Testing Bidirectionality in Associations of Awareness of Age-Related Gains and Losses With Physical, Mental, and Cognitive Functioning Across 1 Year: The Role of Age

Overview

Journal J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci

Specialties Geriatrics
Psychology
Social Sciences

Date 2023 Oct 6

PMID 37801677

Authors

Serena Sabatini

Hans-Werner Wahl

Manfred Diehl

Linda Clare

Clive Ballard

Helen Brooker

Anne Corbett

Adam Hampshire

Blossom C M Stephan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objectives: The bidirectionality between self-perceptions of aging and health-related outcomes may depend on age group. Therefore, we tested such bidirectionality among individuals in late midlife (50-64 years), young-old age (65-74 years), and old-old age (75+ years), taking advantage of the construct of Awareness of Age-Related Change (AARC) and its 2-dimensionality in terms of AARC-gains and AARC-losses. Various conceptualizations of physical, mental, and cognitive functioning were used as outcomes.

Methods: Data from 2 measurement occasions (2019 and 2020) from the UK PROTECT study for individuals in late midlife (N = 2,385), young-old age (N = 2,430), and old-old age (N = 539) were used. Data on self-reported functional difficulties, depression, anxiety, and performance on four computerized cognitive tasks (i.e., verbal reasoning, paired associate learning, self-ordered search, and digit span) providing a score for verbal reasoning and a score for working memory were analyzed using cross-lagged panel models.

Results: Across all 3 age groups, the bidirectional associations of AARC-gains with indicators of functioning were not significant, whereas higher AARC-losses significantly predicted slightly greater functional difficulties and higher depression and anxiety levels. Higher AARC-losses predicted slightly poorer Verbal Reasoning only in old-old age and poorer Working Memory predicted slightly higher AARC-losses only in young-old age. The remaining associations of AARC-losses with cognitive tasks were not statistically significant.

Discussion: In accordance with previous research targeting other indicators of self-perceptions of aging, this study supported a stronger impact of AARC-losses on indicators of physical functioning and mental health than vice versa from midlife to old-old age.

Citing Articles

Successful Aging and Subjective Aging: Toward a Framework to Research a Neglected Connection.

Sabatini S, Rupprecht F, Kaspar R, Klusmann V, Kornadt A, Nikitin J Gerontologist. 2024; 65(1).

PMID: 38767091 PMC: 11879306. DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnae051.

Correlates of felt age in caregivers of people with dementia: findings from the IDEAL study.

Sabatini S, Turner S, Morris R, Opdebeeck C, Thom J, Hunt A Front Psychol. 2024; 14:1287842.

PMID: 38282846 PMC: 10811155. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1287842.

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