Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland,
Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland,
Gerontology. 2020;66(5):484-493. doi: 10.1159/000508824. Epub 2020 Jul 13.
Although it is well known that preference for selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) strategies is associated with indicators of successful aging and well-being, very little is known about what predicts the use of SOC as goal management strategies in the daily lives of older adults. The present study investigates predictors of self-reported use of SOC strategies in community-dwelling adults. We expected selection and especially compensation to be higher in individuals with worse subjective health and cognitive performance. On the contrary, given that optimization is an anticipatory strategy to increase goal-relevant means in the absence of resource losses, we did not expect optimization to be related to either health or cognition.
We performed hierarchical regression to predict use of SOC strategies to achieve everyday personal goals (assessed qualitatively via semi-structured interviews exploring participants' personal goals) from subjective health and objective cognitive performance, controlling for age, apathy, and depression.
Poorer self-rated health and worse cognitive performance positively predicted compensation as a goal management strategy (R2 = 20%), whereas self-rated health just failed to significantly predict selection rates. None of the variables of interest predicted optimization.
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Whereas previous research suggests associations between reduced resources and decreased absolute frequency of compensation use, the present study found that poorer cognitive status and perceived health are both linked to increased reliance on compensation in order to preserve well-being. In line with their anticipatory nature, the use of optimization strategies was independent from health and cognitive resources in our sample. We discuss the absence of conclusive effects regarding selection in this study in light of the distinction between elective and loss-based selection.
尽管众所周知，选择、优化和补偿（SOC）策略的偏好与成功老龄化和幸福感的指标相关，但对于什么因素预测老年人日常生活中 SOC 策略的使用作为目标管理策略，知之甚少。本研究调查了社区居住成年人自我报告使用 SOC 策略的预测因素。我们预计，主观健康和认知表现较差的个体更倾向于选择和补偿策略。相反，由于优化是一种在没有资源损失的情况下增加与目标相关手段的预期策略，我们预计优化与健康或认知无关。
我们进行了分层回归分析，从主观健康和客观认知表现预测使用 SOC 策略来实现日常个人目标（通过探索参与者个人目标的半结构化访谈进行定性评估），同时控制年龄、冷漠和抑郁。
自我评估的健康状况较差和认知表现较差积极预测了作为目标管理策略的补偿（R2 = 20%），而自我评估的健康状况仅未能显著预测选择率。没有兴趣的变量预测优化。
讨论/结论：尽管先前的研究表明资源减少与补偿使用的绝对频率降低之间存在关联，但本研究发现，认知状态较差和感知健康状况均与增加对补偿的依赖以维持幸福感有关。与他们的预期性质一致，在我们的样本中，优化策略的使用与健康和认知资源无关。我们根据选举和基于损失的选择之间的区别，讨论了本研究中关于选择的缺乏明确效果。
