Personal views of aging and quality of life in midlife and older age: the role of cognitive reserve

This study investigated the relationship between personal views of aging—such as felt age, attitudes toward one’s own aging, and awareness of age-related change—and quality of life in midlife and older adults, exploring the extent to which cognitive reserve proxies may act as a mechanism mediating and explaining these associations.
Participants completed questionnaires assessing personal views of aging and quality of life, as well as the Current and Retrospective Cognitive Reserve Questionnaire, which captures the dynamic nature of cognitive reserve through several indicators—socio-economic status, family engagement, engagement in cognitively, physically, and socially stimulating activities, and participation in religious/spiritual activities—assessed both currently and retrospectively (i.e., referring to youth).
The results confirm the positive role of favorable attitudes toward one’s own aging, greater awareness of age-related gains and lower awareness of age-related losses, together with retrospective cognitive reserve, in supporting better quality of life. Of particular interest, results show that views of aging influence both current and retrospective cognitive reserve, as well as the mediating role of cognitive reserve: both current and retrospective cognitive reserve mediate the effect of positive attitudes toward one’s own aging on quality of life, whereas only current cognitive reserve mediates the effect of perceived age-related gains on quality of life.
Overall, these findings suggest that it is not “how much we age,” but rather “how we live and interpret aging,” together with the experiences we cultivate over time that contribute to building protective resources for our functioning, that makes the difference in supporting and promoting quality of life as we grow older.

Authors Elena Carbone, Enrico Sella, Paolo Ghisletta, Erika Borella
Link to the paper:
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2...