‘I feel old and have aging stereotypes’. Internalized aging stereotypes and older adults’ mental health: the mediational role of loneliness

Abstract

Objectives

The main objective of this study was to analyze the role of aging stereotype activation (when older adults with aging stereotypes begin to consider themselves as older persons) in the relationship between ageist stereotypes, depressive, anxiety, loneliness, and comorbid anxiety-depressive symptoms.

Methods

Participants were 182 autonomous community-dwelling people between 60 and 88 (mean age = 72.30; SD = 5.53). Three path models were tested exploring the role of considering oneself as an older person as a moderator variable. Ageist stereotypes were included as the independent variable, loneliness as the mediating variable, and anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and comorbid anxiety-depressive symptoms as dependent variables for each model.

Results

The results suggest an influence of ageist stereotypes on anxiety, depressive, and comorbid anxiety-depressive symptoms only in older adults who consider themselves as older persons, and mediated by loneliness.

Conclusion

This study suggests that, when someone considers him or herself as an older person, ageist stereotypes activate loneliness feelings, and this activation is associated with psychological distress, including anxiety, depressive, and comorbid anxiety-depressive symptoms.

Keywords:

• Aging stereotypes
• loneliness
• depressive symptoms
• anxiety symptoms
• comorbid anxiety-depressive symptoms

Acknowledgements

The authors thank all the participants in the study. We thank the City Council of Getafe (Madrid, Spain) for their support in the recruitment of the sample. Data collection was not preregistered. The study materials, analytic methods, and data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Ethical consideration

All participants signed an informed consent that included information about their voluntary participation, anonymity, no potential for harm, and information about results. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Rey Juan Carlos University (Reference number: 2602201804518).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

María del Sequeros Pedroso-Chaparro was supported by a Pre-Doctoral Grant from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.