Perceptions on Own Aging: Comparisons between Young Adults with and without Caregiving Experience

Although informal caregiving for older adults (OAs) can increase knowledge and awareness about one’s own aging (Pope, 2013), it can also negatively impact caregivers’ physical health and emotional wellbeing (AARP & NAC, 2020) and have spillover effects on school, work, and marriage (Dellmann-Jenkins & Blankemeyer, 2009). Despite the recent trend of family caregiving for OAs by young adults (YAs), research about these young caregivers is scarce. The present study focused on YAs’ perceptions on aging. We hypothesized that YAs who provided at least three months of caregiving tasks for OAs would hold more awareness and negative perceptions on their own aging, as measured by a modified version of the Brief Aging Perceptions Questionnaire (Sexton et al., 2014), compared to those who did not. We recruited 234 YAs between the ages of 18 - 40 (Mage = 29.78, SD, age = 4.83; 59% White; 65.4% male) and had them complete a survey via Amazon Mechanical Turks. About one third (32.1%) had caregiving experience. Results of independent t-tests revealed that caregivers scored higher on awareness of aging [t(229) = 6.950., p < .001, d = .865] and negative consequences/control [t(231) = 6.528., p < .001, d = .927]. Scores of positive consequences/control did not differ between the two groups. Our findings indicate the need for psychological interventions designed to help young caregivers integrate their caregiving experiences with less negative aging perceptions. Future research should examine the direct effects of caregiving experience on perceptions of aging between young and middle-aged adults.

Physiological changes in vision during aging: perceptions of older adults and healthcare providers

Objective. To identify the physiological changes in older adults’ vision during the aging process. Methods. An exploratory, descriptive study with a qualitative approach was conducted with 20 older adults and six healthcare providers who worked with older adults in João Pessoa, Paraíba (Brazil). The Focus Group Technique was used for data collection, with the collected information subsequently being submitted to Inductive Thematic Analysis using textual analysis software. Results. The physiological changes related to vision were described by both the older adults and healthcare providers using the following words: vision, difficulty; see; cataract; glasses; surgery; more; age; eye; and no. These terms represent declines in vision resulting from advancing age which significantly modify the daily lives of older adults and their families. Conclusion. The perception of the older adults and the healthcare providers who care for them regarding the physiological changes in vision throughout the aging process shows that the loss of visual acuity significantly affects the daily life of older adults and their families.

Positive and Negative Aging Perceptions as Predictors of the Longitudinal Trajectory of Perceived Stress

This study sought to examine whether positive and negative perceptions of aging (beliefs about the consequences of aging and levels of control over one’s aging) are associated with perceived levels of stress over time. A sample of adults ( N = 6,345, ≥50 years, Mage = 62.23) participating in the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) was used. Data were collected across four waves between 2009 and 2016. The results of latent growth curve modeling showed that, after controlling for age and gender, positive and negative perceptions of aging predicted initial levels of perceived stress. Therefore, aging perceptions have robust synchronous associations with the levels of perceived stress in adults and thus merit attention in aging-related research, practice, education, and policy making. However, these perceptions did not confidently predict longitudinal trajectories of perceived stress.

The Quality of life and aging perceptions in the elderly: Baskent University example

Aging is a continuous and universal process that is seen in every living thing without privilege and causes a decrease in all our functions. In the past 40-50 years, the most important concept that has developed with the increase of the elderly population in the world, especially in developed countries, is the aging of societies. Quality oflife (QOL) was defined by the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) Group as “individuals’ perception of their position in life in the context of culture and value systems in which they live, and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns” In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the quality of life perception and aging perception of elderly patients who applied to family medicine outpatient clinics of a university hospital. The data of this descriptive and cross-sectional study, the questionnaire containing socio-demographic information, and the Turkish version of WHO’s Quality of Life Instrument Older Adults Module (WHOQOL-OLD)-TR and WHO’s Europe Attitudes to Aging questionnaire. (EAAQ)-TR were created. The questionnaires were applied to Baskent University Hospital Family Medicine outpatient clinics and 200 randomly selected volunteers over the age of 65.All scale dimension scores were compared according to demographic characteristics by statistical t-test and variance analysis. As a result, significant positive correlations among the dimensions of QOL and aging attitude (AA) were obtained. Also total scores of QOL and AA were significantly correlated.Moreover QOL dimension scores were significantly correlated to AA dimension scores. Whereas age and gender were significantly related to psychosocial loss dimension, education was significantly related to psychosocial growth, physical change and total aging attitude scores. Additionally higher educated subjects (university degree) had higher mean scores. The presence of a disease was significantly related to physical change and total aging attitude scores. (p< 0.005) Changes in living environments were significantly correlated to physical change dimension. There is a significant positive correlation between WHOQOL-OLD-TR total scores and AYTA-TR total scores. Increasing the quality of life of the rapidly increasing elderly population will be one of the most important goals in the field of health both today and in the future. Family physicians can provide a better primary health care service by evaluating the quality of life and aging perceptions of the elderly and contribute to the development of new policies in this difficult issue.

Social Contexts of Subjective Aging Perceptions

The way adults perceive their aging process is an important predictor of later life outcomes, including mental and physical health. Despite the importance of living a socially active life in old age, the inter-connections of individuals’ perceptions of aging with their social lives and behaviors are not well-understood. This symposium addresses questions of how the social environment and social behaviors are related to subjective aging perceptions, including subjective age and self-perceptions of aging. Two papers examine self-perceptions of aging in the context of couple relations. Mejía and colleagues focus on married older adults’ shared beliefs about aging, showing that within older couples, beliefs about aging are shaped in part through partners’ co-experience of each other’s biological aging. Kim and colleagues also examine couples, finding evidence that changes across time, as well as average differences in individual characteristics, may affect self-perceptions of married/partnered men and women differently. The final two papers examine the interplay between chronological age and perceptions of aging. Weiss and Weiss examine the social conditions and consequences of subjective age across the life span in the work domain, demonstrating that feeling relatively older among young adults and younger among older adults predicts proactive behaviors such as speaking up. Cohn-Schwartz and colleagues investigate the bi-directional temporal associations of adults’ self-perceptions of aging and the age composition of their social networks. The symposium concludes with summarizing remarks from the discussant who will suggest possible directions for future research on the social contexts of the perceived experience of aging.