Adult Development and Aging in Historical Context

Abstract Human development is shaped by socio-cultural contexts and the historical changes therein. Empirical reports suggest that old age has gotten “younger”, both on behavioral measures and in people’s perception. Here, we move one step further and shed light on key quality of life facets not yet well understood. We compare matched cohorts (each n = 250, Mage = 77) assessed 25 years apart in the Berlin Aging Studies (1990–93 vs. 2017–18). Extending the evidence to personality, older adults today are on average lower on neuroticism and higher on openness than their age peers in the past. Qualifying the picture, no evidence emerged for historical changes across four indices of perceptions of aging. Rounding out the picture, we also observed that older adults today perceive more time pressure than age peers 25 years ago. We discuss implications of this nuanced picture of historical changes among older adults.


I'M VERY CAUTIOUS ABOUT WHO I LET INTO MY WORLD: SOCIAL VULNERABILITY FOR PEOPLE LIVING ALONE WITH DEMENTIA
Kate de Medeiros, 1 and Laura Girling, 2 1. Miami University,Oxford,Ohio,United States,2. University of Maryland,Baltimore County,Baltimore,Maryland,United States Living alone with Alzheimer's and related dementias (ADRD) can have many risks including social vulnerability that leads to loneliness. This paper reports findings from 9 people living alone with ADRD who completed in-depth, face-to-face interviews as part of a larger, NIA-sponsored study. Narrative data were analyzed using ATLAS. ti. Thematic findings revealed that although participants received supports (e.g., financial, meal preparation) from others, they lacked opportunities to participate in meaningful engagements with people of their choice (e.g., a friend who lives too far away, a son who is busy). In addition to loneliness resulting from lack of control over their social networks, many also reported that personal changes (e.g., difficulties eating) made them hesitant to seek social engagements. Overall, this paper underscores the need for social programs that extend beyond health-related outcomes and instead speak to subjective wellbeing and social connectivity for this population. ENFORCEMENT: DOES IT ADD OR SUBTRACT  TO THE PRECARITY OF LIVING ALONE WITH  DEMENTIA? Michael Splaine, Splaine Consulting, Columbia, Maryland, United States In 2014, more than 12.5 million people age 65+ lived alone in the U.S. Of these, approximately one third had a cognitive impairment. Although protective services may identify risks to such individuals, they may not have a full understanding of the notion of precarity, or the looming uncertainty regarding space and place, that solo dwellers experience. This presentation explores the tension between the intentions of protective services and the experience of precarity for persons living alone. More specifically, persons living alone with dementia participating in online groups and community events report feelings of risk of loss of autonomy and rights if their status becomes known. The presenter will review these impressions against current police and adult protective services policies and standard practices. Bioethics is an interdisciplinary field that uses critical and empirical tools to explore and make recommendations concerning uncertainty about duties to others, including socially marginalized populations. In the context of social science or biomedical research involving people living alone with dementia, practical challenges in conducting research with capacity-impaired participants have ethical dimensions concerning informed consent and other aspects of research conduct. The underrepresentation in dementia research of the voices and perspectives of people living at home with dementia raises normative questions. Using data from a recent National Institute on Aging bioethics supplemental grant, this paper explores how thinking like a bioethicist can strengthen gerontological research. This paper examines areas such as precarity of housing, poverty and social interactions from a bioethicist's critical analysis/perspective and provides a framework for others to apply to their own research.  Aging, 2020, Vol. 4, No. S1 5. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States, 6. Charité -Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Berlin, Germany, 7. Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States Human development is shaped by socio-cultural contexts and the historical changes therein. Empirical reports suggest that old age has gotten "younger", both on behavioral measures and in people's perception. Here, we move one step further and shed light on key quality of life facets not yet well understood. We compare matched cohorts (each n = 250, Mage = 77) assessed 25 years apart in the Berlin Aging Studies (1990-93 vs. 2017-18). Extending the evidence to personality, older adults today are on average lower on neuroticism and higher on openness than their age peers in the past. Qualifying the picture, no evidence emerged for historical changes across four indices of perceptions of aging. Rounding out the picture, we also observed that older adults today perceive more time pressure than age peers 25 years ago. We discuss implications of this nuanced picture of historical changes among older adults.

HISTORICAL CHANGES IN AGING TRAJECTORIES OF TWO ASPECTS OF SELF-PERCEPTIONS OF AGING
Oliver Huxhold, 1 Svenja Spuling, 1 and Susanne Wurm, 2

German Centre of Gerontology, Berlin, Berlin, Germany, 2. University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
In recent years many studies have shown that adults with more positive self-perceptions of aging (SPA) increase their likelihood of aging healthily. Other studies have documented historical changes in individual resources and contextual conditions associated with aging. We explored how these historical changes are reflected in birth-cohort differences in aging trajectories of two aspects of SPA -viewing aging as ongoing development or as increasing physical losses. Using large-scale cohort-sequential data assessed across 21 years (N ≈ 19,000), the analyses modeled birth-cohort differences in aging trajectories of SPA from 40 to 85 years of age. The results illustrated differential birth-cohort differences: Laterborn cohorts may experience more potential for ongoing development with advancing age than earlier-born cohorts. However, later-born cohorts seem to view their own aging as more negative than earlier-born cohorts during their early forties but may associate their aging less with physical losses after the age of fifty.

IS LONELINESS AFTER WIDOWHOOD LESS PREVALENT IN RECENT TIMES THAN DECADES AGO?
Bianca Suanet, 1 and Theo van Tilburg, 2 1. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam,Amsterdam,Netherlands,2. Vrije Universiteit,Amsterdam,Netherlands Due to increased longevity, widowhood occurs much later in life. When comparing over decades, we hypothesize that the increase in loneliness after losing the spouse at an early age is currently higher due to the lack of role models and knowledge of what helps in this situation, and that the recovery of loneliness after widowhood is faster because the widowed get more network attention in that exceptional situation. We analyze data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam on 232 widowers and 468 widows with an average of four observations before and four after widowhood, spread over 21 years. The younger and recent widowed had a greater increase in loneliness, but also better recovery than the older widowed and those widowed years ago. The loneliness of widowed people has decreased regardless of age at the event, indicating the greater potential for bouncing back from this life event in today's society.

ISSUES RELATED TO LATE-LIFE SEXUALITY: SEX IN LONG-TERM CARE
Chair: Rachael Spalding Discussant: Peter Lichtenberg Despite surrounding social stigma and stereotypes of the "asexual older adult," older adults, including those residing in long-term care facilities, indicate that expressing their sexuality continues to be important to them (Doll, 2013). This presentation will feature presentations regarding recent research and perspectives relevant to late-life sexuality with a focus on how issues of sexual expression may particularly emerge in long-term care settings. Dr. Maggie Syme will present findings from mixed-methods, consumer-based approaches that elucidate how current and future long-term care residents view late-life sexuality, with a focus on the practical applications of these findings to inform facility administration and policies. Ethical and legal issues surrounding sexuality in long-term care will be discussed by Dr. Pamela Teaster, who will present ethical models that can translate into potential best-practice recommendations and strategies. Rachael Spalding will discuss the paucity of psychometrically sound assessment tools for measuring attitudes towards late-life sexuality and discuss their development of such a measure. Finally, Dr. Lilanta Bradley and Dr. Pamela Payne-Foster will present a framework for sexual agency in late-life and identify relevant gaps in the literature regarding gender, ethnicity/race, and geographical differences. Ultimately, this presentation will offer a forum for lively discussion among attendees regarding these pertinent topics. Most older adults living in long-term care settings (LTCs) indicate that expressing their sexuality is important to them (Doll, 2013). Little is known about the general public's attitudes towards sexual behaviors in LTCs. Attitudes of LTC residents' family members are particularly important, as family members are most likely to visit residents and to care about their quality of life. Family members' attitudes could in turn inform facility policies and management. We will present preliminary data from a series of qualitative interviews with community-dwelling adults regarding their attitudes. We will discuss how these data are being used to inform current work on a measure of attitudes toward sexual behavior in LTCs.