Feeling younger or older? How life events reshape subjective age among Chinese older adults

Subjective age is a construct that displays considerable individual variability. This study, conducted within the Chinese context, investigates how major life events affect older adults' subjective age, measured by felt age and look age, and the moderating effects of chronological age and community services for older adults.

We used a nationally representative sample of older adults aged 60 and over from three waves (collected in 2018, 2020, and 2023) of the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey. Fixed-effects models were employed to examine how negative events (e.g., serious illness or death of a relative/friend) and positive events (e.g., a child's marriage or childbearing) impact subjective age. Random-effects models were conducted for robustness checks.

The findings indicate that experiencing negative events is associated with an older subjective age by approximately 1.3% or 1 year. In contrast, witnessing positive events reduces their felt age and look age by roughly 0.9% or 0.6 years and 1.2% or 0.9 years, respectively. The negative impact of adverse events on subjective age intensifies with chronological age, whereas the rejuvenating effect of positive events attenuates. The availability of community services for older adults significantly reduces the impact of both negative and positive life events.

The results highlight the complex relationship between life events and subjective age, suggesting that supportive environments can buffer older adults from the psychological effects of life transitions.