A recent study published in the American Psychological Association's Psychology and Aging journal reveals that people's perception of when old age begins has been shifting later over time. The study, conducted by researchers from Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, analyzed responses from 14,056 participants in the German Ageing Survey, which includes individuals born between 1911 and 1974.
The researchers found that compared to earlier-born participants, those born later perceived the onset of old age to start later. For instance, participants born in 1911 believed old age began at 71 when they were 65 years old. In contrast, participants born in 1956 said old age begins at 74 when they were 65 years old.
As individuals aged, their perception of the onset of old age was pushed further out. At age 64, the average participant said old age started at 74.7. At age 74, they said old age started at 76.8. On average, the perceived onset of old age increased by about one year for every four to five years of actual aging.
The study also found that women, on average, said that old age started two years later than men. People who reported being more lonely, in worse health, and feeling older said old age began earlier, on average, than those who were less lonely, in better health, and felt younger.
'Life expectancy has increased, which might contribute to a later perceived onset of old age. Also, some aspects of health have improved over time, so that people of a certain age who were regarded as old in the past may no longer be considered old nowadays,' said study author Markus Wettstein, PhD, of Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany.(^1^)
However, the trend toward a later perceived onset of old age has slowed in recent years, indicating that it may not necessarily continue in the future.(^2^)
Links
https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2024/04/old-age-onset-perceptions