People who have positive attitudes about getting older at 50 live 7.5 years longer

If you believe that you are capable of being the healthy, active person you want to be in old age, you are much more likely to experience that result, a recent study from State University Oregon shows.

How we think about who we will be in our old age is very predictable. “

Shelbie Turner, Research Co-Author, Doctoral Student, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University

Previous studies of aging have found that people’s self-esteem at age 50 predicts a wide range of future health outcomes up to 40 years later. – cardiovascular events, memory, balance, desire to live, hospitals; even mortality.

“Previous research has shown that people with positive attitudes toward aging at 50 live 7.5 years longer, on average, than those without,” said Karen Hooker, co-author of the study and Chair of Endowment Jo Anne Leonard Petersen in Gerontology and Family Studies at OSU.

Because self-perceptions about aging are linked to so many key health outcomes, Hooker and Turner wanted to understand what influences those perceptions. Their study looked specifically at the impact of two factors: self-efficacy in relation to potential people, meaning the ability of a person’s opinion to be the person they want to be in time to coming; and hope as a hallmark of a universal personality.

The researchers measured self-esteem of aging by asking respondents to say how strongly they agreed or disagreed with statements such as, “Things get worse. worse as I get older, ”“ I have as many pipes as I did last year, ”“ As you get older, you are less useful. “They measured optimism in the same way, with respondents rating the agreement with statements such as’ In uncertain times I expect the best. “

To measure self-efficacy, the study used a dataset that compiled survey responses from older adults where they listed two future prospects as “optimistic” and two who were “fearful” at the time. come, and rate how capable they felt of being the person they hoped to be and avoid being the person they were afraid to be.

The “optimistic” people included things like “A social man with a strong network of friends” and “A healthy, active man.” Examples of “fear” people included “Chronic Illness and Pain,” “Dependence on Others for My Daily Needs” and “Crooked, Angry Old Woman.”

Results showed, as might be expected, that higher expectations were associated with a positive self-perception of aging. Both “optimistic” self-efficacy and “fear” self-efficacy were also strongly associated with self-perception of age, above and beyond hope as a distraction.

A major reason for how people perceive themselves as aging is to introduce ageist stereotypes, the researchers said. Examples of such stereotypes include assumptions that older adults are bad drivers, or suffer from memory problems, or can no longer engage in physical activity.

“Children as young as 4 years old have negative stereotypes about seniors,” Hooker said. “Then, of course, if you’re lucky enough to live to old age, they’ll eventually apply to you.”

These stereotypes are reinforced every time an older adult forgets something and jokes, “Another moment!” But the researchers say these thought patterns can do real harm. .

“People need to understand that some of the ill health effects later in life may not be biologically directed. The mind and body are all intertwined,” Hooker said. “If you believe that these bad things are going to happen, over time that may erode people’s willingness or perhaps even eventually their ability to engage in the behaviors that’s the health that’s going to keep them as healthy as they can be. “

One way to dispel these negative stereotypes about growing older is to encourage intergenerational relationships, so that younger people can see older adults lead happy, healthy lives.

“The more you are around older people, the more you realize that it’s not all bad,” Turner said. “Older people can do some things better than young people do. Increasing opportunities for intergenerational relationships is one way we can make people more optimistic about getting older. “