Search

A large body of empirical evidence has accumulated showing that the experience of old age is "younger," more "agentic," and "happier" than ever before. However, it is not yet known whether historical improvements in well-being, control beliefs, cognitive functioning, and other outcomes generalize to individuals' views on their own aging process. To examine historical changes in such views on aging, we compared matched cohorts of older adults within two independent studies that assessed differences across a two-decade interval, the Berlin Aging Studies (BASE; 1990/1993 vs. 2017/2018, each n = 256, Mage = 77) and the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS; 1995/1996 vs. 2013/14, each n = 848, Mage = 67). Consistent across four different dimensions of individuals' subjective views on aging (age felt, age appeared, desired age, and attitudes toward own aging) in the BASE and corroborated with subjective age felt and subjective age desired in the MIDUS, there was no evidence whatsoever that older adults of today have more favorable views on how they age than older adults did two decades ago. Further, heterogeneity in views on aging increased across two decades in the MIDUS but decreased in BASE. Also consistent across studies, associations of views on aging with sociodemographic, health, cognitive, and psychosocial correlates did not change across historical times. We discuss possible reasons for our findings, including the possibility that individual age views may have become increasingly decoupled from societal age views. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Purpose Little is known about effects of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and resistance training on daily variations in memory and affect. This study examined the relationship of MVPA and resistance training to memory and affect in daily life. Design Short-term longitudinal 7-day diary. Setting Northeast; primarily Boston-area communities. Sample Adults aged 25 to 94. Measures For seven days, MVPA was assessed with an Actigraph. and resistance training was self-reported. Each evening, memory failures, positive and negative affect were recorded in a written diary and objective memory performance was assessed by telephone. Analysis Multilevel linear regression analyses examined the between and within person associations of MVPA and resistance training with memory performance, memory failures, and affect. Results Those who engaged in more MVPA had better memory performance across the week (b = 0.0163, SE = 0.0076, f2 = 0.004, p = 0.033). Participants reported higher levels of positive affect on days in which they spent more time in MVPA than usual (b = 0.003, SE = 0.001, f2 = 0.144, p < .001) and on days they engaged in resistance training (b = 0.1547, SE = 0.079, f2 = 0.007; p = 0.049). Conclusions Those who spent more time in MVPA had better memory performance, and on days with greater than usual MVPA time and resistance training, affect was more positive than on days with less activity. Implications for motivating physical exercise are considered.

Social interactions today expand beyond in-person interactions. Therefore, it is important to recognize that social interactions can occur with social network members across multiple communication modes (in-person, phone, and online). The current study explored the role that social support plays in the relationship between mode frequency (in-person, phone, and online), network communication mode diversity (breadth and evenness of communicating with network members via different communication modes), and well-being (positive affect, stress, and loneliness) from the 3-year UCNET (UC Berkley Social Networks Study, N = 1159) dataset. The study contained samples for two age groups (cohorts) – 21–31 year-olds and 50–70 year-olds, which also allowed for an exploration of age differences in these relationships. Longitudinal random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM) showed a high degree of stability over the 3 years for all variables. Cross-sectional structural equation mediation models showed that social support mediated the relationships of mode frequency (in-person, phone, and online) and network communication mode diversity with well-being (more positive affect and less loneliness and stress). Age differences were found in the relationship between frequency of communication modes and social support, in that the frequency of communication mode was positively related to social support for younger adults, but not for middle-aged/older adults. Current findings provided future research directions geared toward further understanding of the mode frequency and network communication mode diversity constructs and how they relate to various psychosocial outcomes.

The goal of this study was to test the effects of a 7-week digital self-control intervention to increase physical activity using a two-arm randomized controlled trial. The self-control treatment group showed greater increases in self-reported physical activity (MET’s) than the comparison group. Both groups significantly increased their daily steps and self-control. Participants with higher initial levels of conscientiousness were better able to increase their daily steps during the intervention and participants who increased more in self-control showed greater increases in MET’s. These moderation effects were more pronounced in the self-control treatment group as compared to the comparison group. This study shows that the effects of physical activity interventions may depend on personality characteristics and outcomes may be improved when individual differences are considered and targeted.

Recent empirical evidence has documented that U.S. middle-aged adults today are reporting lower mental and physical health than same-aged peers several decades ago. Individuals who attained fewer years of education have been most vulnerable to these historical changes. One overarching question is whether this phenomenon is confined to the U.S. or whether it is transpiring across other high-income and upper-middle-income nations. To examine this question, we use nationally representative longitudinal panel data from 5 nations across different continents and cultural backgrounds (U.S., Australia, Germany, South Korea, and Mexico). Results revealed historical improvements in physical health for people in their 40s and early 50s across all five nations. Conversely, the direction of historical change in mental health vastly differed across nations. Later-born cohorts of U.S. middle-aged adults exhibit worsening mental health and cognition. Australian middle-aged adults also experienced worsening mental health with historical time. In contrast, historical improvements for mental health were observed in Germany, South Korea, and Mexico. For U.S. middle-aged adults, the protective effect of education diminished in later-born cohorts. Consistent across the other nations, individuals with fewer years of education were most vulnerable to historical declines or benefited the least from historical improvements. We discuss potential reasons underlying similarities and differences between the U.S. and other nations in these historical trends and consider the role of education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective There is increasing interest in the role of contextual factors in promoting well-being among parents of children with developmental disabilities. This study aimed to examine whether social network types moderate the impacts of having a child with a developmental disability on parents' health. Methods Using cross-sectional data from the Midlife in the United States survey (MIDUS 2 and Refresher cohorts), we analyzed a sample of 363 parents of children with developmental disabilities and 4919 parents of children without developmental disabilities. K-means cluster analysis was implemented to identify a social network typology. Modified Poisson and negative binomial regression models estimated the effect of having a child with a developmental disability and the typology on parents' physical health (self-rated health, number of chronic conditions) and mental health (self-rated mental health, major depression). Results The cluster analysis revealed two social network types. Parents of children with developmental disabilities were more likely to have “restricted/unsupported” networks, whereas parents in the comparison group were more likely to have “diverse/supported” networks. Social support was more important for differentiating the network types of parents of children with developmental disabilities, while social integration was more salient for the comparison group. Parents of children with developmental disabilities fared worse on all outcomes relative to parents of children without disabilities. However, the typology had a compensatory psychological effect; the diverse/supported network type conferred greater mental health benefits to parents of children with developmental disabilities than to those in the comparison group. The diverse/supported network type was also associated with better physical health, but the associations did not differ between the two parent groups. Conclusions The results of this study emphasize the importance of social determinants of well-being for those with exceptional parenting responsibilities. Strengthening social networks may have a particularly positive impact on such parents' mental health.

Previous research on the relationship between personality traits and cognitive abilities has primarily focused on cross-sectional studies or on specific personality traits in relation to selected cognitive dimensions. The present study extends existing research by exploring associations among 20-year personality change profiles and 10-year cognitive change in middle-aged and older adults. The present study included 2,652 participants of the Midlife in the United States study (MIDUS) ranging in age between 20 - 74 years (M = 46.61, SD = 11.26) at the first of the three measurement occasions. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was used to capture profiles of change across the Big Five personality traits of extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness, and emotional stability combined. Results of the LPA identified three personality change subgroups: Decreasers, Maintainers, and Increasers. Across the 20 years, the Decreasers showed greater decreases on the Big Five personality traits, the Maintainers remained mostly stable, and the Increasers showed greater personality trait increases. Also, the Maintainers and Decreasers were significantly older than the Increasers. Longitudinal multilevel models were used to examine the relationship between these three personality change profiles and cognitive change. Age, sex, education, physical activity, functional health, and self-rated health were added as covariates. Results show that cognitive decline was greater for the Decreasers and less for the Increasers compared to the other personality change profiles. The results have implications for developing interventions to target personality trait change in middle and later adulthood as a potential means for reducing declines in cognitive functioning.