de Paula Couto M Clara, Fung Helene H, Graf Sylvie, Hess Thomas M, Liou Shyhnan, Nikitin Jana, Rothermund Klaus
Institute of Psychology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.
Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Front Psychol. 2022 Feb 1;13:807726. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.807726. eCollection 2022.
In this study, we investigated endorsement of two types of prescriptive views of aging, namely active aging (e.g., prescriptions for older adults to stay fit and healthy and to maintain an active and productive lifestyle) and altruistic disengagement (e.g., prescriptions for older adults to behave altruistically toward the younger generation by granting young people access to positions and resources). The study comprised a large international sample of middle-aged and older adults ( = 2,900), covering the age range from 40 to 90 years. Participants rated their personal endorsement of prescriptive views of active aging and altruistic disengagement targeting older adults in general (i.e., "In my personal opinion, older adults should…"). Findings showed that endorsement was higher for prescriptions for active aging than for prescriptions for altruistic disengagement. Age groups in the sample differed regarding their endorsement of both prescriptive views of active aging and altruistic disengagement with older adults showing higher endorsement than middle-aged adults did. Prescriptive views of active aging and altruistic disengagement related positively to each other and to the superordinate social belief that older adults should not become a burden, which attests to their functional similarity. In contrast, prescriptive views of active aging and altruistic disengagement were associated with psychological adjustment in opposite ways, with endorsement of active aging (vs. altruistic disengagement) being related to better (vs. worse) adjustment outcomes such as life satisfaction and subjective health. Our findings highlight the internalization of prescriptive views of aging in older people and their implications for their development and well-being.
在本研究中，我们调查了对两种类型的衰老规范性观点的认同情况，即积极老龄化（例如，关于老年人保持健康并维持积极且富有成效的生活方式的规范性观点）和利他性脱离（例如，关于老年人通过让年轻人获得职位和资源而对年轻一代表现出利他行为的规范性观点）。该研究包含一个来自不同国家的中老年成年人的大样本（ = 2900），年龄范围从40岁到90岁。参与者对他们个人对针对老年人的积极老龄化和利他性脱离规范性观点的认同程度进行了评分（即，“在我个人看来，老年人应该……”）。研究结果表明，对积极老龄化规范性观点的认同高于对利他性脱离规范性观点的认同。样本中的年龄组在对积极老龄化和利他性脱离这两种规范性观点的认同上存在差异，老年人的认同程度高于中年人。积极老龄化和利他性脱离的规范性观点彼此之间以及与老年人不应成为负担这一上级社会信念呈正相关，这证明了它们在功能上的相似性。相比之下，积极老龄化和利他性脱离的规范性观点与心理调适的关联方式相反，对积极老龄化（而非利他性脱离）的认同与更好（而非更差）的调适结果相关，如生活满意度和主观健康状况。我们的研究结果突出了老年人对衰老规范性观点的内化及其对他们的发展和幸福的影响。
