Dimensions and interpretative patterns of aging. Attitudes about aging, being old and ways of living in old age

Attitudes about older people and being old develop in the early and middle phases of life and influence the subsequent aging process. Because aging processes vary across different domains of life and functioning, one cannot assume unanimously negative or positive attitudes towards old age and aging. Thus, in the psychological part of the project Zones of Transition ("Zonen des Ubergangs"), age stereotypes and views of the self in old age were assessed in different life domains and for different age groups, and their relation to wellbeing and the self-concept was investigated. The project also focused on the analysis of attitudes towards one's personal way of living in old age. A questionnaire was developed that assesses those attitudes on the basis of the dimensions "active commitment" and "pleasure and leisure". Our results support a multidimensional conception of attitudes towards aging and way of living in old age as well as of their influence on development across the lifespan.