Getting Objective About Subjective Age: Introduction to a Special Issue

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 265-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cort W Rudolph ◽  
Florian Kunze ◽  
Hannes Zacher
Keyword(s):  
Work Outcomes ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Editorial Process ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Important Work ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Big Picture

AbstractResearchers have become increasingly interested in age-related constructs other than chronological age, which has been found to explain only small amounts of variance in many important work outcomes. In this editorial that accompanies our special issue of Work, Aging and Retirement on “the multitude of age constructs,” we seek to attain three related goals: First, we provide an overview of our editorial process. Second, we offer brief summaries of the five papers that are included in this special issue. Third, and perhaps representing our most substantive contribution here, we present answers to six “big picture” questions about subjective age to inform future scholarly work. We conclude that, although many important questions about alternative age constructs remain to be answered, the papers in this special issue represent excellent examples of novel work in this arena and suggest several opportunities for how future research could more rigorously and critically apply these constructs to the study of work, aging and retirement.

Workplace Subjective Age Multidimensionality: Generation, Age, Tenure, Experience (GATE)

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 281-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S North ◽  
Angela Shakeri
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Work Outcomes ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Aging Workforce ◽  
Important Distinction ◽  
Time Gate ◽  
Diverse Workforce

Abstract Although less subjective age focused than other scholarly fields, organizational behavior (OB) faces a familiar challenge: comprehending an aging, increasingly age-diverse workforce, yet finding chronological age alone to be a limited predictor of key work outcomes (e.g., performance). A recent OB framework posits that going beyond chronological age necessitates disentangling distinct age-based constructs: perceived Generation (birth cohort), Age (life stage), Tenure (length of time with organization), and Experience (skill set accumulated over time; GATE). Although this framework originated as a means of enhancing predictions for a rapidly aging workforce, this commentary argues that GATE also provides a framework for understanding bases of subjective age itself, including an important distinction between more subjective elements (generation, life stage) versus more objective elements (tenure, experience). Future research on subjective age might well consider applying GATE elements in order to enhance a multidimensional understanding of subjective age underpinnings.

scholarly journals INFLUENCING FACTORS OF SUBJECTIVE AGE: FINDINGS FROM THE KUSATSU LONGITUDINAL STUDY ON AGING AND HEALTH

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S695-S696
Author(s):  
Tomoko Ikeuchi ◽  
Satoshi Seino ◽  
Yu Taniguchi ◽  
Miki Narita ◽  
Takumi Abe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Years Of Schooling

Abstract Background: Subjective age (SA) has been found to be a biopsychosocial marker of aging, yet little is known about factors that influence SA development. This study examined factors influencing SA using longitudinal data of community-dwelling older Japanese. Methods: Data drawn from the Kusatsu Longitudinal Study were collected during annual health check-ups in 2017 and 2018 from participants (aged 65-95) who completed all the measurement items used for this analysis (N=981). SA was indexed by asking participants to specify in years how old they felt. Proportional discrepancy scores ((subjective age - chronological age)/chronological age ×100) were calculated to indicate younger or older SAs and used as a dependent variable. As influencing factors of SA, chronological age, sex, years of schooling, history of smoking, cognitive function (using MMSE scores, range 14-30 at baseline), depressive symptoms, physical function (gait speed), and social function (employment status) were examined. Analyses were performed with random-effects GLS regression models. Results: Significant partial regression coefficients were found for cognitive function (0.48%, CI: 0.18, 0.79), years of schooling (-0.42%, CI: -0.69, -0.15), depressive symptoms (0.32%, CI: 0.11, 0.53), and chronological age (-0.18%, CI: -0.30, -0.68). Implications: This study found that older age and longer years of schooling were associated with younger SA, while better cognition and depressive symptoms were linked to older SA. Better cognition being associated with older SA was inconsistent with existing studies. This may be due in part to the association of better cognition and the level of satisfaction influenced by awareness of age-related physical/social changes.

scholarly journals Factors associated with brain ageing - a systematic review

BMC Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Wrigglesworth ◽  
Phillip Ward ◽  
Ian H. Harding ◽  
Dinuli Nilaweera ◽  
Zimu Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Systematic Search ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Brain Ageing

Abstract Background Brain age is a biomarker that predicts chronological age using neuroimaging features. Deviations of this predicted age from chronological age is considered a sign of age-related brain changes, or commonly referred to as brain ageing. The aim of this systematic review is to identify and synthesize the evidence for an association between lifestyle, health factors and diseases in adult populations, with brain ageing. Methods This systematic review was undertaken in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. A systematic search of Embase and Medline was conducted to identify relevant articles using search terms relating to the prediction of age from neuroimaging data or brain ageing. The tables of two recent review papers on brain ageing were also examined to identify additional articles. Studies were limited to adult humans (aged 18 years and above), from clinical or general populations. Exposures and study design of all types were also considered eligible. Results A systematic search identified 52 studies, which examined brain ageing in clinical and community dwelling adults (mean age between 21 to 78 years, ~ 37% were female). Most research came from studies of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia or Alzheimer’s disease, or healthy populations that were assessed cognitively. From these studies, psychiatric and neurologic diseases were most commonly associated with accelerated brain ageing, though not all studies drew the same conclusions. Evidence for all other exposures is nascent, and relatively inconsistent. Heterogenous methodologies, or methods of outcome ascertainment, were partly accountable. Conclusion This systematic review summarised the current evidence for an association between genetic, lifestyle, health, or diseases and brain ageing. Overall there is good evidence to suggest schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease are associated with accelerated brain ageing. Evidence for all other exposures was mixed or limited. This was mostly due to a lack of independent replication, and inconsistency across studies that were primarily cross sectional in nature. Future research efforts should focus on replicating current findings, using prospective datasets. Trial registration A copy of the review protocol can be accessed through PROSPERO, registration number CRD42020142817.

scholarly journals Differences in subjective age by filial caregiving status among US adults in mid and later life

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 808-808
Author(s):  
Hyojin Choi ◽  
Kristin Litzelman
Keyword(s):  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Adult Child ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Subjective Aging

Abstract Subjective age is an important indicator of age identity and is associated with both psychological and physical well-being. Previous studies have revealed that older adults who feel younger than their chronological age show better health status, better life satisfaction, and less risk of mortality. Considerable evidence shows that stress contributes to feeling older than one’s chronological age. Given the fact that taking a caregiving role involves stress, it is expected that caregiving might accelerate subjective aging. This study examined the association between the stressor of caregiving and subjective age in mid and later life. Data were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study in 2014 and 2016. Participants aged 50 years and over (n=1,087) were identified according to adult-child caregiver status at across the two waves: those who provided care consecutively (long-term caregivers), those who became caregivers in 2016 (new caregivers), those who were no longer providing care in 2016 (recent caregivers), or those who did not report providing care in both 2014 and 2016 (non-caregivers). Linear regression analysis showed that new caregivers reported feeling older than their chronological age compared to non-caregivers. However, long-term or recent caregivers did not show significant differences in subjective age compared to non-caregivers. The finding is consistent with the stress process theory and adaptation hypothesis. Although the onset of caregiving stress may accelerate subjective aging, this deleterious effect may decrease over time due to family caregivers’ adaptability. Future research will examine the role of support, resilience and mastery in this pathway.

On the Interactive Effects of Objective and Subjective Age on Work Outcomes for Men and Women

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 287-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Marcus ◽  
Barbara A Fritzsche ◽  
Yin Lu Ng
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Work Outcomes ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Organizational Age

Abstract Based upon theory on successful aging at work and the social identity of age, we hypothesized interactive effects of sex, objective chronological age, and subjective psychological/organizational age on age-based stereotype ratings of older workers, psychological well-being including both burnout and self-esteem, and behavioral self-reports of perceived unfair age and sex discrimination. Study hypotheses were tested using a survey-based sample of N = 1,583 workers from 3 countries, including Turkey, the United States, and Malaysia, and who were employed across a variety of occupations. Potential confounds resultant of socioeconomic status (education level), and the macro environment (country) were statistically controlled. Results generally found support for theoretically expected relations between age and work outcomes. Both psychological and organizational age interacted with chronological age such that different patterns of outcomes were found for men and women. Overall, although older subjective age benefited chronologically older workers, these interactive associations were less beneficial for older women as compared to older men. Implications of study findings for theory and practice are discussed.

scholarly journals Human Skin, Oral, and Gut Microbiomes Predict Chronological Age

mSystems ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi Huang ◽  
Niina Haiminen ◽  
Anna-Paola Carrieri ◽  
Rebecca Hu ◽  
Lingjing Jiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
The Body ◽  
Oral Microbiome ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Skin Microbiome ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Relative Value

ABSTRACT Human gut microbiomes are known to change with age, yet the relative value of human microbiomes across the body as predictors of age, and prediction robustness across populations is unknown. In this study, we tested the ability of the oral, gut, and skin (hand and forehead) microbiomes to predict age in adults using random forest regression on data combined from multiple publicly available studies, evaluating the models in each cohort individually. Intriguingly, the skin microbiome provides the best prediction of age (mean ± standard deviation, 3.8 ± 0.45 years, versus 4.5 ± 0.14 years for the oral microbiome and 11.5 ± 0.12 years for the gut microbiome). This also agrees with forensic studies showing that the skin microbiome predicts postmortem interval better than microbiomes from other body sites. Age prediction models constructed from the hand microbiome generalized to the forehead and vice versa, across cohorts, and results from the gut microbiome generalized across multiple cohorts (United States, United Kingdom, and China). Interestingly, taxa enriched in young individuals (18 to 30 years) tend to be more abundant and more prevalent than taxa enriched in elderly individuals (>60 yrs), suggesting a model in which physiological aging occurs concomitantly with the loss of key taxa over a lifetime, enabling potential microbiome-targeted therapeutic strategies to prevent aging. IMPORTANCE Considerable evidence suggests that the gut microbiome changes with age or even accelerates aging in adults. Whether the age-related changes in the gut microbiome are more or less prominent than those for other body sites and whether predictions can be made about a person’s age from a microbiome sample remain unknown. We therefore combined several large studies from different countries to determine which body site’s microbiome could most accurately predict age. We found that the skin was the best, on average yielding predictions within 4 years of chronological age. This study sets the stage for future research on the role of the microbiome in accelerating or decelerating the aging process and in the susceptibility for age-related diseases.

scholarly journals How Does Subjective Age Get “Under the Skin”? The Association Between Biomarkers and Feeling Older or Younger Than One’s Age: The Health and Retirement Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharat Thyagarajan ◽  
Nathan Shippee ◽  
Helen Parsons ◽  
Sithara Vivek ◽  
Eileen Crimmins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reference Group ◽  
Inflammatory Marker ◽  
Endocrine Function ◽  
Stress Index ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Health And Retirement Study ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Reference Category ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Background and Objectives Though subjective age is a well-recognized risk factor for several chronic diseases, the biological basis for these associations remains poorly understood. Research Design and Methods We used new comprehensive biomarker data from the 2016 wave of the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to evaluate the association between biomarker levels and self-reported subjective age in a subset of 3,740 HRS participants who provided a blood sample. We measured biomarkers in seven biological domains associated with aging: inflammation, glycemia, lipids, liver function, endocrine function, renal function, and cardiac function. The primary outcome was the age discrepancy score (subjective age − chronological age) categorized as those who felt younger, older, or the same as their chronological age (reference group). Analyses adjusted for comprehensive psychosocial factors (chronic stress index, depression score), demographic factors (race, sex, body mass index, marital status, physical activity), and prevalence of chronic health conditions (comorbidity index). Results The prevalence of clinically relevant reduced levels of albumin concentrations was lower in those who felt younger (8.8% vs. 16.0%; p = .006) and higher in those who felt older (20.4% vs. 16.0%; p = .03) when compared with the reference category. The prevalence of clinically significant elevation in liver enzymes such as alanine aminotransferase was also significantly lower among those who felt younger (7.1% vs. 8.6%; p = .04) when compared with the reference category. Prevalence of clinically elevated levels in cystatin C was also lower among those who felt younger when compared with the reference category (50.0% vs. 59.1%; p = .04). There was no association between lipids, glucose, or C-reactive protein (inflammatory marker) and subjective age categories. Discussion and Implications These results suggest that people who feel younger may have favorable biomarker profiles and as a result may have lower prevalence of age-related diseases when compared with those who feel older or those who feel the same as their chronological age.

scholarly journals An introduction to the special issue on the past, present and future research on deliberate lookalikes

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 701-706
Author(s):  
Nebojsa S. Davcik ◽  
Piyush Sharma ◽  
Ricky Chan ◽  
Rajat Roy
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Research Gaps ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the contemporary thinking on deliberate lookalikes and to provide a better understanding of its key forms (counterfeits, copycats and no-name imitations) and markets (deceptive and non-deceptive). Design/methodology/approach This editorial contains a review of current and past literature on deliberate lookalikes along with summaries of all the articles accepted for publication in the special issue on deliberate lookalikes. The guest editors used academic databases such as Web of Science to find the most representative scholarly work on deliberate lookalikes literature. Findings This editorial identifies pertinent research gaps in the literature on deliberate lookalikes. The five selected articles address some of these research gaps and provide useful insights on the purchase and usage of deliberate lookalikes along with directions for future research and ways to apply different research methods that could have important implications for scholars and managers. Originality/value The editorial and special issue extends the knowledge about the deliberate lookalikes and their effects on firms, brands and consumers. This work opens new avenues for the research about different forms and markets in the context of lookalikes.

scholarly journals The Relationship Between Subjective Age, Health Status, and Advance Care Planning

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 420-420
Author(s):  
Ilana Engel ◽  
Tamara Baker
Keyword(s):  
Advance Care Planning ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Living Will ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Subjective Age ◽  
Advance Care ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Current data show that how old a person feels, or subjective age (SA), may be associated with improved well-being and functioning, less cognitive impairment, and longer life. Yet, the relationship between SA and advance care planning (ACP) has yet to be examined. This is all the more important when determining the role SA has in end-of-life decision-making. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (Wave 13, 2016), this study aimed to examine whether SA is associated with having a living will (LW), having a LW with life-limiting care, and having assigned a durable power of attorney. The sample included 3,165 participants 51+ years of age (mean age = 65.67; SD = 11.79). Analyses were conducted assessing the predictive value identified social, behavioral, and health factors have for ACP. Results from binomial logistic regression analyses indicated that participants who endorsed feeling older than their chronological age were similarly likely to have engaged in ACP as those who felt younger. As demonstrated previously, older chronological age was significantly associated with higher utilization of ACP (ps < .05). Those with cancer and women were significantly more likely to have a LW (ps <.05). The present study did not find evidence to support a significant relationship between SA and ACP. Lower overall engagement with ACP and treatment for specific conditions, such as cancer, may be more influential in determining who utilizes ACP. Future research should explore how SA may serve as a protective factor and/or a psychological mechanism that influences engagement in ACP.

Editorial: age is a construct, not a characteristic

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Volker Kuppelwieser ◽  
Philipp Klaus
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Aging Societies

Purpose In aging societies all over the world, an increased understanding of age and age-related insights is critical to theory development, generalizations, model adaptations and managerial insights. Researchers and managers mostly rely on chronological age for adapting their approaches; they assume chronological age as a customers’ characteristic and neglect differing behaviors between individuals of the same age. When motivations enter the fray, chronological age as an individual’s attribute becomes indiscriminate. Consequently, findings adopting this age concept differ widely. Design/methodology/approach This special issue of the Journal of Services Marketing consists of ten articles that focus on different aspects of aging. Findings The articles change perspectives on age when describing ageing from an individual’s perspective. The articles also comment on social needs and discuss well-being in later life stages. Originality/value The authors offer a broad view on age and ageing to promote age-related research.

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