(PS1-D83) Health Satisfaction and Sense of Control Predict Perceptions of Aging in Older Adults

The psychological health of aging adults is vulnerable to the effects of a multitude of intrapersonal and interpersonal factors. Ageism, or prejudice on the basis of age, has been reliably identified as a significant systemic and internalized area of concern among this population. Additionally, the challenge of retirement poses a unique barrier in the older adult population given its impact on one’s self-concept and perceptions of control. However, research findings on the relationship between perceptions of control, aging, and working status in relation to personal well-being have been mixed. The current study examined this relationship by characterizing the contributions of health satisfaction, working status, and perceptions of control (i.e., mastery/self-efficacy vs. constraints on self-control) in the aging process as they might pertain to perceptions of aging and affect among older adults.
 

A sample of 5,510 (Mage = 68.0, SDage = 10.8; 2,235 males, 3,275 females) individuals were recruited through the 2018 cohort of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a longitudinal multidisciplinary panel study that surveyed a representative sample of older adults in America. Significant Pearson correlations were demonstrated between Positive Perceptions of Aging (PPA) and Health Satisfaction (r = .51), Mastery/Self-Efficacy (r = .42), and Positive Affect (r = .53). Negative Perceptions of Aging (NPA) significantly correlated with Health Satisfaction (r = -.46), Constraints on Self-Control (r = .45), and Negative Affect (r = .33). Work Status was significantly but weakly correlated with Mastery/Self-Efficacy (r = .08) and slightly more strongly associated with Constraints on Self-Control (r = -.11), PPA (r = .11), and NPA (r = -.23). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that Health Satisfaction (𝛽 = .41), Mastery/Self-Efficacy (𝛽 = .28) and Work Status (𝛽 = .04) were significant predictors and accounted for 33% of variance in PPA. Inversely, Health Satisfaction (𝛽 = -.35), Constraints on Self-Control (𝛽 = .33), and Work Status (𝛽 = -.15) were significant predictors and accounted for 35% of variance in NPA. Regression also showed that Health Satisfaction (𝛽 = .21) and PPA (𝛽 = .42) were significant predictors and accounted for 31% of variance in Positive Affect, while Health Satisfaction (𝛽 = .26) and NPA (𝛽 = .21) also significantly predicted Negative Affect and accounted for 16% of variance.
 

With an anticipated rise in the percentage of older adults in the general population, it has become increasingly necessary to examine factors and perceptions of aging to better understand how mental health professionals can adapt empirically supported psychotherapeutic techniques for older adults. The identified relationships between these factors underscore the need to address the systemic concern of internalized ageism and its effects on the inclusivity of older adult mental health within intervention services. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy may be adapted for use with older adults to specifically target maladaptive thoughts pertaining to perceptions of self-worth, emotional affect, mastery, and constraint throughout retirement years to modify negative emotional experiences and improve health satisfaction overall.