Paul W' Foos

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Fear of Aging The Role of Control

• Paul W. Foos
• University of North Carolina at charlotte
• Amanda Leggett
• Pennsylvania State University
• M. Cherie Clark
• Queens University of Charlotte
• Arlo G. Clark-Foos
• University of Georgia

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Attitudes Toward Aging

• Lower education associated with more negative
  attitudes (e.g., Funderbunk et al., 2006)
• Younger age associated with more negative
  attitudes (e.g., Kalaver, 2001)
• Less contact with older adults associated with
  more negative attitudes (e.g., Meshel McGlynn,
  2004)

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Attitudes Toward Aging

• Mixed findings on gender differences (e.g.,
  DePaola et al., 2003)
• African-Americans display more negative attitudes
  (e.g., Foos et al., 2006).

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Attitudes Toward Aging
FEAR OF AGING
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Fear of Aging

• Fear of Aging will correlate strongly with
  measures of locus of control.
• External Powerful Others and Chance will predict
  fear of aging particularly in those with negative
  attitudes toward aging.

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Method

• Participants were 243 men and 418 women (n 661)
  ranging in age from 18 to 94 (M 39.82, SD
  19.18).

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Measures

• Education on an eight point scale ranging from 1
  elementary school to 8 M.D., Ph.D., J.D. or
  other professional degree
• Standard of Living on a five point scale ranging
  from
• 1 well above average to 5 well below average
• Control using Levensons (1974) scale measuring
  Internal, External-Powerful Others, and
  External-Chance

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Measures

• Fear of Aging using Likert scale ranging from 1
  Strongly Disagree to 5 Strongly Agree with I
  fear growing old
• Measures of negative attitude including same
  Likert scale for
• It doesnt bother me at all to imagine myself as
  being old
•  
• I have never dreaded looking old
•  
• Older adults have satisfying sexual relations
•  
• ANDIs old age a happy time? Why or why not?

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Correlations
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Correlations
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Correlations
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Results

• Those answering the question Is old age a happy
  time? were divided into groups who answered
• Yes (72) No (24) Yes and No (4)

Mean ratings for Fear of growing old
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Happy Time Group Differences on Control Scales
Internal Control
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Happy Time Group Differences on Control Scales
External Powerful Others
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Happy Time Group Differences on Control Scales
External Chance
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Discussion

• Fear of Aging strongly correlated with measures
  of negative attitude.
• ? Those with negative attitude show much
  stronger fear of aging.
• Older adults show less fear of aging as do those
  with higher level of education.
• Fear of Aging not correlated with Internal Locus
  of Control.
• Fear of Aging correlated with both measures of
  External Locus of Control.