Internalization or Dissociation? Negative age stereotypes make you feel younger now but make you feel older later

in Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences (in press)

Objectives. Negative age stereotypes have negative, assimilative effects on the subjective aging experience due to internalization processes, but sometimes positive contrast effects are reported as well ... [more ▼]

Objectives. Negative age stereotypes have negative, assimilative effects on the subjective aging experience due to internalization processes, but sometimes positive contrast effects are reported as well, reflecting dissociation and downward comparisons. Our aim was thus to compare short-term and long-term consequences of age stereotypes on the subjective aging experience, to test the hypothesis that contrast effects are visible cross-sectionally, whereas internalization processes are observed when considering long-term changes. Method. We assessed age stereotypes and subjective age in a core sample of N=459 participants (initial age range 30 – 80 years) from the Ageing as Future project (Lang et al., 2022) across three consecutive measurement occasions spanning a longitudinal interval of 10 years. Short-term and long-term effects were estimated with latent growth models by assessing effects of age stereotypes on the intercepts (cross-sectional) and on the slopes (longitudinal) of subjective age, respectively, while controlling for current self-views. Results. Age stereotypes had opposite effects on subjective age depending on the time frame. A cross-sectional contrast effect was found, whereas longitudinal effects were assimilative in nature. Discussion. Our findings support the time-dependent nature of effects of age stereotypes on the subjective aging experience. Negative age stereotypes temporarily lead to a significantly younger subjective age, indicating dissociation from one’s age group and downward comparison. In the long run, however, negative (positive) age stereotypes become internalized into the self-views of older people and are linked to a relatively older (younger) subjective age. [less ▲]

Self-Reported Hearing and Awareness of Age-Related Change - A Domain-Specific Perspective

in Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie: Organ der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Gerontologie und Geriatrie (2023), 56

Background: Impaired hearing is associated with disadvantages in developmental outcomes, such as compromised everyday social communication or reduced well-being. Hearing impairment might also have an ... [more ▼]

Background: Impaired hearing is associated with disadvantages in developmental outcomes, such as compromised everyday social communication or reduced well-being. Hearing impairment might also have an impact on how individuals evaluate their own aging, as deterioration in hearing can be interpreted as an age-related cue and as a phenomenon individuals attribute to getting older. Objectives: We investigated how self-reported hearing is related with awareness of age-related change (AARC). Materials and Methods: AARC is a multidimensional construct comprising perceived age-related gains and losses in general as well as across five functional domains (health and physical functioning, cognitive functioning, interpersonal relations, social-cognitive and social-emotional functioning, lifestyle and engagement). A sample of 423 individuals (age: 40-98 years; M = 62.9 years; SD = 11.8 years) was assessed up to 3 times over approximately 5 years. Results: Based on longitudinal multilevel regression models, controlling for age, gender, subjective health and education, we found that poorer self-reported hearing was associated with more perceived general AARC losses as well as with more AARC losses in health and physical functioning and in cognitive functioning at baseline. With an older age at baseline, poorer self-reported hearing was associated with steeper decline in AARC gains regarding interpersonal relations over time, whereas in those who were younger at baseline poorer hearing was related with fewer gains in social-cognitive and social-emotional functioning at baseline. Discussion: Self-reported hearing reveals differential associations with AARC domains. However, changes in most AARC domains of gains and losses seem to be only weakly related with subjective hearing. [less ▲]

The Corona Pandemic and Its Implications for the Mental Health and Mental Healthcare of Older Adults

in GeroPsych: Journal of Gerontopsychology and Geriatric Psychiatry (2022), 35(1),

Awareness of Age-Related Changes Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Longitudinal Trajectories, and the Role of Age Stereotypes and Personality Traits

in Frontiers in Psychiatry (2022), 13

Momentary Subjective Age is Associated with Perceived and Physiological Stress in the Daily Lives of Old and Very Old Adults

in Psychology and Aging (2022), 37(8), 863875

Subjective age, that is the age people feel in relation to their chronological age, can vary on a day-to-day and even momentary basis. Previous long-term and daily-diary studies have shown that elevated ... [more ▼]

Subjective age, that is the age people feel in relation to their chronological age, can vary on a day-to-day and even momentary basis. Previous long-term and daily-diary studies have shown that elevated stress covaries with older subjective age. However, it is an open question whether such links can also be observed at the momentary level within a given day and go beyond self-reports of stress. Moving ahead, we investigated how two indicators of stress (self-reported: perceived stress; physiological: salivary cortisol) are associated with the age people feel on a momentary basis. We examined data from 118 older (Mage = 66.67 years) and 36 very old adults (Mage = 85.92 years) who reported their momentary subjective age and perceived stress and also provided saliva samples up to seven times a day over seven consecutive days. Dynamic structural equation models showed that both higher momentary perceived stress and higher cortisol levels preceding the measurement predicted an older momentary subjective age. In contrast, subjective age at the previous measurement did not predict subsequent stress. These effects were moderated by participant age group and grip strength, albeit not consistently. Our results corroborate and extend earlier findings that both self-reported and physiological stress are important explanatory variables for people’s subjective age variation even on relatively short time scales, and shed light on differential time-ordered dynamics between stress and subjective age in daily life. Findings also inform theoretical models of subjective age that highlight the importance of contextual, momentary influences on how old people feel and help better understand how biological and psychological processes are intertwined in later life. [less ▲]

Experimental Studies on Subjective Views of Aging: Overview, Challenges, and Future Directions

in Diehl, Manfred; Palgi, Yuval; Shrira, Amit (Eds.) Subjective Views of Aging: Theory, Research, and Practice (2022)

A major body of evidence points to the significant associations between views on aging (VoA) and key developmental outcomes, such as health and well-being. While much of this evidence comes from ... [more ▼]

A major body of evidence points to the significant associations between views on aging (VoA) and key developmental outcomes, such as health and well-being. While much of this evidence comes from longitudinal studies, research on VoA has also been strongly experimental since its inception. Our chapter aims to provide an overview about the major lines of prior experimental research on VoA and by this means derive its role for present and future VoA research overall. We first offer an organizing scheme for the existing body of experimental work on VoA. We arrive at the conclusion that previous experimental research on VoA with older adults has been conducted in a broad range of studies with different dependent variables and experimental manipulations, showing the importance of VoA and their impact on a wide range on phenomena. We then go into more detail of VoA research that has been done in the past decade. Here, our conclusion is that recent experimental research on VoA is taking up societal challenges, such as the aging workforce, older people in the health care system, and stereotype threat elicited by digital technologies. At the same time, current VoA research is adding to the differentiation of established effects in the prior literature as well as helped to identify moderating and contextual conditions not considered previously. We end with a set of recommendations for future experimental VoA research including strengthening the needed liaison with other research formats. [less ▲]

A chip off the old block? The relationship of family factors and young adults’ views on aging.

in Frontiers in Psychology (2022), 13:808386

Views on aging (VoA), such as self-perceptions of aging or age stereotypes are generated in early childhood and continue to develop throughout the entire lifespan. The ideas a person has about their own ... [more ▼]

Views on aging (VoA), such as self-perceptions of aging or age stereotypes are generated in early childhood and continue to develop throughout the entire lifespan. The ideas a person has about their own aging and aging in general influence their behavior towards older persons as well as their own actual aging, which is why VoA are already important in adolescence and young adulthood. The current study investigates VoA of young adults in different domains (continued growth, physical losses, social losses) and how different family aspects are related to VoA. From February to March 2021, N = 305 young adults [aged 18 - 30 years, Mage(SD) = 22.20(2.60)] participated in an online survey, in which, in addition to sociodemographic variables and family aspects (contact with grandparents, family age climate, i.e. the frequency and valence of talking about age in the family), self-perceptions of aging, age stereotypes, and the young adults’ ratings of their parents' VoA were assessed. The results of stepwise regression analyses predicting the young adults’ VoA, revealed significant associations between the quality of contact with grandparents and the self-perceptions of aging of young adults. However, the frequency of contact was neither related to young adults’ self-perceptions of aging nor age stereotypes. Grandparents' health status emerged as a significant moderator between the relationship of contact quality and the young adults’ self-perceptions of aging as continued growth and physical decline. Family climate was also found to be significantly related to young adults' self-perceptions of aging and age stereotypes. Similarities regarding VoA within the family were demonstrated, based on proxy report from the respondents. The results underline the importance of family aspects for the development of VoA in young adulthood, and the significance of interventions targeting these factors to combat ageism. [less ▲]

Exploring the Relationship Between Subjective Age and Worry for Older Adults in Times of a Pandemic

in Innovation in Aging (2021, November), 5(Supplement_1), 593-593

Given the role of age as a risk factor in the covid pandemic, we examined the longitudinal cross-lagged relationship between subjective age and Covid-related worry, and possible moderators of this ... [more ▼]

Given the role of age as a risk factor in the covid pandemic, we examined the longitudinal cross-lagged relationship between subjective age and Covid-related worry, and possible moderators of this relationship. Data were obtained at two-time points (June and October 2020) by a phone/online survey, from N = 611 older participants (Mage = 69.92 years). Participants felt on average 10 and 8.5 years younger than their chronological ages at the two-time points, respectively. Younger subjective age at T1 increased the level of worry at T2 irrespective of age, perceived control and subjective health. Higher worry increased subjective age at T2, but only for those with worse subjective health. Our results show that subjective age and Covid-related worry interact over time. This relation needs to be explored further in order to understand the relationship between subjective age and well-being especially, but not only in the pandemic context. [less ▲]

“I Felt so Old This Morning.” Short-Term Variations in Subjective Age and the Role of Trait Subjective Age: Evidence from the ILSE/EMIL Ecological Momentary Assessment Data

in Psychology and Aging (2021), 36(3), 373-382

Subjective age, how old people feel compared to their chronological age, is a central indicator of age identity and highly predictive for developmental outcomes. While mostly used as a trait-like concept ... [more ▼]

Subjective age, how old people feel compared to their chronological age, is a central indicator of age identity and highly predictive for developmental outcomes. While mostly used as a trait-like concept in previous research, recent studies employing experimental designs and daily assessments suggest that subjective age can vary after experimental manipulations or between days. However, less is known about whether subjective age varies over even shorter time frames such as within moments on a given day, how such short-term variability differs by age and its association with trait subjective age. We examined these questions with data obtained from 123 young–old (Mage = 67.19 years) and 47 old–old adults (Mage = 86.59 years) who reported their momentary subjective age six times a day over 7 consecutive days as they were going about their everyday lives. Participants felt younger on a large majority of occasions, and 25% of the total variability in subjective age could be attributed to within-person variation. Within-person variability in subjective age amounted to an average of about 3 years from one moment to the next and did not differ between age groups. However, those with younger trait subjective ages exhibited larger moment-to-moment variation. Our findings extend the literature on subjective age by showing that how old people feel can vary on a momentary basis and that state and trait components of subjective age are related. Further research should investigate the contextual predictors of variability in subjective age and the links between trait and state concepts and developmental outcomes. [less ▲]

Using social marketing for the promotion of cognitive health: a scoping review protocol

in BMJ Open (2021)

Introduction: The use of social marketing strategies to induce the promotion of cognitive health has received little attention in research. The objective of this scoping review is twofold: (i) to identify ... [more ▼]

Introduction: The use of social marketing strategies to induce the promotion of cognitive health has received little attention in research. The objective of this scoping review is twofold: (i) to identify the social marketing strategies that have been used in recent years to initiate and maintain health-promoting behaviour; (ii) to advance research in this area to inform policy and practice on how to best make use of these strategies to promote cognitive health. Methods and analysis: We will use the five-stage methodological framework of Arksey and O’Malley. Articles in English published since 2010 will be searched in electronic databases (the Cochrane Library, DoPHER, the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, PsycInfo, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus). Quantitative and qualitative study designs as well as reviews will be considered. We will include those articles that report the design, implementation, outcomes and evaluation of programmes and interventions concerning social marketing and/or health promotion and/or promotion of cognitive health. Grey literature will not be searched. Two independent reviewers will assess in detail the abstracts and full text of selected citations against the inclusion criteria. A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flowchart for Scoping Reviews will be used to illustrate the process of article selection. We will use a data extraction form, present the results through narrative synthesis and discuss them in relation to the scoping review research questions. Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval is not required for conducting this scoping review. The results of the review will be the first step to advance a conceptual framework, which contributes to the development of interventions targeting the promotion of cognitive health. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. They will also be disseminated to key stakeholders in the field of the promotion of cognitive health. [less ▲]