Age-Related Attributions of Experienced Changes in Life: Origins and Implications

Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation

Klaus Rothermund, Maria Clara Pinheiro de Paula Couto, Helene H Fung, Sylvie Graf, Thomas M Hess, Shyhnan Liou, Jana Nikitin and Amit Shrira

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2021, vol. 76, issue 5, 881-893

Abstract: ObjectivesAttributing life changes to age represents a core marker of the subjective experience of aging. The aims of our study were to investigate views on aging (VA) as origins of age-related attributions of life changes and to investigate the implications of these age-related attributions for personal control (PC) and life satisfaction (LS).MethodsLife changes and the attribution of life changes to age were independently assessed on a large international sample of older adults (N = 2,900; age range 40–90 years) from the Ageing as Future project. The valence of VA, PC, and LS were also assessed to investigate possible determinants (VA) and consequences (PC and LS) of age-related attributions of life changes.ResultsAttributions to age were shown to depend on the valence of experienced life changes, with more negative changes being linked to more age-related attributions. This relation was moderated by the valence of personally held VA, with more negative VA amplifying the relation between negative life changes and age-related attributions. Age-related attributions predicted reduced PC and lower LS and were found to exacerbate the effects of negative life changes on LS, especially for the older cohorts of our sample.DiscussionOur findings help to better understand what determines age-related attributions of life changes and highlight the negative consequences of attributing them to aging. Age-related attributions of change are a major factor that worsens the subjective aging experience. Methodologically, our study emphasizes the necessity to separately assess changes and their attributions to age.

Keywords: Awareness of age-related change; Life satisfaction; Perceived control; Subjective aging; Views on aging (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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