The article below may contain offensive and/or incorrect content.
Whereas it is well established that having a sense of control over one's life circumstances facilitates positive aging-related outcomes across adulthood and old age, far less is known about what factors contribute to perceived control and whether these factors differ across the adult life span. We used longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 7,624, M age at 2006 = 67.50 years, range 50–104, 59% women) to examine whether level of, and time-related change in, episodic memory, depressive symptoms, and health (functional limitations, self-rated health) predict levels of 2 distinct components of perceived control: constraints and mastery. We found that lower levels of memory, more depressive symptoms, and less positive self-rated health were each associated with higher levels of constraints. Increases in depressive symptoms and functional limitations were also associated with higher levels of constraints, whereas stability in memory was related to lower levels of constraints. Conversely, lower levels of, and declines in, depressive symptoms and functional limitations as well as higher self-rated health were associated with self-reported higher levels of mastery. We found some evidence to suggest that these effects differ across the adult life span. Our findings show that, across adulthood and old age, constraints and mastery are shaped by level of, and time-related changes in, key domains of functioning. These findings provide impetus for future research to target mechanisms and moderators of such associations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)





Departments
Authors
Libraries
Current Articles
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Scientific Meeting » Workshop: Gene-based Therapeutics for Rare Genetic Neurodevelopmental Psychiatric Disorders
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Guiding gender-atypical kids through puberty
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Pandemic worsens child mental health crisis
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Being heard is more important to some people than following COVID-19 regulations
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Workaholics at a greater risk of depression
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Can kids have seasonal affective disorder?
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Video » NIMH Expert Dr. Krystal Lewis Discusses Managing Stress & Anxiety
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Scientific Meeting » NIMH Livestream Event: Managing Stress and Anxiety
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: A third of Americans don't see systemic racism as a barrier to good health
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: The challenge of pandemic fatigue is hitting people hard
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: How and why to take a break from the news
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: What brain imaging tells us about decluttering our minds
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Blog Post » Showing Support for Basic Researchers
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: How to reduce news-related stress for better mental health
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Five myths about loneliness
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: How to help someone struggling with suicidal ideation
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: Better sleep hygiene is crucial when you're anxious
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: How to remotivate kids for more distance learning
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: How to set goals you’ll actually achieve
- Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: To 'keep sharp' this year, keep learning