Future time perspective and general self-efficacy mediate the association between awareness of age-related losses and depressive symptoms.

Perceiving one's own aging process as associated with many losses is linked to an increase in depressive symptoms over 2.5 years. We investigated whether this pattern of associations also applies for a 4.5-year interval. No study has yet investigated the pathways underlying the association between perceived age-related losses and depressive symptoms. We examined the mediating role of future time perspective (FTP) and general self-efficacy (GSE) in this association. Analyses were based on a sample of 40-to-98-year-old adults (Time 1: 2012, N = 423) that was assessed at two additional points covering 4.5 years (Time 2: 2015, N = 356; Time 3: 2017, N = 299). Perceived age-related losses were operationalized via the loss dimension of the Awareness of Age-Related Change instrument; FTP, GSE, and depressive symptoms were assessed via established questionnaires. Data were analyzed by means of a cross-lagged panel model and longitudinal mediation model realized as a structural equation model. In line with prior findings, perceived age-related losses were associated with an increase in depressive symptoms over 4.5 years. A higher amount of perceived age-related losses dampened FTP and GSE 2.5 years later, which in turn increased the level of depressive symptoms a further 2 years later, controlling for age, sex, education, physical health, and neuroticism, and taking into account the stabilities and time-synchronous correlations of the study variables. Effects were comparable across middle-aged and older individuals. FTP and GSE are important resources for understanding how perceived age-related losses translate into depressive symptoms.

The Role of Personality in Becoming Aware of Age-Related Changes.

Awareness of age-related change (AARC) refers to an individual's conscious knowledge about the gains and losses resulting from growing older. Personality traits reflect dispositional patterns of behavior, perception, and evaluation and should therefore influence the experience of AARC. The 4.5-year longitudinal study examines this association between personality traits and AARC in a sample of 423 individuals aged 40 to 98 years (M = 62.9 years) using latent change analyses. After controlling for sex, health, and education, a different pattern of associations for cross-sectional vs. longitudinal relations. Cross-sectionally, neuroticism was positively related to AARC losses, whereas openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism were positively related to AARC gains. Longitudinally, the impact of personality traits on change in AARC was rather limited with only higher conscientiousness acting as a predictor of decreases in AARC losses over time. Overall, the findings add to the existing literature on associations between personality traits and subjective aging. Specifically, the results indicate that personality traits are differentially related to awareness of age-related gains in comparison to awareness of age-related losses.

Mindful vs. mind full: Processing strategies moderate the association between subjective aging experiences and depressive symptoms.

Recent evidence suggests that the longitudinal association between subjective aging experiences, that is, the way people perceive and evaluate their aging process, and well-being-related developmental outcomes depends on individual differences. We investigated the moderating role of two processing strategies, that is, mindfulness and negative repetitive thought (RT), for the association between subjective aging experiences and depressive symptoms in middle and old adulthood. Analyses were based on two measurements covering a 4.5-year interval (Time 1: 2012, N = 423; age range = 40-98 years; Time 2: 2017, N = 299; age range = 44-92 years). Subjective aging experiences were operationalized as awareness of age-related gains and losses. Data were analyzed by means of a latent change score model based on a structural equation modeling approach. Mindfulness buffered the harmful effect of high levels of awareness of age-related losses on change in depressive symptoms. Conversely, negative RT exacerbated the detrimental effect of high levels of awareness of age-related losses and low levels of awareness of age-related gains on change in depressive symptoms. With regard to the interplay between awareness of age-related gains and mindfulness, effects were less robust, although the direction of findings was consistent with theoretical considerations. Effects were comparable across middle-aged and older adults. Subjective aging experiences are not operating in isolation, but always need to be considered in the context of the way individuals are cognitively dealing with them. (PsycINFO Database Record

Developmental Regulation and Awareness of Age-Related Change: A (Mostly) Unexplored Connection.

Objectives: Linkages between developmental regulation and awareness of aging-although suggested by theoretical considerations-have not found much empirical consideration. To address this gap, we examined associations between two established modes of developmental regulation, that is, assimilation and accommodation, and awareness of age-related change (AARC) in midlife and old age, while considering the role of chronological age as a moderator. Method: Data are based on a cross-sectional sample of 356 adults (aged 42-100 years). A newly developed measure of AARC was used to assess perceived gain- and loss-related aging experiences. Results: AARC was associated with assimilation and accommodation over and above a range of control variables. Individuals who perceived many loss-related aging experiences were less likely to use assimilation and accommodation. Individuals perceiving many gain-related aging experiences were more likely to make use of these strategies. The effects remained stable when controlling for subjective age and self-efficacy, except for the association between gain-related aging experiences and assimilation. No moderation effect of calendar age was found. Discussion: Results suggest that multidimensional subjective aging constructs may enrich our understanding of how developmental regulation modalities are used by aging individuals.

Awareness of Age-Related Change and Depressive Symptoms in Middle and Late Adulthood: Longitudinal Associations and the Role of Self-Regulation and Calendar Age.

Objectives: Studies that examine bidirectional relations between subjective aging and depressive symptoms have remained rare. We addressed this issue by investigating longitudinal linkages between awareness of age-related change (AARC) and depressive symptomatology in midlife and old age. Assimilative and accommodative self-regulation strategies and calendar age were studied as moderators. Method: Analyses were based on two measurements (Time 1: 2012, N = 423 (40-98 years); Time 2: 2015, N = 356). AARC was operationalized as perceived age-related gains and losses. Data were analyzed by means of a cross-lagged panel model and multiple regression. Results: Perceived losses but not gains had an effect on change in depressive symptoms over time. The reverse effect with depressive symptoms predicting change in AARC was not significant. The association between perceived gains but not losses and change in depressive symptoms was moderated by self-regulation; when perceived gains were low, less increase in depressive symptoms was reported when accommodation was high. The association between AARC and change in depressive symptoms was stable across the entire second half of the life span. Discussion: Results suggest that a better integration of research on subjective aging with clinically relevant developmental outcomes is a promising future pathway.

Feeling sad makes us feel older: Effects of a sad-mood induction on subjective age.

A mood-induction paradigm was implemented in a sample of 144 adults covering midlife and old age (40-80 years) to investigate associations between mood and subjective age. Sad or neutral mood was induced by texts and music pieces. Subjective age was operationalized as felt age relative to chronological age. Participants receiving the sad-mood induction reported changes toward older felt ages from pre- to postinduction. Participants receiving the neutral-mood induction reported comparable levels of subjective age at pre- and postinduction. Effects were comparable across middle- and older aged participants. Results suggest that sad affective states might dampen subjective age. (PsycINFO Database Record

Subjective Time Perceptions and Aging Well: A Review of Concepts and Empirical Research - A Mini-Review.

Human beings impose subjective, time-related interpretations on their existence, and the experience of time is a major aspect of lifespan development. In this mini-review, we understand subjective time as the way individuals subjectively perceive and evaluate the passing of their personal "objective" lifetime. A broad range of constructs and operationalizations has been developed in (gero-) psychology to capture subjective time, including future time perspective, personal goals, or autobiographical memories. In order to theoretically integrate this yet loosely connected body of literature, we propose a conceptual model of subjective time concepts according to 2 dimensions: temporal direction (past, present, future) and thematic field (duration/expansion, time-ordered life content, and time-related evaluations, attitudes, and mindsets). This conceptual model of subjective time perceptions builds the foundation for a review of the empirical literature regarding associations of subjective time with developmental outcomes (i.e., subjective well-being and physical health) in middle and late adulthood. Empirical findings establish subjective time concepts as a consistent predictor of well-being and health. Positive subjective time perceptions (i.e., an expanded view of the future, a focus on positive past and future life content, and favorable time-related evaluations) were associated with higher well-being and better physical health, while negative subjective time perceptions in general were linked to lower levels of health and well-being. Contrasting past- and future-oriented subjective time perceptions, it appears that past-oriented subjective time perceptions have been studied primarily in relation to subjective well-being, while future-oriented time perceptions play a key role both with regard to physical health and well-being. In conclusion, we argue that a stronger integration of subjective time constructs into developmental regulation models may deepen our understanding of human development across the lifespan. To this end, we call for theoretical and empirical interlinkages between yet loosely connected conceptual developments related to subjective time. These endeavors should be paralleled by an extension of methodological procedures (e.g., implementation of longitudinal research designs as well as a focus on the oldest-old) in order to inform a "lifespan theory of subjective time."