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Background and Objectives: Successful aging is a mainstay of the gerontological literature, but it is not without criticism, including the often-limited way that it is studied and measured as well as the exclusion of older adults' voices in its formulation and understanding. This study sought to address these issues through a qualitative investigation across multiple countries., Research Design and Methods: This was a mixed-methods, cross-sectional, exploratory study using an online survey. Nations that received the survey included Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and the Unites States. Participants aged 65 and older were asked to describe what successful aging means to them in an open-ended survey item. Summative content analysis was utilized to examine the responses., Results: Successful aging was defined by 1,994 participants, and 6 themes along with 20 subthemes were found. In contrast to conception that successful aging is solely or predominantly related to the absence of disease and decline, the most prominent theme in this study was "active, independent, and engaged" as the hallmark of success., Discussion and Implications: Although health and health maintenance were present in other themes, these findings support a multidimensional definition of successful aging that promotes the perspectives of older people. Future research should seek to further investigate the ways in which person-in-environment factors influence definitions of successful aging, including culture, gender and gender identity, race and ethnicity, and socioeconomic background., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America.)

Successful aging is a prominent theory that describes the aging process and the expected activities and behaviors older adults should engage in or exhibit to age successfully. Although this theory is used to gauge the extent to which older adults are aging successfully, older adults' experiences and perspectives of what successful aging means to them are missing from the theory. A five-step scoping review framework was used to explore and synthesize the existing research that investigated older adults' perspectives on successful aging. Twelve main themes were found and ranged from the importance of social relationships and interactions to having a good death. Findings indicated older adults do not define successful aging as strictly as is found in the literature. Old age and the aging process from the views of older adults provide future directions for theory development and research.

Outward appearance is one of the means by which age is determined, and fear of looking old may stem from fears about social identity and death. This study explored how social identity theory and terror management theory may help to explain the dread of looking old. University students from the United States, England, and Australia (N = 1,042) completed a questionnaire regarding their attitudes about aging and older adults. Results indicated that sex, age, beliefs about personal aging, and death anxiety explained 30.4% of the variance for participants' dread of looking old. Theoretical hypotheses were supported by our findings.

The concept and act of “aging” can often carry a negative connotation in many Western societies; however, research suggests collective perceptions may be shifting as people are living longer lives. This cross-sectional study using survey methodology sought to understand how older people (N = 477) perceive their age by analyzing the responses of closed- and open-ended questions through summative content analysis. The mean age of participants was 63 years, and the average age that they felt was approximately 10 years younger. The seven themes for why individuals did not feel old ranged from maintaining an active and engaged lifestyle to “I don’t act or look old,” and the seven themes for why individuals felt old ranged from stopped or changed activities to nearing death. The findings illuminate how subjective age is shaped by perceptions of what it means to be old, and the ways in which these micronarratives are reflective of larger macronarratives surrounding age and aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ageism and internalized ageism have been found to impact older adults' physical and mental health. Understanding the factors that can contribute to negative attitudes toward aging, and internalized ageism can assist in developing strategies to combat ageism at the individual and societal levels. This cross-sectional study sought to add to the literature on ageism and internalized ageism by investigating the role of death anxiety and hope in different types of aging attitudes (psychosocial loss, physical changes, psychological growth) amongst a group of community-dwelling older adults (N = 477). The survey incorporated standardized scales for death anxiety, hope, and attitudes toward aging along with items to assess loneliness, social isolation, physical health, cognitive health, age, and gender. Bivariate and multivariate analyses explored the factors that contributed to psychosocial loss, physical changes, and psychological growth with a specific focus on the unique contribution of death anxiety and hope. Results indicated death anxiety was negatively associated to the psychosocial loss of aging subscale while the agency element of hope was positively associated to the psychosocial loss, physical changes, and psychological growth to aging subscales. The findings highlight the unique contribution of hope to attitudes toward aging and point to programs that tackle ageism and foster hope among older individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful aging is a prominent framework within gerontology, yet an understanding of how aging adults define “successful aging” is often missing in the social work discourse around what it means to age well. This cross-sectional, exploratory study used an online survey to explore community-dwelling adults’ (aged 55+; n=471) definition of successful aging, the underlying components across all definitions, and any differences in components based on whether or not the adults identified as aging successfully. Summative content analysis yielded five main themes and 13 sub-themes for those who identified as aging successfully and five main themes and 11-sub-themes for those who identified as not aging successfully with elements of health constituting the largest percentage of responses across both groups. Bivariate analyses found participants in the “not aging successfully” group mentioned elements of Being Healthy and Financial Security more than those in the aging successfully group, and elements of Sustain Participation, Curiosity, and Learning less than those in the “aging successfully” group. The findings illustrate the extent to which aging adults view successful aging as the presence of health and ability. Social workers should be mindful to the ways in which adults view successful aging and the elements they believe to contribute to successful aging in order to provide and tailor programs, services, and resources that are supportive of aging adults’ needs and wishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults' experiences and perspectives have been missing in the quest to develop a unified definition of successful aging. Through an online survey using convenience sampling, respondents (N = 477) were asked to report how important 25 specific attributes of successful aging, originating from published literature that examined successful aging from the perspective of older adults, were to them as they age. Over 90% of respondents reported 11 attributes as important or very important to them as they age, which included "remaining free of chronic diseases" and "feeling good about myself." A factor analysis (N = 462) resulted in four dimensions explaining 57.06% of the variance: Adaptation and Coping; Being Healthy; Self-Determination; and Social Relationships and Interactions. The findings revealed older adults' definition of what is important to them as they age is multidimensional, with having access to affordable health care and remaining alert and mentally active as critical elements followed by elements of self-determination, coping, and physical and social health. Future research should replicate the study with diverse populations to continue to refine a definition of successful aging that could influence program development and intervention approaches in health and social services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ageism is fueled by stereotypes and negative attitudes about aging and older adults, which can lead to individual-level prejudice and discrimination. Through survey methodology, this study explored stereotypes and ageist beliefs of youth transitioning from middle childhood into adolescence (age 11–13 years) (N = 69) in the southwest of England. The results indicate that positive more than negative stereotypes were acknowledged, and more positive stereotyping was positively correlated with more positive attitudes toward older adults. Contact with older adults and age that one considers “old” were significant in predicting attitudes toward older people. The results suggest that time matters, in terms of contact with an older adult and time to reach “old age” in shaping youths’ attitudes and stereotypes. Intergenerational and educational programs that seek to address aging myths and increase contact between youth and older adults are discussed as ways to improve attitudes amongst youth transitioning from middle childhood into adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based preventative programmes are increasing in demand as the UK seeks alternative ways of supporting the growing number of older adults. As the use and promotion of preventative programmes increase, so does the need for evidence supporting their effectiveness. Through the use of mixed methods, this study explored a singing community-arts programme, the Golden Oldies, to determine the extent to which the programme contributes to participants' (n = 120) sense of health, self-development and social connectedness. Quantitative analyses found that between 73.1 and 98.3 per cent of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the Golden Oldies contributed to their self-development, health and sense of community as well as revealing a statistically significant increase in self-reported health prior to participation in the programme to the time of the study. Qualitative analysis (n = 5) revealed three themes—the Golden Oldies as: (i) a reduction in social isolation and increase in social contact; (ii) a therapeutic source; and (iii) a new lease for life. The results provide evidence of the preventative nature of the Golden Oldies programme through self-reported improvements in health and social relationships where social connections appeared to be the important thread that contributed to the perceived benefits. Implications for policy, practice and research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]