"People generally felt quite a bit younger than they actually
were, and they also showed relatively high levels of satisfaction with aging
over the time period studied," said Jacqui Smith, a psychologist at the
University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR). Smith conducted
the study with colleagues Anna Kleinspehn-Ammerlahn and Dana Kotter-Gruehn at
the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin.
"We examined individual changes over time, and expected
the gap to increase. But we were surprised to find that it was maintained, on
average. Perhaps feeling about 13 years younger is an optimal illusion in old
age," Smith said.
Smith and colleagues found that some of the oldest participants
did feel even younger over time. But poor health reduced the gap between felt
age and actual age.
The researchers also assessed how old people thought they looked,
asking them: "How old do you feel when you look at yourself in a mirror?"
They responded by selecting an age on a scale that ranged from 0 to 120 years.
In general, at the start of the study people said they looked about 10 years
younger than they were. By the end of the study, this gap had narrowed; people
felt they looked only about seven years younger than their chronological age.
In general, women perceived their appearance as being closer
to their actual age, Smith said. "Women saw themselves as about four years
older than their male peers," she said. "There are several likely
reasons for this gender gap in subjective physical age. One is that women may
be more aware of their appearance than men, especially given the negative stereotypes
of older bodies."
To assess satisfaction with aging, researchers asked participants
to what extent they agreed with these five statements: "Things keep getting
worse as I get older;" "I have as much pep as I had last year;"
"As I get older, I am less useful;" "As I get older, things are
better than I thought they would be;" and "I am as happy now as I
was when I was younger."
Initially, men were more satisfied than women with their own
aging. But over the six-year period studied, men's satisfaction decreased more
than women's. Poor health magnified these patterns, Smith said.
According to Smith, examining changes in how people feel about
the aging process in old age can provide important indicators about the resilience
and vitality of the older self. In unpublished research based on the Berlin
Aging Study, she and colleagues have found that people who feel younger are
less likely to die than those who don't, given the same level of chronological
age and equivalent physical health.
"Feeling positive about getting older may well be associated
with remaining active and experiencing better health in old age," she said.
"Thus, studies on self-perceptions of aging can contribute to our understanding
of potential indicators of resilience in older adults and the aging self."
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