Associations of Agency and Communion With Domain-Specific Self-Perceptions of Aging: A Cross-Sectional Study In Old-Old Adults in Poor Health

Abstract

A large body of research indicates that self-perceptions of aging (SPA) play an important role for health in later life. Hence, more research on SPA and correlates is needed, especially in old age and poor health, where negative SPA tend to prevail. Recent studies identified personality as an important correlate of SPA in young-old and relatively healthy samples. Thus, we investigated cross-sectional associations of agency and communion with two SPA domains in a sample of old-old adults in poor health ( n  =  154; Mage  =  81.55, SD  =  4.56, 58.4% women). In multiple regression analyses, agency and communion were associated with SPA related to ongoing development beyond health. In contrast, only health as a covariate was significantly associated with SPA related to physical losses. Thus, personality may be a resource associated with gain-related SPA, at least for those in poor health and old age.