title: Subjective health and memory self-efficacy as mediators in the relation between subjective age and life satisfaction among older adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Perceiving oneself as younger than one's actual age functions as a self-enhancing positive illusion that promotes life satisfaction. However, no research has yet focused on the mechanisms through which a youthful subjective age could be related to higher life satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to identify the mediating role of resources, such as subjective health and memory self-efficacy, in the relation between subjective age and life satisfaction among older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted with 250 older individuals aged from 60 to 77 years who completed measures of subjective age, subjective health, memory self-efficacy, and life satisfaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Path analysis revealed that subjective age was positively related to both subjective health and memory self-efficacy, and that subjective health and memory self-efficacy were both positively related to life satisfaction. Bootstrap procedures further indicated that subjective age has significant total and specific indirect contribution to life satisfaction through subjective health and memory self-efficacy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study fills a gap in existing literature and suggests that a youthful subjective age is associated with higher life satisfaction because it is related to higher evaluation of health and memory self-efficacy. It provides an initial support for a resource-based explanation of the relation between subjective age and life satisfaction.
authors.affiliation: EA 3742 Sport et Environnement Social, University of Grenoble, France. yannick.stephan@ujf-grenoble.fr
authors.forename: Yannick
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Stephan
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caudroit
authors.forename: Aïna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chalabaev
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People