Subjective Age and Personality Development: A 10-Year Study

Personal views of aging in midlife and older age: the role of personality

Introduction

Personal views of aging (VoA) reflect individuals' perceptions, attitudes, and expectations regarding their aging selves. The present cross-sectional study was aimed at examining whether personality traits, as defined by the Big Five model, are associated with different VoA concepts related to both subjective age and awareness of age-related gains and losses in midlife and older age.

Materials and methods

A sample of 224 participants aged 46-85 years reported their felt age and completed the Awareness of Age-Related Change (AARC) questionnaire, assessing perceptions of age-related gains (AARC-Gains) and losses (AARC-Losses) in various functioning domains, as well as the short version of the Big Five Inventory.

Results

Linear regression models showed that Openness contributed to explain youthful subjective age. Extraversion explained higher AARC-Gains scores, whereas Emotional Stability, along with younger chronological age and perceiving better self-rated health, contributed to explaining lower AARC-Losses scores.

Discussion

These findings confirm the relationship between personality traits and personal VoA. They further suggest that such an association varies depending on the VoA measure considered. They underscore the importance of considering personality among those individual characteristics capable of shaping personal VoA, with implications for the development of tailored interventions and the understanding of the underlying mechanisms linking personal VoA to health and longevity outcomes in midlife and older age.

'Does it matter how old I feel?' The role of subjective age in a psychosocial intervention for improving depressive symptomatology among older adults in Brazil (PROACTIVE)

OBJECTIVES

Depression is a prevalent mental health condition that also often affects older adults. The PROACTIVE psychosocial intervention was developed to reduce depressive symptomatology among older adults within primary care settings in Brazil. An important psychological marker that affects individuals' aging experience relates to how old people feel. Known as subjective age, this marker has been shown to be a risk factor for experiencing greater depressive symptoms if individuals report feeling older than their (chronological) age. In this study, we perform secondary analyses of the PROACTIVE cluster-randomized controlled trial to examine the role of subjective age.

METHOD

The sample included 715 Brazilian older adults (74% female, Mage 68.6, SD = 6.9, age range: 60-94 years) randomized to intervention (n = 360, 74% female, Mage 68.4, SD = 6.6, age range: 60-89 years) or control (n = 355, 74% female, Mage 68.9, SD = 7.2, age range: 60-94 years) arms. Here our primary outcome was depressive symptoms at the 8-month follow-up assessed with the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) as a continuous variable. Our previous analyses demonstrated improved recovery from depression at follow-up in the intervention compared with the control arm.

RESULTS

Relevant main effects and interactions in regression models for PHQ-9 presented here found that those reporting older subjective age had worse depressive symptoms at follow-up but that they benefitted more from the intervention when initial levels of depression were high. For participants who reported younger subjective ages the intervention showed positive effects that were independent of initial levels of depression.

CONCLUSION

Our findings emphasize the importance of investigating possible underlying mechanisms that can help clarify the impact of mental health interventions.

Association between personality traits and concerns about falling among older patients: the mediating role of subjective age

Background

Older patients are at high risk of falling, and regular assessments of their concerns about falling (CaF) are often recommended. The present study aimed to investigate the association between CaF and personality traits among older patients as well as to elucidate the mediating role of subjective age.

Method

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 407 patients aged over 60 years in a tertiary hospital located in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, from March 2023 to May 2023. Predesigned electronic questionnaires were distributed to collect relevant data. Four different models (both crude and adjusted weighted linear regression models) were constructed based on the confounders. Confounders were gradually put into the models to control for bias and to examine the stability of the correlations. Bootstrap sampling was employed to examine the mediating role of subjective age.

Result

According to the fully adjusted model, neuroticism (β = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.31, p for trend = 0.02), extraversion (β = -0.07, 95% CI: -0.15 to 0.001, p for trend = 0.05), and subjective age (β = 2.02, 95% CI: 1.28 to 2.78, p for trend <0.001) were consistently correlated with CaF. Mediating analysis revealed that extraversion was negatively related with CaF both directly and indirectly, via subjective age [23.2% partial effect, bootstrap 95%CI: -0.024(-0.080, -0.000)]. Higher neuroticism was consistently related to older subjective age (β = 0.002, 95% CI: 0.001 to 0.004, p for trend = 0.006), while higher levels of conscientiousness, openness, and extraversion were consistently correlated with younger subjective age(β = -0.002, p for trend = 0.04; β = -0.003, p for trend = 0.003; β = -0.002, p for trend = 0.0, respectively).

Conclusion

Extraversion and neuroticism were significantly correlated with CaF. Moreover, subjective age partially mediated the relationship between extraversion and CaF. Furthermore, subjective age was found to be associated with both CaF and personality traits. These findings highlighted the important roles of personality traits and subjective age in assessments of CaF and in the development of strategies for preventing falls among older patients.

The relevance of perceived work environment and work activities for personality trajectories in midlife

OBJECTIVES

Work is an important developmental context in adulthood, yet little is known about how it contributes to personality trajectories in midlife. The present study examines how subjectively perceived work environment (autonomy, innovation, social integration, stress) and objectively measured work activities (activities related to information and people, physical/manual activities) are related to levels of Big Five personality traits at age 44 and to change over 20 years.

METHODS

We analyzed four-wave longitudinal data from N = 374 participants (born 1950-1952; Mage T1 = 44 years, SD = 1; 44% women) from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development and Aging (ILSE) within the structural equation modeling framework.

RESULTS

At baseline, subjective perceptions of work environments showed a higher number of significant associations with personality than objective work activities. Over time, small declines in neuroticism and extraversion and small increases in agreeableness and conscientiousness were observed, which were largely independent of work characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings show slight changes in most Big Five traits from age 44 to 64, which were mostly unrelated to work characteristics. More research is needed to uncover the sources and dynamics of personality trait change in midlife and the role of work for personality trajectories.

A developmental perspective on personality-relationship transactions: Evidence from three nationally representative samples

OBJECTIVE

Throughout their lives, people experience different relationship events, such as beginning or dissolving a romantic relationship. Personality traits predict the occurrence of such relationship events (i.e., selection effects), and relationship events predict changes in personality traits (i.e., socialization effects), summarized as personality-relationship transactions. So far, evidence was partly inconsistent as to how personality traits and relationship events are linked with each other. In this article, we argue that unnoticed age differences might have led to these inconsistencies. To systematically test for age differences in transactions, we conceptualize relationship events in terms of gains and losses and apply a developmental perspective on transactions.

METHODS

Using longitudinal data from three nationally representative samples (SOEP, HILDA, Understanding Society), we computed event-focused latent growth models and summarized the results meta-analytically.

RESULTS

The findings indicated some transactions. Of these, selection effects were stronger than socialization effects, and effects of gain-based events were stronger than effects of loss-based events. We observed few interactions with age.

CONCLUSION

Selection effects and, particularly, socialization effects, tend to be rare and fairly independent of age. We discuss a series of broader and narrower factors that may have an impact on the strength of transactions across adulthood.

Late life depression and concepts of aging: an emerging paradigm

Late life depression (LLD) is an emerging challenge, and recognized as a significant barrier to long-term healthy aging. Viewed within the context of the medical/biological model, advances in brain sciences over the last several decades have led to a deeper understanding of the biology of LLD. These advances in current knowledge include the description of aging brain pathophysiology; the biology and biochemistry of neurotransmitters; the correspondence between changes in neurological structure, function, and neural network; the description of neural, hormonal and inflammatory biomarkers; and identification of typical phenotypic subtypes of LLD. Despite these advances, current treatment of LLD, which remains largely pharmacological with accompanying cognitive and behavioral interventions, has poor success rate for long-term remission among older people. A wider perspective, in keeping with several emerging aging concepts, is suggested as an alternative framework within which to view LLD. A growing body of research supports the important role in LLD of frailty, resilience, intrinsic capacity, and functional integrity. Similarly, important social determinants need to be addressed in the etiology of LLD, rooted largely in negative stereotypes of aging, with consequent repercussions of reduced participation and inclusion, growing social isolation, with loss of identity, meaning and hope. This perspective suggests the importance of a wider integrative conceptualization of depression, set against a background of emerging aging concepts.

Turning Back the Clock: A Retrospective Single-Blind Study on Brain Age Change in Response to Nutraceuticals Supplementation vs. Lifestyle Modifications

BACKGROUND

There is a growing consensus that chronological age (CA) is not an accurate indicator of the aging process and that biological age (BA) instead is a better measure of an individual's risk of age-related outcomes and a more accurate predictor of mortality than actual CA. In this context, BA measures the "true" age, which is an integrated result of an individual's level of damage accumulation across all levels of biological organization, along with preserved resources. The BA is plastic and depends upon epigenetics. Brain state is an important factor contributing to health- and lifespan.

METHODS AND OBJECTIVE

Quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG)-derived brain BA (BBA) is a suitable and promising measure of brain aging. In the present study, we aimed to show that BBA can be decelerated or even reversed in humans (N = 89) by using customized programs of nutraceutical compounds or lifestyle changes (mean duration = 13 months).

RESULTS

We observed that BBA was younger than CA in both groups at the end of the intervention. Furthermore, the BBA of the participants in the nutraceuticals group was 2.83 years younger at the endpoint of the intervention compared with their BBA score at the beginning of the intervention, while the BBA of the participants in the lifestyle group was only 0.02 years younger at the end of the intervention. These results were accompanied by improvements in mental-physical health comorbidities in both groups. The pre-intervention BBA score and the sex of the participants were considered confounding factors and analyzed separately.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the obtained results support the feasibility of the goal of this study and also provide the first robust evidence that halting and reversal of brain aging are possible in humans within a reasonable (practical) timeframe of approximately one year.

[Relationship between the subjective age, higher-life function, and new certification as needing long-term care in community-dwelling older adults: The KAGUYA project longitudinal survey of older adults]

AIM

To determine the relationship between the subjective age, higher-life function, and new certification for the need for long-term care among older adults in the community.

METHODS

A mail survey was conducted in 2016 among community-dwelling older adults, and the 2,323 participants who were available for follow-up in 2019 were included in the analysis. Subjective age was evaluated using the following three items in response to the question "Please answer how old you feel you are": "Same as actual age," "Feel younger," and "Feel older." Other assessments included an evaluation of the higher-life function, Geriatric Depression Scale scores, general self-efficacy, and exercise adherence. In addition, at follow-up, we investigated whether or not participants required new certification for the need for long-term care.

RESULTS

At baseline, participants who felt "older than their actual age" had a significantly lower life function and general self-efficacy and were less likely to exercise at least once a week than the other groups. Furthermore, those who felt "older than their actual age" was more likely than the other groups to be newly certified as needing long-term care, while those who felt "younger than their actual age" were less likely to receive new certification. A logistic regression analysis revealed that "feeling older" was a risk factor for being certified as needing long-term care, even after adjusting for other factors (odds ratio= 3.33, 95% confidence interval: 1.02-10.94, p=0.047).

CONCLUSIONS

Among community-dwelling older adults, those with a subjective age exceeding their chronological age were expected to show a decreased life function in the future and an increased risk of needing long-term care.

Using blood test parameters to define biological age among older adults: association with morbidity and mortality independent of chronological age validated in two separate birth cohorts

Biomarkers defining biological age are typically laborious or expensive to assess. Instead, in the current study, we identified parameters based on standard laboratory blood tests across metabolic, cardiovascular, inflammatory, and kidney functioning that had been assessed in the Berlin Aging Study (BASE) (n = 384) and Berlin Aging Study II (BASE-II) (n = 1517). We calculated biological age using those 12 parameters that individually predicted mortality hazards over 26 years in BASE. In BASE, older biological age was associated with more physician-observed morbidity and higher mortality hazards, over and above the effects of chronological age, sex, and education. Similarly, in BASE-II, biological age was associated with physician-observed morbidity and subjective health, over and above the effects of chronological age, sex, and education as well as alternative biomarkers including telomere length, DNA methylation age, skin age, and subjective age but not PhenoAge. We discuss the importance of biological age as one indicator of aging.

Subjective Age and Falls in Older Age: Evidence from two Longitudinal Cohorts

OBJECTIVES

Falls are a common and serious health problem. The present study examined the association between subjective age (i.e., feeling younger or older than one's chronological age) and falls in two large national samples.

METHOD

Participants, aged 65 to 105 years old, were drawn from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Data on falls, subjective age, demographic factors, was available from 2,382 participants in HRS and 3,449 in NHATS. Falls were tracked for up to 8 (HRS) and 7 (NHATS) years.

RESULTS

Cox regression analyses that included demographic covariates indicated that older subjective age increased the risk of falling in HRS (hazard ratio [HR]=1.17, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.08-1.27), and in NHATS (HR=1.06, 95%CI=1.00-1.13). When compared to people who felt younger, people who reported an older subjective age had a higher risk of fall (HRS: HR=1.65, 95% CI=1.33-2.04; NHATS: HR=1.44, 95% CI=1.15-1.79). The associations remained significant after accounting for depressive symptoms, handgrip strength, chronic diseases, and cognitive impairment in HRS only.

DISCUSSION

These results confirm the role of subjective age as an important health marker in the aging population. Subjective age assessment can help identify individuals at greater risk of falls.

Subjective Aging and Objectively Assessed Hearing Function: A Prospective Study of Older Adults

OBJECTIVES

Subjective aging is consistently related to a range of health-related outcomes, but little is known about its relationship with sensory functioning. The present prospective study tested whether subjective age and self-perceptions of aging (SPA) are associated with objective hearing function.

METHODS

Participants were 7,085 individuals aged 50-93 years (60% women, mean = 65.15, standard deviation [SD] = 8.71) from the Health and Retirement Study. Measures of subjective age, SPA, and information on demographic factors were obtained in 2008/2010. Objective hearing function was assessed 8 years later in 2016/2018. Furthermore, potential mediating variables (C-reactive protein, body mass index, physical inactivity, and chronic conditions) were assessed in 2012/2014.

RESULTS

In regression analyses that accounted for demographic factors, older subjective age and negative SPA were associated with lower hearing acuity 8 years later. In addition, 1 SD older subjective age and negative SPA were related to a 9% and 7% higher likelihood of hearing impairment. Mediation analyses revealed that physical inactivity and chronic conditions partially mediated subjective age and SPA associations with hearing acuity. There was little evidence that the link between subjective aging and hearing was moderated by hearing aids and partial support for a moderating role of age.

DISCUSSION

This study provides new evidence that subjective aging is prospectively related to hearing function. Individuals with older subjective age or negative SPA have unfavorable behavioral and clinical profiles that explain part of their lower hearing function. Individuals' experience with their aging process is a marker of risk for impaired hearing.

Personality Traits and Self-Care Behaviors in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

PURPOSE

Personality traits are an important factor in health behaviors. However, personality traits and self-care in T2DM in the Mexican population are not yet explored due to this; the purpose of this work was to explore the relationship of personality traits with self-care in Mexican adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study was carried out in a sample of 197 T2DM patients from a primary care center in Oaxaca, Mexico. The Big Five Inventory and the Summary of Diabetes Self-care Activities (SDSCA) were the tools used. Correlation models and multiple linear regression models were used for the analysis.

RESULTS

Most of the study participants were women (74.6%). The mean age was 53.1 years (SD = 8.4). The average years of schooling of the participants were 5.7 (SD = 4.3). The number of years lived with T2DM was 9.0 (SD = 6.5). The waist circumference was 96.3 (SD = 14.2), and the BMI was 27.5 kg/m2 (SD = 4.1). The traits of conscientiousness (r = 0.283) and openness (r = 0.259) were positively correlated with self-care activities, while neuroticism was inversely correlated (r = -0.144). In the multiple linear regression models, only the conscientiousness and openness traits were predictors of self-care; they explained 19% of the variance.

CONCLUSION

People with greater openness and conscientiousness were associated with greater compliance with self-care. Conversely, neuroticism was inversely associated with self-care in patients with T2DM.

Connecting Theory to Methods in Longitudinal Research

Advances in methods for longitudinal data collection and analysis have prompted a surge of research on psychological processes. However, decisions about how to time assessments are often not explicitly tethered to theories about psychological processes but are instead justified on methodological (e.g., power) or practical (e.g., feasibility) grounds. In many cases, methodological decisions are not explicitly justified at all. The disconnect between theories about processes and the timing of assessments in longitudinal research has contributed to misspecified models, interpretive errors, mixed findings, and nonspecific conclusions. In this article, we argue that higher demands should be placed on researchers to connect theories to methods in longitudinal research. We review instances of this disconnect and offer potential solutions as they pertain to four general questions for longitudinal researchers: how time should be scaled, how many assessments are needed, how frequently assessments should occur, and when assessments should happen.

Does older subjective age predict poorer cognitive function and higher risk of dementia in middle-aged and older adults?

As a biopsychosocial marker of aging, subjective age (i.e., the age individuals feel regardless of their actual age) was related to many health issues in the elderly. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether subjective age is associated with subsequent cognition and dementia risk in middle-aged and older adults. Samples were drawn from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Participants reported their subjective ages at the baseline (2004/2005), and their cognitive functions were measured after 10 years (2014/2015). Newly diagnosed dementias were recorded between 2006/2007 to 2014/2015. Overall, 6,475 adults aged 50 years or older were included in the current analyses. The relationship between subjective age reported at baseline and cognition assessed ten years later was modeled using multiple linear regression models. Compared to participants who reported a younger subjective age, those who reported an older subjective age were more likely to have poorer cognition after ten years (β = -0.705, P = .002 for memory, β = -1.567, P = .001 for executive function). A Cox proportional hazard regression model suggested that older subjective age was an independent risk factor for incident dementia (HR = 1.737, 95% CI =1.060-2.848). Other than chronological age, subjective age could also be considered as an important predictor for the development of cognitive dysfunction.

Changes in Subjective Age During COVID-19

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

To examine the change in subjective age with the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Two competing hypotheses were tested: (a) people felt increasingly older due to the stress generated by the pandemic and (b) people felt increasingly younger due to psychological distancing from older age, a vulnerability to COVID-19.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

An age- and sex-stratified sample of adults from across the United States (baseline N = 3,738) was assessed on 3 occasions: before the COVID-19 outbreak in late January/early February and during the outbreak in late March and again in late April. Multilevel modeling analysis examined the change in subjective age and tested potential moderators of individual differences in the trajectory of subjective age.

RESULTS

The average trajectory of subjective age followed a concave curve, with a nadir (feeling younger) during the second assessment in late March. Older age, negative expectations about aging, absence of preexisting conditions, and less stress during COVID-19 were associated with feeling younger but did not predict the rate of change. The only significant predictor of change in subjective age was the belief that the "coronavirus is only a threat to older adults": The more individuals agreed with this statement, the more likely it was that they felt increasingly younger at follow-up.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Subjective age changed during a global health crisis, with people feeling younger with the emergence of COVID-19. The findings support the hypothesis that subjective age partly reflects a coping process of psychological distancing from older age, the age group most vulnerable to COVID-19.

Relationship between self-perceptions of aging and 'living well' among people with mild-to-moderate dementia: Findings from the ideal programme

OBJECTIVE

A primary goal for dementia research is to understand how to best support people to live well with dementia. Among cognitively healthy older individuals, more positive attitudes toward their own aging (ATOA) and/or feeling younger than their chronological age (i.e. having a younger subjective age: SA) are associated with better quality of life (QoL), satisfaction with life (SwL), and well-being (which are indicators of capability to live well), and fewer depressive symptoms. We tested whether people with dementia (PwD) with more positive ATOA and/or with a younger SA report better QoL, SwL, and well-being, and are less likely to experience depression.

METHODS

We used cross-sectional data from the IDEAL cohort baseline assessment (conducted between 2014 and 2016), comprising 1541 PwD residing in Great Britain [mean (range) age= 76.3 (43 to 98); 43.6% women].

RESULTS

More positive ATOA was associated with better QoL, SwL, well-being, and less likelihood of depression. Younger SA was associated with better QoL, SwL, well-being, and less likelihood of depression.

CONCLUSIONS

More positive ATOA and younger SA may be beneficial psychological resources that enhance capability to live well with dementia. Promoting more positive perceptions of aging at the societal level may help to equip people with the resilience needed to cope well after a diagnosis of dementia, and enhance the support available to people with dementia. Focusing on retained abilities and achievable goals may help to counteract the impact of negative age-related stereotypes on people with dementia, and enhance person-centered care.

PsychoAge and SubjAge: development of deep markers of psychological and subjective age using artificial intelligence

Aging clocks that accurately predict human age based on various biodata types are among the most important recent advances in biogerontology. Since 2016 multiple deep learning solutions have been created to interpret facial photos, omics data, and clinical blood parameters in the context of aging. Some of them have been patented to be used in commercial settings. However, psychological changes occurring throughout the human lifespan have been overlooked in the field of “deep aging clocks”.

In this paper, we present two deep learning predictors trained on social and behavioral data from Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study: (a) PsychoAge, which predicts chronological age, and (b) SubjAge, which describes personal aging rate perception. Using 50 distinct features from the MIDUS dataset these models have achieved a mean absolute error of 6.7 years for chronological age and 7.3 years for subjective age. We also show that both PsychoAge and SubjAge are predictive of all-cause mortality risk, with SubjAge being a more significant risk factor.

Both clocks contain actionable features that can be modified using social and behavioral interventions, which enables a variety of aging-related psychology experiment designs. The features used in these clocks are interpretable by human experts and may prove to be useful in shifting personal perception of aging towards a mindset that promotes productive and healthy behaviors.

Erratum: Publisher Correction to: An exploration of subjective age, actual age, age awareness, and engagement in everyday

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s10433-019-00534-w.].

Psychological aging, depression, and well-being

Aging is a multifactorial process, which affects the human body on every level and results in both biological and psychological changes. Multiple studies have demonstrated that a lower subjective age is associated with better mental and physical health, cognitive functions, well-being and satisfaction with life. In this work we propose a list of non-modifiable and modifiable factors that may possibly be influenced by subjective age and its changes across an individual's lifespan. These factors can be used for a future development of individual psychological aging clocks, which may be utilized as a sensitive measure for health status and overall life satisfaction. Furthermore, recent progress in artificial intelligence and biomarkers of biological aging have enabled scientists to discover and evaluate the efficacy of potential aging- and disease-modifying drugs and interventions. We propose that biomarkers of psychological age, which are just as important as those for biological age, may likewise be used for these purposes. Indeed, these two types of markers complement one another. We foresee the development of a broad range of parametric and deep psychological and biopsychological aging clocks, which may have implications for drug development and therapeutic interventions, and thus healthcare and other industries.

An exploration of subjective age, actual age, age awareness, and engagement in everyday behaviors

Considerable research has documented relationships between subjective age and consequential outcomes such as life satisfaction, daily stress, health, and even mortality. Less is known about associations between the age people perceive themselves to be and everyday behaviors that may serve as the paths to broader life outcomes. To begin to fill this gap, this study explored the frequency with which 196 US adults aged 55-87 years engaged in behaviors reflecting nine behavioral domains. Respondents also answered questions about their subjective age, age awareness, and actual age. Results showed that whereas actual age predicted engagement in some behaviors (e.g., retirement activities), subjective age predicted engagement in most others (e.g., personal, social, grooming, body-focused, trend activities), and age awareness predicted participation in yet others (e.g., medical activities). The present findings provide insights both about age-related everyday behaviors, and the ways that several perceptions of age are differentially linked to their occurrence.

The interplay of personality and attitudes toward own aging across two decades of later life

Big Five personality traits are assumed to be linked with attitudes toward own aging. Since both constructs have central importance for the aging process, it is surprising that to our knowledge no study so far comprehensively addressed their mutual connection over time. We used data from the ILSE study, a longitudinal study capturing personality and attitudes toward own aging at four measurement occasions, spanning 20 years and including two participant cohorts in midlife (n = 501; born 1950-52) and later life (n = 500; born 1930-32). Dual latent change score models showed that personality was longitudinally related to change in attitudes toward own aging: Lower Neuroticism, higher Conscientiousness, and higher Openness predicted more positive attitudes, whereas the direction of the effect for Extraversion varied by time. Furthermore, the role of personality seems to be confined to certain sensitive periods in midlife and early old age. Contrary to our expectations, attitudes toward own aging had only marginal longitudinal impact on the Big Five. Our results shed light on the developmental co-dynamics of personality and subjective perceptions of aging across the second half of the lifespan.

Subjective Age Across the Life Span: A Differentiated, Longitudinal Approach

Objectives

How old people feel compared with their actual age, their so-called "subjective age" (SA), is a central indicator of individual aging experiences and predicts developmental outcomes, such as health and mortality, across the life span. We investigated the multidimensional structure of SA with respect to specific life domains, focusing on domain differences as well as age group differences and age-related changes. Furthermore, we inspected the relationship between SA and how people perceive their future as old persons (future self-views).

Method

We assessed these variables in a sample of 593 persons who completed a questionnaire at two time points 4 years apart (baseline-T1; follow up-T2) and who were aged 30-80 years at T1.

Results

SA differed across life domains and age groups, and the amount of change in SA across time was also contingent on life domain. Future self-views at T1 predicted subsequent changes in SA, with more negative self-views being associated with an increase in SA, especially for middle-aged participants for whom the transition to older age is imminent.

Discussion

Our results provide support for a multidimensional view of subjective aging experiences. They highlight the importance of a differentiated investigation of subjective aging constructs and their relations for understanding how these variables shape the aging process.

Social Comparisons of Health and Cognitive Functioning Contribute to Changes in Subjective Age

Objective

As individuals age, they monitor how well they are aging by comparing themselves with their peers. We examined whether such social comparisons contribute to change in one's subjective age over time and whether they mediate the relationship of health and cognitive functioning with subjective age.

Method

A total of 3,427 participants from the Midlife in the United States study were assessed on subjective age on two occasions 10 years apart. Measures of cognition and health were taken at the second wave along with social comparison measures for health and memory.

Results

The results showed that social comparisons of memory and health mediated the relationship between memory performance and level of subjective age as well as the relationship between functional health and subjective age change.

Discussion

The results suggest that those who have better functioning in aging-relevant domains have a more favorable view of themselves compared with others, which in turn predicted a younger subjective age and smaller increases in subjective age over 10 years. When social comparisons were considered, those who had better health and memory and more favorable comparative assessments did not feel that they had aged as much as those who had lower functioning and assessments.

The Role of Personality in Becoming Aware of Age-Related Changes

Awareness of age-related change (AARC) refers to an individual's conscious knowledge about the gains and losses resulting from growing older. Personality traits reflect dispositional patterns of behavior, perception, and evaluation and should therefore influence the experience of AARC. The 4.5-year longitudinal study examines this association between personality traits and AARC in a sample of 423 individuals aged 40 to 98 years (M = 62.9 years) using latent change analyses. After controlling for sex, health, and education, a different pattern of associations for cross-sectional vs. longitudinal relations. Cross-sectionally, neuroticism was positively related to AARC losses, whereas openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism were positively related to AARC gains. Longitudinally, the impact of personality traits on change in AARC was rather limited with only higher conscientiousness acting as a predictor of decreases in AARC losses over time. Overall, the findings add to the existing literature on associations between personality traits and subjective aging. Specifically, the results indicate that personality traits are differentially related to awareness of age-related gains in comparison to awareness of age-related losses.

Subjective age and adiposity: evidence from five samples

Obesity is a significant public health issue with increasing prevalence among middle-aged and older adults. The present study tested whether subjective age, that is how old or young individuals perceive themselves to be, is related to both BMI and waist circumference in five samples of middle-aged and older adults (total N > 24,000; aged 34 to 105 years). Cross-sectional analyses that accounted for demographic variables revealed that an older subjective age was related to higher BMI and waist circumference in the five samples. Feeling older was related to a 10-20% higher likelihood of BMI ≥ 30 and a 11-25% higher likelihood of exceeding the obesity-related threshold for waist circumference. For most associations, age felt was more consistently and strongly related to adiposity than chronological age. The overall pattern was confirmed by a meta-analysis of the five samples. The present research adds subjective age to the list of factors related to obesity across adulthood.

Subjective Age and Mortality in Three Longitudinal Samples

OBJECTIVE

Subjective age has been implicated in a range of health outcomes. The present study extends existing research by providing new data on the relation between subjective age and mortality in three large national samples.

METHODS

Participants (N > 17,000) were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, 2008-2014), the Midlife in the United State Survey (MIDUS, 1995-2014), and the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS, 2011-2014). Subjective age, demographic factors, disease burden, functional limitations, depressive symptoms, and physical inactivity were assessed at baseline, and mortality data were tracked for up to 20 years. Cognition was also included as a covariate in the HRS and the NHATS.

RESULTS

Individuals felt on average 15% to 16% younger relative to their chronological age. Feeling approximately 8, 11, and 13 years older in the MIDUS, HRS, and NHATS was related to an 18%, 29%, and 25% higher risk of mortality, respectively. This pattern was confirmed by a meta-analysis of the three samples (hazard ratio, 1.24; 95% confidence interval, 1.17-1.31; p < .001). Multivariate analyses showed that disease burden, physical inactivity, functional limitations, and cognitive problems, but not depressive symptoms, accounted for the associations between subjective age and mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study provides robust evidence for an association between an older subjective age and a higher risk of mortality across adulthood. These findings support the role of subjective age as a biopsychosocial marker of aging.

It's "the Joneses": the influence of objective and subjective socioeconomic status on subjective perceptions of aging

Positive subjective perceptions of aging predict various well-being, physical health, mental health, and longevity outcomes. Thus, it is important to consider what factors contribute to their formation. Socioeconomic status (SES) has been hypothesized to be one such factor, but past research has been mixed. We propose that subjective assessments of SES may better predict subjective perceptions of aging than traditional objective measures (e.g., income and education). The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of objective and subjective indicators of SES on subjective perceptions of aging. Participants (n = 296) from the Mindfulness and Anticipatory Coping Everyday study were recruited with a Human Intelligence Task on Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Participants reported on their SES (i.e., income, education, and subjective social status) and subjective perceptions of aging (i.e., attitudes toward own aging, subjective age, and awareness of age-related gains and losses). Data were analyzed via hierarchical multiple regression with demographic and health variables entered first, followed by income and education, then subjective social status. Results demonstrated that although objective measures of SES did not contribute to predicting subjective perceptions of aging, those who rated themselves subjectively higher in their community social standing were more likely to possess positive aging attitudes, younger subjective ages, more awareness of age-related gains, and fewer awareness of age-related losses. These findings suggest that perceptions of doing better than one's neighbors (i.e., "the Joneses") may matter more for understanding subjective perceptions of aging than objective indicators of social status.

Rising above It: Status Ambivalence in Older Adults

BACKGROUND

Social status is the standing of a person or group in the social hierarchy, and is perceived to change across the life span from low social status in early life, to peak in midlife, and to a decline thereafter. As threats to subjective social status are known to be detrimental to individuals' health, it is important to better understand how older adults perceive themselves and others in terms of age-related social status.

OBJECTIVE

We examined status ambivalence - the potential discrepancy between how older adults' perceive social status for themselves compared to older adults in general.

METHOD

Study 1 used qualitative data from 37 semi-structured interviews with older adults to assess perceptions of social status. Study 2 used quantitative survey data from 114 older adults who completed explicit and implicit measures of social status.

RESULTS

Study 1 (n = 37, meanage = 71.72, SDage = 5.69; 81.1% women) provided preliminary evidence for status ambivalence such that older adults reported unequivocal low social status for other older adults but a more ambivalent perception of their own social status. Study 2 (n = 114, meanage = 64.32, SDage = 8.98, 57.9% women) compared implicit and explicit measures of social status revealing that older adults consistently perceive older adults to have low social status but again show a more ambivalent perception of their own social status.

CONCLUSION

We discuss status ambivalence as a potential protective mechanism in the context of negative societal perceptions of age-related social status that may be important for well-being in later life.

Cognitive Impairment, Dementia, and Personality Stability Among Older Adults

There is contrasting evidence on personality stability in advanced age, and limited knowledge on the impact of cognitive impairment and dementia on trait stability. Group- and individual-level longitudinal analyses of the five major dimensions of personality assessed twice over 4 years ( N = 9,935) suggest that rank-order stability was progressively lower with advancing age (from rtt = 0.68 for age 50 to 60 years to rtt = 0.58 for age >80 years). Stability was low in the dementia group ( rtt = 0.43), and this was not simply due to lower reliability given that internal consistency remained adequate in the dementia group. Among individuals with no cognitive impairment or dementia, there was no association between stability and age ( rtt = 0.70 even for age >80 years). These results suggest that the lower personality stability in older adults is not due to age but cognitive impairment and dementia.

How do views on aging affect health outcomes in adulthood and late life? Explanations for an established connection

Personal views on aging, such as age stereotypes and subjective aging, can affect various health outcomes in later life. For the past 20 years or so, a large body of experimental and longitudinal work has provided ample evidence for this connection. Thus, it seems timely to better understand the pathways of this linkage. The majority of existing studies has either focused on age stereotypes or subjective aging. This theoretical paper provides a systematic comparison of major theoretical approaches that offer explanations through which different views on aging may affect health. After a short review of findings on the short- and long-term effects of different views on aging, we describe theoretical approaches that provide explanations of underlying mechanisms for the effect of both uni- and multidimensional views on aging on health outcomes. We compare the specific characteristics of these approaches, provide a heuristic framework and outline recommendations for future research routes. A better understanding of the impact of different views on aging on health outcomes is not only relevant for basic research in life-span developmental psychology, geropsychology and health psychology, it has also implications for intervention research and public health practices.

Subjective age and sleep in middle-aged and older adults

OBJECTIVE

Chronological age is commonly used to explain change in sleep. The present study examines whether subjective age is associated with change in sleep difficulties across middle adulthood and old age.

DESIGN

Participants were drawn from the second (2004-2005) and third (2013-2014) waves of the Midlife in the United States Survey (MIDUS, N = 2350; Mean Age: 55.54 years), the 2008 and 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, N = 4066; Mean Age: 67.59 years) and the first (2011) and fourth (2014) waves of the National Health and Aging Trends Survey (NHATS, N = 3541; Mean Age: 76.46). In each sample, subjective age, sleep difficulties, depressive symptoms, anxiety and chronic conditions were assessed at baseline. Sleep difficulties was assessed again at follow-up.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Sleep difficulties.

RESULTS

An older subjective age at baseline was related to an increase in sleep difficulties over time in the three samples, and was mediated, in part, through more depressive symptoms, anxiety and chronic conditions. Feeling older was associated with an increased likelihood of major sleeping difficulties at follow-up in the three samples.

CONCLUSION

Subjective age is a salient marker of individuals' at risk for poor sleep quality, beyond chronological age.

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

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 (n = 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.

Accelerated increase and decrease in subjective age as a function of changes in loneliness and objective social indicators over a four-year period: results from the health and retirement study

OBJECTIVES

The study examined the role of changes in loneliness and objective social indicators in the formation of changes in subjective age over a four-year period.

METHODS

The Health and Retirement Study is a US nationally representative study of older adults over 50 and their spouse of any age. We restricted the sample to individuals, 65 years of age and older (n = 2591). An accelerated increase in subjective age was defined as an increase in subjective age over the two waves greater than five years. An accelerated decrease in subjective age was defined as a difference that was lower than three years. These were examined against a change in subjective age in the range of three to five years (i.e., change consistent with the passage of time).

RESULTS

For 23.4% of the sample, changes in subjective age were consistent with the passage of time. A total of 38.3% had an accelerated decrease in subjective age, whereas 38.3% had an accelerated increase. A decrease in loneliness over the two waves resulted in an accelerated decrease in subjective age, whereas an increase in depressive symptoms resulted in an accelerated increase in subjective age. Changes in objective social indicators, physical difficulties or medical comorbidity did not predict changes in subjective age.

CONCLUSIONS

This is one of very few studies that examined changes in subjective age over time. Changes in subjective age represent an important construct that corresponding to other changes in subjective experiences.

"Feeling younger, walking faster": subjective age and walking speed in older adults

Walking speed is a key vital sign in older people. Given the implications of slower gait speed, a large literature has identified health-related, behavioral, cognitive, and biological factors that moderate age-related decline in mobility. The present study aims to contribute to existing knowledge by examining whether subjective age, how old or young individuals experience themselves to be relative to their chronological age, contributes to walking speed. Participants were drawn from the 2008 and 2012 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, N = 2970) and the 2011 and 2013 waves of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS, N = 5423). In both the HRS and the NHATS, linear regression analysis revealed that a younger subjective age was associated with faster walking speed at baseline and with less decline over time, controlling for age, sex, education, and race. These associations were partly accounted for by depressive symptoms, disease burden, physical activity, cognition, body mass index, and smoking. Additional analysis revealed that feeling younger than one's age was associated with a reduced risk of walking slower than the frailty-related threshold of 0.6 m/s at follow-up in the HRS. The present study provides novel and consistent evidence across two large prospective studies for an association between the subjective experience of age and walking speed of older adults. Subjective age may help identify individuals at risk for mobility limitations in old age and may be a target for interventions designed to mitigate functional decline.

Quality of life attenuates age-related decline in functional status of older adults

PURPOSE

In the present study, we aimed to examine the total and moderating effects of needs-satisfaction-driven quality-of-life (QoL) measure on age-related change in functional status.

METHODS

Participants in the Survey of Health and Retirement in Europe (N = 18,781 at Wave 1) completed a measure of QoL (CASP-12) at baseline and reported their functional status across subsequent three waves using activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and functional limitation indices.

RESULTS

Growth-curve model estimates revealed that aged individuals with lower QoL scores at baseline had a steeper increase in disability deficits accumulation and functional limitation progression than their counterparts with a higher sense of QoL. The effects were more pronounced in ADL and IADL disability scales in which QoL moderated both linear and quadratic age-related changes.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher QoL attenuates processes of functional decline in late adulthood. Practitioners may seek strategies for improving and enhancing patients' QoL, as its salutary effects diffuse beyond psychological experience and include long-term effects on physical functioning.

Gratitude From Early Adulthood to Old Age

Are there age differences in gratitude from early adulthood to old age? The current studies tested several ways by which an association between age and dispositional gratitude may present, by considering multiple measures on both fronts. We used data from three cross-sectional studies (total N = 1,736; total age range: 19-94). The results indicated that (a) age effects in gratitude are more likely to occur for subjective age in terms of future time perspective (i.e., people's perceptions of their remaining opportunities and time) than chronological age; (b) chronological age effects are more domain specific than general in nature; and (c) they are more likely to occur for the instrumental domain as compared to the interpersonal domain. Finally, the results indicated that (d) perceived future time, particularly with respect to remaining opportunities, mediates the relation between chronological age and general gratitude. Overall, the findings suggest that gratitude is subject to a variety of developmental influences across adulthood.