Institute of Psychogerontology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Germany.
IGES Institute, Division Quality-Evaluation-Reporting, Berlin, Germany.
Gerontologist. 2018 Jan 18;58(1):47-56. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnx127.
The importance of self-perceptions of aging (SPA) for health and longevity is well documented. Comparably little is known about factors that contribute to SPA. Besides individual factors, the context a person lives in may shape SPA. Research has so far focused on country-level differences in age stereotypes, indicating that rapid population aging accompanies more negative age stereotypes. The present study expands previous research by investigating the impact of district-specific population aging within one country on different facets of SPA.
Based on a large representative survey in Germany, the study investigates changes in SPA as ongoing development as well as the SPA of physical loss over a 12-year period in adults aged 40+. The study uses several indicators of population aging (e.g., population development, average age, greying index), to identify four clusters differing in their pace of population aging. Based on three-level latent change models, these clusters were compared in their impact on changes in SPA.
Compared to districts with an average rate of population aging, the study shows that persons living in regions with a fast population aging rate (C1) hold more negative SPA in both facets (ps = .01). Districts with slow population aging (C2) have significantly higher SPA ongoing development (p = .03).
The study underlines the importance for regional differences in population aging on the development of SPA. In particular, societies should be aware that fast population aging may result in more negative SPA.
自我衰老认知（SPA）对健康和长寿的重要性已得到充分证明。然而，对于影响 SPA 的因素，我们的了解相对较少。除了个人因素外，人们所处的环境也可能影响 SPA。迄今为止，研究主要集中在国家层面的年龄刻板印象差异上，表明人口快速老龄化伴随着更负面的年龄刻板印象。本研究通过调查一个国家内特定地区的人口老龄化对 SPA 不同方面的影响，扩展了之前的研究。
本研究基于德国一项大型代表性调查，调查了 40 岁以上成年人 SPA 的持续发展以及身体衰退方面的 SPA 在 12 年内的变化。该研究使用了几种人口老龄化指标（如人口发展、平均年龄、老龄化指数）来识别四个在人口老龄化速度上存在差异的集群。基于三层潜在变化模型，比较了这些集群对 SPA 变化的影响。
与人口老龄化平均速度的地区相比，研究表明，生活在人口快速老龄化地区（C1）的人在两个方面的 SPA 更为负面（p =.01）。人口老龄化缓慢的地区（C2）具有显著更高的 SPA 持续发展（p =.03）。
本研究强调了人口老龄化地区差异对 SPA 发展的重要性。特别是，社会应该意识到人口快速老龄化可能导致更负面的 SPA。
