Examining the Relationship between Self-Perceptions of Aging, Psychological Well-Being and Health-Promoting Lifestyle: A Cross-Sectional Study in Iran

Abstract Background: We expected to replicate in this study conducted in Iran the established associations among more positive self-perceptions of aging (SPA) and better developmental outcomes in an Iranian sample. As extension of previous SPA research, we tested the inter-relations among different SPA constructs and outcomes simultaneously by means of structural equations model (SEM). Methods: The design was cross-sectional and included older adults 60 years and older living in the Iranian province of Kermanshah. A total of 347 individuals (169 men; 178 women) were recruited by means of convenience sampling. SPA indicators included three established scales (aging perceptions, attitudes toward aging, awareness of age-related change), all previously introduced in Iran. Outcomes included established measures of psychological well-being and health-promoting lifestyle, both also previously established in the Iran. Results: As expected, more positive SPA were positively associated with both developmental outcomes consistently across all three indicators. In SEM testing, defining awareness of age-related change as a mediator among aging perceptions, attitudes toward aging, and developmental outcomes achieved an acceptable fit, but was different depending on the SPA indicator: Inter-relations of aging perception and both outcomes were mediated only through AARC-Loss, whereas inter-relations among attitudes toward aging and both outcomes were mediated only through AARC-Gain. Further, AARC-Loss was a stronger mediating variable than AARC-Gain. Conclusions: Findings replicated the association between various SPA indicators and well-being and health related outcomes in an Iranian sample, thus extending the robustness of this relation across countries/cultures. We also confirmed the need for simultaneous analysis of different indicators of SPA and outcomes.