Malleable Beliefs Matter: Essentialist Beliefs About Aging and Mental Health Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

IF 2.3 3区医学 Q3 GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY

Clinical Gerontologist Pub Date : 2026-10-01 Epub Date: 2026-07-07 DOI:10.1080/07317115.2026.2699228

Xinning Su, Kenichiro Sato, Susumu Ogawa, Daichi Yamashiro, Yoshifumi Takahashi, Kanon Tsukada, Tomoya Sagara, Toshihito Tsuchiya, Yan Li, Kiyo Kawakubo, Koki Ito, Tomoki Furuya, Tomoya Takahashi, Hiroyuki Suzuki

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives: This study examined associations between essentialist beliefs about aging (EBA) - comprising perceived malleability and biological determinism - and multiple indicators of mental health, including well-being, depressive symptoms, morale, and life satisfaction, among community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: A total of 207 community-dwelling adults aged 65-87 years in Japan completed questionnaires assessing EBA, the World Health Organization - Five Well-Being Index, the Geriatric Depression Scale-15, the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted, with gender, age, and years of education included as covariates.

Results: Perceived malleability beliefs about aging were associated with mental health across outcomes, including greater well-being, morale, and life satisfaction, and lower depressive symptoms. These associations remained significant after controlling for covariates in the hierarchical regression analyses, with malleability beliefs explaining additional variance across all outcomes. The association between biological determinism beliefs and mental health was nonsignificant after including covariates.

Conclusions: These findings provide initial evidence regarding the association between malleable aging beliefs and more favorable mental health outcomes among older adults.

Clinical implications: The results underscore the importance of aging beliefs for psychological well-being in later life, highlighting the potential value of clinical interventions for enhancing malleable aging beliefs to promote mental health.

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可塑性信念很重要：社区居住老年人关于老龄化和心理健康的本质主义信念。

目的：本研究考察了在社区居住的老年人中，关于衰老的本质主义信念（包括感知的可塑性和生物决定论）与心理健康的多个指标（包括幸福感、抑郁症状、士气和生活满意度）之间的联系。方法：对207名年龄在65 ~ 87岁的日本社区居民进行EBA、世界卫生组织五幸福指数、老年抑郁量表-15、费城老年中心士气量表和生活满意度量表的问卷调查。以性别、年龄、受教育年限为协变量，进行分层回归分析。结果：关于衰老的认知可塑性信念与心理健康有关，包括更大的幸福感、士气和生活满意度，以及更低的抑郁症状。在层次回归分析中控制协变量后，这些关联仍然显著，可塑性信念解释了所有结果的额外方差。包括协变量后，生物决定论信念与心理健康之间的关联不显著。结论：这些发现提供了初步的证据，证明在老年人中，可塑的衰老信念与更有利的心理健康结果之间存在关联。临床意义：研究结果强调了衰老信念对晚年心理健康的重要性，强调了增强可塑衰老信念以促进心理健康的临床干预的潜在价值。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Clinical Gerontologist GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY-PSYCHIATRY

CiteScore

6.20

自引率

25.00%

发文量

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Clinical Gerontologist presents original research, reviews, and clinical comments relevant to the needs of behavioral health professionals and all practitioners who work with older adults. Published in cooperation with Psychologists in Long Term Care, the journal is designed for psychologists, physicians, nurses, social workers, counselors (family, pastoral, and vocational), and other health professionals who address behavioral health concerns found in later life, including: -adjustments to changing roles- issues related to diversity and aging- family caregiving- spirituality- cognitive and psychosocial assessment- depression, anxiety, and PTSD- Alzheimer’s disease and other neurocognitive disorders- long term care- behavioral medicine in aging- rehabilitation and education for older adults. Each issue provides insightful articles on current topics. Submissions are peer reviewed by content experts and selected for both scholarship and relevance to the practitioner to ensure that the articles are among the best in the field. Authors report original research and conceptual reviews. A unique column in Clinical Gerontologist is “Clinical Comments." This section features brief observations and specific suggestions from practitioners which avoid elaborate research designs or long reference lists. This section is a unique opportunity for you to learn about the valuable clinical work of your peers in a short, concise format.