Change in subjective age among the elderly: an eight-year longitudinal study.
Changes in subjective age were investigated with a sample of older Mexican Americans and Anglos over an 8-year period (1976-1984). It was found that people who changed from youthful ("young" or "middle-aged") to old ("old" or "very old") subjective ages were significantly different than persons retaining youthful subjective ages on several factors: they were chronologically older, were more likely to be Mexican Americans, and had reported declines in their self-assessed health. These were the exact same differences observed cross-sectionally which renews faith in cross-sectional data in this area. A few people reversed their subjective ages (from old to youthful) over time, but we found no evidence that they had experienced improvements in their health or social situation.
Markides
K S
KS
Dept. of Preventive Medicine & Community Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77550.
Ray
L A
LA
D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation; D012647:Self-Assessment; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population