When does old age begin? The answer to this question changes with age.

Scientists have noticed an interesting pattern: over the years, the idea of ​​​​at what age old age begins changes upward.

Moreover, with each new generation, as research shows, this figure also becomes larger.

According to scientists, the reason for this phenomenon is the increase in life expectancy and retirement age, writes The Guardian, talking about published in the journal Psychology and Aging Research.

It involved 14,000 German citizens born between 1911 and 1974, who answered the question eight times over the course of 25 years: “At what age would you describe a person as an old man?” After analyzing the data, the researchers concluded that growing older forces people to revise the age they perceive as old age upward. Judge for yourself:

1. 65-year-olds born in 1931 were expected to begin old age at 74.
2. For 65-year-olds born in 1944, age 75 was considered the beginning of old age.
3. People born back in 1911 claimed that old age begins at 71.

Ideas about when maturity ends and old age begins tend to stabilize. Study participants born between 1936 and 1951, as well as those born between 1952 and 1974, showed similar ideas about years of old age.

The authors of the study believe that the older people are, the more distant in time they consider old age. This is probably due to age stereotypes. Study co-author Markus Wettstein says:

“This may be because many people don't want to be old, so they delay getting old.”

Perceptions of being “old” were higher for women and lower for participants who were in poor health or living alone. However, scientists believe that these characteristics of the participants alone are not enough to explain the results of the analysis.

Age UK charity director Caroline Abrahams says it's common for people (even those over 70) to consider someone at least a few years older to be old. She suggests that this reflects negative attitudes towards old age in Western cultures:

“It is a shame if age prevents us from living the full and happy lives we could have had in our later years, because we limit our own activities and our own aspirations.”

Source link