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

Anna E Kornadt, Thomas M Hess, Peggy Voss and Klaus Rothermund

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2018, vol. 73, issue 5, 767-777

Abstract: Objectives How old people feel compared with their actual age, their so-called “subjective age†(SA), is a central indicator of individual aging experiences and predicts developmental outcomes, such as health and mortality, across the life span. We investigated the multidimensional structure of SA with respect to specific life domains, focusing on domain differences as well as age group differences and age-related changes. Furthermore, we inspected the relationship between SA and how people perceive their future as old persons (future self-views). Method We assessed these variables in a sample of 593 persons who completed a questionnaire at two time points 4 years apart (baseline—T1; follow up—T2) and who were aged 30–80 years at T1. Results SA differed across life domains and age groups, and the amount of change in SA across time was also contingent on life domain. Future self-views at T1 predicted subsequent changes in SA, with more negative self-views being associated with an increase in SA, especially for middle-aged participants for whom the transition to older age is imminent. Discussion Our results provide support for a multidimensional view of subjective aging experiences. They highlight the importance of a differentiated investigation of subjective aging constructs and their relations for understanding how these variables shape the aging process.

Keywords: Future self-views; Life domains; Life span; Subjective age; Subjective aging (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/geronb/gbw072 (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:geronb:v:73:y:2018:i:5:p:767-777.

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://academic.oup.com/journals

Access Statistics for this article

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B is currently edited by Psychological Sciences - S. Duke Han, PhD and Social Sciences - Jessica A Kelley, PhD, FGSA

More articles in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B from The Gerontological Society of America Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Oxford University Press ().