Self-perceptions of Aging and Distress in Middle-aged and Older Adults: The Role of Perceived Control and Pleasant Activities

• García-García, Laura ^[1] ; Fernandes-Pires, José Adrián ^[1] ; Márquez-González, María ^[2] ; Pedroso-Chaparro, María del Sequeros ^[2] ; Benito-Rincón, Claudia ^[1] ; Pérez-Cardona, Luis Manuel ^[2] ; Losada-Baltar, Andrés ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

     Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

     Madrid, España

     
  2. [2] Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

     Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

     Madrid, España

     
• Localización: The Spanish Journal of Psychology, ISSN 1138-7416, Nº 28, 2025
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1017/SJP.2025.9
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen

  • Previous studies have shown the importance of self-perceptions of aging in predicting psychological distress throughout the life cycle. However, little is known about the processes through which self-perceptions of aging influence distress. The aim of the present study is to analyze the potential indirect effects of perceived control and pleasant activities in the association between self-perceptions of aging and depression and anxiety symptoms in middle-aged and older adults. A total of 315 people over 40 years of age (Mage = 58.8; SD = 10.8; 67.9% women) participated. Two indirect effects analysis models were conducted in serial with the aim of analyzing the role of perceived control and pleasant activities in the relationship between the self-perceptions of aging and depressive (model 1) and anxiety (model 2) symptomatology. A direct effect was observed between self-perceptions of aging and depressive, and anxious symptomatology. In addition, indirect associations through the variables perceived control and pleasant activities were significant. The tested models explained 46.1% of the variance in depressive symptomatology and 34.8% of the variance in anxiety. The results of this study confirm the association between self-perceptions of aging and psychological distress. This association is exerted through lower perception of control and fewer pleasant activities. Interventions aimed at promoting effective coping strategies that favor perceived control, activity and emotional well-being should include a module on identifying and modifying of negative self-perceptions of aging in middle-aged and older adults.

• Referencias bibliográficas
  • Bryant, C., Bei, B., Gilson, K., Komiti, A., Jackson, H., & Judd, F. (2012). The relationship between attitudes to aging and physical...
  • Carstensen, L. L., Isaacowitz, D. M., & Charles, S. T. (1999). Taking time seriously: A theory of socioemotional selectivity. American...
  • Chang, E. S., Kannoth, S., Levy, S., Wang, S. Y., Lee, J. E., & Levy, B. R. (2020). Global reach of ageism on older persons’ health: A...
  • Chang, P. J., Wray, L., & Lin, Y. (2014). Social relationships, leisure activity, and health in older adults. Health Psychology: Official...
  • Chattillion, E. A., Mausbach, B. T., Roepke, S. K., von Känel, R., Mills, P. J., Dimsdale, J. E., Allison, M., Ziegler, M. G., Patterson,...
  • Chen, Y. T., Holahan, C. K., Holahan, C. J., & Li, X. (2018). Leisure-time physical activity, subjective age, and self-rated memory in...
  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203771587
  • Col, B. K., Kose, B. G., & Basaran, A. G. (2022). The effect of leisure activities on successful aging. Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice,...
  • Cui, S., Wang, R., Lu, L., Wang, H., & Zhang, Y. (2019). Influence of education level on mental health and medical coping modes: A correlation...
  • De Paula Couto, M. C. P., Ekerdt, D. J., Fung, H. H., Hess, T. M., & Rothermund, K. (2022). What will you do with all that time? Changes...
  • Drewelies, J., Wagner, J., Tesch-Römer, C., Heckhausen, J., & Gerstorf, D. (2017). Perceived control across the second half of life: The...
  • Dupuis, S. L., & Smale, B. J. A. (1995). An examination of relationship between psychological well-being and depression and leisure activity...
  • Fernandes-Pires, J. A., del Sequeros Pedroso-Chaparro, M., Jiménez-Gonzalo, L., Márquez-González, M., Cabrera, I., & Losada-Baltar, A....
  • Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (2nd ed.). The Guilford...
  • Hicks, S. A., & Siedlecki, K. L. (2017). Leisure activity engagement and positive affect partially mediate the relationship between positive...
  • Infurna, F. J., & Okun, M. A. (2015). Antecedents and outcomes of level and rates of change in perceived control: The moderating role...
  • Kim, J., Kim, J., & Han, A. (2020). Leisure time physical activity mediates the relationship between neighborhood social cohesion and...
  • Kornadt, A. E., Albert, I., Hoffmann, M., Murdock, E., & Nell, J. (2021). Ageism and older people’s health and well-being during the Covid-19-pandemic:...
  • Kotter-Grühn, D., & Hess, T. M. (2012). The impact of age stereotypes on self-perceptions of aging across the adult lifespan. The Journals...
  • Kuykendall, L., Tay, L., & Ng, V. (2015). Leisure engagement and subjective well-being: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 141(2),...
  • Kwak, M., Ingersoll-Dayton, B., & Burgard, S. (2014). Receipt of care and depressive symptoms in later life: The importance of self-perceptions...
  • Lachman, M. E., & Weaver, S. L. (1998). The sense of control as a moderator of social class differences in health and well-being. Journal...
  • Laidlaw, K., & Kishita, N. (2015). Age-appropriate augmented cognitive behavior therapy to enhance treatment outcome for late-life depression...
  • Lee, S., Lee, C., & An, J. (2020). Psycho-social correlates of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) among older adults: A multivariate...
  • Levy, B. (2009). Stereotype embodiment: A psychosocial approach to aging. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(6), 332–336. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01662.x
  • Levy, B. R. (2003). Mind matters: Cognitive and physical effects of aging self-stereotypes. The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological...
  • Levy, B. R., Chung, P. H., Slade, M. D., Van Ness, P. H., & Pietrzak, R. H. (2019). Active coping shields against negative aging self-stereotypes...
  • Levy, B. R., Pilver, C. E., & Pietrzak, R. H. (2014). Lower prevalence of psychiatric conditions when negative age stereotypes are resisted....
  • Levy, B. R., Slade, M. D., & Kasl, S. V. (2002a). Longitudinal benefit of positive self-perceptions of aging on functional health. The...
  • Levy, B. R., Slade, M. D., Kunkel, S. R., & Kasl, S. V. (2002b). Longevity increased by positive self-perceptions of aging. Journal of...
  • Liang, J., & Bollen, K. A. (1983). The structure of the philadelphia geriatric center morale scale: A reinterpretation. Journal of Gerontology,...
  • Löckenhoff, C. E., & Carstensen, L. L. (2004). Socioemotional selectivity theory, aging, and health: The increasingly delicate balance...
  • Logsdon, R. G., & Teri, L. (1997). The pleasant events schedule-AD: Psychometric properties and relationship to depression and cognition...
  • Losada, A., de los Angeles Villareal, M., Nuevo, R., Márquez-González, M., Salazar, B. C., Romero-Moreno, R., Carrillo, A. L., & Fernández-Fernández,...
  • Losada-Baltar, A., Jiménez-Gonzalo, L., Gallego-Alberto, L., Pedroso-Chaparro, M. D. S., Fernandes-Pires, J., & Márquez-González, M. (2021)....
  • Losada-Baltar, A., Martínez-Huertas, J. Á., Jiménez-Gonzalo, L., Pedroso-Chaparro, M. S., Gallego-Alberto, L., Fernandes-Pires, J., &...
  • Luo, M. S., Li, L. W., & Chui, E. W. T. (2020). Self-perceptions of aging and control of life in late adulthood: Between-person and within-person...
  • Márquez-González, M., Losada, A., Fernández-Fernández, V., & Pachana, N. A. (2012). Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of...
  • Orgeta, V., Brede, J., & Livingston, G. (2017). Behavioural activation for depression in older people: Systematic review and meta-analysis....
  • Pachana, N. A., Byrne, G. J., Siddle, H., Koloski, N., Harley, E., & Arnold, E. (2007). Development and validation of the geriatric anxiety...
  • Pedroso-Chaparro, M. D. S., Antón-López, J. C., Cabrera, I., Márquez-González, M., Martínez-Huertas, J. Á., & Losada-Baltar, A. (2023a)....
  • Pedroso-Chaparro, M. D. S., Cabrera, I., Fernandes-Pires, J. A., Márquez-González, M., & Losada-Baltar, A. (2023b). Validation of the...
  • Pedroso-Chaparro, M. D. S., Cabrera, I., Márquez-González, M., Vara-García, C., Fernandes-Pires, J. A., Gallego-Alberto, L., & Losada-Baltar,...
  • Pedroso-Chaparro, M. D. S., Márquez-González, M., Vara-García, C., Cabrera, I., Romero-Moreno, R., Barrera-Caballero, S., & Losada, A....
  • Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement,...
  • Robertson, D. A., & Kenny, R. A. (2016). “I’m too old for that”—The association between negative perceptions of aging and disengagement...
  • Robinson, S. A., & Lachman, M. E. (2017). Perceived control and aging: A mini-review and directions for future research. Gerontology,...
  • Rodin, J. (1986). Aging and health: Effects of the sense of control. Science, 233(4770), 1271–1276. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.3749877
  • Rothermund, K., de Paula Couto, M. C. P., Fung, H. H., Graf, S., Hess, T. M., Liou, S., & Nikitin, J. (2021). Age-related attributions...
  • Sala, G., Jopp, D., Gobet, F., Ogawa, M., Ishioka, Y., Masui, Y., Inagaki, H., Nakagawa, T., Yasumoto, S., Ishizaki, T., Arai, Y., Ikebe,...
  • Sánchez Palacios, C., Trianes Torres, M. V., & Blanca Mena, M. J. (2009). Negative aging stereotypes and their relation with psychosocial...
  • Sargent-Cox, K., & Anstey, K. J. (2015). The relationship between age-stereotypes and health locus of control across adult age-groups....
  • Settersten, R., Day, J., & Hagestad, G. (2020). The double standard of aging for men and women: Evidence from Across Europe, 2006–2018....
  • Smith, J., Fisher, G., Ryan, L., Clarke, P., House, J., & Weir, D. (2013). Psychosocial and Lifestyle Questionnaire. Survey Research Center,...
  • Sontag, S. (1979). The double standard of aging. In Williams, J. (Ed.), Psychology of women (pp. 462–478). Academic Press.
  • Sperandei, S., Page, A., Spittal, M. J., & Pirkis, J. (2023). Low education and mental health among older adults: The mediating role of...
  • Vauclair, C. M., Marques, S., Lima, M. L., Abrams, D., Swift, H., & Bratt, C. (2015). Perceived age discrimination as a mediator of the...
  • Wurm, S., & Schäfer, S. K. (2022). Gain- but not loss-related self-perceptions of aging predict mortality over a period of 23 years: A...
  • Yoshida, Y., Iwasa, H., Ishioka, Y., & Suzukamo, Y. (2021). Leisure activity moderates the relationship between living alone and mental...
  • Zautra, A. J., Davis, M. C., Reich, J. W., Sturgeon, J. A., Arewasikporn, A., & Tennen, H. (2012). Phone-based interventions with automated...
  • Zhai, T., Bailey, P. E., Rogers, K. D., & Kneebone, I. I. (2022). Validation of the geriatric anxiety inventory in younger adults. International...
  • Zhu, M., Chen, H., Ding, X., & Li, Z. (2024). Effects of self-perception of aging interventions in older adults: A systematic review and...