Abstract
Older people describe positive and negative age-related changes, but we do not know much about what contributes to make them aware of these changes. We used content analysis to categorize participants' written comments and explored the extent to which the identified categories mapped onto theoretical conceptualizations of influences on awareness of age-related change (AARC). Cross-sectional observational study. The study sample comprised 609 UK individuals aged 50 years or over (mean (SD) age = 67.9 (7.6) years), enrolled in the PROTECT study. Between January and March 2019, participants provided demographic information, completed a questionnaire assessing awareness of age-related change (AARC-10 SF), and responded to an open-ended question asking them to comment on their responses. While some of the emerging categories were in line with the existing conceptual framework of AARC (e.g. experiencing negative changes and attitudes toward aging), others were novel (e.g. engagement in purposeful activities or in activities that distract from age-related thoughts). Analysis revealed some of the thought processes involved in selecting responses to the questionnaire items, demonstrating different ways in which people make sense of specific items. Results support the ability of the AARC questionnaire to capture perceived age-related changes in cognitive functioning, physical and mental health, and engagement in social activities and in healthy and adaptive behaviors. However, findings also suggest ways of enriching the theoretical conceptualization of how AARC develops and offer insights into interpretation of responses to measures of AARC.
Highlights
The global proportion of older individuals is increasing, and this results in a growing number of people experiencing both positive and negative age-related changes
While some of the emerging categories were in line with the existing conceptual framework of awareness of age-related change (AARC), others were novel
Results support the ability of the AARC questionnaire to capture perceived age-related changes in cognitive functioning, physical and mental health, and engagement in social activities and in healthy and adaptive behaviors
Summary
The global proportion of older individuals is increasing, and this results in a growing number of people experiencing both positive and negative age-related changes. The study of self-perceptions of aging (SPA) may suggest ways of promoting health in the second half of life. Those individuals with positive SPA are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors and to experience better health (Jaconelli et al, 2017; Kornadt et al, 2019; Montepare, 2019; Westerhof et al, 2014) than those with negative SPA.
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