Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles.
Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2021 Jan 18;76(2):289-294. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbaa022.
Beliefs about aging can contribute to health and well-being in older adults. Feeling generative, or that one is caring for and contributing to the well-being of others, can also impact health and well-being. In this study, we hypothesized that those with more positive expectations regarding aging (ERA) in the mental health domain would report greater levels of perceived social support (PSS) and lower levels of loneliness in response to a generativity intervention (vs control condition).
Participants in this study (n = 73, 100% female) were randomly assigned to a 6-week generativity condition, which involved writing about life experiences and sharing advice with others, or to a control condition, which involved writing about neutral topics. Pre- and postintervention, PSS, and feelings of loneliness were measured.
Those in the generativity condition with more positive ERA in the mental health domain reported greater PSS and lower loneliness postintervention.
These results highlight the importance of psychological factors, such as ERA, in moderating the efficacy of interventions to promote social well-being in older adults.
对衰老的信念可以促进老年人的健康和幸福感。有生育感，即关心和促进他人的幸福，也会影响健康和幸福感。在这项研究中，我们假设那些对心理健康领域的衰老（ERA）有更积极期望的人，在接受生育干预（与对照组相比）时，会报告更高水平的感知社会支持（PSS）和更低水平的孤独感。
这项研究的参与者（n=73，100%为女性）被随机分配到 6 周的生育力条件组，涉及撰写生活经历并与他人分享建议，或分配到对照组，涉及撰写中性话题。在干预前后，测量了 PSS 和孤独感。
心理健康领域 ERA 更积极的生育力条件组的参与者在干预后报告了更高的 PSS 和更低的孤独感。
这些结果强调了心理因素（如 ERA）在调节促进老年人社会幸福感的干预措施的效果中的重要性。
