Behavior In Later Life Research Articles

Prenatal Allergen Exposure Perturbs Sexual Differentiation and Programs Lifelong Changes in Adult Social and Sexual Behavior

Sexual differentiation is the early life process by which the brain is prepared for male or female typical behaviors, and is directed by sex chromosomes, hormones and early life experiences. We have recently found that innate immune cells residing in the brain, including microglia and mast cells, are more numerous in the male than female rat brain. Neuroimmune cells are also key participants in the sexual differentiation process, specifically organizing the synaptic development of the preoptic area and leading to male-typical sexual behavior in adulthood. Mast cells are known for their roles in allergic responses, thus in this study we sought to determine if exposure to an allergic response of the pregnant female in utero would alter the sexual differentiation of the preoptic area of offspring and resulting sociosexual behavior in later life. Pregnant rats were sensitized to ovalbumin (OVA), bred, and challenged intranasally with OVA on gestational day 15, which produced robust allergic inflammation, as measured by elevated immunoglobulin E. Offspring of these challenged mother rats were assessed relative to control rats in the early neonatal period for mast cell and microglia activation within their brains, downstream dendritic spine patterning on POA neurons, or grown to adulthood to assess behavior and dendritic spines. In utero exposure to allergic inflammation increased mast cell and microglia activation in the neonatal brain, and led to masculinization of dendritic spine density in the female POA. In adulthood, OVA-exposed females showed an increase in male-typical mounting behavior relative to control females. In contrast, OVA-exposed males showed evidence of dysmasculinization, including reduced microglia activation, reduced neonatal dendritic spine density, decreased male-typical copulatory behavior, and decreased olfactory preference for female-typical cues. Together these studies show that early life allergic events may contribute to natural variations in both male and female sexual behavior, potentially via underlying effects on brain-resident mast cells.

Group lactation from 7 or 14 days of age reduces piglet aggression at weaning compared to farrowing crate housing

Early life experiences can affect social behaviour in later life, but opportunities for socio-behavioural development are often overlooked in current husbandry practices. This experiment investigated the effects of rearing piglets in two-stage group lactation (GL) system from 7 or 14 days of age on piglet aggression at weaning. Three lactation housing treatments were applied to a total of 198 piglets from 30 litters of multiparous sows. All dams farrowed in standard farrowing crates (FCs). Group lactation litters were transferred with their dam at 7 (GL7) or 14 days (GL14) postpartum to GL pens (one pen of five sows at 8.4 m2/sow and one pen of seven sows at 8.1 m2/sow, per GL treatment). Farrowing crate litters remained with their dam in a single litter until weaning. At weaning, 10 to 14 piglets from two unfamiliar litters from the same housing treatment were mixed into pens (n=5 pens/treatment) and their behaviour was continuously recorded for 3.5 h. For each pen, the frequency of aggressive bouts (reciprocal and non-reciprocal aggression lasting <5 s), the frequency and duration of fights (reciprocal aggression lasting ⩾5 s) and bullying events (non-reciprocal aggression lasting ⩾5 s) were recorded, along with whether interactions involved familiar or unfamiliar piglets. Aggressive bouts delivered by FC piglets were approximately 1.5 and 3.0 times more frequent than that delivered by GL7 and GL14 piglets, respectively (40.5, 16.7 and 9.9 bouts/pig, respectively; P<0.05). Fighting was more frequent (1.6, 0.3 and 0.4 fights/pig, respectively; P<0.001) and fights were longer (83, 15 and 32 s fight/pig, respectively; P<0.001) between FC piglets than between GL7 or GL14 piglets. Bullying did not differ between housing treatments (P>0.05). GL7 and GL14 piglets engaged in a similar number of fights with unfamiliar as familiar piglets, but FC piglets had almost three times as many fights with unfamiliar than with familiar piglets (P<0.05). This experiment confirms the benefits of GL housing for pig social development. Further investigation is required to determine whether mixing before 14 days postpartum has implications for other indicators of animal welfare and productivity in a two-stage GL housing system.

Social Support and Preventive Healthcare Behaviors Among Couples in Later Life.

Intimate partners and close friends represent two major sources of social support that are central to one's health and health behaviors in later life. The aim of this study was to examine dyadic linkages between perceived social support (from spouses and friends) and preventive healthcare behaviors among coupled-individuals. Prospective data from the Health and Retirement Study (2010, 2012) were used to analyze a sample of coupled-individuals (dyad N = 1,902). A series of multilevel logistic regression (actor-partner interdependence) models were estimated to evaluate whether perceived social support from spouses and friends was associated with the likelihood of using two common forms of preventive healthcare services (i.e., influenza vaccination and cancer screenings). Apart from the role of perceived support from spouse on flu vaccinations, wives' preventive healthcare behaviors were unrelated to perceived social support. In contrast, husbands' preventive healthcare behaviors showed consistent associations with perceived social support from friends for the 2-year observation period. Further, husbands' receipt of prostate cancer screening was associated with wives' perceptions of social support from spouse as well as friends. These findings contributed to our understanding of the health advantages associated with being in a marital relationship for preventive healthcare behaviors, especially for men. Future research should unpack the pathways through which social support of various forms is associated with obtaining needed preventive health services.

‘The fourth commandment effect’: church attendance and intergenerational support in late parent–child relationships

ABSTRACTWe examine whether church attendance is related to intergenerational support from children to older parents in Italy. First, we focus on the role of church attendance on different forms of assistance, by distinguishing between practical support and personal assistance. Second, we attempt to disentangle the role of church attendance from that of traditionalism. We analyse data from the ISTAT survey ‘Family and Social Subject’ 2003 using multinomial logistic regression models and the KHB method for the decomposition of direct and indirect effects. Results show the existence of an association between church attendance and the probability of providing practical support to older parents, whereas there is no association with personal assistance. Regular churchgoers are more likely to provide practical support to their parents than the non-catholic, with occasional churchgoers falling somewhere in between. We find little support to the hypothesis that the association between religious practices and intergenerational support is explained by traditional family attitudes, although more traditional children are more likely to live with their parents. In the discussion, we argue that church attendance offers the opportunity for adult children to learn pro-family teachings that are positively related to supportive behaviors in later life.

Neighborhood environmental characteristics and sedentary behavior in later life: the EpiFloripa Study

Little is known about the relationship between perceived environmental characteristics and sedentary behavior (SB) using accelerometry in older adults. e aim of this study was to investigate the association between perceived neighborhood environmental characteristics and SB using accelerometry in 423 older adults from Florianopolis, Brazil. e time spent in SB was measured by an accelerometer (Actigraph-GT3X and GT3X+) for seven days and it was defined as &lt; 100 counts per minute. Neighborhood characteristics were assessed using the 17-item of the A-NEWS scale. Linear regression was used to examine the association between perceived neighborhood environmental characteristics and SB. The results showed that older adults spent about 631.9 minutes/day in SB which corresponds to 66% of their waking time/day. Men who reported “access to shops” (β = -66.87; 95%CI: -113.80; -19.66), “access to services” (β = -65.65; 95%CI: -118.63; -12.61), “access to food shops” (β = -78.38; 95%CI: -123.79; -32.93) and “access to bus stop” (β = -66.69; 95%CI: -110.32; -22.95) spent over one hour less in SB. In women, lower SB was associated to easier “access to clubs and gyms” (β = -24.57; 95%CI: -48.13; -0.89) and “access to open spaces gyms” (β = -31.67 95%CI: -58.80; -4.21). These findings indicate that better access and greater diversity of places in the neighborhood environment could be an important factor to reduce SB in older Brazilian adults.

Small litter size impairs spatial memory and increases anxiety- like behavior in a strain-dependent manner in male mice

Early life overfeeding is associated with cognitive decline and anxiety-like behaviors in later life. It is not clear whether there are individual differences in the effects of early life overfeeding and what the underlying mechanistic pathways are. We investigated the long-lasting effects of small litter size, an experimental manipulation to induce neonatal overfeeding, in two strains of mice, C57BL/6 and NMRI. We measured body weight, learning and memory, anxiety-related behaviors, interleukin-(IL)-1β and brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor (BDNF) levels in the hippocampus, and both basal and stress corticosterone levels in adult mice which have been nursed in small litters compared with those from control litters. Our findings showed that small litter size led to increased body weight in both strains of mice. Small litter size significantly decreased spatial memory and hippocampal BDNF levels, and increased hippocampal IL-1β, in NMRI mice, but not C57BL/6 mice. Interestingly, we found that small litter size resulted in a significant increase in anxiety-like behaviors and stress-induced corticosterone in NMRI mice, whereas small litter size reduced anxiety-like symptoms and stress-induced corticosterone levels in C57BL/6 mice. These data show that small litter size, which is life-long associated with increased body weight, affects memory and anxiety-related behaviors in a strain-dependent manner in male mice. This suggests that there are individual differences in the developmental consequences of early life overfeeding.

The science and practice of parenting: Implications for peace building

This article discusses the science and practice of parenting. It unravels the system and process of parenting through exploration of various theories and strategies that are involved in the definition of ideal parenting. The article explores how parenting can either contribute to peace building or to violent behaviour in later life. The article critically considers the theories of parenting, which include the attachment and the social learning theories. In that context, various parenting styles are examined to establish best practices of parenting. Ideal parenting is perceived as one of the strategic factors in minimizing or promoting the prevalence of violence in community settings. This article implores how imperative it is for communities to deliberately invest in the natural and strategic institution of family by empowering contemporary parents and young people who are future parents in the science and practice of parenting. This leads to the conclusion that if the parenting processes are by and large positive, then they will automatically lead to a healthy living of the child in his or her later adult life. Such would manifest in a non-violent peace loving personality as a function of good, positive parenting. On the contrary, negative parenting is the major source of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) which can be a barrier to peace building initiatives. In the ultimate, the article recommends the adoption of a holistic approach to parenting, that is, the merging of multiple theoretical approaches and practices. This recommendation is premised on the hypothetical notion that the ideal parenting style is one which draws from the various styles and theoretical models utilising the strengths of each as a way of coming up with the ideal strategy. It is further recommended therefore that for parenting to be improved, it is important that a special academic discipline on parenting is created.

Using gerontographics to explain consumer behaviour in later life: evidence from a Thai study

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to test the efficiency of the “gerontographics” model in predicting selected consumer behaviours in older adults.Design/methodology/approachThrough regression analysis, a large sample of older Thai adults is used to test the predictive power of gerontographics against predictive measures based on both chronological age and cognitive age.FindingsThe findings of the study show that the gerontographics model is more powerful in predicting certain types of older adults’ consumer behaviour than chronological age or cognitive age.Originality/valueThese findings have implications for marketing and business strategies because they suggest that gerontographics segmentation may be a more useful and effective way to segment older consumers.

Consequences of a double hit of stress during the perinatal period and midlife in female rats: Mismatch or cumulative effect?

The interplay between experiences during critical developmental periods and later adult life is crucial in shaping individual variability in stress coping strategies. Exposure to stressful events in early life has strongly programs an individual’s phenotype and adaptive capabilities. Until now, studies on programming and reversal strategies in early life stress animal models have been essentially limited to males. By using the perinatal stress (PRS) rat model (a model more sensitive to aging changes) in middle-aged females, we investigated the behavioral and endocrine responses following exposure in later life to an unpredictable chronic mild stress (uCMS) condition for six weeks. PRS by itself accelerated the ageing-related-disruption in the estrous cycle and led to reductions in the levels of estradiol. It also reduced motivational and risk-taking behavior in later life, with PRS females being characterized by a reduction in self-grooming in the splash test, in the exploration of the light compartment in the light/dark box test and in the time spent eating a palatable food in the novelty-induced suppression feeding test. PRS females showed impaired regulation of plasma glucose and insulin levels following a glucose challenge, with a hyperglycemic phenotype, and disrupted feedback of the HPA axis after acute stress with respect to controls. Remarkably, all PRS-induced alterations were modified by exposure to the uCMS procedure, thus resulting in a disease-dependent intervention; controls were not affected by uCMS, except for a slight and transient reduction in body weight, while PRS females displayed a reduced body weight gain for the entire duration of the uCMS procedure. Interestingly, the effects of uCMS on PRS females were still observed up to two months after its termination and the females displayed heightened rhythms of locomotor activity and enhanced sensitivity to reward with respect to controls exposed to uCMS. Our findings indicate that many parameters of the PRS female adult phenotype are shaped by both early and later life experiences in a non-additive way. As a consequence, early stressed individuals may be programmed with a more dynamic phenotype than non-stressed individuals.

Identification of Transmembrane Protease Serine 2 and Forkhead Box A1 As the Potential Bisphenol A Responsive Genes in the Neonatal Male Rat Brain.

Perinatal exposure of Bisphenol A (BPA) to rodents modifies their behavior in later life. To understand how BPA modifies their neurodevelopmental process, we first searched for BPA responsive genes from androgen and estrogen receptor signaling target genes by polymerase chain reaction array in the neonatal male rat brain. We used a transgenic strain of Wistar rats carrying enhanced green fluorescent protein tagged to gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) promoter to investigate the possible interaction of BPA responsive genes and GnIH neurons. We found upregulation of transmembrane protease serine 2 (Tmprss2), an androgen receptor signaling target gene, and downregulation of Forkhead box A1 (Foxa1), an ER signaling target gene, in the medial amygdala of male rats that were subcutaneously administered with BPA from day 1 to 3. Tmprss2-immunoreactive (ir) cells were distributed in the olfactory bulb, cerebral cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus in 3 days old but not in 1-month-old male rats. Density of Tmprss2-ir cells in the medial amygdala was increased by daily administration of BPA from day 1 to 3. Tmprss2 immunoreactivity was observed in 26.5% of GnIH neurons clustered from the ventral region of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus to the dorsal region of the arcuate nucleus of 3-day-old male rat hypothalamus. However, Tmprss2 mRNA expression significantly decreased in the amygdala and hypothalamus of 1-month-old male rats. Foxa1 mRNA expression was higher in the hypothalamus than the amygdala in 3 days old male rats. Intense Foxa1-ir cells were only found in the peduncular part of lateral hypothalamus of 3-day-old male rats. Density of Foxa1-ir cells in the hypothalamus was decreased by daily administration of BPA from day 1 to 3. Foxa1 mRNA expression in the hypothalamus also significantly decreased at 1 month. These results suggest that BPA disturbs the neurodevelopmental process and behavior of rats later in their life by modifying Tmprss2 and Foxa1 expressions in the brain.

A Shortened Version of the Reasons for Living-Older Adults Scale for Clinical and Research Utility.

Older adults have elevated suicide rates, and identification of protective factors, such as reasons for living, is important in preventing suicide. The Reasons for Living-Older Adults scale (RFL-OA) is a 69-item measure of these protective factors in late life, which yields good psychometric properties. However, its length limits its utility in some clinical and research contexts where a shorter measure is ideal. The objective of this study was to create a shortened version of the RFL-OA. First, data collected previously during validation of the original RFL-OA (n = 199, age 65 and older, 65% female) were used to select 30 items, spanning all content areas, that were highly endorsed. Second, new data were collected (n = 219, age 60 and older, 52% female) with the 30-item RFL-OA and measures of depression, hopelessness, suicidal ideation, religiosity, health, and social desirability to examine the measure's internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity. Scores on the 30-item RFL-OA exhibited strong internal consistency. The short RFL-OA demonstrated good convergent validity via significant, moderate correlations with suicidal ideation, hopelessness, depression, and religiosity. It demonstrated adequate discriminant validity via only small correlations with disability, subjective health, and social desirability. The shorter RFL-OA has good psychometric properties among community-dwelling older adults. It may have greater utility, compared to the original 69-item measure, for clinicians and researchers with limited time but who want to assess protective factors against suicidal behavior in late life.

Examining the Role of Childhood Experiences in Developing Altruistic and Knowledge Sharing Behaviors among Children in Their Later Life: A Partial Least Squares (PLS) Path Modeling Approach

Previous research on child development advocates that motivating children to make a choice to forfeit their own toys with others develop sharing behavior in later life. Borrowing the conceptual background from the child development theory, this study proposes a model of knowledge sharing behavior among individuals at the workplace. The study proposes a unique conceptual model that integrates the cognitive/behavioral, and other childhood theories to explain the knowledge sharing behavior among individuals. The study uses psychological, cognitive, behavioral and social learning theories to explain the development of altruistic behavior in childhood as a determinant of knowledge sharing behavior. This study develops and empirically tests a research framework which explains the role of childhood experiences in developing altruistic behavior among children and the translation of this altruistic behavior into knowledge sharing behavior later in their professional life. This study explores those relationships using PLS-SEM with data from 310 individuals from Pakistan. The study concludes the role of parents and child-rearing practices as central in developing children’s altruistic attitude that leads to knowledge sharing behavior in their later life. The implications and future research directions are discussed in details.

The ‘None in Three’ project: Preventing domestic violence in the Caribbean – Megan Kenny in Conversation with Professor Adele Jones

Megan Kenny is a Doctoral Researcher exploring cyber violence via social media. In addition to her own research, for the last two years she has been working with Professor Adele Jones on a project to prevent domestic violence in the Caribbean. None in Three, funded by the EU, takes its name from the statistic that one in three women and girls will experience sexual or physical violence in their lifetime. At the centre of the several strands of work being undertaken is a prosocial computer game created to challenge attitudes among the young that contribute to violent behaviours in later life and seeking also to generate awareness and empathy in respect of domestic violence. This innovative approach, alongside a wide-ranging public engagement strategy, has won Jones and her team grants totalling £4.6 million (Arts and Humanities Research Council funded) to establish the Ni3 Research Centre and to expand the work to the UK, India, China, Jamaica and Uganda.

Differential impact of Met receptor gene interaction with early-life stress on neuronal morphology and behavior in mice

Early adversity in childhood increases the risk of anxiety, mood, and post-traumatic stress disorders in adulthood, and specific gene-by-environment interactions may increase risk further. A common functional variant in the promoter region of the gene encoding the human MET receptor tyrosine kinase (rs1858830 ‘C’ allele) reduces expression of MET and is associated with altered cortical circuit function and structural connectivity. Mice with reduced Met expression exhibit changes in anxiety-like and conditioned fear behavior, precocious synaptic maturation in the hippocampus, and reduced neuronal arbor complexity and synaptogenesis. These phenotypes also can be produced independently by early adversity in wild-type mice. The present study addresses the outcome of combining early-life stress and genetic influences that alter timing of maturation on enduring functional and structural phenotypes. Using a model of reduced Met expression (Met+/−) and early-life stress from postnatal day 2–9, social, anxiety-like, and contextual fear behaviors in later life were measured. Mice that experienced early-life stress exhibited impairments in social interaction, whereas alterations in anxiety-like behavior and fear learning were driven by Met haploinsufficiency, independent of rearing condition. Early-life stress or reduced Met expression decreased arbor complexity of ventral hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons projecting to basolateral amygdala. Paradoxically, arbor complexity in Met+/− mice was increased following early-life stress, and thus not different from arbors in wild-type mice raised in control conditions. The changes in dendritic morphology are consistent with the hypothesis that the physiological state of maturation of CA1 neurons in Met+/− mice influences their responsiveness to early-life stress. The dissociation of behavioral and structural changes suggests that there may be phenotype-specific sensitivities to early-life stress.

Psychiatric Illness and Sleep in Older Adults: Comorbidity and Opportunities for Intervention.

This article reviews the literature examining the association between sleep disorders and psychopathology among older adults. Similar to the younger adult literature, the authors found that sleep disorders are robustly associated with anxiety, depression, dementia, and suicidal behavior in late life. Clinical implications and opportunities for intervention are discussed.

Sex-dependent alterations in motor and anxiety-like behavior of aged bacterial peptidoglycan sensing molecule 2 knockout mice

Peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) are key sensing-molecules of the innate immune system that specifically detect bacterial peptidoglycan (PGN) and its derivates. PGRPs have recently emerged as potential key regulators of normal brain development and behavior. To test the hypothesis that PGRPs play a role in motor control and anxiety-like behavior in later life, we used 15-month old male and female peptidoglycan recognition protein 2 (Pglyrp2) knockout (KO) mice. Pglyrp2 is an N-acetylmuramyl-l-alanine amidase that hydrolyzes PGN between the sugar backbone and the peptide chain (which is unique among the mammalian PGRPs). Using a battery of behavioral tests, we demonstrate that Pglyrp2 KO male mice display decreased levels of anxiety-like behavior compared with wild type (WT) males. In contrast, Pglyrp2 KO female mice show reduced rearing activity and increased anxiety-like behavior compared to WT females. In the accelerated rotarod test, however, Pglyrp2 KO female mice performed better compared to WT females (i.e., they had longer latency to fall off the rotarod). Further, Pglyrp2 KO male mice exhibited decreased expression levels of synaptophysin, gephyrin, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the frontal cortex, but not in the amygdala. Pglyrp2 KO female mice exhibited increased expression levels of spinophilin and alpha-synuclein in the frontal cortex, while exhibiting decreased expression levels of synaptophysin, gephyrin and spinophilin in the amygdala. Our findings suggest a novel role for Pglyrp2asa key regulator of motor and anxiety-like behavior in late life.

SOCIAL SUPPORT PREDICTS ILLNESS BEHAVIOR TRAJECTORIES IN THE SWEDISH ADOPTION/TWIN STUDY OF AGING

Social circumstances (e.g., stress, loneliness, support) predict illness behaviors, i.e., responses to symptoms of illness, but little is known about social influences on trajectories of illness behavior in late-life. We examined the predictive value of social support on illness behavior trajectories in SATSA. Participants were 1,314 twins (Mean age at baseline=60.26; SD=13.20; 58% female). Illness behavior was a single factor score calculated from four indicators across four surveys between 1987–2003 (i.e., somatic complaints, over-the-counter medication use, activity limitations due to pain, and perceived illness complications). Higher scores indicated greater likelihood of treatment seeking. Baseline social support measures indexed perceived availability of support from family and friends. Covariates were baseline comorbidity, gender, SES, marital status, and age (centered at 70 years). Illness behavior increased annually (Β=.16, SE=.02, p< .0001). People with more comorbidity (B=2.50, SE=.14, p< .0001) and females (B=2.63, SE=.46, p< .0001) reported higher illness behavior levels, whereas friend support (B= -.17, SE=.04, p< .0001) and age (B= -.20, SE=.02, p< .0001) negatively predicted illness behaviors. Further, age (B=.004, SE=.001, p< .0001) and comorbidity (B=.02, SE=.01, p=.02) predicted faster increases in illness behavior. While multi-morbidity predicts increases in illness behavior level and change, friend support, but not family support, predicts reduced levels. Hence, friend support might be a useful target for reducing overutilization of healthcare in older adults.

Neonatal oxytocin and vasopressin manipulation alter social behavior during the juvenile period in Mongolian gerbils.

Oxytocin and vasopressin are important modulators of a wide variety of social behaviors, and increasing evidence is showing that these neuropeptides are important organizational effectors of later-life behavior as well. We treated day-old gerbil pups with oxytocin, vasopressin, an oxytocin receptor antagonist, a vasopressin V1a receptor antagonist, or saline control, and then measured received parental responsiveness during the early postnatal period and juvenile social behavior during weaning. Neonatal vasopressin treatment enhanced sociality in males, but not females, at both developmental time points. When pups were individually placed outside the nest, parents were more responsive to male pups treated with vasopressin compared with littermates, and vasopressin treated male pups exhibited increased play with littermates as juveniles. These results show that vasopressin during very early life can enhance social interactions throughout early development.

Linking Mastery Across the Life Course to Mobility Device Use in Later Life.

Mastery in older ages is shaped by earlier-life experiences. Prior research has demonstrated that mastery is associated with health-promoting behaviors; however, little research has examined whether mastery histories influence health behaviors such as mobility device use in later life. Using 25 years of data from the Americans' Changing Lives Survey (N = 1,427), this research explores whether different trajectories of life course mastery influence the odds that an older adult will use a mobility device when experiencing functional impairment. We used growth mixture models with a distal outcome and examined the relationship between functional limitations and mobility device use as it varies across latent classes of life course mastery, controlling for social and health factors. The odds of device use in the face of functional limitations were significantly higher among those with a history of high life course mastery, relative to those with low life course mastery, all things being equal. Our findings suggest that mastery over the life course is a source of psychological human capital that is associated with health-promoting behaviors in later life among those with functional limitations.

Beyond cognitive age: developing a multitheoretical measure of age and its assessment

Although aging is a multidimensional process, studies of older consumer behavior traditionally have used age as a surrogate measure of this process. As a result, the emerged relationships between age and consumer behaviors are not well understood. This paper proposes a theoretically based alternative measure of age that derives from multiple dimensions of the aging process. It uses a large sample of older Malays to test and compare the power of this measure in predicting select consumer behaviors and compares the results to those of age and cognitive age that are commonly used to explain consumer behavior in later life. The results of the empirical study suggest that the new measure of age and aging may be a better predictor of certain types of consumer behavior of the elderly and possibly could supplement or even replace the existing measures such as cognitive age. Directions for further research are suggested with regard to improving and validating this measure.