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Aging, Disablement, and Dying: Using Time-as-Process and Time-as-Resources Metrics to Chart Late-Life Change
Nilam Ram1, Denis Gerstorf, Elizabeth Fauth
1The Pennsylvania State University ; Max Planck Institute for Human Development.
Abstract:
Time is a vehicle that can be used to represent aging-related processes and to index the amount of aging-related resources or burdens individuals have accumulated. Using data on cognitive (memory) performance from two Swedish studies of the elderly (OCTO and OCTO-TWIN), we illustrate how time-as-process and time-as-resources/burdens time metrics can be articulated and incorporated within a growth curve modeling framework. Our results highlight the possibilities for representing the contributions of primary, secondary, and tertiary aspects of aging to late-life changes in cognitive and other domains of functioning.
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