Differences in perceived autonomy among American and Japanese older adults

Perceived autonomy refers to perceived personal self-governance, or rather that a person feels free from external constraint to determine his or her own actions and behaviors. This study examined perceived autonomy among community-dwelling older adults residing in New York City and West Japan. A cross-sectional design was adopted using self-reports from 340 older adults (n = 220 Japanese, n = 120 Americans) recruited from senior centers. Perceived autonomy was quantified with the Hertz Perceived Enactment of Autonomy Scale (HPEAS), which includes three subscales: voluntariness, individuality, and self-direction. Compared to American respondents, more Japanese respondents were male (67.7% vs. 40.8%), more likely to live with others (78% vs. 25.7%), reported lower perceived autonomy (86.9 vs. 109.5), and scored lower on all three subscales of the HPEAS. Despite significant differences in perceived autonomy, a sociocultural factor such as social support was identified as an important factor for older adults in both groups.