Longitudinal associations between perceived stress and views on aging: Evidence for reciprocal relations.

Views on aging (VoA) are meaningful predictors of well-being, health, cognitive impairment, and mortality. One underlying pathway could be that negative VoA promote perceived stress. However, little is known about the role stress perceptions as an antecedent personal VoA. In this study, we therefore investigated longitudinal reciprocal association between three established constructs representing VoA: (a) subjective age; (b) attitude toward own (ATOA); (c) aging-related cognitions comprising social loss, physical decline, continuous growth. We also examined whether these associations moderated by chronological age. Two adjacent measurement occasions (2014 2017) German Ageing Survey with 4,588 individuals aged 40 95 years were analyzed. Cross-lagged models controlling for at baseline, age, depressive symptoms, education, gender, region residence, year individual study entry revealed significant relations For five indicators, from to subsequent was same magnitude reversed pathway. With increasing ATOA less strongly associated perceptions. Moreover, impact higher older age weaker advancing conclusion, trend in prior research conceptualize midlife old exclusively a consequence needs reconsideration, levels seem risk factor favorable (PsycInfo Database Record 2021 APA, all rights reserved).