Low Sense Of Control Research Articles

Perceived Vulnerability to Disability-Related Victimization in People With Multiple Sclerosis: Community Survey on Risk and Protective Factors.

The perception that one is at increased risk of interpersonal victimization or violence can deleteriously affect community participation and quality of life. Race, sex, and disability status, often associated with use of an assistive mobility device (AD), are known correlates of perceived risk of victimization; however, almost no research has explored how these variables intersect for individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), and none have sought to identify potential risk and protective factors. Data for the present study come from a single time point derived from a 10-year longitudinal survey of 446 individuals with MS. Lifetime trauma exposure, personal resilience and self-efficacy, control over participation, and perceived risk of interpersonal victimization due to disability were all assessed via self-report. Statistical analyses included analysis of covariance with participants stratified by race/ethnicity, sex, and AD use. After controlling for lifetime trauma exposure and severity of physical impairment, the use of an AD was significantly associated with greater perceived risk of victimization due to disability. Further, people with MS from racial and ethnic minority groups who used ADs had the highest perceived risk relative to all other groups. Higher levels of perceived risk were associated with a lower sense of control over community participation, lower resilience, and lower disease management self-efficacy. Visible indicators of disability may contribute to perceptions of vulnerability, especially among people with MS who are racially and ethnically marginalized. Clinicians should be aware of how perceived vulnerability may impact a sense of control over community participation, particularly when educating patients on AD use.

Overindebtedness, unemployment, and poor mental health - and the role of sense of control: a population-based Swiss study.

Both overindebtedness and unemployment are critical life events that can result in or lead to poor mental health. What is less known is that the two partly interrelated events frequently go along with a feeling of loss or lack of control in life, which could be the main reason why they are associated with poor mental health. This has not been examined in previous research, particularly not in this combination. This study used and merged two cross-sectional data sets. Data collected in 2019 on 219 overindebted clients of the four official debt advisory centers in the Canton of Zurich were linked with a comparable subsample of 1,997 respondents from the Swiss Health Survey of 2017. The entire study population covered 2,216 adult individuals living in the Canton of Zurich. The prevalence of no or low sense of control, medium to high psychological distress, and moderate to major depression was much higher among the 44 solely unemployed (36/30/12%), the 189 solely overindebted (73/83/53%), and particularly among the 30 unemployed and overindebted (93/97/60%) than among all 1,953 other survey participants (21/13/7%). Unemployment, overindebtedness, and a (resulting) lack or loss of control were all found to be strong risk factors for the two mental health outcomes under study. Associations, or rather negative health effects, were partly but not fully mediated by the sense of control. Overindebtedness much more strongly predicted psychological distress (ß = -0.37) and depression (ß = 0.17) than unemployment (ß = -0.05/0.01). The sense of control turned out to be an independent explanatory factor for poor mental health and even the strongest of all (ß = 0.49/-0.59). Improving a person's control beliefs could be a promising measure for preventing mental health disorders in general and in people who are unemployed and/or overindebted in particular.

The relationship of sexual objectification with internet addiction and its implications for mental health

Sexual objectification refers to an individual being recognized solely for their appearance and sexual function. University students may frequently experience sexually objectifying social encounters, such as being catcalled, being leered at, or receiving derogatory comments. However, relatively little research has considered how it may be associated with maladaptive usage of the internet and the implications of this for mental health, including depression and anxiety. Internet addiction has been identified as a pressing and highly prevalent issue; identifying its antecedents may assist in the prevention of this harmful phenomenon. Therefore, we recruited undergraduate students (valid N = 677) to test whether sexual objectification is associated with internet addiction through a low sense of control and whether the association between sexual objectification and internet addiction further predicts mental health outcomes. Advancing knowledge of the relationship between sexual objectification and mental health outcomes may facilitate more effective coping. Participants completed validated measures assessing their sexual objectification, sense of control, internet addiction, depression, and anxiety. We conducted regression analyses, structural equation modeling, and bootstrapping analyses to test our predictions. As predicted, sexual objectification was negatively associated with control and positively associated with internet addiction, anxiety, and depression. Moreover, the associations between sexual objectification and anxiety and depression were serially mediated by control and internet addiction. These findings advance our knowledge of the outcomes of sexual objectification, with significant implications for practitioners, support groups, and individuals coping with sexual objectification.

The association between the sense of control and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

High levels of depression and low sense of control have been reported during the COVID-19 pandemic. The removal of typical freedoms through public health restrictions may have played an important role. The aim of this review was to examine data collected during the pandemic and (1) estimate the strength of the association between sense of control and depression, (2) examine whether the different types of control measures affected the strength of the association, and (3) whether this changed as a function of pandemic indicators. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies published in English between December 2019 and November 2022. A total of 993 articles were identified, of which 20 were included in the review and 16 in the meta-analysis after conducting a quality assessment using the standard NIH tool. The control-depression association gave a bias-independent pooled effect size of r = .41, and grew stronger over the 130 weeks covered by this review but did not change as a function of local COVID incidence rates. Subgroup analyses showed that external and overall control were more strongly related to depression than internal control. These findings emphasize that external factors are important to the sense of control and the importance of preserving the sense of control in situations where the removal of personal freedoms is necessary, such as public health emergencies.

P125: Guilt for perceiving oneself as a burden in adults who present physical limitations. Associated factors and age differences

Objective:Previous research has suggested that negative self-perceptions of aging and lower sense of control were significantly associated with worse physical and mental health, including physical limitations and feelings of guilt for perceiving oneself as a burden. However, no study has analyzed the associations of these variables when jointly considered and assessed the potential differences in the associations between people aged 40 to 59 years and people aged 60 years and older. The objective of this study was to assess the potential differences in the associations mentioned above between people aged 40 to 59 years and people aged 60 years and older.Methods:Participants were 377 people over 40 years (206 aged 40 to 59 years and 171 participants aged 60 years and older) who answered an online survey. The association between negative self-perceptions of aging, perceived control, physical limitations, and guilt for perceiving oneself as a burden was tested through path-analyses, with differences between age groups tested through multigroup analysis.Results:Significant differences between age groups were obtained. The results suggest that the influence of negative self-perceptions of aging on guilt for perceiving oneself as a burden is indirect through lower sense of control in participants aged 40 to 59 years; in participants aged 60 and over, negative self-perceptions of aging had a direct and indirect effect on guilt through greater physical limitations.Conclusion:Negative self-perceptions of aging seem to be a relevant variable to understand feelings of guilt for perceiving oneself as a burden in both middle-aged adults and older adults. However, this study documents potential differences in the correlates of guilt for perceiving oneself as a burden between participants aged 40 to 59 years and individuals aged 60 years and older. Specifically, the results suggest that the associations between negative self-perceptions of aging and guilt for perceiving oneself as a burden are modulated by lower sense of control in middle-aged and by greater physical limitations in older adults. These results support the relevance of social and cognitive processes related with aging for understanding feelings of guilt for perceiving oneself as a burden.

Post-migration journey: Asylum, trauma and resilience, different trajectories - A comparison of the mental health and post-migration living difficulties of documented and undocumented migrants in Belgium.

Research on the impact of post-migration experiences on the mental health of migrant populations has shown a predictive link between post-migration living difficulties and psychological distress. While many studies have focussed on refugees and asylum seekers, there is a considerable gap in the literature concerning undocumented migrants. The aim of this study was to assess the differences in mental health between documented and undocumented migrants in Belgium. It identified the post-migration difficulties encountered by these two groups and measured their impact on their levels of trauma, resilience, anxiety, depression and their assumptive world. This study involved 69 participants, aged 18 to 68 years, who were either documented or undocumented resident in Belgium. Our data collection included the Post-Migration Living Difficulties Checklist for the measurement of post-migration difficulties, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist - DSM-V version for the measurement of trauma, the World Assumptions Questionnaire for the measurement of the assumptive world, the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 for the measurement of depressive and anxiety disorders and the Adult Resilience Measure - Revised for the measurement of resilience. Our analyses showed that the mental health of undocumented migrants was poorer than that of documented migrants, with higher levels of trauma, anxiety and depression, a more negative assumptive world, a lower sense of control and lower total and personal resilience. Our results also revealed that post-migration living difficulties were more severe and more numerous for undocumented migrants, and that they were associated to different themes in both groups. The fact that post-migration experience plays such an important role in the mental health of migrant populations raises significant clinical, political and societal considerations. Furthermore, it would appear that undocumented migrants represent a distinct migratory group with their own specificities in terms of migration journey and mental health.

Neuroticism and fear of COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic: Testing the mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty and sense of control among Chinese high school students.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2019, neuroticism has been proven a predictor of fear of COVID-19 infection. However, only few studies have been conducted on the factors affecting the relationship between neuroticism and this kind of fear. The present study is aimed at analyzing the role intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and sense of control (SOC) play in relation to neuroticism and the fear of COVID-19. We conducted a cross-sectional study in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, China, and we collected complete datasets from 792 high school students. The main results can be described as follows: (a) individuals with high neuroticism tended to have higher intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and a lower sense of control (SOC); (b) IU and SOC played a mediating role between neuroticism and fear of COVID-19, and a serial mediation effect was found between these factors; (c) after controlling for both IU and SOC, the effect of neuroticism on fear was no longer significant. The results suggested a critical role of IU and sense of control in the causal relationship between neuroticism and fear.

The Early 2020 COVID-19 Outbreak in China and Subsequent Flourishing: Medium-Term Effects and Intervening Mechanisms.

In early 2020, a COVID-19 outbreak occurred in Hubei Province of China. Exploiting the geographic concentration of China's COVID-19 cases in Hubei (the initial epicenter), we compare Hubei and non-Hubei residents to examine the medium-term effect of exposure to the COVID-19 outbreak on mental well-being. We examine flourishing-a comprehensive assessment of well-being that is not merely the absence of mental illness-and investigate a broad set of psychosocial and economic mediators that may link initial outbreak exposure to subsequent flourishing. We use ordinary least squares regression models to analyze national panel data collected in early 2020 and late 2021 (N = 3,169). Results show that flourishing scores remain lower for Hubei than non-Hubei residents almost two years following the early 2020 COVID-19 outbreak. Mediation analysis reveals that Hubei residents' lower incidences of job promotion and lower sense of control are the two most important mediators accounting for their lower flourishing relative to non-Hubei residents. Combined, this study provides the first evidence of the medium-term psychological vulnerability borne by individuals who lived in the initial epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings on the intervening mechanisms shed light on the policy initiatives needed for post-pandemic mental well-being recovery in China and other countries.

Sense of control, selective attention and cognitive inhibition in pediatric functional seizures: A prospective case-control study

PurposeTo date, laboratory-based experimental behavioral methods have not been used to identify factors associated with pediatric functional seizures (FS), leaving a critical gap for effective treatment development. MethodsChildren ages 13–18 with video-EEG-confirmed FS were matched to controls (MCs) based on income, sex, race, and age. A modified Stroop task which included a condition requiring participants to report the ink colors in which seizure symptom words were written (e.g., “shaking” in blue) measured selective attention and cognitive inhibition through response time. The magic and turbulence task assessed sense of control in three conditions (magic, lag, turbulence). Children with FS were asked to report premonitory symptoms predicting FS. ResultsParticipants included 26 children with FS and 26 MCs (Meanage=15.2, 74% female, 59% white). On Stroop, children with FS had a slower reaction time (Mean=1193.83) than MCs (Mean=949.26, p = 0.022) for seizure symptom words. Children with FS had significantly poorer sense of control in the turbulence condition of the magic and turbulence task (Mean=-3.99, SD=8.83) than MCs (Mean=-11.51, SD=7.87; t(20)=-2.61, p =0.017). Children with FS (Mean=-1.80, SD=6.54) also had significantly poorer sense of control in the magic condition than MCs (Mean=-5.57, SD=6.01; p =0.028). Ninety-eight percent of patients endorsed premonitory symptoms. ConclusionCompared with MCs, children with FS have (1) poorer selective attention and cognitive inhibition when presented with seizure-related information and (2) lower sense of control (i.e. poorer awareness that their control was manipulated). Premonitory symptoms were common. Sense of control, selective attention, and inhibition may be novel treatment targets for FS intervention.

Relationship between working stress and anxiety of medical workers in the COVID-19 situation: A moderated mediation model

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has brought a lot of working stress to medical workers and has a certain impact on their mental health. Working stress is closely related to the increase in anxiety, but few studies have explored whether their relationship will be affected by positive psychological factors in the special situation. Methods798 medical workers were investigated online after the outbreak of the COVID-19 (10 February to 1 March 2020) in China. The relevant questionnaires were used to evaluate working stress, anxiety, sense of control, and psychological capital. The moderated mediation model test was performed using the SPSS software and PROCESS macro program. ResultsWorking stress could directly affect anxiety, and indirectly affect anxiety through sense of control. In addition, psychological capital moderated the direct effect of working stress on anxiety, which is more effective at high level of psychological capital. Psychological capital also moderated the second half of the indirect effect of working stress on anxiety, at low level of psychological capital, sense of control was more effective in predicting anxiety. LimitationsAll the data in this study was collected through online questionnaire. The anxiety response measured in this study cannot be specific to the viral epidemic. ConclusionsUnder the COVID-19 epidemic situation, for medical workers, low sense of control and low level of psychological capital may be important risk factors of anxiety caused by working stress. Thus, strengthening the sense of control and psychological capital of medical workers would be helpful to reduce their anxiety and maintain their mental health.

Strategies for Alleviating Students’ Math Anxiety: Control-Value Theory in Practice

Mathematics educators often know the widespread nature of mathematics anxiety and may even be aware of the debilitating effect it can have on their students. Although educators may develop tricks or tools that seem to help, a comprehensive understanding of what students are experiencing and how the classroom environment can be adjusted to address their struggles is missing. Control-value theory offers a theoretical framework for how the classroom environment and students’ appraisals influence mathematics anxiety (Pekrun, 2006). Mathematics anxious students are focused on not failing, rather than on mastering the material, and have a low sense of control over outcomes. To decrease mathematics anxiety, teachers can implement strategies that increase emphasis on learning over performance and support autonomy, thus decreasing fear of failure and avoidant goal orientations, and increasing self-efficacy and control appraisals. Suggested strategies for adjusting instruction focus on high school and college classrooms.

Being future-conscious during a global crisis: The protective effect of heightened Futures Consciousness in the COVID-19 pandemic

Futures Consciousness (FC) refers to the capacity that a person has for understanding, anticipating, and preparing for the future. In many respects, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for future thinking, implying delay discounting, uncertainty, low sense of control, and self-sacrifice for the benefit of the community at large. FC might hence have an important role in explaining people's perceptions of and reactions to the pandemic. The results of a longitudinal study over the course of the summer 2020 found that UK participants (N = 298) who reported higher scores of FC at the first time of measure were more likely to express greater satisfaction and engagement with the COVID-19 government restrictions at the second time of measure. They also reported higher compassion for others, stronger sense of neighbourliness, and greater engagement in different forms of collective action. This positive engagement translated in benefit for the self: greater perceived wellbeing, lesser emotional blunting, and greater feelings of hope about the future. Remarkably, the same participants also reported greater concern about societal issues. It hence seems that FC triggers an active and aware engagement with the future. We discuss implications for future-thinking research and interventions aiming to improve Futures Consciousness.

Anxiety, perceived control and pandemic behaviour in Thailand during COVID-19: Results from a national survey

Anxiety, perceived control and trust in information sources have all been shown to significantly influence health and social behaviours during pandemics. We measured these factors in a nationally representative on-street survey collected across five regions of Thailand (N = 1000, May 2020, response rate 82.6%). Anxiety was positively associated with stocking up on food (OR 2.62 (95% CI 1.88–3.66)) and taking vitamins (OR 2.37 (1.59–3.54)); perceived control with (recommended) coughing into an elbow (OR 2.42 (1.80–3.26)), checking on others (OR 1.52 (1.00–2.31)), and negatively with stockpiling (OR 0.72 (0.55-0.96)). Those relying on family/friends, doctors online or foreign sources were more likely to take vitamins (ORs 4.11, 2.88. 2.82), respondents using TV news less likely to stock up on food (OR 0.57 (0.37-0.86)) and to wear a mask for self-protection (OR 0.27 (0.10-0.73)). Comparing findings with analogous cross-sectional data on anxiety collected at the start of the pandemic (Feb 2020, Goodwin et al., 2020) there was no significant difference between personal anxiety in the two surveys (F (1, 1197) = 0.72, p = .40)) but perceived control was lower in the later survey (F (1, 1197) = 6.72 p = .01)). Findings suggest reduced perceived control as the pandemic developed and illuminate possible negative impacts of anxiety and low sense of control on pandemic behaviours.

Guilt for perceiving oneself as a burden in healthy older adults. Associated factors

Introduction. Negative self-perceptions of aging can trigger self-perception as a burden and guilt associated with perceiving oneself as a burden in older adults who do not have physical or cognitive limitations. The main objective of this study was to analyze the role of negative subjective perception of aging, perceived control, self-perceived burden and depressive symptomatology in the explanation of guilt associated with perceiving oneself as a burden to others in older adults who do not show physical or cognitive limitations. Methods Participants were 317 community-dwelling people over 60 years without cognitive or functional limitations. A path model that explores the role of self-perceived burden in the relationship between negative self-perception of aging, perceived control, depressive symptoms and guilt associated with self-perception as a burden was analyzed. Results The model presented excellent fit to the data, explaining 41% of the depressive symptomatology and 45% of guilt for perceiving oneself as a burden. Negative self-perceptions of aging, lower sense of control, and a perception of being a burden were significantly associated with depressive symptoms and guilt for perceiving oneself as a burden. Discussion This study documents potential correlates of psychological distress in older adults with no explicit physical or cognitive problems, suggesting paths through which feelings of guilt for perceiving oneself as a burden may be reported by this population.

Retraining and control therapy for pediatric psychogenic non-epileptic seizures.

ObjectiveOur aim was to conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial of a novel cognitive behaviorally based intervention for pediatric PNES called Retraining and Control Therapy (ReACT).MethodsParticipants were randomized to receive either eight sessions of ReACT or supportive therapy, and participants completed follow‐up visits at 7‐ and 60‐days posttreatment. The primary outcome measure was PNES frequency at 7‐days posttreatment. Eligibility criteria included children with video‐EEG confirmed PNES and participant/parent or guardian willingness to participate in treatment. Exclusion criteria included substance use, psychosis, and severe intellectual disability. Forty‐two patients were assessed for eligibility and 32 were randomized. ReACT aimed to retrain classically conditioned, involuntary PNES by targeting catastrophic symptom expectations and a low sense of control over symptoms using principles of habit reversal. Supportive therapy was based on the assumption that relief from stress or problems can be achieved by discussion with a therapist.ResultsTwenty‐nine participants (M age = 15.1 years, SDage = 2.5; 72.2% female; 57.1% Caucasian, 28.6% African American) completed 7‐days postprocedures. For PNES frequency, the Wilcoxon Rank Sum test statistic was 273.5 yielding a normal approximation of Z = 4.725 (P < 0.0001), indicating a significant improvement in PNES frequency for ReACT at 7‐days posttreatment compared to supportive therapy. Participants with PNES in the 7‐days posttreatment were removed from the study for additional treatment, resulting in no 60‐day follow‐up data for supportive therapy.InterpretationReACT resulted in significantly greater PNES reduction than supportive therapy, with 100% of patients experiencing no PNES in 7 days after ReACT. Additionally, 82% remained PNES‐free for 60 days after ReACT.

Significance of STEADI Fall Screening in Early Identification of Geriatric Patients with Undiagnosed Depression

Depression is highly common but underdiagnosed among the elderly population, especially those older than 60 years of age. It is associated with other clinical conditions, including cognitive dysfunction and the risk of suicide in the older population [1]. According to the World Health Organization, depression will be the second-leading cause of disease by 2020 [2]. Due to physical and mental decline and frailty secondary to restricted physical activity, the perceived low sense of control over one’s own life renders older individuals more prone to depression [3]. Major depression is considered one of the largest contributors to the global burden of disease.

Why do angry people overestimate their intelligence? Neuroticism as a suppressor of the association between Trait-Anger and subjectively assessed intelligence

Trait-Anger and Neuroticism are substantially inter-correlated positively. However, there is some theoretical and empirical research that supports the notion that Trait-Anger and Neuroticism are influenced by several processes differentially. For instance, Trait-Anger is linked to optimistic bias, increased sense of control, approach motivation and high Narcissism. In contrast, Neuroticism correlates with pessimism, low sense of control, withdrawal motivation and low Narcissism. Building on these previous findings, we hypothesized that Trait-Anger and Neuroticism would be positively and negatively, respectively, associated with subjectively assessed intelligence (SAI). Furthermore, we expected that these two traits would act as mutual suppressors in predicting SAI. The results of two studies (ns = 303 and 225) supported our hypotheses. Trait-Anger was positively and Neuroticism negatively related to SAI, even after controlling for objective intelligence. These results are consistent with previous research which suggests that SAI is more substantially associated with personality than objective intelligence. Additionally, in study 2, we found that Narcissism mediated (partially) the relationship between Trait-Anger and SAI. In the discussion, we suggest that there might be two faces of Trait-Anger: one related to anxiety and one to overconfidence. Finally, a potential role of intelligence positive illusions in Trait-Anger is proposed.

Cognitive-Affective Pathways to Child Depressive and Anxious Symptoms: Role of Children's Discipline Attributions.

Children's maladaptive cognitive attributions may elicit affective reactions that contribute to depressive and anxious symptoms. This study investigated cognitive-affective pathways in depressive and anxious symptoms in a sample of 110 prepubertal children, evaluating children's specific appraisals of experiences of parental discipline as well as general attributional style, along with their hopelessness, self-esteem, and shame. Pathways toward depressive and anxious symptoms were tested simultaneously to identify potential unique etiological mechanisms. Results suggested that lower self-esteem strongly contributed to depressive and anxious symptoms, whereas shame related to depression only and hopelessness related to depression only marginally. Additionally, general negative attributional style and low sense of control over discipline related to all three affective elements. Lastly, low sense of discipline control directly predicted depressive symptoms, whereas beliefs that discipline was undeserved directly predicted anxious symptoms. Future work should continue to examine the role of children's discipline-specific attributions, which appear important in internalizing symptoms.

Ostracism promotes a terroristic mindset

ABSTRACTBiographical data of terrorists and overlapping theories indicate that ostracism has the power to promote a terroristic mindset. This effect, however, has not been investigated empirically so far. The current studies aimed to fill this research gap and test this relationship experimentally. Inclusionary status was manipulated in an online and a lab study. To assess how far participants would go on behalf of a terrorist group, participants were introduced to a pro-democracy and animal protection terrorist organization, and asked for their degree of agreement to their actions. Study 1 showed that ostracized participants always favored more extreme options to support a terrorist group compared to participants in an inclusion or a neutral control condition, which grew from non-violent means to property damage. In Study 2, ostracism increased the willingness to destroy property on behalf of a terrorist group. Indicating an underlying mechanism, this effect was mediated by a low sense of control. The findings are consistent with theoretical and empirical work of both ostracism and terrorism research, and provide one of few pieces of experimental work to illustrate a root of radicalization.

Biopsychosocial predictors of perceived life expectancy in a national sample of older men and women.

Perceived life expectancy (PLE) is predictive of mortality risk in older adults, but the factors that may contribute to mental conceptions of PLE are unknown. We aimed to describe the sociodemographic, biomedical, behavioral, and psychological predictors of self-reported PLE estimates among older English adults. Data were from 6662 adults aged 50–79 years in the population-based English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (cross-sectional sample from 2012/13). PLE was assessed in the face-to-face study interview (“What are the chances you will live to be age x or more?” where x = current age plus 10–15 years). Responses were categorized as ‘low’ (0–49%), ‘medium’ (50–74%), and ‘high’ (75–100%). Adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for low vs. high PLE were estimated using population-weighted modified Poisson regression with robust error variance. Overall, 1208/6662 (18%) participants reported a low PLE, 2806/6662 (42%) reported a medium PLE, and 2648/6662 (40%) reported a high PLE. The predictors of reporting a low PLE included older age (PR = 1.64; 95% CI: 1.50–1.76 per 10 years), male sex (PR = 1.14; 95% CI: 1.02–1.26), being a smoker (PR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.22–1.59 vs. never/former smoker), and having a diagnosis of cancer or diabetes. A low sense of control over life was associated with low PLE, as was low satisfaction with life and worse self-rated health. Those with a higher perceived social standing were less likely to report a low PLE (PR = 0.90; 95% CI: 0.87–0.93 per 10-point increase, out of 100). This study provides novel insight into potential influences on older adults’ expectations of their longevity, including aspects of psychological well-being. These results should be corroborated to better determine their implications for health-related decision-making, planning, and behavior among older adults.