Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study Of Adult Development Research Articles

Identifying predictors of self-perceptions of aging based on a range of cognitive, physical, and mental health indicators: Twenty-year longitudinal findings from the ILSE study.

Research exploring whether health predicts self-perceptions of aging (SPA) has mostly focused on single predictors and has been hampered by short observational intervals. We examined whether 20-year changes in cognitive functioning, physical and mental health predict SPA. We used data of 103 German participants who remained of a sample of 500 participants born in 1930-1932 enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE) in 1993/1996 (mean age at fourth measurement wave = 82.5 years). Health indicators included six cognitive tests, objective and subjective physical health, and self-reported depression. We used a new and multidimensional (awareness of age-related gains and losses) and a well-established (attitudes toward own aging) measure of SPA. Linear regression analyses showed that, among the cognitive tests, decline in information processing speed (Digit Symbol) predicted less awareness of age-related gains and more awareness of age-related losses but not attitudes toward own aging. Decline in subjective but not objective physical health, predicted more awareness of age-related losses and negative attitudes toward own aging, but not awareness of age-related gains. Increase in depressive symptoms predicted more awareness of age-related losses and negative attitudes toward own aging, but not awareness of age-related gains. The size of associations suggests that objective cognitive decline has limited influence on older adults' SPA and, if so, only when the decline is related to mental slowing. Similarly, perceived physical and mental health, but not objective health, have a small-to-moderate influence on awareness of age-related losses and attitudes toward own aging. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Prevalence of temporomandibular disorders in seniors-Symptom-related analyses in younger and older seniors

HintergrundKraniomandibuläre Dysfunktionen (CMD) können auch im hohen Alter auftreten. Die Prävalenz von CMD-Symptomen bei Senioren wurde bisher nur wenig untersucht.Ziel der ArbeitZiel dieser Untersuchung war es, die Prävalenz von Symptomen einer CMD bei Senioren nach Befunderhebung mit den Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) zu bestimmen. Dabei sollten die Prävalenzwerte von jüngeren (60 bis 74 Jahren) und älteren (≥ 75 Jahre) Senioren verglichen werden.Material und MethodenIm Rahmen der Interdisziplinären Längsschnittstudie des Erwachsenenalters (ILSE) wurden Probanden nach repräsentativen Gesichtspunkten rekrutiert. Während der vierten Nachverfolgungswelle im Zeitraum von 2014 bis 2016 im Bereich des Studienzentrums Leipzig wurden die Probanden auf das Vorliegen von anamnestischen und klinischen CMD-Symptomen untersucht.ErgebnisseAnamnestische CMD-Symptome bei Senioren (n = 192) waren v. a. durch Schmerzen im Gesichtsbereich (13,0 %) gekennzeichnet. Das häufigste klinische CMD-Symptom waren Kiefergelenkgeräusche mit einer Prävalenz bis zu 35,5 %. Frauen gaben anamnestisch häufiger Kopfschmerzen/Migräne an. Kiefergelenkgeräusche und eine limitierte Mundöffnung wurden klinisch häufiger bei weiblichen Teilnehmenden beobachtet. Statistisch signifikante Unterschiede zeigten sich bei dem Vergleich von jüngeren und älteren Senioren hinsichtlich der Prävalenz von Kopfschmerzen/Migräne, jedoch nicht bei klinischen Symptomen.SchlussfolgerungAnamnestisch werden Gesichtsschmerzen von 13,0 % der Senioren angegeben. Kiefergelenkgeräusche werden bei jedem dritten Älteren klinisch beobachtet. CMD-Symptome scheinen bei jüngeren und älteren Senioren im ähnlichen Maße ausgeprägt zu sein.

Change in attitudes toward aging: Cognitive complaints matter more than objective performance.

Converging longitudinal research suggests that more negative views on aging predict accelerated cognitive decline. Although conceptually suggested, reciprocal relationships between cognitive functioning and attitudes toward aging have remained less clear empirically. We used the 20-year data from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE) to better understand such potential bidirectionality. Drawing on 1,002 baseline participants from 2 age groups, a midlife (Mage = 43.7 at baseline) and an old age group (Mage = 62.5 at baseline), we examined longitudinal trajectories between attitude toward own aging, performance-based cognitive measures, and subjective cognitive complaints. Findings from multigroup latent growth curve modeling replicated previous findings that attitude toward own aging predicts cognitive change over 20 years in old age with 2 important specifications: We show that this effect (a) does not apply to midlife and (b) disappears in old age after controlling for depression over time. Further, as expected, cognitive complaints but not cognitive performance were related to change in attitude toward own aging in midlife and old age. Results suggest that differentiating between objective cognitive functioning and subjective cognitive complaints is important when investigating relations between cognitive functioning and attitude toward own aging in different age groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AND COGNITIVE COMPLAINTS WITH ATTITUDES TOWARD AGING IN MIDLIFE AND OLD AGE

Converging longitudinal research suggests that more negative views on aging go along with higher cognitive impairment. In some contrast, although conceptually suggested, possible reciprocal relationships remain less clear empirically. Using 20-year data from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE), we aim to better understand developmental co-dynamics between cognitive factors and attitude toward own aging (ATOA). Drawing on 1002 baseline participants (445 at T4) from two age cohorts (midlife: 40 years at baseline; old age: 60 years), longitudinal trajectories between ATOA, performance-based cognitive measures and subjective cognitive complaints are examined. Findings based on multi-group latent growth curve models (a) reveal substantial associations between ATOA and subjective complaints as well as objective cognition in both age groups; (b) confirm previous findings that ATOA predicts cognitive change over 20 years; and (c) find cognitive complaints but not cognitive performance able to predict change in ATOA in later life.

12-Year Associations of Health with Personality in the Second Half of Life

Abstract. We examined longitudinal associations between personality, objective (physician-rated) and self-rated health over 12 years in two German cohorts (midlife cohort, born 1950/52, nT0 = 502; late-life cohort, born 1930/32, nT0 = 500) from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE). Based on cross-lagged panel design analyses controlling for sex, education, depression, and cognitive abilities, we found that after 12 years better baseline objective health predicted lower Neuroticism and higher Agreeableness, whereas baseline Extraversion and Conscientiousness were positive predictors of later self-rated health. Our findings thus illustrate that the direction of longitudinal personality-health associations is dependent on whether objective or self-rated health is considered, whereas relations do not seem to be considerably different in midlife vs. in old age.

Stability and change in subjective well-being: The role of performance-based and self-rated cognition.

The primary goal of this study was to address the stability-despite-loss paradox of subjective well-being. Performance-based and self-evaluative measures of cognitive functioning were examined as predictors of subjective well-being in middle-aged and older adults using data from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE). Consistent with past work, subjective well-being remained relatively stable over a period of 12 years in both age groups, although performance-based and self-rated cognition declined over time. Cognitive status, as determined by standard psychometric tests of fluid cognitive abilities, was unrelated to longitudinal change in subjective well-being. A symmetrical measure of self-rated cognitive performance predicted intraindividual change in subjective well-being in middle-aged but not older adults. This pattern of findings helps clarify why many older people may be able to maintain their subjective well-being, while their cognitive abilities decline. (PsycINFO Database Record

Personality and Life Satisfaction Over 12 Years

Abstract. Both theoretical reasoning and empirical data suggest that personality and well-being have substantial interrelationships. However, more longitudinal evidence is required, and the relationship lacks research attention from a lifespan perspective. We examined the mid-term and long-term interrelations of Neuroticism and Extraversion with life satisfaction in two cohorts from middle and late adulthood, using data from the “Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE).” Multigroup, cross-lagged models reveal personality to be more predictive of life satisfaction than vice versa. Furthermore, an aging effect occurs regarding the relationships between life satisfaction and personality, with life satisfaction being predictive of personality only in the old cohort. Controlling for health weakens the interrelationship. Results add to the understanding of lifespan dynamics among personality and life satisfaction.

Attitude toward own aging in midlife and early old age over a 12-year period: examination of measurement equivalence and developmental trajectories.

The Attitude Toward Own Aging Subscale (ATOA) is a frequently used measure of subjective aging. Although ATOA in midlife might assume a preparatory role for psychosocial adjustment in old age, research has been dominated by a focus on older adults. To enable a comparison of developmental trajectories of ATOA between middle-aged and young-old adults, we tested measurement invariance between age groups and over a 12-year study period. In addition, personality variables, health dimensions, and sociodemographic variables were investigated as predictors of developmental trajectories of ATOA. Data came from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE) with 2 birth cohorts (1930-1932: n = 500; 1950-1952: n = 501) followed over 12 years. Data analyses were conducted with confirmatory factor analysis for ordered-categorical variables and latent growth models. Support for the assumption of partial measurement invariance of ATOA was found in each age group, but not between age groups. Latent growth models revealed a steady decline in ATOA for young-old individuals, whereas ATOA trajectories in midlife were characterized by interindividual variation. Health variables predicted level of ATOA in the young-old. In midlife ATOA were shaped by a variety of factors. Future studies should be conducted with an awareness of differential item functioning of the ATOA scale across age groups. Furthermore, our results point to a greater modifiability of aging attitudes in middle-aged compared with young-old individuals, thus highlighting the importance of the midlife years in shaping developmental trajectories into old age.

Einstellungen zum eigenen Altern: Eine Alters- oder eine Ressourcenfrage?

Recent studies have demonstrated that positive and negative stereotypes and attitudes toward age and aging may have substantial effects on the longterm development of cognitive and physical performance in old age. Relatively little is known to which degree attitudes toward one's own aging depend on (a) the current level of individual resources, (b) changes in the level of individual resources, or (c) the increasing age of older persons. The present study examined the relations between individual physical, mental, and cognitive resources and the attitudes toward one's own aging. The study was conducted with N=500 participants of the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE) born between 1930 and 1932 (age: M=63.0, SD=0.9 at T1 and M=66.9, SD=0.9 at T2). The results indicate that the attitudes toward one's own aging (a) become more negative with increasing age, (b) most strongly depend on the available resources, (c) changes in level of resources contribute to the prediction of the attitudes toward one's own aging, and (d) age acts more as a reinforcing factor on the relation between resources and attitudes than as an independent factor on the attitudes toward one's own aging.

Marital Interaction in Middle and Old Age: A Predictor of Marital Satisfaction?

Many studies point out the importance of marital satisfaction for well-being. However, although being married is still the norm in middle and old age, research on the determinants of marital satisfaction has neglected long-term marriages. While research on short-term marriages mainly focuses on partner fit (e.g., in personality traits and socio-economic status), marital interactions should be more important for marital satisfaction in long-term marriages. In this article we examine the role of both stable, dispositional factors and of marital interaction in predicting marital satisfaction in long-term marriages in middle and old age. With data from 588 married women and men in middle and old age who participated in the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE), we examined age and gender differences in the role of socio-economic status, personality, and marital interaction as predictors of marital satisfaction. Results showed a) that socio-economic factors and personality played a minor role in predicting marital satisfaction, and b) that a high quality of dyadic interaction was particularly important for the marital satisfaction of women. The implications of these findings for future research and interventions on marital interaction in middle and old age are discussed.

The contribution of adult personality and recalled parent–child relations to friendships in middle and old age

In this study we examined personality traits, in particular openness to experience and agreeableness, and–in an exploratory step – recalled parent–child relations as antecedents of friendship involvement in adulthood. Data from 392 middle-aged (43–46 years) and 345 older participants (61–64 years) in the first wave of the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE) support the hypothesis that openness contributes to friendship involvement in middle age, while agreeableness contributes to friendship involvement in old age. Further, structural equation models showed that the relation between recalled mother–child relationship and friendship involvement in older adults was mediated by agreeableness. Recalled father–child relationship was directly associated with friendships in both age groups, independent of personality traits.