Psychometric Properties and Measurement Invariance of the Awareness of Age-Related Change Short Form in Older Adult Samples From Taiwan and Germany.

Background And Objectives: This study examined the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the 10-item Awareness of Age-Related Change Short Form (AARC-SF) questionnaire in a Chinese-speaking sample of older adults in Taiwan.

Research Design And Methods: Data from 292 participants (Mage = 77.64 years) in the Healthy Aging Longitudinal Study in Taiwan cohort were used for Study 1, whereas data from young-old adult samples in Germany were used for Study 2.

Successful Aging and Subjective Aging: Toward a Framework to Research a Neglected Connection.

Research related to subjective aging, which describes how individuals perceive, interpret and evaluate their own aging, has substantially grown in the past two decades. Evidence from longitudinal studies shows that subjective aging predicts health, quality of life, and functioning in later life. However, the existing literature on successful aging has mostly neglected the role of subjective aging.

Differential Item Functioning Along the Old Age Continuum: Contrasting Chronological Age With Contextual Variables in the Assessment of Gains and Losses Across Advanced Old Age.

Objectives: The fourth age is considered a life stage with a high likelihood of age-related losses. However, very old age extends over decades, and little is known about how transitions that may happen during this age period (e.g.

Differences in self-perceptions of aging across the adult lifespan: The sample case of awareness of age-related gains and losses.

Rooted in the premises of lifespan developmental theory, the concept of awareness of age-related change (AARC) posits that growing older comes with both experiences of gains and losses across different behavioral domains. However, little is known about how age-related change is perceived across the entire adult lifespan, provided that respective measures can be validly compared. Further, few studies have adopted an approach that examines gains and losses simultaneously to study a potential shift in the ratio of perceived age-related gains and losses from adolescence to advanced old age.

Levels of awareness of age-related gains and losses throughout adulthood and their developmental correlates.

Views of aging predict key developmental outcomes. Less is known, however, about the consequences of constellations of domain-specific perceived gains and losses across the full adult lifespan. First, we explored levels of awareness of age-related gains (AARC-gains) and losses (AARC-losses) in five behavioral domains across adulthood.

Awareness of age-related change in the context of major life events.

Although gains and losses are an integral part of human development, the experience of change and readjustment that often comes with major life events may be particularly influential for an individual's subjective aging experience and awareness of age-related change (AARC). Thus, this study focused on the role of life events in the domains of family and health for an individual's awareness of age-related gains and losses. Specifically, we differentiated between the experience of specific life events (e.

Subjective views of aging in very old age: Predictors of 2-year change in gains and losses.

This study examined trajectories of awareness of age-related change (AARC; Diehl & Wahl, 2010) across 2 years in a large representative sample of very old adults. We also examined the predictive role of health, functional status, cognitive functioning, and engagement with life for AARC change. The initial sample comprised 1,863 individuals aged 80 years or older.

Awareness of Age-Related Change as a Behavioral Determinant of Survival Time in Very Old Age.

Although research on the association between subjective views of aging (VOA) and survival is scarce, more negative VOA have been found to be associated with increased all-cause mortality, even after controlling for possible confounders. Longitudinal studies on the predictive association of VOA with survival in individuals aged 80 years or older are, however, very limited. Thus, the aim of this study was to link adults' awareness of age-related change (AARC), a multidimensional measure of adults' subjective VOA, to survival time across a 3.

The NRW80+ study: conceptual background and study groups.

Background: The study "Quality of life and well-being of the very old in North Rhine-Westphalia NRW80+" aims at giving a representative picture of the quality of life (QoL) in this population. Conceptually, QoL research has rarely considered the values of older individuals themselves and societal values, and their relevance for successful life conduct. Empirically, comparisons of different age groups over the age of 80 years are rare and hampered by quickly decreasing numbers of individuals in oldest age groups in the population of very old individuals.

Psychometric study of the Awareness of Age-Related Change (AARC) Short Scale translated to Portuguese, applied to Brazilian older adults.

Unlabelled: The concept Awareness of Age-Related Change (AARC) is defined as a person's awareness that their behavior, level of physical, cognitive and social performance, and ways of experiencing life have changed as a consequence of having grown older, and not because of disease.

Objective: A psychometric study investigating evidence of construct validity and internal consistency of the Portuguese version of the AARC Short Scale was carried out.

Method: A convenience sample of 387 individuals aged≥60 years with no deficit suggestive of dementia were recruited at venues frequented by older persons and at households.

WWII traumatic events, subjective well-being and valuation of life in the very old.

Background: Experiencing war is a major trigger for physical and mental health problems. People in the German population who are currently over 80 years of age experienced the Second World War (WWII) as children or adolescents, at a time when psychological vulnerability is high. Empirical results show that positive subjective well-being (SWB) and valuation of life (VoL) in older cohorts are widespread; however, when confronted with existential age-associated changes, many older adults experience increased burden, sometimes bringing biographical vulnerabilities to the forefront.

International relevance of two measures of awareness of age-related change (AARC).

Background: A questionnaire assessing awareness of positive and negative age-related changes (AARC gains and losses) was developed in the US and Germany. We validated the short form of the measure (AARC-10 SF) and the cognitive functioning subscale from the 50-item version of the AARC (AARC-50) questionnaire in the UK population aged 50 and over.

Methods: Data from 9410 participants (Mean (SD) age = 65.

Non-response in surveys of very old people.

Very old people are known to participate less often in social surveys than younger age-groups. However, survey participation among very old people in institutional settings is understudied. Additionally, the focus of the literature is on response rates, which neglects the complexity of the process of survey participation.

Correction to: Non-response in surveys of very old people.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s10433-018-0488-x.].

Measuring Awareness of Age-Related Change: Development of a 10-Item Short Form for Use in Large-Scale Surveys.

Background And Objectives: Existing measures of subjective aging have been useful in predicting developmental outcomes. Unlike other constructs of subjective aging, Awareness of Age-Related Change (AARC) focuses on how adults' self-perceptions of aging result in an awareness of age-related gains and losses. We developed a 10-item short form (SF) of the existing 50-item AARC questionnaire as a reliable, valid, and parsimonious solution for use primarily in large-scale surveys but also in applied contexts.

Improving Quality of Work life for Care Providers by Fostering the Emotional well-being of Persons with Dementia: A Cluster-randomized Trial of a Nursing Intervention in German long-term Care Settings.

We tested the feasibility of a nursing intervention (DEMIAN) in routine care and its effects on care providers' job satisfaction, motivation, and work strain. This cluster-randomized trial was conducted in 20 German long-term care facilities. We randomly assigned 20 facilities to an intervention group (84 care providers, 42 residents with dementia) or a control group (96 care providers, 42 residents with dementia).

Improved Housing Accessibility for Older People in Sweden and Germany: Short Term Costs and Long-Term Gains.

The physical housing environment is important to facilitate activities of daily living (ADL) for older people. A hindering environment may lead to ADL dependence and thus increase the need for home services, which is individually restricting and a growing societal burden. This study presents simulations of policy changes with regard to housing accessibility that estimates the potential impact specifically on instrumental activities of daily living (I-ADL), usage of home services, and related costs.

Quality of life of the very old : Survey on quality of life and subjective well-being of the very old in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW80+).

Background: In Germany, the very old are the most rapidly growing proportion of the population. A comprehensive investigation of the conditions for a good quality of life in this group is relevant for both society and politics.

Objective: The project "Quality of life and subjective well-being of the very old in North Rhine-Westphalia" (NRW80+) at the University of Cologne surveys quality of life of the very old.

Assessing capacity to consent to treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors in dementia using a specific and standardized version of the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool (MacCAT-T).

Background: The use of assessment tools has been shown to improve the inter-rater reliability of capacity assessments. However, instrument-based capacity assessments of people with dementia face challenges. In dementia research, measuring capacity with instruments like the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Treatment (MacCAT-T) mostly employ hypothetical treatment vignettes that can overwhelm the abstraction capabilities of people with dementia and are thus not always suitable for this target group.

Emotional competencies in geriatric nursing: empirical evidence from a computer based large scale assessment calibration study.

The care of older people was described as involving substantial emotion-related affordances. Scholars in vocational training and nursing disagree whether emotion-related skills could be conceptualized and assessed as a professional competence. Studies on emotion work and empathy regularly neglect the multidimensionality of these phenomena and their relation to the care process, and are rarely conclusive with respect to nursing behavior in practice.

Daily mood and out-of-home mobility in older adults: does cognitive impairment matter?

This study explores the relationship between out-of-home behavior and daily mood of community-dwelling older adults with different levels of cognitive impairment across four consecutive weeks. The sample included 16 persons with early stage Alzheimer's disease (AD), 30 persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 95 cognitively healthy persons (CH). Using a multi-method approach, GPS tracking and daily-diary data were combined on a day-to-day basis.