Tommaso Feraco, Nicole Casali, Elena Carbone, Chiara Meneghetti, Erika Borella, Barbara Carretti, Veronica Muffato
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Soft skills are key factors for success in multiple contexts of daily life, as well as for life satisfaction, but little is known about their role in late adulthood and older age. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationships of soft skills, as defined by the World Economic Forum, with two indicators of successful/healthy aging: life satisfaction and cognitive reserve. A sample of 435 adults aged 50 and over completed self-reported measures of soft skills, life satisfaction, and cognitive reserve. As control, fluid (reasoning) and crystalized (vocabulary) intelligence were assessed too, along with socio-demographic characteristics. A series of regression analyses showed that soft skills were positively related to both life satisfaction and, to a lower extent, cognitive reserve, above and beyond gender, age, and both fluid and crystallized intelligence. Interestingly, these associations were independent from participants' age. Overall, these results highlight the importance of considering soft skills also over the middle-late adult life course, due to the potential role of these individual qualities in supporting an individual's well-being and an active and engaged lifestyle, with implications for the promotion of a healthy aging.
期刊介绍:
The European Journal of Ageing: Social, Behavioural and Health Perspectives is an interdisciplinary journal devoted to the understanding of ageing in European societies and the world over.
EJA publishes original articles on the social, behavioral and population health aspects of ageing and encourages an integrated approach between these aspects.
Emphasis is put on publishing empirical research (including meta-analyses), but conceptual papers (including narrative reviews) and methodological contributions will also be considered.
EJA welcomes expert opinions on critical issues in ageing.
By stimulating communication between researchers and those using research findings, it aims to contribute to the formulation of better policies and the development of better practice in serving older adults.
To further specify, with the term ''social'' is meant the full scope of social science of ageing related research from the micro to the macro level of analysis. With the term ''behavioural'' the full scope of psychological ageing research including life span approaches based on a range of age groups from young to old is envisaged. The term ''population health-related'' denotes social-epidemiological and public health oriented research including research on functional health in the widest possible sense.