Radoš Sonja, Pavlova Maria K, Silbereisen Rainer K
Institute of Gerontology, Faculty I., University of Vechta, Vechta, Germany.
Friedrich Schiller University of Jena.
Aging Ment Health. 2025 Aug;29(8):1546-1553. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2025.2491017. Epub 2025 Apr 15.
Older adults face increasing social expectations to age actively (e.g. to remain healthy and socially engaged). Individuals' reactions to such expectations may depend on their willingness to lead an active lifestyle and on the resources available to them. In this study, we investigated the joint effects of the motivations for active aging (generativity and the life goals of developing skills and staying healthy) and resources (socioeconomic, health, personal, and social) on changes in the challenge and threat appraisals of expectations for active aging.
Our sample consisted of young-old German adults (aged 56-75) surveyed twice with a one-year interval (N = 1,508, N = 602).
Residual change analyses revealed that, among motivated older adults, health and socioeconomic resources predicted more favorable appraisals one year later. Personal resources contributed independently to the reduction in the threat appraisal. Additionally, all types of resources were positively associated with favorable appraisals at baseline, and some of these effects were again stronger in more motivated individuals.
Our findings corroborate the idea that both the resources and the motivation for active aging are necessary to meet the corresponding social expectations. Thus, the active aging discourse may primarily benefit advantaged and motivated individuals.
老年人面临着越来越高的积极老龄化社会期望（例如保持健康和参与社交）。个体对这些期望的反应可能取决于他们积极生活方式的意愿以及他们可利用的资源。在本研究中，我们调查了积极老龄化动机（繁衍感以及发展技能和保持健康的生活目标）和资源（社会经济、健康、个人和社会资源）对积极老龄化期望的挑战和威胁评估变化的联合影响。
我们的样本包括德国年轻老年人（年龄在56 - 75岁之间），每隔一年进行两次调查（N = 1508，N = 602）。
残差变化分析显示，在有积极性的老年人中，健康和社会经济资源在一年后预测了更有利的评估。个人资源独立地有助于降低威胁评估。此外，所有类型的资源在基线时都与有利评估呈正相关，其中一些影响在更有积极性的个体中再次更强。
我们的研究结果证实了这样一种观点，即积极老龄化的资源和动机对于满足相应的社会期望都是必要的。因此，积极老龄化话语可能主要使有优势和积极性的个体受益。
