The Role of Attitude Toward Own Aging for Fluid and Crystallized Functioning: 12-Year Evidence From the ILSE Study

Aging attitudes have been shown to affect a variety of important developmental outcomes in old age, including memory. Extending previous research, the present study examined long-term effects of attitudes toward own aging (ATOA), relying on a broader range of cognitive abilities in later life.

Data came from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development and Aging (ILSE), with three measurement waves (1993/1994, 1997/1998, and 2005/2006) covering a 12-year interval. Drawing on the older of two available birth cohorts (1930-1932; n = 500), we analyzed the relationship between ATOA and change in fluid versus crystallized abilities based on overall and gender-specific latent change score models, while controlling for education and objective health.

As expected, ATOA predicted change in fluid functioning-but not in crystallized performance-over 12 years. Gender-specific analyses revealed a stronger association between ATOA and decline in fluid abilities for men, even after controlling for health and education.

This study adds to the understanding of long-term implications of aging attitudes for cognitive decline trajectories and shows that negative aging attitudes are a risk factor for age-vulnerable cognitive abilities, particularly among men. Further research is needed to better understand the underlying mechanisms of observed relationships.