Up until now old age has sometimes been linked to negative feelings and decline, but recent research suggests that age really is just a number. The age of an older person is often believed to have a major impact on their wellness, now a study from the University of California has turned this theory around.
Passage of Time
Although there are some conditions linked with our physical age, like the development of cancers, heart disease and dementia, other factors seemed to play a part in how a group of participants in a US study felt about ageing. Some 1,006 people with an average age of 77 years were randomly chosen to take part in a survey that helped measure their wellbeing. Ageism is an unfortunate barrier to many older people wishing to remain in work or be a respected member of society, with others thinking they are not as capable or happy as they once were. The results showed that rather than age being the main factor in how the group felt they’d ‘successfully aged’, it was the rates of depression and their resilience that was linked to their happiness.
The Results
Each person took part in phone surveys and answered lots of questions about their physical and mental health. Researchers explained how better – not worse – mental functioning was reported by the older participants – but when they suffered from problems with resilience and depression this was not the case. This indicates that it is not how old someone is that affects their feelings towards ageing, but whether they are free from depression and resilient to illnesses and other issues. Controls were put in place to check that these positive feelings weren’t dependent on income, education or relationships. Head researcher Dilip Jeste explained how the results showed the need to prevent depression and foster resilience in older people, suggesting that doing so could have an anti-ageing effect on their lives.
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