Does flexible goal adjustment predict life satisfaction in older adults? A six-year longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between flexible goal adjustment and life satisfaction (as an enduring component of subjective well-being) using six-year longitudinal data from a sample of older adults. METHODS: The study included 704 participants aged 63-97 years assessed four times over a six-year period. Simultaneous and lagged models were specified and estimated using structural equation modeling. RESULTS: Both simultaneous and lagged coefficients indicated that a high score on flexible goal adjustment significantly predicted subsequent levels of life satisfaction. CONCLUSION: In line with successful aging theory, our findings support the view that the ability to adjust personal goals flexibly is a central resource when unattainable goals are encountered and it contributes to well-being in old age.

WITHDRAWN: The Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ): Assessment of eating behaviour in an aging French population.

This article has been withdrawn at the request of the author(s) and/or editor. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy.

The Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ). Assessment of eating behaviour in an aging French population.

The aim of the study was to develop a French version of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) in order to provide a self-report measure for French people in the field of gerontology. A short version of the DEBQ was administered to 262 participants aged 65years and older. Single and multigroup confirmatory analyses were carried out. The fit measures for the three-factor model and the factorial invariance models with respect to age, sex and BMI status were satisfactory. Three subscales of DEBQ had satisfactory internal consistency. Regarding age, the results showed significant differences in emotional eating and restrained eating. Concerning sex, women had higher mean scores for emotional eating and restrained eating than men. Finally, the overweight older people had higher scores for emotional eating than the normal-weight participants. The short version of DEBQ should provide a useful measure for researchers and clinicians who are interested in exploring eating behaviours among the elderly.

Coping with negative life events in old age: the role of tenacious goal pursuit and flexible goal adjustment.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the relationships between negative life events and tenacious goal pursuit (TGP) and flexible goal adjustment (FGA), two fundamental modes of self-regulation suggested by Brandtstädter, and their effects on mental health. METHODS: TGP/FGA, negative life events and depression were assessed in 670 elderly people living in the community. Hierarchical regressions were carried out to examine the effects of the two self-regulation modes and negative life events on depression. RESULTS: Findings demonstrate the role of TGP and FGA in coping with negative life events. While both FGA and TGP were related to depression, FGA was found to have beneficial effects for the participants who had encountered negative life events. With age, people become less tenacious, but no conclusive relationship was found between flexibility and age. DISCUSSION: Our findings support the importance of both modes of coping for the mental health of older adults. In particular, the ability to adjust goals was shown to be critical as a way of preventing the development of depressive symptoms following negative life events.

[Self-esteem in the elderly]. / Evolution de l'estime de soi chez l'adulte âgé

Self-esteem is an important aspect of the adaptive processes at all stages of life, but especially in older adults. It is linked to the quality of adaptation, well-being, life satisfaction and health. Self-esteem is not related to chronological age, but to the people's quality of social integration and adaptive capacities to cope with life events, including physical and cognitive decline. Thus the aging process does not necessarily results in self-esteem decrease, regardless of the decline in many areas of mental activity. Measures of the self-esteem and interpretation of the pertaining results vary according to various theoretical models. However, the sociocognitive strategies at play for maintaining a high level of self-esteem should be stressed. Social psychology has shown the importance of the Others in such a regulation through group belonging, or psychological processes such as social comparison or causal attribution. Such a perspective underlines the importance of social and institutional environment for the regulation of a positive self-value and hence the interest of taking into account the self-esteem construct while taking with older adults.

Does life satisfaction change in old age: results from an 8-year longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVES: The unexpected positive relationship between aging and happiness was called "the paradox of well-being," which is still a matter of debate. This study examined longitudinal change in life satisfaction (LS) in older adults. METHODS: LS was assessed with the satisfaction with life scale, in a sample of individuals (N = 899; aged 62-95 years, at first occasion; M = 72.73, SD = 5.68) for a period of 8 years (5 waves of data). A multiple indicator (e.g., second order) growth modeling was used to assess change in LS. RESULTS: Findings from both unconditional and conditional model (in which time-invariant, i.e., age, gender, and education, and time-varying, i.e., self-perceived health, covariates were incorporated in the model) indicated a linear increase in LS for the 8-year period. As expected, the results showed significant random variation in both intercept and slope, indicating that participants start at different levels and change at different rates. DISCUSSION: Our findings contribute to the debate concerning the paradox of well-being, which calls for explanation. There are few theories that provide some explanation (e.g., the socioemotional selectivity theory). However, to enhance researchers' understanding of developmental changes that contribute to the paradox of well-being, a more integrative theoretical model is needed.

Relationship between life satisfaction and physical health in older adults: a longitudinal test of cross-lagged and simultaneous effects.

OBJECTIVE: The emergence of positive psychology propelled scientific interest in the causal relationships between subjective well-being (SWB; e.g., happiness, life satisfaction [LS], positive affect) and physical health. However, it is becoming a controversial topic. Indeed, dependent on approach, LS is either considered a cause (top-down) or an effect (bottom-up). The aim of the present study was to investigate both cross-lagged and simultaneous effects between LS (as an enduring component of SWB) and physical health (as measured by self-perceived health and self-reported diseases), using 8-year longitudinal data from a sample of older adults. METHOD: The study included 899 participants aged 64 to 97 years and assessed 5 times over an 8-year period. Cross-lagged and simultaneous models were specified and estimated using structural equation modeling. RESULTS: Both cross-lagged and simultaneous coefficients indicated that poor health significantly predicted subsequent levels of life dissatisfaction, but LS did not predict subsequent levels of health. CONCLUSIONS: These findings contradict, at least in our older sample, the postulates of positive psychology, and support the bottom-up approach to well-being as well as the popular adage, "As long as you've got your health."