The Association Between Views of Aging and Subjective Cognitive Complaints in Older Adults: Findings From Two Samples

This cross-sectional study examined whether views of aging (VoA) relate to subjective cognitive complaints in two separate cohorts of older adults. Ageist attitudes, attitudes to aging (psychological loss, physical change, and psychological growth), subjective age, and subjective successful aging were examined. A moderating effect of chronological age was also examined. Samples included 572 adults aged 50 or older (Sample 1; mean age = 67.63, SD = 11.39, 49.4% female) and 224 adults aged 65 or older (Sample 2; mean age = 81.50, SD = 6.61, 75.3% female). More negative VoA (higher ageist attitudes, lower psychological growth, lower physical change, older subjective age, and less successful aging) were associated with more subjective cognitive complaints after controlling for covariates. An increase in chronological age strengthened some of these associations. Findings suggest that improving dimensions of VoA may have a complementary positive effect on subjective cognitive complaints in older adults.