Ageing in high functioning elderly persons: study design and analyses of behavioural and psychological factors

This article aims to (1) describe the study design of a six year follow up multidisciplinary research project on ageing, (2) report the psychosocial characteristics of the sample in detail, and (3) evaluate ageing-related changes of health, physical activity, and psychosocial characteristics in 10 young-old (age at pre-test: M +/- SD = 63.2 +/- 1.5) and 12 old-old (age at pre-test: M +/- SD = 69 +/- 2) individuals. Both age groups consist of individuals displaying a high health status, a high extent of physical activity, high levels of psychosocial properties in the dimensions of well-being, life satisfaction, self-concept, body image, self-esteem, and self-efficacy, as well as a low general depression index. Psychosocial characteristics demonstrated a stable pattern over a period of nearly six years in both age groups with the exceptions of physical activity, satisfaction with children, general depression, and self-efficacy. Furthermore, physical self-concept decreased in old-old adults, whereas the young-olds showed no change. We assume that a high psychosocial status and a physically active lifestyle play an important role for mastering ageing successfully in two life phases, each of which has its own challenges for older individuals. The decline in the physical self-concept of old-olds is interpreted as a first sign of subjective ageing. Its association to losses in physical performance should be addressed in future studies. Finally, ageing-related changes should be monitored on an individual level in order to capture the complex dynamic of ageing that is not considered in analyses of between-person differences or averages. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.