Influencia del conocimiento sobre la vejez en la gravedad de la preocupación en personas mayores

Abstract

Introduction this work aims to analyze the role of the degree of knowledge of aging in the prediction of trait-worry in an elderly sample. Knowledge of normal aging processes might increase the perception of control over stressful life events and it could be a factor of protection for the development of emotional disorders triggered by stressful events related to aging. This work analyzes if this potential effect occurs even when frequency of worry about specific contents characteristic of old age is controlled for. Material and method sample was composed by 111 community dwelling older adults, aged between 55 and 88 years. Knowledge of aging was assessed with a version of the questionnaire Facts on Aging Quiz and the severity of worry with an adaptation of the abbreviated version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Results in a regression analysis with forced steps, knowledge of aging explained an statistical significant additional percentage of variance (increase in R 2 of 5.1%) over trait-worry after controlling for frequency of worrying about different contents characteristic of old age, supporting the starting hypothesis (Final R2 = 0.651). This effect was retained when several demographic variables were controlled for. Conclusions these results highlight the relevance of the degree of knowledge of aging and its potential explicative and predictive value for emotional disorders in the old age.