i.e., loneliness) were significant person-specific predictors. Health-related variables had their strongest association with perceptions of physical losses, whereas negative affect and loneliness had their strongest association with perceptions of social losses. Positive affect had its strongest association with perceptions of ongoing development. This study is the first one to describe age-related change trajectories in multiple dimensions of SPA and significant predictors of these change trajectories.

Longitudinal associations between perceived stress and views on aging: Evidence for reciprocal relations.

“…In contrast, an older subjective age, higher perceptions of social loss, physical decline, as well as lower perceptions of continuous growth had a negative impact on subsequent perceived stress that was—in our sample of middle-aged and older adults—independent of age (although the age interaction effect for perceptions of physical decline was close to statistical significance, p = .051). Perceptions of continuous growth might be the domain among the aging-related cognitions with the least “age salience” (with items such as continuing to make plans and still learning new things) and that is perhaps more dependent on factors such as positive affect (Diehl et al, 2021) or personality-related characteristics (e.g., optimism, self-efficacy, hope; Spuling et al, 2019; Steverink et al, 2001) than on chronological age. Subjective age might again be different from most other views on aging indicators in its relation to stress as subjective age ratings are usually not (or not only) based on a cognitive-evaluative process, other than ratings for the items of ATOA or of the aging-related cognitions.…”

“…Individuals with depressive symptoms and high negative affectivity, in turn, tend to display, according to Beck’s cognitive theory of depression the negative cognitive triad (Beck et al, 1987), that is, a negative view of themselves, of the world, and of the future, which potentially also includes the perceptions and anticipations of their aging. Indeed, higher negative affect as well as higher depressive symptomatology were found to predict less favorable views on aging (Diehl et al, 2021; Kotter-Grühn, 2015; Schönstein et al, 2021). Moreover, Bellingtier et al (2017) indeed found that negative affect is a mediator of the association between stressors and subjective age.…”

“…Steverink et al (2001) developed a scale (also referred to as the AgeCog Scale; Wurm et al, 2007) of aging-related cognitions comprising three different domains of personal experiences of aging (social loss, physical decline, continuous growth). Like subjective age and ATOA, these aging-related cognitions meaningfully related to indicators of well-being and health in later life (Diehl et al, 2021; Jung et al, 2019; Spuling et al, 2019; Steverink et al, 2001; Wettstein, Werner-Wahl, et al, 2020; Wurm et al, 2007).…”

Rethinking Social Relationships in Adulthood: The Differential Investment of Resources Model

“…Together, these results imply that perceiving late life as a phase of growth ( Huxhold, 2019 ) may motivate individuals to not only maintain existing bonds but also to form new ties (particularly non-kin ties). However, a recent study demonstrated that self-perceptions of aging become increasingly more negative with advancing age ( Diehl et al, 2021 ). In particular, the perception of aging as being associated with the potential for growth declined steeply after the age of 70.…”

Ageism from a cross-cultural perspective: results from a national survey of Israelis over the age of 50

“…Response options for both items range from 1 "Not at all" to 4 "Almost everyday" and the depression score is based on their average. These covariates were selected given their past association with various measures of ageism (Ayalon, 2013;2018;Diehl et al, 2021).…”