Feeling older and wanting to be younger

Two samples of middle-aged women were compared using a questionnaire adapted from Rossi (1980). One sample (N = 20) consisted of women who felt older than and desired to be younger than their own age. The second sample (N = 19) was comprised of women who felt and desired to be their own age. Statistically significant differences between the groups were that women who felt older reported more physical changes of aging, less satisfaction with their life context, and more worries than the women who felt their chronological age. Results of this study suggest that current life stress contributes to middle-aged women's perceptions of feeling older and desiring to be younger than their own age.