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Commercial conversational agents (CAs) bear the promise of low threshold accessibility for individuals with limited digital competencies. This applies not only for healthy aging older adults but also for specific subgroups such as those with life-long intellectual disabilities (ID).This scoping review aims to synthesize the current evidence on benefits and challenges of CAs for older adults with and without ID. In doing so, we hope to inform future research as well as practical decision-making in the context of CAs as potential quality of life enhancers for older adults with various competence levels.A literature search was conducted in form of a scoping review. A total of 841 publications were screened for benefits and challenges of CAs, resulting in an extraction of 18 articles targeting healthy aging older adults (60 years+) and 5 articles targeting older adults with ID (50 years+) for synthesis.The existing evidence suggests that CAs come with more benefits than challenges, e.g., general ease of use, easier information access, and feelings of companionship. Higher perceived agency due to using a CA seems to be a specific issue for older adults with ID. Challenges concern mostly learning how to use a CA and privacy concerns.The results indicate that CAs can serve as quality of life enhancers both in healthy aging adults and in older adults with ID; nevertheless, thoughtful preparation is necessary, especially in relation to learning needs, capabilities present and privacy concerns.HINTERGRUND: Kommerzielle konversationelle Agenten (KAs) versprechen eine niedrigschwellige Zugänglichkeit für Personen mit eingeschränkten digitalen Kompetenzen. Dies gilt für gesund alternde ältere Menschen, aber auch für bestimmte Untergruppen wie Ältere mit lebenslanger geistiger Behinderung (gB). ZIEL: Dieses Scoping-Review zielt auf eine Synthese der aktuellen Forschung zu Nutzen und Herausforderungen von KAs für ältere Menschen mit und ohne gB ab. Damit soll eine Grundlage für Forschung und Praxis im Zusammenhang mit KAs als potenziellen Verstärkungsfaktoren für die Lebensqualität älterer Menschen mit verschiedenen Kompetenzniveaus geschaffen werden.Die Literaturrecherche wurde in Form eines Scoping-Reviews durchgeführt. Es wurden insgesamt 841 Publikationen gesichtet und 18 Artikel zu gesund alternden älteren Menschen (≥ 60 Jahre) sowie 5 Artikel zu älteren Menschen mit gB (≥ 50 Jahre) in die Synthese eingeschlossen.Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass KAs mehr Vorteile als Herausforderungen mit sich bringen, z. B. insgesamt eine einfache Nutzung, ein leichterer Zugang zu Informationen sowie das Gefühl von Gesellschaft. Eine höhere Wahrnehmung von Handlungsmacht aufgrund der KA-Nutzung scheint ein spezielles Ergebnis für ältere Menschen mit gB zu sein. Herausforderungen betreffen das Erlernen der Nutzung eines KA und Bedenken hinsichtlich der Privatsphäre.KAs können die Lebensqualität sowohl bei gesund alternden Erwachsenen als auch bei älteren Erwachsenen mit gB verbessern. Dennoch ist eine sorgfältige Vorbereitung erforderlich, insbesondere in Bezug auf die Lernbedarfe, vorhandene Fähigkeiten sowie Bedenken zur Privatsphäre.

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).

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic might have affected older adults' personal and general views on aging (VoA) because they were frequently, particularly during the early phase of the pandemic, portrayed as a homogeneous, vulnerable group in the media and in public debates. Also, their higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease progression as well as other pandemic-related stressors and restrictions might have impacted how older adults perceive their own aging. In this study, it was examined to which extent middle-aged and older adults' personal and general VoA changed due to the pandemic by distinguishing between normative age-graded change across multiple measurement occasions and potentially pandemic-specific history-graded change. Multiple VoA indicators (personal VoA: attitude toward own aging, subjective age, awareness of age-related change [gains and losses]; general VoA: domain-specific age stereotypes) of 423 German adults aged 40 years and older were assessed across three prepandemic measurement occasions (2012, 2015, and 2017) and one occasion after the pandemic's outbreak (summer 2020). Normative age-graded changes and pandemic-specific changes were estimated and compared using longitudinal multilevel regression analyses. Both perceived age-related gains and age-related losses decreased between 2012 and 2017, but increased thereafter between 2017 and 2020. Further, the overall change trend toward less positive attitude toward own aging slowed down from 2017 to 2020. There was also a slight trend toward younger subjective ages from 2017 to 2020. For most age stereotypes, pandemic-specific trends indicated a shift toward more negative stereotypes. These findings suggest that pandemic-specific changes in VoA are multidirectional, comprising perceptions of both losses and gains. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Objectives We addressed two questions: (1) Does advanced cancer in later life affect a person’s awareness of time and their subjective age? (2) Are awareness of time and subjective age associated with distress, perceived quality of life, and depression? Methods We assessed patients suffering terminal cancer (OAC, n = 91) and older adults free of any life-threatening disease (OA, n = 89), all subjects being aged 50 years or older. Results Older adults with advanced cancer perceived time more strongly as being a finite resource and felt significantly older than OA controls. Feeling younger was meaningfully related with better quality of life and less distress. In the OA group, feeling younger was also associated to reduced depression. Perceiving time as a finite resource was related to higher quality of life in the OA group. Discussion Major indicators of an older person’s awareness of time and subjective aging differ between those being confronted with advanced cancer versus controls.

As older adults have frequently been portrayed as one homogeneous and vulnerable risk group in public debates and in the media immediately after the outbreak of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, a general shift toward less favorable attitude toward own aging (ATOA) might have resulted. In contrast, individuals may feel younger than before the pandemic, reflecting a psychological mechanism to avoid identifying themselves with the old age "risk group." We investigate 12-year trajectories of ATOA and subjective age among middle-aged and older German adults based on assessments between 2008 and Summer 2020 (N = 7,730; age in 2008: 40-93 years, M = 62.41). Based on longitudinal multilevel regression models, we found that for ATOA, a model including a potentially "pandemic-driven" change component between 2017 and 2020 in addition to an overall linear change between 2008 and 2020 revealed a better fit than a linear change model without that additional change component. Mean-level decline in ATOA between 2017 and 2020 was five times steeper in such a model than in a linear change model that did not include an additional 2017-2020 change component. The extent of intraindividual ATOA change between 2017 and 2020 varied interindividually, but for more than 99% of the sample, particularly among those with poorer self-rated health, ATOA became less favorable. There was very limited evidence for a pandemic-specific change in subjective age. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the early phase of the pandemic might have caused a change toward less favorable ATOA, whereas it did not affect subjective age. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Views on aging (VoA) are meaningful predictors of well-being, health, cognitive impairment, and mortality. One underlying pathway could be that negative VoA promote perceived stress. However, little is known about the role of stress perceptions as an antecedent of personal VoA. In this study, we therefore investigated the longitudinal reciprocal association between perceived stress and three established constructs representing personal VoA: (a) subjective age; (b) attitude toward own aging (ATOA); and (c) aging-related cognitions comprising social loss, physical decline, and continuous growth. We also examined whether these associations are moderated by chronological age. Two adjacent measurement occasions (2014 and 2017) of the German Ageing Survey with 4,588 individuals aged between 40 and 95 years were analyzed. Cross-lagged models controlling for VoA and perceived stress at baseline, chronological age, subjective health, depressive symptoms, education, gender, region of residence, and year of individual study entry revealed significant reciprocal longitudinal relations between VoA and perceived stress. For three of the five VoA indicators, the pathway from perceived stress to subsequent VoA was of the same magnitude as the reversed pathway. With increasing chronological age, ATOA was less strongly associated with subsequent stress perceptions. Moreover, the impact of higher perceived stress on an older subjective age was weaker with advancing age. In conclusion, the trend in prior subjective aging research to conceptualize stress in midlife and old age exclusively as a consequence of VoA needs reconsideration, as higher perceived stress levels also seem to be a risk factor for less favorable personal VoA. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Objectives Previous research on subjective age (SA), that is, how young or old a person feels relative to their chronological age, has shown that older adults tend to feel younger than they are (by about 15%–20%), but the extent of this effect depends, in part, on their health. However, as most of the studies have been conducted in Western countries, it is unclear how well these results generalize to culturally different samples. Objectives, therefore, were to examine SA in middle-aged and older adults from a very low-income setting in rural Burkina Faso, to examine associations between SA and health/quality of life-related measures, and to compare findings with Western studies. Methods Representative, cross-sectional sample of N = 3,028 adults (≥40 years, recruited in 2018) from north-western Burkina Faso. Data included questionnaires on depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) and quality of life (World Health Organization Quality of Life scale, including subjective health) as well as performance-based and objective health-related measures (Community Screening Instrument for Dementia as cognitive screening, walking speed). Results Respondents felt on average 3% younger (SD = 0.13) than their chronological age, with 48% (95% confidence interval: 0.46–0.50) feeling younger—27 percentage points lower than seen in representative Western studies. Lower depression, better walking speed, cognition, and quality of life were all associated with younger SA. Discussion Middle-aged and older adults in Nouna felt less young than similar age groups in Western studies. One of the reasons may be that youthfulness is less of a value outside Western cultures. As in Western studies, parts of the variation in SA can be explained by health parameters.

The concept Awareness of Age-Related Change (AARC) is defined as a person’s awareness that their behavior, level of physical, cognitive and social performance, and ways of experiencing life have changed as a consequence of having grown older, and not because of disease. Objective: A psychometric study investigating evidence of construct validity and internal consistency of the Portuguese version of the AARC Short Scale was carried out. Method: A convenience sample of 387 individuals aged≥60 years with no deficit suggestive of dementia were recruited at venues frequented by older persons and at households. Participants answered the Portuguese version of the scale, along with questionnaires collecting sociodemographic and frailty variables and self-rated health based on personal criteria and relative to peers. Results: Exploratory and confirmatory factorial analyses derived a structure with two orthogonal factors representing the latent variables gains and losses, invariant for age group, thus replicating the original scale. The factors explained a large proportion of item variability (58.6 to 51.8%) and exhibited high loadings (0.886 to 0.432) and good communality [0.787 for item 4 (better sense of what is important) and 0.369 for item 6 (less energy)]. The hypotheses of covariance between the new instrument and the parallel measures of frailty and self-rated health were confirmed. The levels of internal consistency were high (α>0.700). Conclusion: Evidence confirmed the factor and convergent (construct) validity and internal consistency of the new scale in Portuguese. RESUMO. O reconhecimento de ganhos e perdas associados ao envelhecimento desempenha papel regulador em relação ao self e às atitudes sociais quanto à velhice. Objetivo: Investigar indicadores de validade de construto, consistência interna e validade convergente da Awareness of Age-Related Change Short Scale (AARC) traduzida para o português. Método: Um total de 387 indivíduos de 60 anos ou mais compuseram amostra de conveniência que respondeu à versão do estudo AARC Short Scale em português, e a medidas de fragilidade, autoavaliação de saúde e caracterização sociodemográfica. As explorações de validade de construto foram mediadas por análises fatoriais exploratórias (com rotação Varimax e oblíqua/Promax), e confirmatórias (método de equações estruturais para variáveis latentes); as de consistência interna, pelo teste de Cronbach e as de validade convergente, pelas correlações entre os itens da escala, fragilidade e saúde autorreferida. Resultados: A estrutura de dois fatores, ganhos e perdas, as cargas e a comunalidade dos itens da escala em português foram altas e similares nas análises fatoriais exploratórias e confirmatórias, e similares à versão original. Foi rejeitada a hipótese de correlação entre os fatores e confirmada a de invariância do construto às idades; consistência interna da escala e dos fatores indicada por índices α>0,700; fragilidade e saúde autorreferida correlacionaram-se negativamente com a pontuação na escala e em ganhos, e positivamente em perdas. Conclusões: Foram observadas evidências de validade de construto, consistência interna e validade convergente da versão do AARC Short Scale em português, para aplicação em amostras com características similares às desse estudo.

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 (

Objectives Previous research supports that subjective views on aging (VoA), such as older subjective age (SA) and negative attitudes toward own aging (ATOA), go along with negative outcomes. A differentiated treatment of health and disease as antecedents of VoA is largely lacking. Therefore, our objective was to estimate the relationship between generally framed physical, affective, and cognitive health as well as specific diseases and VoA, operationalized both as SA and ATOA. Methods Data were drawn from the ActiFE Ulm study for which a representative sample of community-dwelling older people (65–90 years) was recruited at baseline. Follow-ups were conducted 7.7 years (median) after recruitment (N = 526). Health- and disease-related data at baseline, based on established assessment procedures for epidemiological studies, were regressed on VoA (1-item SA indicator, 5-item ATOA scale) measures at follow-up. Results Reported severity of affective health problems such as depression was the strongest general risk factor for both older SA and negative ATOA. Also, some but not all major diseases considered were associated with VoA. Notably, back pain predicted negative ATOA, while cancer was associated with older SA. Rheumatism was linked with more negative ATOA along with higher SA. Throughout analyses, explained variance in ATOA was considerably higher than in SA. Discussion Affective health problems, such as depression, should be regarded as a major correlate of subjective aging views. Interestingly, diseases do not have to be life-threatening to be associated with older SA or negative ATOA.

Wearables provide new opportunities to promote physical activity also among older adults but data on effectiveness and user friendliness are rare.The effects of a comprehensive self-regulative intervention on moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and number of steps were examined using commercially available activity trackers. Acceptance regarding the devices was analysed in various domains.In this study 80 older adults (mean = 67.03 years, standard deviation = 3.97 years; 59% women) wore a Fitbit Charge HR for 21 days including a baseline, a postintervention and a follow-up week. The intervention comprised feedback, goal setting and planning and 50% of the participants were additionally randomized to a role model component. Social cognitive predictors based on the health action process approach (HAPA) and user experience were assessed via questionnaires.The MVPA increased by an average of 19 min per week and steps by 1317 per day. An additional benefit of the role model component could be observed for MVPA. In the follow-up, the intervention effect was still significant for the number of steps, while MVPA dropped back to baseline. Multilevel models including HAPA variables explained small but significant amounts of variance in MVPA (8% within-person, 26% between-person) and steps (11% within-person, 12% between-person). User experience was rated as very high.Providing an intervention based on established behavior change techniques and self-monitoring via wearables seems to be effective for increasing physical activity among older adults. The HAPA variables seem to play a limited role to explain activity levels. Acceptance of wearables can be expected to be high.HINTERGRUND: Wearables bieten Potenziale zur Förderung körperlicher Aktivität bei Älteren, jedoch sind Studien, die Effektivität und Nutzerfreundlichkeit gemeinsam betrachten, begrenzt.Es werden Effekte einer umfangreichen selbstregulativen Intervention zur Förderung körperlicher Aktivität auf Basis kommerzieller Aktivitätstracker sowie deren Akzeptanz und Bewertung untersucht.In dieser Studie trugen 80 Personen (M = 67,03; SD = 3,97; 59 % Frauen) ein Fitbit Charge HR für insgesamt 21 Tage, einschließlich einer Baseline, einer Post-Interventions- und einer Follow-up-Woche. Die Intervention umfasste Bausteine wie Zielsetzung und Planung, zusätzlich wurden 50 % randomisiert einer Rollenmodell-Komponente zugeordnet. Sozial-kognitive Prädiktoren nach dem Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) und Bewertung der Wearables wurden über Fragebögen erfasst.Moderat bis intensive körperliche Aktivität (MVPA) erhöhte sich nach der Intervention um 19 min/Woche und die Schrittzahl um 1317 pro Tag. Ein Zusatznutzen des Rollenmodell-Ansatzes zeigte sich für MVPA. Im Follow-up blieb der positive Effekt für die Schrittzahl signifikant, während MVPA auf das Baseline-Niveau zurückfiel. Multilevel-Modelle inklusive der HAPA-Variablen („health action process approach“) erklärten kleine aber signifikante Varianzanteile (MVPA: 8 % „within-person“, 26 % „between-person“; Schritte: 11 % „within-person“, 12 % „between-person“). Die Bewertungen (z. B. Nutzerfreundlichkeit) fielen sehr positiv aus.Die Intervention auf Basis etablierter Behavior Change Techniken und Self-Monitoring durch Wearables konnte die körperliche Aktivität steigern, wobei Assoziationen zu HAPA-Variablen teilweise bestätigt wurden. Die Akzeptanz und Bewertung der Wearables kann als sehr gut eingestuft werden.

Feeling younger than one's age reflects a process of age-group dissociation that is frequently activated when belonging to one's age group has negative connotations. Regarding the Corona pandemic, time periods with a higher number of individuals infected with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) might have elicited younger subjective ages, particularly among older adults as they belonged to a "COVID-19 risk group." We investigated the subjective age of

Older adults are often exposed to elderspeak, a specialized speech register linked with negative outcomes. However, previous research has mainly been conducted in nursing homes without considering multiple contextual conditions. Based on a novel contextually-driven framework, we examined elderspeak in an acute general versus geriatric German hospital setting. Individual-level information such as cognitive impairment (CI) and audio-recorded data from care interactions between 105 older patients ( M = 83.2 years; 49% with severe CI) and 34 registered nurses ( M = 38.9 years) were assessed. Psycholinguistic analyses were based on manual coding (κ = .85 to κ = .97) and computer-assisted procedures. First, diminutives (61%), collective pronouns (70%), and tag questions (97%) were detected. Second, patients’ functional impairment emerged as an important factor for elderspeak. Our study suggests that functional impairment may be a more salient trigger of stereotype activation than CI and that elderspeak deserves more attention in acute hospital settings.

A variety of different disciplines in the study of aging have long acknowledged that individual functioning and development are profoundly shaped by the contexts people live in. The Gerontologist has played a central role in publishing and fostering theoretical and empirical work geared toward better understanding many of the questions that revolve around the how and the why. To illustrate, we consider in a first step the environmental docility hypothesis and the life space construct as two landmark concepts published in The Gerontologist and review how these—in conjunction with the later introduced proactivity perspective—have shaped for decades and continue to shape the larger field of (contextual) gerontology. In a second step, we discuss how these two entirely separate conceptualizations could be integrated in a late pas-de-deux. In doing so, we also make use of Wahl & Gerstorf's conceptual framework for studying COntext Dynamics in Aging (CODA) to discuss how these classic concepts can promote future gerontological research.

The human lifespan is constantly increasing across the world. Therefore, the question whether aging can take a “successful” route likely never has been as up-to-date as today. Still, gerontology continues to struggle with the concept of successful aging. In part I of this work, I outline six models of successful aging currently most discussed in aging science. Next, I compare the models according to four indicator domains: Psychologically oriented, socially oriented, bio-physical functioning oriented, and other. In part II, I address three key questions related to successful aging: Is successful aging possible in principle? Is it possible for all? Is it desirable for all? Regarding the first question, the conclusion based on empirical data is that across all models except the biological model aging successfully is possible in principle. Hence, I answer this question with a “YES, BUT.” Successful aging at the bio-level so far seems very limited. In terms of question 2, expecting largely increasing portions of older adults fulfilling various of the so far established criteria of aging successfully in the future seem overly optimistic. Hence, I answer this question with “NO.” For question 3, I critique the at first glance obvious persuasiveness of successful aging as a generally to be achieved end state. For example, it may be that norms of successful aging undermine old age’s cultural richness in the future. Hence, I answer this question with “NOT SURE.”

Research exploring whether health predicts self-perceptions of aging (SPA) has mostly focused on single predictors and has been hampered by short observational intervals. We examined whether 20-year changes in cognitive functioning, physical and mental health predict SPA. We used data of 103 German participants who remained of a sample of 500 participants born in 1930-1932 enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE) in 1993/1996 (mean age at fourth measurement wave = 82.5 years). Health indicators included six cognitive tests, objective and subjective physical health, and self-reported depression. We used a new and multidimensional (awareness of age-related gains and losses) and a well-established (attitudes toward own aging) measure of SPA. Linear regression analyses showed that, among the cognitive tests, decline in information processing speed (Digit Symbol) predicted less awareness of age-related gains and more awareness of age-related losses but not attitudes toward own aging. Decline in subjective but not objective physical health, predicted more awareness of age-related losses and negative attitudes toward own aging, but not awareness of age-related gains. Increase in depressive symptoms predicted more awareness of age-related losses and negative attitudes toward own aging, but not awareness of age-related gains. The size of associations suggests that objective cognitive decline has limited influence on older adults' SPA and, if so, only when the decline is related to mental slowing. Similarly, perceived physical and mental health, but not objective health, have a small-to-moderate influence on awareness of age-related losses and attitudes toward own aging. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Most theoretical models on social dynamics governing development and health across adulthood and old age rely on a "single-unit" approach. We put forth a developmental-contextual model (CoSynch) that utilizes the concept of synchrony (interdependent fluctuations in physiological states and health behaviors) as a novel way to conceptualize social developmental dynamics. Using the sample case of romantic partners, this model aims for an innovative integration of available findings addressing everyday microsocial dynamics in dyads that contribute to overall partner concordance in health trajectories. Specifically, the model builds on 5 propositions to integrate existing empirical findings and infuse future research. Proposition P1: Synchrony is shaped by closeness and shared contexts; P2: Synchrony in physiology and health behaviors follows a u-shaped curve with younger and older adult couples showing greater synchrony than middle-aged couples, but with greater diversification of synchrony in very old age; P3: Couple synchrony is profoundly shaped by life events; P4: Synchrony is correlated with pertinent individual and dyad characteristics; P5: Effects of everyday couple synchrony accumulate over time, thereby carrying significant implications for the health of all involved parties. We also point to open questions and suggest future directions for applying the model that are going to advance knowledge on the social and health dynamics underlying adult development and aging. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Research on time-fluctuating links between positive affect and cortisol is inconsistent and mostly based on young to middle-aged samples. The current project investigated how moment-to-moment changes in positive and negative affect are associated with moment-to-moment changes in cortisol levels in older adults’ daily lives and whether those associations are moderated by differences in health status (as indicated by the number of comorbidities). Affect and cortisol data collected in four separately conducted momentary assessment studies with parallel protocols were pooled to obtain a sample of N=476 individuals aged 56–88 years (Mage=71.9, SD=6.6; 52% female). Participants provided affect reports and collected salivary cortisol 5–7 times a day for a 7-day period and reported the presence of 13 different health conditions. Data were analyzed using multilevel models, with time since waking, daily behaviors associated with cortisol secretion, age, and sex controlled. Feeling more positive affect than usual was associated with lower momentary cortisol. In contrast, feeling more negative affect than usual was associated with higher momentary cortisol. Associations of momentary positive and negative affect with cortisol were weaker among participants in worse as compared to those in better health. Trait positive affectivity was associated with more curvature of waking cortisol profiles and trait negative affectivity was associated with smaller cortisol awakening responses. Findings suggest that HPA axis responses fluctuate with everyday changes in positive and negative affect in older adults, and that higher HPA reactivity may indicate preserved health in this age group.

Objectives:Evidence linking subjective concerns about cognition with poorer objective cognitive performance is limited by reliance on unidimensional measures of self-perceptions of aging (SPA). We used the awareness of age-related change (AARC) construct to assess self-perception of both positive and negative age-related changes (AARC gains and losses). We tested whether AARC has greater utility in linking self-perceptions to objective cognition compared to well-established measures of self-perceptions of cognition and aging. We examined the associations of AARC with objective cognition, several psychological variables, and engagement in cognitive training.Design:Cross-sectional observational study.Participants:The sample comprised 6056 cognitively healthy participants (mean [SD] age = 66.0 [7.0] years); divided into subgroups representing middle, early old, and advanced old age.Measurements:We used an online cognitive battery and measures of global AARC, AARC specific to the cognitive domain, subjective cognitive change, attitudes toward own aging (ATOA), subjective age (SA), depression, anxiety, self-rated health (SRH).Results:Scores on the AARC measures showed stronger associations with objective cognition compared to other measures of self-perceptions of cognition and aging. Higher AARC gains were associated with poorer cognition in middle and early old age. Higher AARC losses and poorer cognition were associated across all subgroups. Higher AARC losses were associated with greater depression and anxiety, more negative SPA, poorer SRH, but not with engagement in cognitive training.Conclusions:Assessing both positive and negative self-perceptions of cognition and aging is important when linking self-perceptions to cognitive functioning. Objective cognition is one of the many variables – alongside psychological variables – related to perceived cognitive losses.

The present meta-analysis analyzed how the gap between subjective age and chronological age changes across the life-span and whether the size of this gap varies across regions of the globe. In addition, we tested for sources of the national differences. A systematic search in electronic databases (PsycInfo, Medline, Google Scholar, PSYNDEX) and cross-referencing identified 294 studies (with mean age ranging from 8 to 105 years) that were included in random-effects meta-analyses. While children felt about 3 years or 34% older than their chronological age, older adults (60+ years) felt, on average, between 10.74 and 21.07 years or 13%-18% younger. Associations between chronological age and the size of proportional differences between subjective and chronological were best described as a quadratic relationship, while associations with the size of absolute differences could also be described as a linear relationship. The widening of the gap between subjective age and chronological age across adulthood was found in all continents. Although adults reported a relatively younger subjective age across the globe, these differences were strongest in North America, Western Europe, and Australia/Oceania, and weakest in Africa. The regional differences disappeared after statistically controlling for national levels of individualism-collectivism, power distance, preference for young people rather than older adults, and quality of life of older people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

So far, little is known about linkages between subjective age views and long-term changes in vision and hearing.We examined the predictive role of two key measures of subjective age views (attitude toward own aging [ATOA]; aging-related cognitions comprising continuous growth, social loss, and physical decline) for changes in self-reported problems with vision and hearing over a period of up to 9 years. A subsample of the German Ageing Survey was used, consisting of 2,499 older adults.Controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, self-rated health, and depressive symptoms, we found that with increasing age, more favorable ATOA scores, as well as higher scores on continuous growth and lower scores on physical decline, were associated with fewer self-reported vision problems at baseline. With advancing age, more favorable ATOA scores were also related with fewer hearing problems at baseline. However, among individuals with an older baseline age, more favorable ATOA scores were associated with a steeper increase in vision problems. Higher scores on continuous growth were related with less increase in hearing problems, independent of age.Our findings suggest that subjective age views predict individuals' self-reported vision and hearing problems.

Personality traits affect health throughout adulthood. Recent research has demonstrated that attitudes toward own aging (ATOA) also play an important role in various health outcomes. To date, the role of personality versus ATOA for health has rarely been considered in parallel and contrasted for different periods of the second half of life, such as midlife versus early old age. We posit that with advancing age, associations of personality and ATOA with trajectories of health might change. To address this assumption, we examined trajectories of physician-rated health and its between-person and time-varying, within-person associations with personality (neuroticism and conscientiousness) and ATOA over 20 years in middle-aged (baseline age 43-46 years; n = 502) and older (61-65 years; n = 500) adults. Based on longitudinal multilevel regression models (controlling for gender and education), we found at the between-person level that lower neuroticism scores and more positive ATOA scores were independently associated with better physician-rated health at baseline. This association of ATOA with health was stronger in the old age sample than in the midlife sample. At the within-person level, time-varying associations revealed that both middle-aged and older individuals had better physician-rated health on measurement occasions when they reported more favorable ATOA. In addition, in the old age subsample alone, individuals' physician-rated health was better on occasions when they had higher conscientiousness scores. Our findings suggest that certain personality traits (conscientiousness, but not neuroticism) as well as attitudes toward own aging may gain in importance in later life as predictors of objective health changes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Objectives Although the evidence linking views on aging (VoA) with aging outcomes is robust, little is known about how different types of VoA may interact to influence such outcomes. Therefore, this study examined two types of VoA, age stereotypes (AS), representing general VoA, and self-perceptions of aging (SPA), representing personal VoA. We operationalized SPA in terms of awareness of age-related change (AARC), distinguishing between gain- and loss-related SPA (e.g., awareness of positive and negative age-related changes, respectively). Based on theoretical reasoning, we hypothesized that AS would be an antecedent of SPA, and that the effect of AS on physical and mental health would be mediated by SPA. Method A total of 819 German and U.S. adults aged 40–98 completed a survey on VoA, physical health, and mental health at baseline and 2.5 years later. Structural equation modeling with latent variables was used to examine the effects of Time 1 AS (predictor) and Time 2 gain- and loss-related SPA (mediators) on physical and mental health outcomes. Results As hypothesized, AS predicted later SPA. Loss-related SPA mediated the effect of AS on physical health; both gain- and loss-related SPA mediated the effect of AS on mental health. Discussion Congruent with theoretical assumptions, our findings provide empirical support for a directional pathway by which AS shape later SPA. We conclude that AS and SPA may affect physical health outcomes more strongly than mental health outcomes. Studies that assess both types of VoA are needed to illuminate the pathways by which VoA influence aging outcomes.

Objectives We used data from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study on Adult Development (ILSE study) to investigate whether associations of cognitive abilities with late-life personality changes are moderated by individuals’ physical health. Method Individuals born between 1930 and 1932 (n = 473; mean baseline age: 62.87 years) were assessed up to four times over a period of about 20 years (M = 20.34 years). Cognitive abilities were assessed based on multiple tests representing various cognitive functions. In addition, the Big Five personality traits were measured. Study participants’ health was rated by a physician based on several in-depth medical examinations. Results Health appeared as a significant moderator of the associations between cognitive abilities and personality trajectories: First, lower cognitive abilities were associated with an increase in neuroticism in individuals with poor health, but not in those with good health. Second, lower cognitive abilities were related with an increase in agreeableness in older adults with good health, but with a decrease in agreeableness among those with poor health. Third, better cognitive abilities were associated with stability in conscientiousness, but only among individuals with poorer health. Discussion Our findings suggest that once health is compromised, cognitive abilities may become a compensatory resource to prevent undesirable personality changes.

Objectives Relationships between cognitive and sensory functioning become stronger with advancing age, and the debate on underlying mechanisms continues. Interestingly, the potential mechanism of compensation by the unaffected sensory modality has so far been investigated in younger age groups with congenital sensory impairment but not in older adults with late-life sensory loss. We compared associations between visual acuity and cognitive functioning in hearing-impaired older adults (HI), and sensory-unimpaired controls (UI). We expected stronger associations in the HI group as compared with the UI group. Design Our study sample was drawn from the pools of outpatients from regional university clinics and city registries and consisted of n = 266 older adults (mean age = 82.45 years, SD = 4.76 years; HI: n = 116; UI: n = 150). For the assessment of cognitive performance, multiple established tests (e.g., subtests of the revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) were used. Moreover, objective visual acuity (distance vision) was assessed. Results As expected, bivariate correlations between vision and cognitive abilities were stronger in the HI group compared with the UI group. In regression models controlling for age, sex, education, subjective health and number of chronic diseases, distance visual acuity was a significant predictor of general cognitive ability in the HI group only. Conclusions Our findings suggest that visual acuity may play an important compensatory role for maintaining cognitive ability when hearing impairment sets in, which may reflect an adaptive process of late-life sensory compensation.

Background and objectives The ability to use everyday technology has become a key competence for conducting activities of daily living, maintaining an autonomous life, as well as participating in society. However, studying this issue in older adults needs more attention, particularly among those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Research design and methods We assessed the performance of N = 80 older adults (M = 73 years) in a range of tasks representing important life domains, i.e., using a blood pressure monitor, a mobile phone, and an eBook reader. Thirty-nine participants had been diagnosed with MCI by experienced geropsychiatrists and 41 healthy controls were matched for age, sex, and education. Standardized observation based on video-recording and coding was combined with cognitive testing and assessment of social-cognitive variables (self-efficacy, perceived obsolescence, attitudes towards technology). Results Cognitively healthy participants outperformed those with MCI regarding completion time and errors. An interaction effect of device and study group indicated larger differences in completion time for tasks with multilayered interfaces. In hierarchical regression models, aggregated cognitive factors (fluid and memory component) predicted performance and interactions with education level emerged. Obsolescence, addressing a perceived lack of competence to cope with modern society, mediated the effect of cognitive status on performance, both regarding time (partial mediation, adj.R2 = 28%) and errors (full mediation, adj.R2 = 23%). Discussion and implications Findings show that social-cognitive factors contribute to differences in performance on everyday technology tasks in addition to cognitive abilities. Training programs may profit from considering respective individual resources or limitations in the cognitive, personality-related or emotional-motivational domain.

Previous research has demonstrated the harmful impact of subjective aging processes (e.g., negative age self-stereotyping) on normal cognitive aging in different domains of cognitive functioning, such as memory, executive function, and fluid abilities. Recently, subjective aging has also been linked to important biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia-related outcomes, indicating associations with pathological cognitive aging. With data from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development and Aging (ILSE), the present study extends this research by examining the long-term effect of attitude toward own aging (ATOA) on expert-based clinical diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD in old age. In the study, 260 initially cognitively healthy participants with a mean age of 62.5 years were followed for 12 years. In the course of the study, 103 participants developed MCI and 14 received diagnosis of AD. Logistic regression models showed that baseline ATOA predicted future clinical diagnoses of MCI and AD 12 years later, while controlling for sociodemographic, genetic, and health variables. Although theoretically suggested, evidence for a mediating role of leisure-activity level and control beliefs was scarce. Our findings add to the emerging literature supporting negative views of aging as a risk factor for cognitive disorder in old age. (PsycINFO Database Record

Background and objectives This two-study article describes the development and evaluation of a multidimensional questionnaire based on the subjective aging construct Awareness of Age-Related Change (AARC). AARC captures the inherent multidimensionality and complexity of aging attitudes, which are strongly linked to indicators of successful aging, including health and well-being. Research design and methods In Study 1, we generated a large item pool related to subjective aging experiences and then evaluated the psychometric properties of a 189-item version of the AARC questionnaire in a sample of 396 adults aged 40-95 years. Based on findings from Study 1, we retained the best-performing items and arrived at a more parsimonious 50-item version (AARC-50). In Study 2, the psychometric properties of the 50-item version were examined in an expanded sample of 424 adults ages 40-98. Results Factor analyses in Study 1 indicated a two-factor structure of the questionnaire, representing the awareness of positive (AARC-Gains) and negative (AARC-Losses) age-related changes across five behavioral domains. Confirmatory factor analysis in Study 2 further supported this two-factor structure. In both studies, the AARC questionnaire demonstrated strong psychometric properties, including scale and item reliability, convergent and divergent validity, and predictive validity. Discussion and implications The availability of a reliable and valid assessment tool for measuring AARC-Gains and AARC-Losses allows researchers to capture detailed information about adults' positive and negative self-perceptions of aging across multiple behavioral domains, which are instrumental for promoting successful aging.

Background and objectives Existing measures of subjective aging have been useful in predicting developmental outcomes. Unlike other constructs of subjective aging, Awareness of Age-Related Change (AARC) focuses on how adults' self-perceptions of aging result in an awareness of age-related gains and losses. We developed a 10-item short form (SF) of the existing 50-item AARC questionnaire as a reliable, valid, and parsimonious solution for use primarily in large-scale surveys but also in applied contexts. Research design and methods AARC was assessed in a German and North American sample of 819 individuals. Item selection for the suggested AARC-10 SF was based on multidimensional item response theory (MIRT). Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test for measurement invariance (MI) across groups of participants in middle age (40-69 years), early old age (70-79 years), and advanced age (80+ years). Concurrent and discriminant validity in old age was assessed with regard to established measures of subjective aging, well-being, and health. Results The AARC-10 SF showed adequate fit to the data and reliability for the perceived gains and losses composites. Valid comparison of latent means was confirmed for early old and advanced age respondents and with some reservation also for middle-aged individuals due to partial MI. Concurrent and discriminant validity were confirmed. Discussion and implications The proposed AARC-10 SF offers an economic device to measure AARC and use the construct as an antecedent or outcome in the context of substantive model testing in large-scale survey data.

Background and objectives To determine whether a multicomponent, individually tailored intervention to promote physical activity (PA) enhances life-space (LS) utilization in nursing home (NH) residents and whether intervention effects can be sustained at follow-up after continuation of the program as part of institutional daily routines. Research design and methods Pre-post-assessed controlled trial in two highly similar NHs with a 3month follow-up in 143 NH residents (intervention group: n = 78; control group: n = 65) and LS as primary outcome. The PA promoting intervention consisted of several components (group sessions; individual exercise; serious games training; competence training for staff) tailored to residents' individual functional capacity. LS was innovatively assessed via an indoor wireless sensor network including three assessment-specific LS parameters: overall LS score (LSSc), time spent away from the private room (TAFR), and the maximally distal zone from private room visited (MaxZ). To exploit the available intervention-control comparative data in the best way possible, a generalized linear mixed model approach was applied. Results At post-test, intervention participants had a significantly higher overall LSSc, spent more TAFR, and had extended their MaxZ as compared to controls. At follow-up, a significant group difference remained for MaxZ. Discussion and implications A PA intervention in the NH setting impacts on LS utilization as measured using sensor-based assessment. The program has proven its practical sustainability when being handed over to NH personnel for continuation in daily practice. Further research is needed to determine whether an increase in LS utilization also impacts on social participation and quality of life.

A mood-induction paradigm was implemented in a sample of 144 adults covering midlife and old age (40-80 years) to investigate associations between mood and subjective age. Sad or neutral mood was induced by texts and music pieces. Subjective age was operationalized as felt age relative to chronological age. Participants receiving the sad-mood induction reported changes toward older felt ages from pre- to postinduction. Participants receiving the neutral-mood induction reported comparable levels of subjective age at pre- and postinduction. Effects were comparable across middle- and older aged participants. Results suggest that sad affective states might dampen subjective age. (PsycINFO Database Record

Human beings impose subjective, time-related interpretations on their existence, and the experience of time is a major aspect of lifespan development. In this mini-review, we understand subjective time as the way individuals subjectively perceive and evaluate the passing of their personal “objective” lifetime. A broad range of constructs and operationalizations has been developed in (gero-) psychology to capture subjective time, including future time perspective, personal goals, or autobiographical memories. In order to theoretically integrate this yet loosely connected body of literature, we propose a conceptual model of subjective time concepts according to 2 dimensions: temporal direction (past, present, future) and thematic field (duration/expansion, time-ordered life content, and time-related evaluations, attitudes, and mindsets). This conceptual model of subjective time perceptions builds the foundation for a review of the empirical literature regarding associations of subjective time with developmental outcomes (i.e., subjective well-being and physical health) in middle and late adulthood. Empirical findings establish subjective time concepts as a consistent predictor of well-being and health. Positive subjective time perceptions (i.e., an expanded view of the future, a focus on positive past and future life content, and favorable time-related evaluations) were associated with higher well-being and better physical health, while negative subjective time perceptions in general were linked to lower levels of health and well-being. Contrasting past- and future-oriented subjective time perceptions, it appears that past-oriented subjective time perceptions have been studied primarily in relation to subjective well-being, while future-oriented time perceptions play a key role both with regard to physical health and well-being. In conclusion, we argue that a stronger integration of subjective time constructs into developmental regulation models may deepen our understanding of human development across the lifespan. To this end, we call for theoretical and empirical interlinkages between yet loosely connected conceptual developments related to subjective time. These endeavors should be paralleled by an extension of methodological procedures (e.g., implementation of longitudinal research designs as well as a focus on the oldest-old) in order to inform a “lifespan theory of subjective time.”

Life Span theory posits that sociohistorical contexts shape individual development. In line with this proposition, cohort differences favoring later-born cohorts have been widely documented for cognition and health. However, little is known about historical change in how key resources of psychosocial functioning such as control beliefs develop in old age. We pooled data from 3 independent samples: Berlin Aging Study (6 waves, N = 414); Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (4 waves, N = 925); and Berlin Aging Study II (4 waves, N = 1,111) to construct overlapping multiyear longitudinal data from ages 61 through 85 years for cohorts born 1905 to 1953 and examine historical changes in within-person trajectories of internal and external control beliefs. Results revealed that earlier-born cohorts exhibit age-related declines in internal control beliefs regarding both desirable and undesirable outcomes, whereas later-born cohorts perceive higher internal control and maintain this advantage into old age. Earlier-born cohorts also experience steep age-related increases in external control beliefs regarding both powerful others and chance, whereas later-born cohorts perceive lower external control and were stable across old age. Education and gender disparities in control beliefs narrowed over historical time. Sociodemographic, physical health, cognitive, and social factors explained some of the differences in control beliefs, and accounted for sizable portions of cohort effects. Our results indicate that current generations of older adults perceive more and better maintained internal control and fewer external constraints. We discuss potential underlying mechanisms and consider conceptual and societal implications of our findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: To examine personal characteristics, disease-related impairment variables, activity limitations, and environmental factors as correlates of social participation in older adults with vision loss guided by the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Model. Design: Baseline data of a larger longitudinal study. Setting: Community-based vision rehabilitation agency. Subjects: A total of 364 older adults with significant vision impairment due to age-related macular degeneration. Main Measures: In-person interviews assessing social participation (i.e. frequency of social support contacts, social/leisure challenges faced due to vision loss, and of social support provided to others) and hypothesized correlates (e.g. visual acuity test, Functional Vision Screening Questionnaire, ratings of attachment to house and neighborhood, environmental modifications in home). Results: Regression analyses showed that indicators of physical, social, and mental functioning (e.g. better visual function, fewer difficulties with instrumental activities of daily living, fewer depressive symptoms) were positively related to social participation indicators (greater social contacts, less challenges in social/leisure domains, and providing more support to others). Environmental factors also emerged as independent correlates of social participation indicators when functional variables were controlled. That is, participants reporting higher attachment to their neighborhood and better income adequacy reported having more social contacts; and those implementing more environmental strategies were more likely to report greater challenges in social and leisure domains. Better income adequacy and living with more people were related to providing more social support to others. Conclusion: Environmental variables may play a role in the social participation of older adults with age-related macular degeneration.

This article examines the end-of-life development of depressive symptoms and characterizes prototypical groups following the same depressive symptoms development. We modeled time-to-death-related trajectories of depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale), applying a latent class growth analysis to deceased older adults from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (Waves 1 to 5; NTime 1 (T1) = 2,219; MAge(T1) = 73.9 years, SDAge(T1) = 9.4 years; 51% male, 1% non-White). Four prototypical trajectories of depressive symptoms were identified at the end of life: a stably nondepressed group (31.2%); 2 groups with an exponential terminal symptom increase, of which 1 was nondepressed and 1 low depressed (8.3% and 38.4%, respectively); and a stably depressed group (22.2%). Using a combination of growth curve models and individual level and slope values as predictor variables showed that individuals suffering from increasing sensory, mobility, or overall health problems or decreasing quality of life were more likely to have an increase in symptoms of depression in their last years of life. Men were more likely to be stably nondepressed and women more likely to be chronically depressed. We conclude that a group-based analysis of end-of-life depressive symptoms is useful in adding to the understanding of distance-to-death psychology at large as well as pointing to preventive and intervention strategies when it comes to late-life depressive mood. (PsycINFO Database Record

The aim of this study was to investigate the independent and combined association of incident depression and dementia with mortality and to explore whether the magnitude of the association varies according to different types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. The study was based on a population-based longitudinal cohort consisting of 9940 participants at baseline and followed for over 14 years. The sample used for the analyses included 6114 participants with available information on diagnosis of incident dementia and depression. For survival analyses, Cox regression models with incident dementia (n = 293; 5%) and incident depression (n = 746; 12%) as time-dependent variables were used. Cox models adjusted for relevant confounders indicated that comorbidity of incident vascular dementia and incident depression was associated with a much higher mortality risk (HR 6.99; 95% CI 3.84–12.75) than vascular dementia in the absence of depression (HR 2.80; 95% CI 1.92–4.08). In contrast, estimates for comorbidity of Alzheimer’s disease and depression were slightly lower than those for Alzheimer in absence of depression (HR 3.56; 95% CI 1.83–6.92 and HR 4.19; 95% CI 2.97–5.90, respectively). Incident depression in the absence of incident dementia was only weakly associated with mortality. These findings indicate that depression and vascular dementia might have synergistic effects on mortality. The results have relevant public health implications for prevention, routine screening for and early treatment of depression among older people, especially those at risk of vascular dementia.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate possible longitudinal associations between oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and subjective well-being among quinquagenarians and septuagenarians over up to 10 years of clinical observation. METHODS This research is part of the "Interdisciplinary Study on Adult Development and Aging (ILSE)." All participants lived in an urban region of southwest Germany. One hundred and fifty-two participants born in 1930-1932 (older cohort, OC; n = 54) and 1950-1952 (younger cohort, YC; n = 98) underwent comprehensive psychological, medical and dental examinations at baseline and up to 10 years thereafter. The Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) was used to assess OHRQoL. The Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGCMS), general life satisfaction (GLS) and individuals' general satisfaction with their health (SWH) were used to evaluate subjective well-being. Regression models and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used to analyse the longitudinal associations between OHRQoL and subjective well-being. RESULTS A cross-lagged prediction model revealed a positive association between baseline OHRQoL and subjective well-being across 10 years for both birth cohorts, OC [0.49 (0.21; 0.69)] and YC [0.36 (0.24; 0.52)]. However, higher subjective well-being at baseline was not a predictor of better OHRQoL 10 years later for either cohort. CONCLUSIONS OHRQoL seems to be a substantial predictor of subjective well-being in quinquagenarians and septuagenarians across the rather long observational period. Further studies with larger sample sizes are required to confirm this finding.

Gaining a comprehensive picture of the network of constructs in which cognitive functioning is embedded is crucial across the full lifespan. With respect to personality, previous findings support a relationship between neuroticism and cognitive abilities. However, findings regarding old age are inconsistent. In particular, little is known about potentially moderating variables which might explain some of the inconsistency. Our aim was to examine the moderating effect of severe sensory impairment on cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between neuroticism and cognitive functioning.The study sample consisted of 121 visually impaired (VI), 116 hearing impaired (HI), and 150 sensory unimpaired older adults (UI). Mean age was 82.50 years (SD = 4.71 years). Neuroticism was assessed by the NEO Five Factor Inventory, and multiple established tests were used for the assessment of cognitive performance (e.g., subtests of the revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale).Bivariate correlations and multi-group structural equation models indicated stronger relationships between cognitive abilities and neuroticism in both sensory impaired groups (VI and HI) compared to UI older individuals. This relationship was attenuated but still significant in both sensory impaired groups when controlling for age, education and health (number of chronic conditions). In cross-lagged panel models, higher baseline neuroticism was significantly associated with lower cognitive performance four years later in VI and HI individuals.Our results suggest that sensory impairment moderates both cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between neuroticism and cognitive function in advanced old age.

Objective The objective of this research was to identify risk factors for tooth loss in two birth cohorts, quinquagenarians and septuagenarians, after up to 10 years of clinical observation. Design One hundred and twenty-three participants were recruited from the Interdisciplinary Study of Adult Development (ILSE) and examined at baseline and up to 10 years after. Thirty-nine and 84 participants belonged to the older (OC; born in 1930/32) cohort and younger (YC; born in 1950/52) cohort, respectively. Each participant underwent a dental examination comprising evaluation of the dental status (number of teeth, prosthetic restorations), Plaque Index (PI), Gingival Index (GI), DMF-S, periodontal probing depths (PD) and tooth mobility (TM). Incidence of tooth loss over the study period was calculated for both cohorts as well as for the grouped dental target variables. A logistic regression model for tooth loss (0 = tooth present/1 = tooth lost) was compiled with possible binary confounders. Results During the study period (eight years in mean), 1.2 (1.9) and 2.6 (2.6) teeth were lost in YC and OC, respectively, reflecting correspondent loss rates of 5% and 14% (p 1 merged into substantial tooth loss (60% lost). The regression analysis confirmed the bivariate findings. Older age and worse oral health issues were identified as risk factors for tooth loss(p Conclusions Both quinquagenarians and septuagenarians show relevant tooth loss over a period of up to 10 years but more in septuagenarians. The predominant predictor for tooth loss seems to be greater tooth mobility. With the rising challenges due to aging in several societies, knowing the risks might help clinicians when weighing treatment strategies and should encourage refining preventive measures for older patients.

Personality traits have been found to influence health and functional ability (FA) via multiple pathways. However, personality traits may also change in reaction to constraints in FA, particularly in more vulnerable individuals with high risk of decline in independent functioning in daily life (e.g. older adults with sensory impairment). Therefore, conceptually anchored in the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF model), this study investigated reciprocal relationships between personality, focusing on neuroticism and agreeableness, and indicators of FA (i.e. activities of daily living and subjective autonomy) as well as the potentially moderating role of sensory impairment status.The study sample consisted of 387 older adults (mean age at T1: M = 82.50 years, SD = 4.71 years) who were either sensory impaired (SI; i.e. visually or hearing impaired) or sensory unimpaired (UI). A total of 168 individuals were reassessed four years later.Depending on sensory status, personality acted both as predictor and as outcome of FA. Neuroticism was more strongly related with later FA outcomes in SI than in UI individuals. FA variables, in turn, were significant predictors of later neuroticism in UI older adults only and of later agreeableness in SI individuals only.These findings suggest that the late-life personality-FA interplay needs to be considered bidirectional, and the direction of associations varies systematically as a function of sensory impairment status.

Physical activity (PA) may counteract depressive symptoms in nursing home (NH) residents considering biological, psychological, and person-environment transactional pathways. Empirical results, however, have remained inconsistent. Addressing potential shortcomings of previous research, we examined the effect of a whole-ecology PA intervention program on NH residents' depressive symptoms using generalized linear mixed-models (GLMMs).We used longitudinal data from residents of two German NHs who were included without any pre-selection regarding physical and mental functioning (n = 163, MExercising (n = 78) and non-exercising residents (n = 85) showed a comparable level of depressive symptoms at pretest. For exercising residents, depressive symptoms stabilized between pre-, posttest, and at follow-up, whereas an increase was observed for non-exercising residents. The intervention group's stabilization in depressive symptoms was maintained at follow-up, but increased further for non-exercising residents.Implementing an innovative PA intervention appears to be a promising approach to prevent the increase of NH residents' depressive symptoms. At the data-analytical level, GLMMs seem to be a promising tool for intervention research at large, because all longitudinally available data points and non-normality of outcome data can be considered.

Background cognitive impairment is widespread among older adults even in the absence of dementia, but very little is known about the association between cognitive impairment not due or not yet converted to dementia and mortality. The association between cognitive impairment and mortality contributes to assessing cognitive impairment-related risk constellation in old age in the absence of manifest dementia. Objective to assess the impact of cognitive impairment on all-cause and cause-specific mortality among non-demented older adults and to explore the nature of the association between cognitive impairment and mortality. Design an observational cohort study (ESTHER study; 2000-present). Setting German state of Saarland. Subjects a subsample of 1,622 participants aged ≥70 with measurement of cognitive function through the Cognitive Telephone Screening Instrument (COGTEL) and exclusion of a possible dementia diagnosis at both COGTEL baseline (2005-08) and over the mortality follow-up (2005-13). Results during an average follow-up of 6.1 years, 231 participants (14.2%) died. Participants with low COGTEL total scores had ∼60% increased mortality compared with participants with higher COGTEL total scores in Cox regression models adjusting for a wide range of possible confounders (hazard ratio = 1.62; confidence interval 1.13-2.33). Dose-response analyses with restricted cubic splines indicate a monotonic inverse relationship between cognitive function and mortality. Conclusion cognitive impairment in the absence of manifest dementia is an important independent predictor of mortality, especially among men. The administration of cognitive tests among older adults may provide relevant information for patient care and treatment decisions. Sources of funding financial sponsors played no role in the design, execution, analysis and interpretation of data.

This paper focuses on the relationship between functional ability (FA) and positive affect (PA), a major component of well-being, in sensory impaired very old adults (SI) compared with sensory unimpaired individuals (UI). Previous research mostly suggests a robust causal impact of FA on PA. However, some research, drawing from Fredrickson's broaden-and-build theory, also points to the possibility of an inverse causality between FA and PA. We examine in this paper both of these causal directions in SI as well as UI individuals across a 4year observation period. Additionally, we checked for the role of negative affect (NA). The T1-T2 sample comprised 81 out of 237 SI individuals (visually or hearing impaired) assessed at T1, with a mean age at T1 of 81.8years, and 87 UI individuals out of 150 assessed at T1, with a mean age at T1 of 81.5years. Established scales were used to assess FA, PA, and NA. Using cross-lagged panel analysis to examine the direction of causality, our findings indicate that FA has significant impact on PA in both the SI and the UI group, whereas the alternative causal pathway was not confirmed. Both cross-lagged relationships between FA and NA were non-significant. No group differences in path strengths between SI and UI were present. Our study provides evidence that FA is a key competence for successful emotional aging in vulnerable groups of very old adults such as SI as well as in UI adults in advanced old age.

The Attitude Toward Own Aging Subscale (ATOA) is a frequently used measure of subjective aging. Although ATOA in midlife might assume a preparatory role for psychosocial adjustment in old age, research has been dominated by a focus on older adults. To enable a comparison of developmental trajectories of ATOA between middle-aged and young-old adults, we tested measurement invariance between age groups and over a 12-year study period. In addition, personality variables, health dimensions, and sociodemographic variables were investigated as predictors of developmental trajectories of ATOA. Data came from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE) with 2 birth cohorts (1930-1932: n = 500; 1950-1952: n = 501) followed over 12 years. Data analyses were conducted with confirmatory factor analysis for ordered-categorical variables and latent growth models. Support for the assumption of partial measurement invariance of ATOA was found in each age group, but not between age groups. Latent growth models revealed a steady decline in ATOA for young-old individuals, whereas ATOA trajectories in midlife were characterized by interindividual variation. Health variables predicted level of ATOA in the young-old. In midlife ATOA were shaped by a variety of factors. Future studies should be conducted with an awareness of differential item functioning of the ATOA scale across age groups. Furthermore, our results point to a greater modifiability of aging attitudes in middle-aged compared with young-old individuals, thus highlighting the importance of the midlife years in shaping developmental trajectories into old age.

A B S T R A C T Studies on the relationship between behavioral competence, such as the competence of exerting out-ofhome behavior (OOHB), and well-being in older adults have rarely addressed cognitive status as a potentially moderating factor. We included 35 persons with early-stage dementia of the Alzheimer’s type (DAT), 76 individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 146 cognitively healthy (CH) study participants (grand mean age: M = 72.9 years; SD = 6.4 years). OOHB indicators were assessed based on a multi-method assessment strategy, using both GPS (global positioning system) tracking technology and structured self-reports. Environmental mastery and positive as well as negative affect served as wellbeing indicators and were assessed by established questionnaires. Three theoretically postulated OOHB dimensions of different complexity (out-of-home walking behavior, global out-of-home mobility, and out-of-home activities) were supported by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). We also found in the DAT group that environmental mastery was substantially and positively related to less complex out-of-home walking behavior, which was not the case in MCI and CH individuals. In contrast, more complex out-ofhome activities were associated with higher negative affect in the DAT as well as the MCI group, but not in CH persons. These findings point to the possibility that relationships between OOHB and well-being depend on the congruence between available cognitive resources and the complexity of the OOHB dimension considered.

Evidence is accumulating on the effects of subjective aging—that is, how individuals perceive their own aging process—on health and survival in later life. The goal of this article is to synthesize findings of existing longitudinal studies through a meta-analysis. A systematic search in PsycInfo, Web of Science, Scopus, and Pubmed resulted in 19 longitudinal studies reporting effects of subjective aging on health, health behaviors, and longevity. The authors combine the outcomes reported in these studies using a random effects meta-analysis, assuming that there would be differences in effect sizes across studies. The meta-analysis resulted in an overall significant effect of subjective aging (likelihood ratio = 1.429; 95% confidence interval = 1.273–1.604; p < .001). The analyses revealed heterogeneity, with stronger effects for studies with a shorter period of follow-up, for studies of health versus survival, for studies with younger participants (average age of the studies varies between 57 and 85 years with a median of 63 years), and for studies in welfare systems where state provisions of welfare are minimal. However, effects did not vary either across different operationalizations of subjective aging or by study quality. Subjective aging has a small significant effect on health, health behaviors, and survival. Further theoretical conceptualizations and empirical studies are needed to determine how subjective aging contributes to health and survival.

Objectives. The subjective experience of aging is a relevant correlate of developmental outcomes. However, traditional approaches fall short of capturing the inherent multidimensionality of subjective aging experiences (SAEs). Based on the concept of Awareness of Age-Related Change (AARC; Diehl, M. K., & Wahl, H.-W. (2010). Awareness of age-related change: Examination of a (mostly) unexplored concept. Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 65, 340–350. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbp110), this study provides a description of SAEs that is facet rich, and based on their natural occurrence, analyzes interindividual differences and associations with well-being. Method. Data came from 225 participants (70–88 years) of the ongoing BEWOHNT study. Open-ended diary entries about age-related experiences were collected for more than 14 days and coded according to AARC domains and subdomains. Results. Seventy percent of all participants had SAEs about physical functioning. About half of the sample reported experiences in the domains interpersonal relations, social-emotional and social-cognitive functioning (COGN-EMOT), and lifestyle. Thirty percent experienced aging in terms of changes in cognitive functioning. Contents of SAEs varied by gender, age group, and functional status. SAEs about COGN-EMOT were most consistently related to affective compo nents of subjective well-being. Discussion. Our results demonstrate the benefits of an open-ended approach to a multidimensional understanding of SAEs. Content-related, social-cognitive and social-emotional changes more than functional age-related changes were most important for well-being.