Spousal bereavement and its effects on later life physical and cognitive capability: the Tromsø study.

Spousal bereavement is associated with health declines and increased mortality risk, but its specific impact on physical and cognitive capabilities is less studied. A historical cohort study design was applied including married Tromsø study participants (N=5739) aged 50-70 years with baseline self-reported overall health and health-related factors and measured capability (grip strength, finger tapping, digit symbol coding, and short-term recall) at follow-up. Participants had data from Tromsø4 (1994-1995) and Tromsø5 (2001), or Tromsø6 (2007-2008) and Tromsø7 (2015-2016). Propensity score matching, adjusted for baseline confounders (and baseline capability in a subset), was used to investigate whether spousal bereavement was associated with poorer subsequent capability. Spousal bereavement occurred for 6.2% on average 3.7 years (SD 2.0) before the capability assessment. There were no significant bereavement effects on subsequent grip strength, immediate recall, or finger-tapping speed. Without adjustment for baseline digit symbol coding test performance, there was a negative significant effect on the digit symbol coding test (ATT -1.33; 95% confidence interval -2.57, -0.10), but when baseline digit symbol coding test performance was taken into account in a smaller subsample, using the same set of matching confounders, there was no longer any association (in the subsample ATT changed from -1.29 (95% CI -3.38, 0.80) to -0.04 (95% CI -1.83, 1.75). The results in our study suggest that spousal bereavement does not have long-term effects on the intrinsic capacity components physical or cognition capability to a notable degree.

Personality and 10-year personality development among Norwegians in midlife-Do retirement and job type play a role?

Our personality develops over the whole lifespan and in particular when our life circumstances change. Retirement is a life event that brings changes in identity, day structures, and social roles of former workers. Therefore, it may affect personality traits such as the Big Five (neuroticism, extraversion, intellect, conscientiousness, and agreeableness). Previous studies have shown conflicting results concerning the question whether and how retirement is associated with changes in personality traits. Furthermore, there is little knowledge about the role of the job people leave behind when retiring. In the present study, we compared personality development over a 10-year period, based on two waves of a Norwegian survey, between retiring and continuously working blue-collar versus white-collar workers (n = 1,263, Mage = 56.58). Latent change score models showed that neuroticism and openness declined in the sample, but to a comparable degree in all groups. We further found differences in baseline personality traits between blue-collar workers and white-collar workers, as well as between those retiring and not retiring, implying selection into retirement by personality traits. Item level analyses showed declines in some items. We discuss theoretical and methodological implications of our results in light of previous ambiguous findings and emphasize the possible heterogeneity across retirees. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Understanding loneliness in late life.

Loneliness in late adulthood is a public health issue. Thus, understanding the etiology of loneliness is of critical importance. Here, we conceptualize the development of loneliness in late life as dynamic interactions between individual and contextual processes. Specifically, we suggest that loneliness arises if the existing social relationships are unable to meet a set of social expectations. These expectations are fulfilled by three different layers of the social structure: 1) close confidants; 2) broader social networks; and 3) involvement in the community. Although older adults experience losses in their broader network and engage less in the community, they may avoid loneliness by focusing on close confidants. However, these adaptations may make it more difficult for older adults to overcome loneliness.

The Risks of Experiencing Severe Loneliness Across Middle and Late Adulthood.

OBJECTIVES: From a theoretical point of view, older adults may not necessarily face a greater risk of becoming lonely than middle-aged adults but are more likely at a disadvantage in fighting loneliness. Therefore, in this study, we differentiate between the risk of becoming lonely and the risk of remaining lonely. METHODS: A large longitudinal data set representative of the German noninstitutionalized population from 40 to 85 years of age (N = 15,408; 49% female participants) was used in the analysis. Lagged logistic regression models were estimated to investigate the effect of earlier experiences of severe loneliness on the risk of being lonely after three years across middle age and late adulthood. Individual differences in health, views on aging, and social activities were taken into account to explore their role in age differences in the risk of remaining lonely. RESULTS: The analysis revealed marginal age differences in the risk of becoming lonely but a marked age gradient regarding the risk of remaining lonely. Lonely older adults who were older than 75 years of age were more likely to remain lonely after three years than lonely middle-aged adults. Controlling for individual differences in health, views on aging as social loss, and social activities accounted for this age difference. DISCUSSION: Interventions against loneliness may prioritize older age groups because losses in capacities, shifts in motivations, and a degraded opportunity structure render it increasingly less likely that older adults leave a state of loneliness on their own accord.

Historical and Cross-Country Differences in Life Satisfaction Across Retirement in Germany and Switzerland From 2000 to 2019.

OBJECTIVES: Recent trends, such as changes in pension systems or cohort differences in individual resources, have altered the face of retirement transitions. Little is known about how these trends have affected older people's life satisfaction around retirement age in the past decades. In this study, we investigated how levels and changes in life satisfaction before and after retirement changed over historical time in Germany and Switzerland. METHODS: We used longitudinal data from the German Socioeconomic Panel Study and the Swiss Household Panel (SHP) from 2000 to 2019. Level, preretirement change, and short- and long-term change in life satisfaction (0-10) after retirement were predicted by year of retirement (2001-2019) in a multigroup piecewise growth curve model. RESULTS: We found improvements in levels of life satisfaction and preretirement changes in life satisfaction with historical time in both countries. Furthermore, we found that unlike in Switzerland, short-time changes in life satisfaction across retirement improved over historical time in Germany. DISCUSSION: Our findings imply that life satisfaction trajectories around retirement age have improved over the last 20 years. These findings may be explained by general improvements in the health and psychosocial functioning of older people. More research is needed to show for whom these improvements are stronger or weaker and if they will be maintained in a changing retirement landscape.

Younger Than Ever? Subjective Age Is Becoming Younger and Remains More Stable in Middle-Age and Older Adults Today.

Little is known about historical shifts in subjective age (i.e., how old individuals feel). Moving beyond the very few time-lagged cross-sectional cohort comparisons, we examined historical shifts in within-person trajectories of subjective age from midlife to advanced old age. We used cohort-comparative longitudinal data from middle-age and older adults in the German Ageing Survey (N = 14,928; ~50% female) who lived in Germany and were between 40 and 85 years old when entering the study. They provided up to seven observations over 24 years. Results revealed that being born later in historical time is associated with feeling younger by 2% every birth-year decade and with less intraindividual change toward an older subjective age. Women reported feeling younger than men; this gender gap widened across cohorts. The association of higher education with younger subjective age became weaker across cohorts. Potential reasons for the subjective-rejuvenation effect across cohorts are discussed.

Rethinking Social Relationships in Adulthood: The Differential Investment of Resources Model.

Empirical evidence about the development of social relationships across adulthood into late life continues to accumulate, but theoretical development has lagged behind. The Differential Investment of Resources (DIRe) model integrates these empirical advances. The model defines the investment of time and energy into social ties varying in terms of emotional closeness and kinship as the core mechanism explaining the formation and maintenance of social networks. Individual characteristics, acting as capacities, motivations, and skills, determine the amount, direction, and efficacy of the investment. The context (e.g., the living situation) affects the social opportunity structure, the amount of time and energy available, and individual characteristics. Finally, the model describes two feedback loops: (a) social capital affecting the individual's living situation and (b) different types of ties impacting individual characteristics via social exchanges, social influences, and social evaluations. The proposed model will provide a theoretical basis for future research and hypothesis testing.

Digitalisation and Employees' Subjective Job Quality in the Second Half of Working Life in Germany.

Since digitalisation alters occupational task profiles via automation processes, job quality is also likely to be affected. While existing literature mainly focusses on objective job quality, this study asks if and how digitalisation is associated with employees' subjective job quality in the second half of working life in Germany. Analyses are based on the German Ageing Survey 2014. Our sample includes n = 1541 employees aged 40-65 years who are subject to social insurance contributions. Subjective job quality is operationalised with regards to job satisfaction and perceived occupational stress in general, and ten aspects of job quality in detail. Digitalisation is approximated by substitution potentials of occupations. We control the association for compositional effects in the workforce, as well as for the moderating effect of perceived job insecurity. The results indicate that digitalisation is predominantly beneficial but also unfavourable in a few other respects for employees' subjective job quality. The higher the degree of digitalisation, the higher is the employee's general job satisfaction on average; for general perceived occupational stress, we find no significant association. Regarding single aspects of subjective job quality, employees working in more digitalised occupations are found to report on average higher satisfaction with working hours and earnings, and lower levels of stress due to tight schedules. However, they also report higher levels of stress due to negative environmental factors. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11205-021-02854-w.

Subjective well-being across the retirement transition-Historical differences and the role of perceived control.

Given substantial cohort differences in psychosocial functioning, for example in perceived control, and ongoing pension reforms, the context of retirement has changed over the last decades. However, there is limited research on the consequences of such developments on historical differences in subjective well-being (SWB) in the retirement transition. In the present study, we investigated historical differences in change in life satisfaction and positive affect across the retirement transition. We further included perceived control as a predictor of change in well-being. Analyses were based on subsamples of retirees among three nationally representative samples of the German Ageing Survey (1996; 2002; 2008) and their respective follow-ups 6 years later. Results showed historical improvements in preretirement positive affect (i.e., later samples had higher preretirement levels). Contrastingly, earlier samples showed a larger increase in positive affect across the retirement transition compared to later samples. No historical differences were found in life satisfaction. Perceived control showed no historical improvement and did not seem to contribute to historical differences in subjective well-being. Nevertheless, we found that the association of perceived control and positive affect increased over historical time. The results showed that the historical context seems to play a role in the experience of retirement, and that it is helpful to distinguish between cognitive-evaluative and affective components of well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring the Reciprocal Associations of Perceptions of Aging and Social Involvement.

OBJECTIVE: Positive perceptions of aging are known to have beneficial effects for older adults' health and well-being, but less is known regarding their social correlates. The current study aimed to disentangle the bidirectional associations of perceptions of aging with informal and formal social involvement. METHOD: Data for this study came from the 2008 and 2014 waves of the German Ageing Survey (DEAS). Informal social involvement was assessed as the frequency of providing advice and emotional support to others. Formal social involvement was measured as the number of groups and organizations one participates in and the frequency of attending them. A latent change score model was used to assess the bidirectional links between the constructs. RESULTS: Adults with more positive aging perception at baseline were likely to become more informally and formally socially involved over time. Informal social involvement predicted better perceptions of aging, but not formal social involvement. These trends were consistent across age groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that having positive expectations regarding one's aging might encourage adults to maintain a more engaged and socially productive lifestyle. In addition, informal social involvement, characterized by the provision of advice and support to others, is beneficial for experiencing the aging process more positively.

Towards bridging the grey digital divide: changes in internet access and its predictors from 2002 to 2014 in Germany.

The internet is an indispensable aspect of modern society. It facilitates long distance communication, access to information, health care interventions, as well as multiple opportunities for social participation. Despite increasing pervasiveness of this technology, persistent inequalities exist in who has access to the internet. In particular, older adults lag behind in having internet access, thus putting them at risk for social exclusion. In order to gain a better understanding about the determinants of this grey digital divide, the current study contrasts influencing factors of internet access, comparing samples from 2002 to 2014 across age groups (40 to 54 years, 55 to 69 years and 70 to 85 years) using data from the German Ageing Survey (DEAS). Logistic regression confirmed that the likelihood of having internet access was lower with higher age at both time points. However, the percentages of people with internet access grew primarily in the middle and older age groups between 2002 and 2014. Furthermore, being male and having a higher education were both associated with greater odds of internet access. However, gender and education differences in internet access were significantly less pronounced in 2014 in contrast to 2002. Finally, both greater income and cognitive ability were associated with greater odds of internet access, while providing care for a grandchild was significantly associated with internet access only among the oldest age group. In an attempt towards bridging the grey digital divide, the current study serves as a basis for identifying groups mostly affected by this increasingly important form of social inequality.

The Increasing Importance of Friendship in Late Life: Understanding the Role of Sociohistorical Context in Social Development.

Historically, family ties have been understood as the primary source of support for aging adults, and past empirical and theoretical work has highlighted the tendency of older adults to focus on close family. However, in line with demographic changes and historical increases in the diversity of social structures, friendships are increasing in importance in recent generations of older adults. Given the powerful role of context in shaping these changes, this paper offers a conceptual analysis linking individual agency to sociohistorical context as a way to understand this increasing diversity of social ties. More specifically, we propose that the individual invests time and energy to form and maintain social ties, and that each individual has a specific social opportunity structure (all potential ties that are available to invest in, as well as the costs of those investments). Furthermore, this investment of time and energy is determined in part by individual differences in capacities and motivations. We argue that sociohistorical context influences this process in three important ways: (1) in its effect on the social opportunity structure; (2) in its direct effect on time and energy; and (3) in its effect on individuals' capacities and motivations. We believe that these mechanisms can account for the increasing diversity of social ties across adulthood, as well as the potential for future historical changes.

The Strength of Weaker Ties: An Underexplored Resource for Maintaining Emotional Well-Being in Later Life.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine dynamic links between changes in social ties and changes in emotional well-being. METHOD: Trivariate dual-change score models were used to test whether a large number of close ties would be more strongly associated with low levels of depressed affect than a large number of weaker ties, and a large number of weaker ties would be more strongly associated with high levels of positive affect compared to a large number of close ties, across three waves of a large, regionally representative sample of U.S. adults aged 40 and older (N = 802). RESULTS: We found that a greater number of weaker ties was associated with having more close ties over time, and that the number of weaker ties was more strongly predictive of positive age-related changes in both aspects of well-being (i.e., more positive affect and less depressed affect) than the number of close ties. DISCUSSION: Contrary to popular theoretical orientations in gerontology, weaker ties may offer older adults a more effective avenue for promoting emotional well-being over time than close ties, and may have the additional benefit of compensating for losses in the number of close ties.

The Changing Relationship Between Partnership Status and Loneliness: Effects Related to Aging and Historical Time.

OBJECTIVES: Partnership status is a central predictor of loneliness. The strength of this predictive relationship, however, may decrease in the course of aging and over historical time. Moreover, there may be aging-related and historical changes in the satisfaction with partnership and singlehood. METHOD: Longitudinal data from the German Ageing Survey (DEAS) assessed in 2008 and 2014 (N = 6,188, age range: 40-85 years) was analyzed with multigroup structural equation models to disentangle aging-related and historical changes in the relationship of partnership status and loneliness and in the average level of satisfaction with partnership and singlehood. RESULTS: With advancing age, partnership status became less predictive of loneliness and the satisfaction with being single increased. Among later-born cohorts, the association between partnership status and loneliness was less strong than among earlier-born cohorts. Later-born single people were more satisfied with being single than their earlier-born counterparts. There was no indication for an aging-related or historical decrease in partnership satisfaction. DISCUSSION: The relevance of partnership status as a predictor of social well-being is neither universal nor stable but appears to change in the course of aging and across historical time.

Cohort Difference in Age-Related Trajectories in Network Size in Old Age: Are Networks Expanding?

OBJECTIVES: Contemporary societal views on old age as well as a rise in retirement age raise the question whether patterns of stability and/or decline in network size as found in earlier studies similarly apply to later birth cohorts of older adults. METHODS: Change score models are estimated to determine cohort differences in age-related trajectories in network size. Two birth cohorts (1928-37 and 1938-47, 55-64 at baseline in 1992 and 2002) of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam are followed across 4 observations over a time span of 9 years. RESULTS: Age-related trajectories in network size differ between the early and late birth cohort. The late birth cohort makes large gains in network size around retirement age, but this increase does not hold over time. Increased educational level and larger diversity in social roles relate to the cohort difference. Nonetheless, cohort difference prevails even after adjusting for these factors. DISCUSSION: The peak level in the network size in the late birth cohort hints at stronger preference and more opportunities to gain and maintain social relationships around retirement age in the current societal structure and culture. The subsequent drop-off in network size suggests that these ties are mostly used to adapt to the retirement transition.

Level and change in economic, social, and personal resources for people retiring from paid work and other labour market statuses.

Well-being in retirement is thought to depend on person's level of resources and how his or her resources change during retirement. However, to date few studies have directly investigated resource trajectories during retirement. The current study therefore examines how economic, personal, and social-relational resources change during the retirement transition for people retiring from paid employment and for people retiring from other, non-working labour market statuses (e.g. disability pension, homemaker, unemployment). Based on four representative baseline samples of the German Ageing Survey (1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014) and their respective 6-year follow-up interviews, we identified N = 586 retirees. We then used dual change score models to separately estimate the level and change in income, health, activity, family and non-family network size, and social support for people retiring from paid work (n = 384) and people retiring from other statuses (n = 202) adjusted for age, gender, education, region, period, and time since retirement. Overall, we found that resources changed only modestly during the retirement transition. Resource changes did, however, differ by last labour market status and sociodemographic characteristics. Income and social support declined and family networks increased for both those retiring from paid work and those retiring from other statuses. Leisure activities increased only for those retiring from paid work. No changes in health or non-family networks were observed. People with many resources before retirement also had many resources after retirement. We conclude that retirement affects resources less than researchers often expect. Accordingly, differences based on labour market remain despite retirement.

The role of historical change for adult development and aging: Towards a theoretical framework about the how and the why.

The role of historical change for individual functioning and development has long been a central feature of life span psychological and life course sociological theory. However, the mechanisms underlying how historical change in contexts shapes individual functioning and development are less well understood. To better understand such open questions, we present the HIDECO (HIstorical changes in DEvelopmental COntexts) theoretical framework to structure and integrate potential pathways of historical change in (a) population distributions of key resources for successful aging, (b) social and family life, (c) modern technological and scientific progress, and (d) Zeitgeist and norms including societal definitions of social roles, attitudes, and age norms. We then summarize the conceptual perspectives and empirical findings from developed countries for each of these four intertwined layers of contextual embedding. In a last major step, we use the empirical articles compiled in this Special Issue to illustrate the utility of the HIDECO framework. In doing so, we work out a number of key insights gained in this Special Issue and identify some of the open questions that need to be tackled in the future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Gauging effects of historical differences on aging trajectories: The increasing importance of friendships.

For a long time, life span psychologists have theorized that individual development is partially shaped by an everchanging historical context. For example, it has been hypothesized that the historically increasing flexibility of constructing social networks may influence the social development of adults into late life. To date, however, there is no established method in psychological science that allows researchers to easily gauge the effects of historical differences in time-varying covariates on aging trajectories, which are also subject to historical change. Here, the method of cohort centering is introduced as a potential remedy for this dilemma. Using a large-scale, cohort-sequential data set, representative of the German population aged 40 to 85 years (N = 19,017), I applied cohort centering to examine historical differences in the aging trajectories of number of friends in the close personal networks and time spent in activities with friends. The results indicated that older cohorts may be more engaged with friends than younger cohorts. Results also showed that historical differences in friendship relations in later life could partially be explained by historical gains in self-rated health, education, and individual perceptions of aging. In sum, cohort centering can tell us how future aging trajectories will look given a specific set of preconditions and can provide information about what could happen if these conditions change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Pathways to retirement: Are they related to patterns of short- and long-term subjective well-being?

We examine the association between pathways to retirement and patterns of subjective well-being in Germany. We argue that short-term development of subjective well-being is related to social status changes while long-term development of subjective well-being is related to resources and changes in life circumstances. Importantly, we expect that how a person's social status changes and his/her access to resources post-retirement both depend on the person's specific pathway to retirement, resulting in distinct patterns of subjective well-being post-retirement. Based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we categorized people as retiring from employment, short- or long-term unemployment, labour market inactivity or due to disability. We then used dual-change score models to compare trajectories of life satisfaction ten years before to ten years after the retirement transition. For people retiring from employment, life satisfaction did not change in the short term but developed more positively in the long term. In comparison, people retiring from unemployment or due to disability experienced a short-term increase in life satisfaction but had more negative long-term trajectories of life satisfaction. We found no retirement-related changes in life satisfaction for people retiring from inactivity. The findings suggest that different pathways to retirement are related to distinct patterns of subjective well-being and highlight the importance of late-life employment biographies for quality of life post-retirement.

Do Demographic Changes Jeopardize Social Integration among Aging Adults Living in Rural Regions?

OBJECTIVES: Contextual influences of the living environment on the social integration of adults have been primarily studied cross-sectionally. Here, we argue that context (i.e., urban vs rural environment) as well as changes in context (i.e., population decline) are potentially important for the development of social integration across middle adulthood and late life. METHOD: We used a large-scale longitudinal data set representative of the late middle-aged and older German population (N = 4,790; aged 40 to 85 years) that assessed participants every 6 years across 3 waves. To examine our assumptions, we implemented multilevel latent growth curve models. RESULTS: We found that declines in network size were more pronounced in rural than in urban areas. Moreover, age-related declines in network size, social engagement, and social support were particularly pronounced in rural districts that demonstrated above average population decline. DISCUSSION: Our results imply that ongoing demographic changes, particularly in rural areas, may introduce additional barriers for maintaining social integration into late life.