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P126: Older adults’ psychological distress: exploring the role of implicit age stereotypes
- María Del Sequeros Perdroso-Chaparro, Isabel Cabrera, José A. Fernandes-Pires, Maria Marquez-González, Laura García-García, Inés García-Batalloso, Andrés Losada-Baltar
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- Journal:
- International Psychogeriatrics / Volume 35 / Issue S1 / December 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 February 2024, pp. 253-254
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- Article
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Objective:
Self-perceptions of aging seem to be a key variable to understand physical and mental health (see the systematic review conducted by Tully-Wilson et al., 2021). Following Levy’s (2003) stereotype embodiment theory, negative attitudes towards aging originate as aging stereotypes (e.g., “older people are frail”; Warmoth et al., 2016) during childhood. They are internalized and reinforced in adulthood, both consciously and below conscious awareness, becoming aging self-stereotypes in old age and affecting self-perceptions of aging (Levy, 2003). Kordnat et al. (2016) developed an implicit association test (IAT; Greenwald et al., 1998) to assess implicit age stereotypes for specific life domains (health and family domains) across the life span and found positive stereotypes towards older people for family domain and negative for health domain. However, the associations between implicit age stereotypes and adults’ psychological distress have been scarcely analyzed. The aims of this communication are: a) to present the preliminary data of the validation of the implicit association test (IAT, Greenwald et al., 1998) to measure implicit aging stereotypes and b) to explore the relationship between implicit aging stereotypes and older adults’ psychological distress (loneliness, guilt associated with self-perception as a burden, and anxiety and depressive symptoms).
Methods:The IAT used is an adaptation of the IAT developed by Kordnat et al. (2016). The IAT explores the relationship between the categories of sickness/health and old/young age. The task has a target category that consists of: a) a set of 6 words of physical and mental sickness (e.g., frail, weak, sad, lonely) and 6 words of physical and mental health (e.g., healthy, energetic, happy, in company); and b) 6 photos of old people and 6 photos of young people.
Results:Preliminary results of the implicit aging stereotypes task associations with older adults’ psychological distress in 100 community dwelling older adults will be presented.
Conclusion:Findings will be discussed. The implicit (below awareness) assessment of the aging stereotypes with the IAT in older adults could provide a better understanding of the role of aging stereotypes in older adults’ psychological distress, avoiding the weaknesses of assessing the construct through self-report measures.
P125: Guilt for perceiving oneself as a burden in adults who present physical limitations. Associated factors and age differences
- María Del Sequeros Perdroso-Chaparro, Isabel Cabrera, José A. Fernandes-Pires, Maria Marquez-González, José Ángel Martínez-Huertas, Eva-Marie Kessler, Andrés Losada-Baltar
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- Journal:
- International Psychogeriatrics / Volume 35 / Issue S1 / December 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 February 2024, p. 256
-
- Article
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- You have access Access
- Export citation
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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.