The interactive effect of subjective age and subjective distance-to-death on psychological distress of older adults

Shrira, Amit; Bodner, Ehud; Palgi, Yuval

doi:10.1080/13607863.2014.915925

Cited by 90 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The current finding joins others in pointing to the potential of subjective age to mitigate or increase effects of other variables. Accordingly, older subjective age was previously shown to increase the association between PTSD symptoms and successful aging ( Shrira et al, 2016 ), the association of feeling close to death with psychological distress ( Shrira et al, 2014 ), and the association between depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment ( Choi et al, 2017 ). The current finding mostly complemented those presented by Segel-Karpas et al (2017) , where depressive symptoms showed a much stronger effect on subsequent medical conditions among those with an older age identity at baseline.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, perceiving oneself as older than one’s age could moderate the reciprocal effects between PTSD symptoms and physical functioning, and amplify these effects via several psychological, biological, behavioral, and attentional mechanisms. First, an older subjective age is related to symptoms of depression and anxiety ( Shrira et al, 2014 ), and therefore can further burden the diminished psychological resources of posttraumatic older adults. Second, feeling older is related to various biological markers of inflammation ( Stephan et al, 2015b ), kidney failure ( Stephan et al, 2017 ), and accelerated senescence ( Lahav et al, 2018 ), and thereby have the potential to aggravate the noxious effects of PTSD on bodily systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies demonstrated that subjective age can serve as a moderating variable that impacts associations between, for example, PTSD/distress and other variables. Thus, an older age identity strengthened the relationship between PTSD symptoms and successful aging ( Shrira et al, 2016 ), and was related to higher levels of distress as predicted by subjective nearness-to-death ( Shrira et al, 2014 ). Nevertheless, these studies were cross-sectional and therefore could not assess reciprocal effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Subjective Age as a Moderator in the Reciprocal Effects Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Self-Rated Physical Functioning

et al. 2018

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It is now widely acknowledged that physical decline may increase among middle-aged and older adults who suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Much less is known about the temporal sequencing of PTSD and physical decline relationship over time. While PTSD can lead to physical decline, physical decline may preserve or augment existing PTSD symptoms. Both problems can also mutually affect each other forming a vicious cycle. Additionally, it is important to address variables that can mitigate these longitudinal effects. Following the recovery capital framework, we consider how the existence or lack of capital in the form of young age identity may affect the recovery process. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the reciprocal effects of PTSD symptoms and self-rated physical functioning and further test whether one’s subjective age moderates these effects. Using in-region random digit dialing, we collected a stratified sample of community dwelling older adult residing in south Israel. Of that sample (N at T1 = 339), 132 older adults (age range = 51–88, mean age = 66.90, SD = 9.14) were interviewed 4 months after the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict (T2) and 1 year later (T3). Participants responded to PTSD symptoms scale, and reported their physical functioning and subjective age. PTSD symptoms and self-rated physical functioning were tested as both predictors and outcomes in a cross-lagged model. The moderating effect of subjective age was assessed by examining whether T2 variables interacted with subjective age in predicting T3 outcomes. Results showed that higher PTSD symptoms at T2 were associated with subsequent lower self-rated physical functioning at T3, yet self-rated physical functioning at T2 did not predict PTSD symptoms at T3, thereby highlighting the PTSD self-rated physical function direction. Moreover, subjective age moderated this latter association, so that this relationship was significant only for those who felt relatively older. In addition to clarifying the temporal sequencing of the PTSD self-rated physical functioning association, the study further suggests that an older subjective age (i.e., lack of recovery capital) could render middle-aged and older adults more susceptible to physical decline following PTSD symptoms. We therefore propose to develop interventions aimed at coping with an older age identity and facilitating a younger age identity among traumatized older individuals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Subjective Age as a Moderator in the Reciprocal Effects Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Self-Rated Physical Functioning

et al. 2018

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“…Therefore, we believe that we have accounted for this limitation. Third, future analyses should include other variables, such as subjective distance to death and well-being Shrira et al 2014;Uotinen et al 2003) that could also potentially predict changes in subjective age. Fourth, in the HRS, interviews are conducted with couples who live in the same household.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accelerated increase and relative decrease in subjective age and changes in attitudes toward own aging over a 4-year period: results from the Health and Retirement Study

et al. 2016

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The passage of time may force people to adjust their subjective age in response to changes in their attitudes toward own aging (ATOA). Although positive associations have been found between well-being and both positive ATOA and younger subjective age, the relationships between changes in these measures have not been examined yet. We expected (1) a decrease in positive ATOA to be associated with an accelerated increase in subjective age and (2) an increase in positive ATOA to be associated with a relative decrease in subjective age. Participants were individuals and their spouses, aged 50 and over, recruited by the Health and Retirement Study, who provided responses to a question concerning one's subjective age in 2008 and 2012 ( = 4174). A change in subjective age over the two waves was regarded as (1) an accelerated increase if it was greater than 5 years (36.2 % of the sample); (2) a relative decrease (39.1 %), if it was less than the 3 years; (3) no change if it did not comply with criteria 1 or 2 (24.7 %). A decrease in positive ATOA over the two waves resulted in an accelerated increase in subjective age, and an increase resulted in a relative decrease in subjective age. Older age and more physical impairments and depressive symptoms in 2012 compared with 2008 were associated with an accelerated increase in subjective age. Our findings emphasize the consequences ATOA might have on subjective age experiences, and the need to improve them.

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“…Factors that affect subjective age have been widely investigated. High physical activity level [12], low psychological distress [13], good self-rated health, personality traits of extraversion and openness [2], good mental health and high personal mastery [14] were shown to be associated with younger subjective age.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Relationship between Self-Perceived Age and Social Activity in Older Japanese Adults: The KAGUYA Study

Takatori¹,

Matsumoto²,

Miyazaki³

et al. 2018

Health

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Youthful feelings were shown to have a positive effect on the mental and physical conditions of the elderly. On the contrary, elderly people whose self-perceived age is older than their chronological age were shown to experience negative health outcomes. This study investigated whether the self-perceived age (younger or older) relative to chronological age promotes social activity. The baseline data acquired from 3094 older adults as part of the Keeping Active across Generations Uniting the Youth and the Aged study was used in the current study. The participants completed a questionnaire that solicits information pertaining to sociodemographic factors, felt age, self-rated health, physical activity, depression, disease burden, fall history, fear of falling, level of instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) and social activity. The discrepancy between felt age and chronological age was defined as the self-perceived age. Self-perceived age was calculated by subtracting the participant's chronological age from the felt age, and the score for the difference was divided by the chronological age. The Japan Science and Technology Agency Index of Competence was used to evaluate social activity. Regression analysis results revealed that a younger self-perceived age was associated with higher social activity after controlling for sociodemographic factors, self-rated health, depression, physical activity, disease burden, level of IADL, fall history and fear of falling. Fall history was significantly associated with higher social activity in young-old participants (65-74 years) (p = 0.014) but not in old-old participants (>75 years). This study suggests that a younger self-perceived age in older adults would lead to a high-level living function. This finding may provide useful information for interventions How to cite this paper:

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The interactive effect of subjective age and subjective distance-to-death on psychological distress of older adults

Abstract: The findings underscore the importance of an integrative view of two time perspectives - one that focuses on time since birth and another that concerns time left till death - to psychological distress of older adults.

Cited by 90 publications

References 28 publications

Subjective Age as a Moderator in the Reciprocal Effects Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Self-Rated Physical Functioning

Subjective Age as a Moderator in the Reciprocal Effects Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Self-Rated Physical Functioning

Accelerated increase and relative decrease in subjective age and changes in attitudes toward own aging over a 4-year period: results from the Health and Retirement Study

Relationship between Self-Perceived Age and Social Activity in Older Japanese Adults: The KAGUYA Study

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