Rising above It: Status Ambivalence in Older Adults

Robertson, Deirdre A.; Weiss, David

doi:10.1159/000488389

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Nevertheless, the current findings show that older adults seem to be resilient in the face of status loss in later adulthood . This is consistent with previous research (Robertson & Weiss, 2018;Weiss & Freund, 2012) showing that old people share the perception of status loss for other older people but not for themselves. Moreover, older adults tend to feel individually more similar in their subjective social status to middle-aged adults but less so to older adults.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Our rationale for using an age group approach was motivated by research showing that people construct and make sense of their age in terms of social categories (e.g., "teenagers," "young adults," "middle-aged adults," and "older adults"; Weiss & Weiss, 2019). The cut-off that we used in our study to differentiate between middle-aged and older adults (i.e., 40 -64 years for middle-aged adults and 65-84 years for older adults) is most consistent with previous studies (Garstka, Hummert, & Branscombe, 2005;Kunzmann, Richter, & Schmukle, 2013;Lachman, 2004;Robertson & Weiss, 2018;Weiss & Freund, 2012).…”

Section: Age-differential Associations Of Changes In Perceived Social...supporting

confidence: 86%

“…These perceptions reflect the assumption that age-based status typically increases from young to middle-aged adulthood and, after a period of stability in midlife, typically begins to decline as people enter old age. Age-based status expectations are not very well reflected in people's subjective social status as research shows that older adults recognize status loss for older adults in general but not for themselves (Robertson & Weiss, 2018).…”

Section: Dimensions Of Social Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Longitudinal changes in subjective social status are linked to changes in positive and negative affect in midlife, but not in later adulthood.

Weiss¹,

Kunzmann²

2020

Psychology and Aging

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Subjective social status is defined as the perceived social standing of a person in a social hierarchy and may change across time. Although the link between subjective social status and well-being is widely recognized, the dynamic nature of changes in subjective social status across the life span is not well understood. We predicted that gains and losses in subjective social status will be associated with changes in positive and negative affect over time. This link should be particularly evident in middle adulthood because the desire for social status might be more important in midlife than in later adulthood. Specifically, we argue that social status gains in midlife may facilitate generativity, a developmental task in this period of the life span that arguably contributes not only to the well-being of others but also oneself. Our analyses of a 10-year longitudinal study (N ϭ 2,306, 40 -84 years at T1) using latent change score models suggested that individuals, who lose (or gain) social status (i.e., change their perceived position on the social status ladder), experience an increase (decrease) in negative affect and a decrease (increase) in positive affect. As predicted, these associations were stronger, and in fact only significant, for middle-aged (40 -64 years), but not older (65-84 years) adults. Finally, in middle-aged adults, the effects of status changes on changes in affective well-being were mediated by generativity. This pattern of findings suggests that changes in subjective social status are more self-relevant in midlife and may become less relevant to affective well-being as people age.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Age-differential Associations Of Changes In Perceived Social...supporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Dimensions Of Social Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Longitudinal changes in subjective social status are linked to changes in positive and negative affect in midlife, but not in later adulthood.

Weiss¹,

Kunzmann²

2020

Psychology and Aging

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“…Consistent with the notion of aging as a multidimensional and multidirectional process, older adults have been shown to maintain both positive and negative beliefs about their own aging (Connidis, 1989;Robertson & Weiss, 2018;Steverink, Westerhof, Bode, & Dittmann-Kohli, 2001;Weiss & Kornadt, 2018). Notably, positive and negative beliefs about aging can be couched within the context of a visible marker, such as grip strength, that exhibits or defies images of old age.…”

Section: Beliefs About Agingmentioning

confidence: 79%

Concurrent and enduring associations between married partners’ shared beliefs and markers of aging.

Mejía¹,

Giasson²,

Smith³

et al. 2020

Psychology and Aging

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Beliefs about aging are grounded in social experience. This study considered the extent to which married older adults' shared beliefs about aging and markers of aging maintain a concurrent and enduring association with their partners' beliefs about and markers of aging. Data from the 2010/2012 and 2014/2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study provided measures of husbands' and wives' (3,779 couples) positive and negative beliefs about aging and internal (Cystatin C) and external (grip strength) markers of aging at 2 time points. Latent dyadic models parsed beliefs and markers into partners' individual and shared variances, which were connected both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Longitudinal analysis showed that the cross-sectional associations between shared beliefs and markers of aging were stable over 4 years. Partners' shared beliefs and markers of aging were found to have enduring associations with each other over time. The enduring association between grip strength and future negative beliefs remained significant after accounting for partner selection and similarity in health. Model comparisons across marriage duration and emotional closeness showed partners' beliefs to be more similar in marriages that were either long established or emotionally close. In all groups, shared beliefs and markers of aging were associated with each other over time. The association between positive beliefs and future grip strength was stronger in long-established than in recent marriages. In summary, this study provides evidence that, within older couples, beliefs about aging are shaped in part through experiences of aging together.

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“…Studies have found that older age is perceived as connected to a decline in standing in the social hierarchy ( Robertson and Weiss, 2018 ). These attitudes are prevalent in varied fields, including the workplace, regardless of one’s physical state ( Van der Horst and Vickerstaff, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Wounded Lion – Ageism and Masculinity in the Israeli Film Industry

Lir

Ayalon

2022

Front. Psychol.

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One of the intriguing issues connected to power relations in the world of cinema that has yet to be adequately explored is what has happened over the years concerning the dominance and privilege of masculinity as signifying preferred social status. This qualitative study explores this subject based on transcribed semi-structured interviews with 13 award-winning Israeli directors over the age of 55. The research examines two questions: How has the film industry changed its relation to leading, award-winning film directors as they grow older? And, what challenges confront the directors, in terms of their own self-perceptions? These questions capture the collisional intersection between hegemonic masculinity and ageism, because they examine the loss of power attributed to men in the film industry as they reach the second half of their lives. The findings led to the formation of a theoretical model of ageism within the cinematic industry, allowing for the dismantling of the different factors that create obstacles for directors as they get older. The four layers of the model are: arbitrary ageism, manifested in the demands of a rapidly changing industry in a changing world; passive ageism, expressed through encounters with negative attitudes; active ageism, reflected in preventing older directors from receiving funding and from screening their films; and self-ageism, manifested in the directors’ attitudes toward themselves.

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Rising above It: Status Ambivalence in Older Adults

Cited by 8 publications

References 43 publications

Longitudinal changes in subjective social status are linked to changes in positive and negative affect in midlife, but not in later adulthood.

Longitudinal changes in subjective social status are linked to changes in positive and negative affect in midlife, but not in later adulthood.

Concurrent and enduring associations between married partners’ shared beliefs and markers of aging.

The Wounded Lion – Ageism and Masculinity in the Israeli Film Industry

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