Contrasting paths to longevity: How personal and generalized views on aging differentially predict mortality

Views on aging (VoA) have consequences for development across the lifespan affecting the aging process of individuals in important ways. Previous research has shown that how individuals perceive their own aging (i.e., personal VoA) predict how many years they live, with more positive self-views being associated with decreased risk of mortality. While views of older adults in general (i.e., generalized VoA), or age stereotypes, have been shown to predict worse physical, mental, and cognitive health, whether and how they are associated with mortality remains unclear. In this study, we thus aimed to use a multidimensional approach to examine the impact of both personal and generalized VoA on mortality risk. Data were drawn from the Ageing as Future longitudinal study and included participants who took part in the baseline assessment in 2009 (N = 768, 49.5% female, M_age = 55.17, age range = 30-80 years). Information on mortality was obtained 15 years later, in 2024. Replicating and extending previous findings, a survival analysis indicated that individuals with more positive future views of their own aging had a lower risk of mortality. However, when examining generalized VoA, a different pattern emerged. After accounting for the influence of internalization effects (captured by personal VoA), individuals with more negative views of older adults in general were found to have a lower risk of mortality. Both effects remained significant even after controlling for participants' age, gender, household income, education, self-rated health, and life satisfaction. The findings suggest that both personal and generalized VoA influence how long individuals live, although in opposing directions. We discuss these findings in terms of internalization and dissociation of VoA. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).