Personality and motivational variables and perceived expectations for active aging

While there is evidence that sociodemographic variables and socioeconomic resources play a (minor) role in perceived expectations for active aging (PEAA), no research has examined the role of psychological variables in PEAA. In this study, we want to investigate whether the psychological characteristics of individuals and the people in their immediate (i.e., household) environment predict PEAA in the domains of physical health, mental health, and social engagement. Psychological characteristics include motivational variables (life goals and health/dementia worries), selected personality traits (conscientiousness, openness to experience, extraversion, and optimism), and domain-specific age stereotypes (at the household level only). We will use cross-sectional data from the 2016 wave of the Innovation Sample of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP-IS).