Gender Differences in Awareness of Aging Among Married Adults Ages 20 to 60

Abstract

Using national data from 1,508 married men and women between the ages of 20 and 60, this article addresses the question of how men and women differ in their perception of aging and whether their senses of aging are affected differently by life course, socioeconomic status, or quality of life. Results show more similarities than differences in the ways in which men and women come to perceive themselves as aging. Those differences that exist appear to be rooted more in differential health than in differential vanity. The chief finding of this research is the strong association between awareness of aging and quality of social relationships.