Adjustment and Age Through the Eyes of Portuguese and English Community-Dwelling Older Adults
Abstract
Purpose: To analyze subjective age (SA) and the contributors to adjustment to aging (AtA) identified by older adults and to investigate the latent constructs that can work as major determinants in SA and AtA in an older population. Method: Measures were completed, using a variety of appropriate methods, including demographics and interviews. Complete data were available for 108 older adults aged between 75-99 years (M = 81.1; SD = 6.43). Data was subjected to content analysis. Representation of the associations and latent constructs were analyzed by a Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA). Results: The most prevalent response of the interviewed participants for contributors to AtA was ‘sense of limit and existential issues’ (20.2%). ‘With congruence’ (29.3%) was identifi ed as the most frequent SA response. AtA and SA for Portuguese elderly were explained by a three-factor model: ‘integrated’, ‘involved’ and ‘youngat- heart’. A three-dimension model formed by ‘attentive’, ‘driven’ and ‘connected’ was indicated as a best-fit solution for English elderly. Conclusions: AtA is related to SA in older adults in both samples. The results presented in this paper stressed the under-developed potential of an adjustment and age overall model for this population.
Key words: Adjustment to Aging; English; Portuguese; Multiple correspondence analysis; Community-dwelling older adults; Subjective age
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Allemand, M., Zimprich, D., & Hendriks, A. A. J. (2008). Age Differences in Five Personality Domains Across the Life Span. Developmental Psychology, 44(3), 758-770. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.44.3.758
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (4th ed.). Washington DC: Author.
Baltes, P. B., & Baltes, M. M. (1990). Psychological Perspectives on Successful Aging: The Model of Selective Optimization. with Adaptation. In P. B. Baltes, & M. M. Baltes (Eds.), Successful Aging: Perspectives from the Behavioral Sciences (pp. 1-34). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Baltes, M. M., & Carstensen, L. L. (1996). The Process of Successful Aging. Ageing and Society, 16(4), 397-422. doi:10.1017/S0144686X00003603
Barak, B. (2009). Age Identity: A Cross-Cultural Global Approach. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 33, 2–11. doi:10.1177/0165025408099485
Bardin, L. (2007). Análise de Conteúdo [Content analysis]. Lisboa: Edições 70.
Barrett, A. E. (2005). Gendered Experiences in Midlife: Implications for Age Identity. Journal of Aging Studies, 19, 163–183. doi:10.1016/j. jaging.2004.05.002
Bauer, J. J., & McAdams, D. P. (2004). Growth goals, maturity, and well-being. Developmental Psychology, 40(1), 114–127. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.40.1.114
Birren, J. E., & Schaie, K. W. (1996). Handbook of the Psychology of Aging. San Diego: Academic Press.
Bowling, A. (1995). What Things Are Important in People’s Lives? A Survey of the Public’s Judgements to Inform Scales of Health-Related Quality of Life. Social Science and Medicine, 41(10), 1447-1462. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(95)00113-L
Brandtstädter, J., & Rothermund, K. (2003). Intentionality and Time in Human Development and Aging: Compensation and Goal Adjustment in Changing Developmental Contexts. In U. M. Staudinger, & U. Lindenberger (Eds), Understanding Human Development: Dialogues with Lifespan Psychology (pp. 105–124). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0357-6_6
Brandtstädter, J., Rothermund, K., Kranz, D., & Kühn, W. (2010). Final Decentrations: Personal Goals, Rationality Perspectives, and the Awareness of Life’s Finitude. European Psychologist, 15(2), 152-163. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/ a000019
Brodsky, S. L. (1988). The Psychology of Adjustment and Well-Being. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Cattell, R. B. (1950). Personality: A Systematic Theoretical and Factual Study. New York: McGraw-Hill. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/10773-014
Carstensen, L. L. (2006) The Influence of a Sense of Time on Human Development. Science, 312, 1913–1915. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1127488
Cheng, S-T., Li, K-K., Leung, E. M. F., & Chan, A. C. M. (2011). Social Exchanges and Subjective Well-Being: Do Sources of Positive and Negative Exchanges Matter? Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 66B(6), 708-718. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbr061
Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective Well-Being: Three Decades of Progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276–302. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0033-2909.125.2.276
Eriksson, M., & Lindstrom, B. (2006). Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence Scale and the Relation with Health: A Systematic Review. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 60, 376-81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech.2005.041616
European Commission. (2003). The Social Situation in the European Union. www.europa.eu.int
Folkman, S. (1997). Positive Psychological States and Coping With Severe Stress. Social Science Medicine, 45(8), 1207–1221. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(97)00040-3
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E., & McHugh, P. R. (1975). Mini-mental State. A Practical Method for Grading the Cognitive State of Patients for the Clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 189–198.
Fry P. S. (2000). Religious Involvement, Spirituality and Personal Meaning for Life: Existential Predictors of Psychological Wellbeing in Community-Residing and Institutional Care Elders. Aging and Mental Health, 4(4), 375-387. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/713649965
Hatch, L. R. (2000). Beyond Gender Differences: Adaptation to Aging in Life Course Perspective. Amityville, NY: Baywood.
Havighurst, R. J., & Albrecht, R. (1953). Older People. Nova York: Longmans.
Kesebir, P., & Diener, E. (2010). In Pursuit of Happiness: Empirical Answers to Philosophical Questions. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3, 117–125. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-0854.2012.01066.x
Keyes, C. L. M., Shmotkin, D., & Ryff, C. D. (2002). Optimizing Well-Being: The Empirical Encounter of Two Traditions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6), 1007-1022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.82.6.1007
Kleinspehn-Ammerlahn, A., Kotter-Grühn, D., & Smith, J. (2008). Self-perceptions of Aging: Do Subjective Age and Satisfaction with Aging Change During Old Age? Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 63B(6), 377–385. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geronb/63.6.P377
Kotter-Grühn, D., Grühn, D., & Smith, J. (2010). Predicting One’s Own Death: The Relationship Between Subjective and Objective Nearness to Death in Very Old Age. European Journal of Ageing, 7(4), 293-300. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10433-010-0165-1
Lang, F. (2001). Regulation of Social Relationships in Later Adulthood. Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 56B(6), 321-326. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geronb/56.6.P321
Levy, B. R. (2003). Mind Matters: Cognitive and Physical Effects of Aging Self-Stereotypes. Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 58B, 203–211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geronb/58.4.P203
Lewis, J. (2011). Successful Aging Through the Eyes of Alaska Natives. What It Means to Be an Elder in Bristol Bay, AK. The Gerontologist, 51(4), 540-547. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnr006
Lohman, N. (1977). Correlations of Life Satisfaction, Morale, and Adjustment Measures. Journal of Gerontology, 32, 73-75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/23.3.261
Low, G., & Molzahn, A. E. (2007). Predictors of Quality of Life in Old Age: A Cross-Validation Study. Research in Nursing & Health, 30(2), 141-50. doi: 10.1002/nur.20178
Malette, J., & Oliver, L. (2006). Retirement and Existential Meaning in the Older Adult: A Qualitative Study Using Life Review. Counselling, Psychotherapy, and Health, 2(1), 30-49.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Montepare, J. M. (2009). Subjective Age: Toward a Guiding Lifespan Framework. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 33(1), 42-46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0165025408095551
Morse, J. M. (1995). The Significance of Saturation. Qualitative Health Research, 5(2), 147-149. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/104973239500500201
Neri, A. L., Cachioni, M. & Resende, M. C. (2002). Atitudes Em Relação À Velhice [Attitudes towards old age]. In Freitas, E. V., Py, L., Neri, A. L., Cançado, F. A. X., Gorzoni, M. L., Rocha, S. M. Tratado de Geriatria e Gerontologia. Rio de Janeiro: Guanabara-Koogan, pp. 972-980.
Oerlemans, W. G. M., Bakker, A. B, & Veenhoven, R. (2011). Finding the Key to Happy Aging: A Day Reconstruction Study of Happiness. Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 66B(6), 665-674. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbr040
Office for National Statistics. (2011). Statistical Bulletin: Focus on Older People, Older People’s Day 2011. London: United Kingdom Statistics Authority.
Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (2004). The Subjective Evaluation of Well-Being in Adulthood: Findings and Implications. Ageing International, 29(2), 113-135. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12126-004-1013-4
Potter, J. & Hepburn, A. (2005). Qualitative Interviews in pPsychology: Problems and Possibilities, Qualitative research in Psychology, 2, 281-307. http://dx.doi: 10.1177/1461445607075348
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development and Well-Being. American Psychologist, 55, 68-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0003-066X.55.1.68
Ryff, C. D. (1989). Beyond Ponce de Leon and Life Satisfaction: New Directions in Quest of Successful Aging. International Journal of Behavioral Development,12(1), 35-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/ 016502548901200102
Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The Structure of Psychological Well-being Revised. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 719-727.
Schafer, M. H., & Shippee, T. P. (2010). Age Identity, Gender, and Perceptions of Decline: Does Feeling Older Leads to Pessimistic Dispositions About Cognitive Aging? Journal of Gerontology Series B: Social Sciences, 65B(1), 91-96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbp046
Shaffer, L. F. (1936). The Psychology of Adjustment. Cambridge: The Riverside Press.
Slangen-Dekort, Y. A. W., Midden, J. B. C., Aarts, B., & Wagenberg, F. V. (2001). Determinants of Adaptive Behavior Among Older Persons: Self-efficacy, Importance, and Personal Disposition as Directive Mechanisms. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 53(4), 253-274.
Staudinger, U. M., & Kunzmann, U. (2005). Positive Adult Personality Development: Adjustment and/or Growth? European Psychologist, 10(4), 320-329. doi: 10.1027/1016-9040.10. 4.320
Stephan, Y., Caudroit, J., & Chalabaev, A. (2011). Subjective Health and Memory Self-efficacy as Mediators in the Relation Between Subjective Age and Life Satisfaction Among Older Adults. Aging & Mental Health, 15(4), 428-436. http://dx.doi.org/0.1080/13607863.2010.536138
Stevens-Ratchford, R. G., & Diaz, T. (2003). Promoting Successful Aging Through Occupation: An Examination of Engagement in Life: A Look at Aging in Place, Occupation and Successful Aging. Activities, Adaptation and Aging, 27(4), 19-37.
Stevens-Ratchford, R. G. (2005). Occupational Engagement: Motivation for Older Adult Participation. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, 21(23), 171-181.
Von Humboldt, S., Leal, I., & Pimenta, F. (2012). Assessing Subjective Age and Adjustment to Aging in a Portuguese and German Older Population: A Comparative Multiple Correspondence Analysis. International Journal of Psychological Studies, 4(2), 141-153. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijps.v4n2p141
Wahrendorf, M., & Siegrist, J. (2010). Are Changes in Productive Activities of Older People Associated with Changes in Their Well-being? Results of A Longitudinal European Study. European Journal of Ageing, 7(2), 59-68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10433-010-0154-4
Ward, R. A. (2010). How old am I? Perceived Age in Middle and Later Life. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 71(3), 167-184. http://dx.doi.org/10.2190/AG.71.3.a
Whitbourne, S. K. & Weinstock, C. S. (1986). Adult Development. New York: Praeger.
Williams, R. H. W., Tibbitts, C., & Donahue, W. (1966). Processes of Aging: Social and Psychological Perspectives-Volume I. New York: Atherton Press.
World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Group. (1995). The World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment (WHOQOL): Position paper from the World Health Organization. Social, Science & Medicine, 41(10), 1403-1409. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(95)00112-K
World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Group. (2011). World Health Statistics 2011. Geneve, Switzerland: Author.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/j.sss.1923018420120303.1544
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c)
Share us to: 
Reminder
- How to do online submission to another Journal?
- If you have already registered in Journal A, then how can you submit another article to Journal B? It takes two steps to make it happen:
1. Register yourself in Journal B as an Author
- Find the journal you want to submit to in CATEGORIES, click on “VIEW JOURNAL”, “Online Submissions”, “GO TO LOGIN” and “Edit My Profile”. Check “Author” on the “Edit Profile” page, then “Save”.
2. Submission
- Go to “User Home”, and click on “Author” under the name of Journal B. You may start a New Submission by clicking on “CLICK HERE”.
We only use three mailboxes as follows to deal with issues about paper acceptance, payment and submission of electronic versions of our journals to databases:
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Articles published in Studies in Sociology of Science are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY).
STUDIES IN SOCIOLOGY OF SCIENCE Editorial Office
Address: 1055 Rue Lucien-L'Allier, Unit #772, Montreal, QC H3G 3C4, Canada.
Telephone: 1-514-558 6138
Website: Http://www.cscanada.net; Http://www.cscanada.org
E-mail:[email protected]
Copyright © 2010 Canadian Research & Development Centre of Sciences and Cultures 
