Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T17:55:44.397Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Age-related loss of resources and perceived old age in China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 November 2020

Huijun Liu ,
Ru Yang  and
Zhixin Feng Open the ORCID record for Zhixin Feng [Opens in a new window]
Huijun Liu
Affiliation:
Institute for Population and Development Studies, Aging and Health Research Center, School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
Ru Yang
Affiliation:
School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
Zhixin Feng*
Affiliation:
School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Life expectancy in China has increased. This paper explores the age when older adults (aged 60 and above) consider themselves to be an ‘older person’ and how age-related loss of resources (five dimensions: early cumulative factors, decline and loss of health resources, reduction and loss of economic resources, weakening and loss of social support resources, and personal role transition and experiences of losing family members) could impact their perceived old age. Using two waves of data from the China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey (CLASS) in 2014 and 2016 (6,244 participants in 2014 and 2,989 participants in both 2014 and 2016), we found that the mean perceived old age is around 70 years at baseline (2014). Higher level of educational attainment and occupational types (early cumulative factors), better health condition, receiving support from friends and taking care of grandchildren are significantly associated with the perception that old age begins at an older age at baseline, while being Han-Chinese, being an urban resident (early cumulative factors) and reporting better health condition have significant positive effects on the perception that old age begins at an older age in the later wave. Our findings suggest that the age standard of older adults should be adjusted dynamically in response to social development and longevity, and also highlight the importance of early cumulative factors in shaping the ageing process besides age-related factors.

Keywords

perceived old ageage-related loss of resourcesChinese older adults
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 42 , Issue 6 , June 2022 , pp. 1280 - 1298
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

An (2017) Chinese Average Life Expectancy Increases by 8.6 Years in 35 Years. Available at http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-09/29/c_136648314.htm.Google Scholar
Barrett, AE and Montepare, JM (2015) ‘It's about time’: applying life span and life course perspectives to the study of subjective age. Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics 35, 55–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, AE and Toothman, EL (2014) Baby boomers’ subjective life course and its physical health effects: how distinctive is the ‘forever young’ cohort? International Journal of Aging and Human Development 79, 109–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergland, A, Nicolaisen, M and Thorsen, K (2014) Predictors of subjective age in people aged 40–79 years: a five-year follow-up study. The impact of mastery, mental and physical health. Aging and Mental Health 18, 653–661.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bordone, V and Arpino, B (2016) Do grandchildren influence how old you feel? Journal of Aging and Health 28, 1055–1072.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bordone, V, Arpino, B and Rosina, A (2020) Forever young? An analysis of the factors influencing perceptions of ageing. Ageing & Society 40, 1669–1693.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bultena, GL and Powers, EA (1978) Denial of aging: age identification and reference group orientations. Journal of Gerontology 33, 748–754.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burn, K and Szoeke, C (2015) Is grandparenting a form of social engagement that benefits cognition in ageing? Maturitas 80, 122–125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Choi, NG, DiNitto, DM and Kim, J (2014) Discrepancy between chronological age and felt age: age group difference in objective and subjective health as correlates. Journal of Aging and Health 26, 458–473.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chopik, WJ, Bremner, RH, Johnson, DJ and Giasson, HL (2018) Age differences in age perceptions and developmental transitions. Frontiers in Psychology 9, 67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coleman, JS (2008) Foundations of Social Theory. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press.Google Scholar
Cornwell, B, Laumann, EO and Schumm, LP (2008) The social connectedness of older adults: a national profile. American Sociological Review 73, 185–203.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Demakakos, P, Gjonca, E and Nazroo, J (2007) Age identity, age perceptions, and health: evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1114, 279–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diehl, M, Wahl, H-W, Brothers, A and Miche, M (2015) Subjective aging and awareness of aging: toward a new understanding of the aging self. Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics 35, 1–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drevenstedt, J (1976) Perceptions of onsets of young adulthood, middle age, and old age. Journal of Gerontology 31, 53–57.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elder, GJ (1985) Life Course Dynamics: Trajectories and Transitions 1968–1980. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Feng, Z, Jones, K and Wang, W (2015) An exploratory discrete-time multilevel analysis of the effect of social support on the survival of elderly people in China. Social Science and Medicine 130, 181–189.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feng, Z, Phillips, DR and Jones, K (2018) A geographical multivariable multilevel analysis of social exclusion among older people in China: evidence from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey ageing study. Geographical Journal 184, 413–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Furstenberg, AL (1989) Older people's age self-concept. Social Casework Journal of Contemporary Social Work 70, 268–275.Google Scholar
George, LK, Mutran, EJ and Pennybacker, MR (1980) The meaning and measurement of age identity. Experimental Aging Research 6, 283–298.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goode, WJ (1960) A theory of role strain. American Sociological Review 25, 483–496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayslip, B Jr, Blumenthal, H and Garner, A (2014) Health and grandparent–grandchild well-being: one-year longitudinal findings for custodial grandfamilies. Journal of Aging and Health 26, 559–582.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hinterlong, JE, Morrow-Howell, N and Rozario, PA (2007) Productive engagement and late life physical and mental health – findings from a nationally representative panel study. Research on Aging 29, 348–370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hu, W (2009) Lei ji de yi zhi xing sheng ming li cheng shi jiao xia de lao nian ren fen hua [Cumulative heterogeneity: differentiation of older adults from the life-course perspective]. Society 29, 112–130.Google Scholar
Hu, J, Liu, X, Dai, X, Gui, G and Kou, X (2018) Wu han shi she qu kong chao lao ren she hui zhi chi, ying dui fang shi, zi wo xiao neng yu yi yu zhuang kuang de guan xi [Relationship between social support, coping style, self-efficacy and depression status of empty nest elderly in Wuhan community]. Chinese Journal of Gerontology 38, 1508–1511.Google Scholar
Hubley, AM and Hultsci, DF (1994) The relationship of personality trait variables to subjective age identity in older adults. Research on Aging 16, 415–439.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hubley, AM and Russell, LB (2009) Prediction of subjective age, desired age, and age satisfaction in older adults: do some health dimensions contribute more than others? International Journal of Behavioral Development 33, 12–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaufman, G and Elder, GH Jr (2002) Revisiting age identity: a research note. Journal of Aging Studies 16, 169–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kivnick, HQ (1983) Dimensions of grandparenthood meaning – deductive conceptualization and empirical derivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 44, 1056–1068.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knoll, N, Rieckmann, N, Scholz, U and Schwarzer, R (2004) Predictors of subjective age before and after cataract surgery: conscientiousness makes a difference. Psychology and Aging 19, 676–688.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levy, BR, Ferrucci, L, Zonderman, AB, Slade, MD, Troncoso, J and Resnick, SM (2016) A culture–brain link: negative age stereotypes predict Alzheimer's disease biomarkers. Psychology and Aging 31, 82–88.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liang, K (2014) The cross-domain correlates of subjective age in Chinese oldest-old. Aging and Mental Health 18, 217–224.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liu, H, Wu, B and Feng, Z (2020) Social participation and self-perception of being old in China. International Journal of Aging and Human Development 91, 219–234.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Logan, JR, Ward, R and Spitze, G (1992) As old as you feel: age identity in middle and later life. Social Forces 71, 451–467.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markides, KS and Ray, LA (1988) Change in subjective age among the elderly: an eight-year longitudinal study. Comprehensive Gerontology 2, 11–15.Google Scholar
Mehta, KK and Leng, LT (2012) Experiencing Grandparenthood: An Asian Perspective. New York, NY: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Montepare, JM (2009) Subjective age: toward a guiding lifespan framework. International Journal of Behavioral Development 33, 42–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, DL (1988) Age differences in social networks participation. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 43, S129–S137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mutran, E and George, LK (1982) Alternative methods of measuring role-identity – a research note. Social Forces 60, 866–876.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, DR and Feng, Z (2015) Challenges for the aging family in the People's Republic of China. Canadian Journal on Aging/La Revue canadienne du vieillissement 34, 290–304.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rozario, PA and Derienzis, D (2009) ‘So forget how old I am!’ Examining age identities in the face of chronic conditions. Sociology of Health and Illness 31, 540–553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rubin, DC and Berntsen, D (2006) People over forty feel 20% younger than their age: subjective age across the lifespan. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review 13, 776–780.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sanderson, WC and Scherbov, S (2010) Remeasuring aging. Science 329, 1287–1288.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sung, KT (2001) Elder respect – exploration of ideals and forms in East Asia. Journal of Aging Studies 15, 13–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
United Nations (2019) 2019 Revision of World Population Prospects. Available at https://population.un.org/wpp/.Google Scholar
Uotinen, V, Suutama, T and Ruoppila, I (2003) Age identification in the framework of successful aging. A study of older Finnish people. International Journal of Aging & Human Development 56, 173–195.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ward, RA (1977) Impact of subjective age and stigma on older persons. Journal of Gerontology 32, 227–232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Westerhof, GJ and Barrett, AE (2005) Age identity and subjective well-being: a comparison of the United States and Germany. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 60B, S129–S136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wrzus, C, Hanel, M, Wagner, J and Neyer, FJ (2013) Social network changes and life events across the life span: a meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin 139, 53–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yang, J (2012) Shu ju chu li yu mo xing fen xi: STATA ruan jian ying yong [Data Management and Model Analysis: Application of STATA Software]. Beijing: China Renmin University Press.Google Scholar
Zeng, Y and George, L (2002) Extremely rapid ageing and the living arrangements of the elderly: the case of China. Population Bulletin of the United Nations Special Issue 42/43(28), 255–287.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Liu et al. supplementary material

Appendix A

Download Liu et al. supplementary material(File)
File 17.8 KB