Analyses examine change in the age people "feel" ("felt age") and "would like to be" ("ideal age") (relative to current age) in middle and later life. Data are from 1,815 respondents in two waves (1995-96, 2004-06) of the Midlife in the United States Survey (MIDUS) who were age 40+ at Wave 1. In aggregate, people feel about the same amount younger…

The majority of our knowledge about eating disorders derives from adolescent and young adult samples; knowledge regarding disordered eating in middle and later adulthood is limited. We examined the associations among known predictors of eating disorders for younger adults in an age-diverse sample and within the context of psychological distress.…

Relationships between grandparents and grandchildren provide an excellent framework for integrating family theory and family methodology. Systematic differences as a function of age, gender, life expectancy, and health as played out through generations suggest some topics are best studied by disentangling variability between and within families.…

We examined the interplay between three explanatory hypotheses for why older adults appear to rate their problems as less stressful than do younger adults: age-related differences in personality, in types of problems, and in the appraisal process--specifically, the number of primary stress appraisals. A sample of 1,054 men from the Normative Aging…

This study employed hierarchical linear modeling to document the time course of happiness across 20 years from average ages of 66 to 86 among 717 members of the Terman Study of the Gifted. In addition, the study examined the role of positive expectancies about aging, assessed at an average age of 61, in enhancing happiness in aging. The results…

Presents data on the relative frequency of felonies and misdemeanors by age and patterns of offenses for Dade County, Florida, in 1980 and 1982. The pattern of offenses by the elderly was varied. Age was a better predictor of offense rates than sex or race. (JAC)

Examines one's fear of crime while walking in the neighborhood, and in one's home. Results showed age was positively associated with fear of crime in the former situation, but slightly negatively associated in the latter. Suggested that the aged may only be more fearful of crime in particularly dangerous situations. (JAC)

Explored phenomenological meanings of retirement for women and factors associated with adjustment among employed and retired women. No differences were found in levels of morale, adjustment, or self-esteem. Correlations of background, status, and attitudinal variables with measures of morale, adjustment, and self-esteem indicated that the factors…

Physical health has consistently been shown to strongly influence the retirement decision-making process. Unfortunately, "physical health" is typically operationalized in global terms. As a result, we know little about the specific aspects of physical health that influence the decision to retire. Therefore, in the present study, data from three…

Administered six cognitive tasks to 115 men aged 50-93. Obtained two factors. The nonverbal performance factor was significantly predicted by age while the verbal factor was significantly predicted by education. The results suggest that verbal and nonverbal abilities may be determined by different antecedents. (Author)

This study investigates interrelationships among age, physical disability, introspectiveness, and depression. Results show that older people report less introspectiveness than do younger people. Disabled respondents experience a more positive relationship between introspectiveness and depression; however, disabled respondents' poorer global health…

Positive psychology has recently developed a classification of human strengths (Peterson & Seligman, in press). We aimed to evaluate these strengths by investigating the strengths and life satisfaction in three adult samples recruited from the community (young adult, middle-aged, and older adult), as well as in the surviving men of the Grant study…