title: The relevance of memory sensitivity for psychological well-being in aging.
abstract: In the present study, we investigated the relationship between memory sensitivity, which describes a positive attitude to autobiographical memory and the presence of behaviors devoted to saving memories of the personal past, and psychological well-being; in particular, we tested whether their relationship would change across age groups.
  
  
  
  Three hundred eighteen participants, divided in four groups: young to middle-aged adults (20-55 years old), young-old adults (65-74 years old), old adults (75-84 years old), and old-old adults (85-97 years old), completed questionnaires on their memory sensitivity and psychological well-being.
  
  
  
  Memory sensitivity slightly decreased with age and had a positive relationship with psychological well-being that was critically moderated by age. Specifically, the relationship between memory sensitivity and psychological well-being became increasingly stronger as age increased.
  
  
  
  While memory sensitivity may have little or no particular relevance in the case of young to middle-aged adults, it has an increasingly important positive relationship with psychological well-being at later age. It is thus suggested that memory sensitivity represents a dimension that should be considered in the study and interventions on quality of life in the elderly population.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy. enrico.toffalini@studenti.unipd.it.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Toffalini
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Borella
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Cesare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cornoldi
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Rossana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: De Beni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aging; Autobiographical memory; Memory sensitivity; Psychological well-being
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