Older people perceptions on the built environment: A scoping review.

As the world ages, the built environment requires special attention to assist this growing part of society and therefore the update of urban design guidelines and urban policies is required. The goal of this study is to provide an overview of existing literature regarding emotions and perceptions from older people related to the outdoor built environment. A scoping review was performed using empirical studies in 12 scientific databases in a fourteen-year period (2007-2021) involving people at least 60 years old and outdoor built environment perceptions. Collected evidence identified 52 papers following the PRISMA procedure. Studies reported basic emotions (e.g., fear, joy) and space perceptions (e.g., walkability, accessibility) regarding the outdoor built environment as sidewalks, streets, and greenery. Our study reinforces the importance of analyzing older people perceptions regarding the outdoor built environment so that architects, urban planners, and decision makers have information to design solutions that fit older people needs.

Behavioural change box? Applying the COM-B model to understand behavioural triggers that support consumption of fruits and vegetable among subscribers of a fruit and vegetable box scheme.

OBJECTIVE: To understand the key mechanisms that support healthy dietary habits promoted by fruit and vegetable (F&V) box schemes, testing relevant behaviour change triggers identified under the COM-B model in an evaluation research study of a Portuguese F&V box scheme (PROVE). DESIGN: Correlation study with a post-test-only non-equivalent group design based on survey data. The mechanisms underpinning the differences between subscribers and non-subscribers are operationalised as mediation effects. Data availability, theoretical relevance and empirical validation supported the selection and testing of four potential mediators for the effects of subscribing to the box scheme on F&V consumption. These estimations derive from the coefficients of a structural equation model combined with the product coefficient approach and Sobel test. SETTING: The study is part of a wider evaluation study on the impact of the PROVE box scheme on sustainability, health and equity. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of PROVE box subscribers (n 294) was compared with a matched subsample of non-subscribers (n 571) in a nationally representative survey. RESULTS: Subscribing to the PROVE box correlates with an increased probability of eating at least five portions of F&V, irrespective of differences in age, education and perceived economic difficulties. Diet quality perceptions, and more robustly, the strength of meal habits and household availability were identified as relevant mediators. CONCLUSIONS: The subscription to an F&V box scheme is connected with proximal context that enables the consumption of F&V by ensuring more readily available F&V and better situational conditions associated with healthier meal habits.

Internet use by middle-aged and older adults: Longitudinal relationships with functional ability, social support, and self-perceptions of aging.

In an increasingly digital world, those who remain offline may face greater challenges across multiple contexts of everyday life. Besides being less likely to be internet users, older age groups go online less frequently and for fewer activities. Understanding which factors facilitate or prevent internet use in later life is therefore essential to minimize existing age-based digital inequalities. Based on the 2014 and 2017 waves of the German Ageing Survey, comprising 3,479 respondents aged 40 years and older, this study examined the longitudinal relationships of a wide range of often overlooked, yet potentially relevant factors related to functional ability, social support, and self-perceptions of aging with general internet use and seven specific online behaviors. As the only factors relating to general use and a considerable number of specific uses, cognitive functioning and competence-related self-perceptions of aging emerged as the most important correlates of internet use in middle and late adulthood. Better cognitive functioning preceded contacting friends, acquaintances, and relatives, searching for information, banking, and shopping more frequently 3 years later. In turn, competence self-perceptions of aging preceded contacting others, searching for new social contacts, seeking information, banking, engaging in online entertainment, and creating contents more frequently 3 years later. Reciprocal relationships were also found between each factor and general use, suggesting mutual influences. Additionally, physical functioning and received informational support preceded greater use for specific activities. These findings elucidate which factors to consider when developing effective strategies to promote general and specific internet use among middle-aged and older adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Explaining inequalities in fruit and vegetable intake in Europe: The role of capabilities, opportunities and motivations.

People who do not eat enough fruit and vegetables (F&V) have incremental health risks. Most Europeans do not comply with health recommendations relating to F&V consumption and this is especially true for those with lower-level education, which reinforces structural inequalities in health and wellbeing among Europeans. This study investigated the role of key behavioural triggers - capabilities, opportunities and motivation (in the COM-B model) - as pathways for educational differentials in F&V intake in Europe. A cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted in five European countries differing widely in their consumption habits, wealth, and climatic conditions. A structural equation model was designed to study how capabilities (diet perceived knowledge, health purchase criteria), opportunities (financial availability, social norms), and motivations (health value, habits strength) affect educational inequalities in the intake of F&V (5 portions a day) as mediators. Multi-group comparisons assessed country differences. People with higher levels of education were more likely to eat the recommended diet, i.e., at least 5 portions of F&V a day. Countries in the sample vary significantly in the percentage of people complying with the recommendation, but not significantly in terms of relative education differentials. The educational gap in the intake of F&V is mainly explained by education differentials in financial availability, diet knowledge, and habits in inserting F&V in main meals. Policies targeting dietary inequalities should address behavioural triggers affecting dietary intake, for example by subsidising F&V, developing targeted dietary awareness campaigns, or by intervening in mass catering contexts to facilitate the implementation of healthy habits.

Too Old for Computers? The Longitudinal Relationship Between Stereotype Threat and Computer Use by Older Adults.

Besides having lower rates of technology adoption than the general population, older adults are commonly stereotyped as lacking technological ability. Stereotype threat, the fear of confirming negative stereotypes targeting their social group, may lead individuals to distance themselves from the stereotyped domain. This suggests that older adults may underuse computer technology due to stereotype threat. A sample of 86 community-dwelling older adults (M age = 78.47, SDage = 7.92) participated in a two-wave longitudinal study aiming to examine the relationship between stereotype threat and computer use in this age group. An autoregressive cross-lagged panel analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling. As expected, stereotype threat predicted lower levels of computer use a year and a half later. In turn, computer use was unrelated to the later experience of stereotype threat in this domain. These findings suggest that stereotype threat may undermine computer adoption in late adulthood, thus contributing to perpetuate the digital inequalities between younger and older generations.

How to Achieve a Healthier and More Sustainable Europe by 2040 According to the Public? Results of a Five-Country Questionnaire Survey.

The aim of this paper is to understand public preferences for several future scenarios of achieving a healthier, more equitable and sustainable Europe, which differ in the way the society is organized (individualistically vs. collectively) and in the driving sector (public vs. private). To achieve this aim, we conducted a questionnaire survey using representative samples for five European countries in 2018. About three thousand respondents chose among the four scenarios presented within four different contexts (green spaces, active mobility, energy-efficient housing, food consumption) or none of them. A majority of people in the five European countries were ready to accept one of the scenarios. We found significant differences in preferences according to socioeconomic backgrounds and values of respondents. People above 35 years old, those who were less educated, and those in the lowest household income tertile were less supportive of all scenarios. The heterogeneity in preferences associated with differences in socioeconomic backgrounds was larger for the scenario in which society is organized individualistically and driven by the private sector. Smaller distinctions were found in case of the scenario in which society is organized collectively and is driven by the public sector. Departing from social psychological theories, we examine the role of altruistic, biospheric, egoistic, hedonic, and security values. People with stronger biospheric values were more likely to accept scenarios, particularly those which are driven by the public sector and where there is more collective organisation. Those with a more egoistic value orientation were more likely to have higher preferences for scenarios where the private sector had a dominant role. The policy implications, in terms of the selection and framing of policy measures to enhance public support, are discussed.

Determinants of Ageism against Older Adults: A Systematic Review.

Ageism is a widespread phenomenon and constitutes a significant threat to older people's well-being. Identifying the factors contributing to ageism is critical to inform policies that minimise its societal impact. In this systematic review, we gathered and summarised empirical studies exploring the key determinants of ageism against older people for a period of over forty years (1970-2017). A comprehensive search using fourteen databases identified all published records related to the umbrella concept of "ageism". Reviewers independently screened the final pool to identify all papers focusing on determinants, according to a predefined list of inclusion and exclusion criteria. All relevant information was extracted and summarised following a narrative synthesis approach. A total of 199 papers were included in this review. We identified a total of 14 determinants as robustly associated with ageism. Of these, 13 have an effect on other-directed ageism, and one on self-directed ageism. The quality of contact with older people and the positive or negative presentation of older people to others emerged as the most robust determinants of other-directed ageism; self-directed ageism is mostly determined by older adults' health status. Given the correlational nature of most studies included in this review, inferences on causality should be made cautiously.

Equity, Health, and Sustainability with PROVE: The Evaluation of a Portuguese Program for a Short Distance Supply Chain of Fruits and Vegetables.

PROVE is a Portuguese program that empowers small-scale farmers organized into local networks to directly commercialize baskets of locally produced fruits and vegetables to consumers. This study applied a post-test-only non-equivalent group design to evaluate the resulting influence on the social empowerment of farmers and on consumer diets. The method included conducting a survey of PROVE farmers (n = 36) and a survey of PROVE consumers (n = 294) that were compared against matched samples of Portuguese respondents of international surveys (European Social Survey,n = 36 and the INHERIT Five-Country Survey, n = 571, respectively). PROVE farmers reported higher scores for perceived influence on the work environment than the national sample. PROVE consumers were more likely to eat five or more portions of fruits and vegetables a day in comparison to the matched sample of Portuguese citizens (average odds ratio: 3.05, p < 0.05). Being a PROVE consumer also generated an impact on the likelihood of consuming no more than two portions of red meat a week (average odds ratio: 1.56, p < 0.05). The evaluation study suggests that the promotion of short supply chains of fruits and vegetables can make a positive contribution to a healthier, more sustainable, and fairer future in food consumption.

Ten Lessons for Good Practice for the INHERIT Triple Win: Health, Equity, and Environmental Sustainability.

The world's challenges of climate change, damage to ecosystems, and social and health inequalities require changes in human behaviours at every level of organisation, among governments, business, communities, and individuals. An important question is how behaviour change can be enabled and supported at the scale and speed required. The research reported in this paper describes important lessons for good practice in changing contexts to modify behaviours for a triple win for health, equity and environmental sustainability. Authors synthesised learning from qualitative, quantitative and cost benefit evaluations of 15 case studies conducted in 12 countries in Europe. The case studies address ways of living (green spaces and energy efficient housing), moving (active transport) and consuming (healthy and sustainable diets) that support the triple win. Ten lessons for good practice were identified. These include bringing a triple win mindset to policy and practice in planning interventions, with potential to improve environmental sustainability, health and equity at the same time. The lessons for good practice are intended to support governmental and non-governmental actors, practitioners and researchers planning to work across sectors to achieve mutual benefits for health and environmental sustainability and in particular to benefit poorer and more socio-economically disadvantaged groups.

Physiological Arousal Quantifying Perception of Safe and Unsafe Virtual Environments by Older and Younger Adults.

Physiological arousal has been increasingly applied to monitor exploration (or navigation) of a virtual environment (VE), especially when the VE is designed to evoke an anxiety-related response. The present work aims to evaluate human physiological reactions to safe and unsafe VEs. We compared the effect of the presence of handrails in the VE in two different samples, young and older adults, through self-reports and physiological data: Electrodermal activation (EDA) and electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors. After navigation, self-report questionnaires were administered. We found that the VEs evoked a clearly differentiated perception of safety and unsafety demonstrated through self-reports, with older adults being more discriminative in their responses and reporting a higher sense of presence. In terms of physiological data, the effect of handrails did not provoke significant differences in arousal. Safety was better operationalized by discriminating neutral/non-neutral spaces, where the reaction of older adults was more pronounced than young adults. Results serve as a basis for orienting future experiments in the line of VE and applied physiology usage in the architectural spaces design process. This specific work also provided a basis for the development of applications that integrate virtual reality and applied biofeedback, tapping into mobility and ageing.

The INHERIT Model: A Tool to Jointly Improve Health, Environmental Sustainability and Health Equity through Behavior and Lifestyle Change.

The need for analysis and action across the interrelated domains of human behaviors and lifestyles, environmental sustainability, health and inequality is increasingly apparent. Currently, these areas are often not considered in conjunction when developing policies or interventions, introducing the potential for suboptimal or conflicting outcomes. The INHERIT model has been developed within the EU-funded project INHERIT as a tool to guide thinking and intersectoral action towards changing the behaviors and lifestyles that play such an important role in today’s multidisciplinary challenges. The model integrates ecological public health and behavioral change models, emphasizing inequalities and those parts of the causal process that are influenced by human behaviors and lifestyles. The model was developed through web-based and live discussions with experts and policy stakeholders. To test the model’s usability, the model was applied to aspects of food consumption. This paper shows that the INHERIT model can serve as a tool to identify opportunities for change in important −food-related behaviors and lifestyles and to examine how they impact on health, health inequalities, and the environment in Europe and beyond. The INHERIT model helps clarify these interrelated domains, creating new opportunities to improve environmental health and health inequality, while taking our planetary boundaries into consideration.

Doddering but dear even in the eyes of young children? Age stereotyping and prejudice in childhood and adolescence.

This study aims to explore age prejudice, and to examine age stereotyping in children and adolescents by adopting the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) as a theoretical framework. It was hypothesised that children are socialised into adopting an ambivalent representation of old age (socialisation hypothesis) and that this cognitive bias becomes weaker in adolescence due to greater cognitive maturity (developmental hypothesis). By analysing representative data from Portugal (European Social Survey; N = 2367), it was ascertained that the ambivalent age stereotype (higher evaluations of warmth than competence for older people) is indeed a shared social representation of older people in Portuguese society. A total of 103 Portuguese children (6-10 year olds) and adolescents (11-15 year olds) were then sampled from a local school and responded to age-appropriate measures assessing age prejudice as well as age stereotypes. Contrary to previous studies, the findings do not provide evidence for the existence of age prejudice because both children and adolescents reported positive feelings towards older people. However, the socialisation hypothesis was corroborated by showing that the ambivalent old age stereotype was already present in childhood. Contrary to the stipulated developmental hypothesis, the magnitude of this cognitive bias was very similar in adolescence.

Perceived age discrimination across age in Europe: From an ageing society to a society for all ages.

Ageism is recognized as a significant obstacle to older people's well-being, but age discrimination against younger people has attracted less attention. We investigate levels of perceived age discrimination across early to late adulthood, using data from the European Social Survey (ESS), collected in 29 countries (N = 56,272). We test for approximate measurement invariance across countries. We use local structural equation modeling as well as moderated nonlinear factor analysis to test for measurement invariance across age as a continuous variable. Using models that account for the moderate degree of noninvariance, we find that younger people report experiencing the highest levels of age discrimination. We also find that national context substantially affects levels of ageism experienced among older respondents. The evidence highlights that more research is needed to address ageism in youth and across the life span, not just old adulthood. It also highlights the need to consider factors that differently contribute to forms of ageism experienced by people at different life stages and ages. (PsycINFO Database Record

All You Need Is Facebook Friends? Associations between Online and Face-to-Face Friendships and Health.

Positive social relations are known to have a beneficial impact on health, however, little is known about the links of health with online relationships. In this study, we compare face-to-face and virtual friendships in their association with health. By building on previous results of studies conducted on the well-being of college students, we expect to find stronger associations of face-to-face friendships with health than of those established through Facebook. Furthermore, we expect to test the mediating role of social capital variables in this process. Two large-scale studies conducted in community samples (Study 1 = 350 urban residents; Study 2 = 803 urban and rural residents) showed that the number and quality of face-to-face friendships were directly associated with self-reported health status, however, the same did not occur with Facebook friendships. Moreover, the association of face-to-face friendships with health was totally mediated by bonding (mostly) but also bridging social capital. These results, replicated in both studies, were found controlling for confounding variables such as age, gender, education, living alone, self-esteem, and socioeconomic status. This pattern of results emphasizes the gains of face-to-face over online friendships for individuals' health status in community samples.

Perceived Age Discrimination as a Mediator of the Association Between Income Inequality and Older People's Self-Rated Health in the European Region.

OBJECTIVES: The relative income hypothesis predicts poorer health in societies with greater income inequality. This article examines whether the psychosocial factors of perceived age discrimination and (lack of) social capital may help explain the adverse effect of inequality on older people's health. METHODS: Self-rated health, perceived age discrimination, and social capital were assessed in the 2008/9 European Social Survey (European Social Survey Round 4 Data, 2008). The Gini coefficient was used to represent national inequalities in income in each of the 28 European Social Survey countries. Mediation analyses (within a multilevel structural equation modeling paradigm) on a subsample of respondents over 70 years of age (N = 7,819) were used to examine whether perceived age discrimination mediates the negative effect of income inequality on older people's self-rated health. RESULTS: Perceived age discrimination fully mediated the associations between income inequality and self-rated health. When social capital was included into the model, only age discrimination remained a significant mediator and predictor of self-rated health. DISCUSSION: Concrete instances of age discrimination in unequal societies are an important psychosocial stressor for older people. Awareness that the perception of ageism can be an important stressor and affect older patient's self-reported health has important implications for the way health practitioners understand and treat the sources of patient's health problems in later life.

'Being old and ill' across different countries: social status, age identification and older people's subjective health.

OBJECTIVE: It has been suggested that the extent to which older adults identify with 'old-age' is associated with greater subjective ill-health. Based on social identity theory, we hypothesise that the societal social status of older people should moderate this relationship, such that the effect of age-identification on subjective health should be stronger in countries in which older people have lower social status. DESIGN AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Subjective health, age identification and the perceived status of people over 70 were assessed in a subsample of older respondents (N = 6185) of the 2008/2009 European Social Survey. We examined whether country-level differences in the perceived status of older adults moderated the effect of age identification on subjective ill-health. RESULTS: 20% of the total variance in older people's subjective ill-health was due to country differences. The hypothesised cross-level interaction was significant in that the negative association between old age identification and subjective health was stronger in countries where the social status of older people is perceived to be lower. CONCLUSION: The results provide an important insight into being ascribed a higher social status is likely to have a protective function for older people.

Subjective social status of older people across countries: the role of modernization and employment.

OBJECTIVES: To test and expand upon modernization theory's account of subjective social status (SSS) of older people in society. It was hypothesized that perceptions of older people's social status should be higher in more modernized countries and that the proportion of older people in employment should moderate the relationship between modernization and SSS of older people. METHODS: Data were from the "Experiences and Expressions of Ageism" module in the fourth round of the European Social Survey. The sample analyzed included 45,706 individuals from 25 countries in the European region. Multilevel modeling was used to test the hypotheses. RESULTS: The SSS of older people (aged 70 years and older) was perceived to be higher in countries with very high levels of modernization and in countries with a higher proportion of older people in employment. The positive association between modernization and SSS of older people was stronger within countries with a lower proportion of older people in employment. DISCUSSION: The proportion of older people who are employed is an important factor that is related to perceptions of the social status of older people in less modern societies. The individual and societal implications are discussed, specifically in relation to policies promoting active aging.

Revisiting the paradox of well-being: the importance of national context.

OBJECTIVES: Despite age-related changes or declines in circumstances, health or income, many older people are able to maintain subjective well-being (SWB) in later life. This is known as the paradox of well-being. To date, much research has focused on either individual- (e.g., age, health, and income) or country-level (e.g., national wealth, inequality) differences in SWB. The present research investigates how these levels combine, and whether the paradox of well-being persists across different economic contexts. METHOD: This research uses the 2008-2009 European Social Survey to test the multilevel hypothesis that economic circumstances, reflected by a country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), affect the paradox of well-being, that is, the relationship between age and SWB. Analyses also account for other relevant psychological, individual, and country differences. Possible avenues by which GDP affects SWB are also explored. RESULTS: The multilevel analysis revealed that GDP disproportionally affects the SWB of older people relative to younger people, and that the paradox of well-being is only observed in countries with higher GDP. DISCUSSION: The findings clarify the relationship between age and SWB by demonstrating that the paradox of well-being is conditional on the economic context. Implications for individual- and country-level strategies for successful aging are discussed.

Threat or boost? Social comparison affects older people's performance differently depending on task domain.

OBJECTIVES: In this research, we investigate whether social comparison with younger people can result in either a stereotype-based threat or boost in older people's performance. METHODS: Study 1 used nationally representative data to establish domains of performance in which older people are either stereotypically disadvantaged or advantaged relative to younger people. Study 2 was an experiment to test how a potentially threatening versus control versus enhancing comparison with younger people would affect performance in negatively and positively stereotyped task domains. RESULTS: As predicted, compared with the control condition, stereotype threat caused performance decrements in both task domains. This effect was partially mediated by anxiety. Moreover, the enhancing social comparison boosted performance, but only on a crossword task, a task on which older people's abilities are favorably stereotyped. DISCUSSION: The research demonstrates that a threatening comparison can result in underperformance by older people both in negatively and positively self-stereotyped task domains. It also demonstrates that social comparison with younger people can enhance older people's performance in a positively stereotyped task domain. The implications for creating circumstances likely to enable older people to achieve their full potential are discussed.

Threat inoculation: experienced and imagined intergenerational contact prevents stereotype threat effects on older people's math performance.

The authors hypothesized that experienced and imagined intergenerational contact should improve older people's math test performance under stereotype threat. In Experiment 1 (N=51, mean age=69 years), positive prior contact with grandchildren eliminated stereotype threat, which was mediated partially by reduced test-related anxiety. In Experiment 2 (N=84, mean age=72 years), the effect of threat on performance was significantly improved when participants merely imagined intergenerational contact, a situation again mediated by reduced anxiety. Previous research established that intergroup contact improves intergroup attitudes. The findings show that intergroup (intergenerational) contact also provides a defense against stereotype threat.