arbiter
JournalsPricingAccount

Self-perceptions of Aging and Distress in Middle-aged and Older Adults. The Role of Perceived Control and Pleasant Activities

Laura García-García et al.

Spanish Journal of Psychology2025https://doi.org/10.1017/sjp.2025.9article
AJG 1
Weight
0.46

What the paper says

Previous studies have shown the importance of self-perceptions of aging in predicting psychological distress throughout the life cycle. However, little is known about the processes through which self-perceptions of aging influence distress. The aim of the present study is to analyze the potential indirect effects of perceived control and pleasant activities in the association between self-perceptions of aging and depression and anxiety symptoms in middle-aged and older adults. A total of 315 people over 40 years of age (Mage = 58.8; SD = 10.8; 67.9% women) participated. Two indirect effects analysis models were conducted in serial with the aim of analyzing the role of perceived control and pleasant activities in the relationship between the self-perceptions of aging and depressive (model 1) and anxiety (model 2) symptomatology. A direct effect was observed between self-perceptions of aging and depressive, and anxious symptomatology. In addition, indirect associations through the variables perceived control and pleasant activities were significant. The tested models explained 46.1% of the variance in depressive symptomatology and 34.8% of the variance in anxiety. The results of this study confirm the association between self-perceptions of aging and psychological distress. This association is exerted through lower perception of control and fewer pleasant activities. Interventions aimed at promoting effective coping strategies that favor perceived control, activity and emotional well-being should include a module on identifying and modifying of negative self-perceptions of aging in middle-aged and older adults.

4 citations

Open paper page →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/sjp.2025.9

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{laura2025,
  title        = {{Self-perceptions of Aging and Distress in Middle-aged and Older Adults. The Role of Perceived Control and Pleasant Activities}},
  author       = {Laura García-García et al.},
  journal      = {Spanish Journal of Psychology},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/sjp.2025.9},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Self-perceptions of Aging and Distress in Middle-aged and Older Adults. The Role of Perceived Control and Pleasant Activities

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.46

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.37 × 0.4 = 0.15
M · momentum0.60 × 0.15 = 0.09
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.