Biomedical subjects

Becca R Levy

Publications and source records attributed to Becca R Levy.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Hearing decline predicted by elders' stereotypes.

Although age-related hearing loss is one of the most prevalent conditions affecting older individuals, little research has been conducted on the social-psychological factors that might contribute to it. The present study examines whether older individuals' age stereotypes predict screened hearing over time. The sample consisted of 546 community-dwelling persons, aged 70 to 96 years old. Participants with more negative and more external (i.e., related to physical appearance) age stereotypes demonstrated worse screened hearing at 36 months, after adjusting for baseline-screened hearing, age, and other relevant variables. These findings suggest that age stereotypes influence older individuals' sensory perception.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Influence of culture and age on control beliefs: the missing link of interdependence.

A number of studies have found that primary control declines in old age and is lower in Asian countries, while secondary control increases in old age and is higher in Asian countries. We examined whether these patterns may be due to the mediating influence of interdependence. In a sample of 557 young and old adults in Japan and the United States, primary and secondary control, age, and interdependence were measured. We found that interdependence mediates the influence of: (1) culture on secondary control; and (2) age on both primary and secondary control. Findings suggest that interdependence is an important factor that should be considered in trying to understand the determinants of control cross-culturally and developmentally.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Physical recovery after acute myocardial infarction: positive age self-stereotypes as a resource.

We considered whether positive and stable self-stereotypes of stigmatized group members can influence functioning (in contrast, stereotype threat theory suggests these influential self-stereotypes are limited to ones that are negative and situational). Specifically, we examined older individuals' positive age stereotypes after a life-threatening event, an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Sixty-two persons, aged 50 to 96, participated. As expected, positive age stereotypes were found, even immediately after an AMI, and they did not significantly change over the next seven months. Also as expected, these self-stereotypes predicted physical recovery, after adjusting for potentially relevant covariates. Recovery expectations acted as a mediator. These findings suggest the importance of understanding the role that positive stereotypes may play in the health of stigmatized group members.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2005

When self-interest and age sterotypes collide: elders opposing increased funds for programs benefiting themselves.

Elders tend to be portrayed by the media as selfishly promoting programs that benefit the old. We predicted, however, that older individuals who choose positive stereotypes about the young over positive stereotypes about the old would oppose an increase in spending on these programs. By analyzing the responses of 1656 individuals, we found: (1) older participants were more likely than younger participants to oppose increased funding of Social Security, Meals on Wheels, and Medicare; and (2) this opposition to increased funding for Social Security and Meals on Wheels was predicted by a stereotype of aging based on a more favorable perception of the capabilities of the young than of the old. Our findings suggest that elders' evaluation of programs that benefit their age group may be more influenced by stereotypes internalized decades earlier than by their current group interests.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Preventive health behaviors influenced by self-perceptions of aging.

BACKGROUND: Research has found that the elderly are the age group that is the least likely to engage in preventive health behaviors, even though these behaviors continue to benefit individuals throughout the life span. We investigated for the first time whether an age-specific factor, older individuals' beliefs about their own aging, predicts their likelihood of engaging in preventive health behaviors over time. METHODS: We conducted multivariate linear regression to test the predictive value of aging self-perceptions on the preventive health behaviors of 241 individuals, who participated in the Ohio Longitudinal Study of Aging and Retirement (OLSAR) aged 50-80 years old. The preventive health behaviors included eating a balanced diet, exercising, and following directions for taking prescribed medications. RESULTS: Individuals with more positive self-perceptions of aging tended to practice more preventive health behaviors over the next two decades after controlling for age, education, functional health, gender, self-rated health, and race (P = 0.032). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that addressing views about aging could help improve efforts to increase preventive health behaviors in the older population.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

Image of aging scale.

The development of the Image of Aging Scale is described. It ineludes positive and negative images of elders within nine domains. The scale showed good 1-wk. test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and convergent validity.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

Mind matters: cognitive and physical effects of aging self-stereotypes.

In the first part of this article, a wide range of research is drawn upon to describe the process by which aging stereotypes are internalized in younger individuals and then become self-stereotypes when individuals reach old age. The second part consists of a review of the author's cross-cultural, experimental, and longitudinal research that examines the cognitive and physical effects of aging self-stereotypes. The final section presents suggestions for future research relating to aging self-stereotypes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Longevity increased by positive self-perceptions of aging.

This research found that older individuals with more positive self-perceptions of aging, measured up to 23 years earlier, lived 7.5 years longer than those with less positive self-perceptions of aging. This advantage remained after age, gender, socioeconomic status, loneliness, and functional health were included as covariates. It was also found that this effect is partially mediated by will to live. The sample consisted of 660 individuals aged 50 and older who participated in a community-based survey, the Ohio Longitudinal Study of Aging and Retirement (OLSAR). By matching the OLSAR to mortality data recently obtained from the National Death Index, the authors were able to conduct survival analyses. The findings suggest that the self-perceptions of stigmatized groups can influence longevity.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

Longitudinal benefit of positive self-perceptions of aging on functional health.

We examined whether those with more positive self-perceptions of aging (older individuals' beliefs about their own aging) report better functional health over an 18-year period than do those with more negative self-perceptions of aging. We found that those with more positive self-perceptions of aging in 1975 reported better functional health from 1977 to 1995, when we controlled for baseline measures of functional health, self-rated health, age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status. We also demonstrated that perceived control partially mediates the relationship between self-perceptions of aging and functioning. The sample consisted of 433 participants in the Ohio Longitudinal Study of Aging and Retirement, a community-based study of individuals aged 50 and older, who were interviewed in 6 waves. Our study suggests that the way in which individuals view their own aging affects their functional health.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Higher rates of depression in women: role of gender bias within the family.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to examine whether higher rates of depression in women than in men can be explained partially by the artifact hypothesis, which suggests that when both sexes have the same depressive symptoms, women are more likely than men to be diagnosed with depression. We hypothesized that (1). this gender bias in identifying depression exists within families and (2). family members will be more likely to attribute depressive symptoms to internal causes for women and external causes for men. METHODS: Our sample consisted of 205 adults, generated from the family members of 46 probands who participated in the Yale Family Study. To determine whether bias exists in the family, we compared self-reports of depressive symptoms with family reports of depressive symptoms for the same individual. RESULTS: As predicted, we found that compared with men, women were more likely to be reported as depressed by a family member when they report themselves as not depressed. We also found that family members were more likely to attribute depressive symptoms of females to internal causes. We did not, however, find any differences by gender in attribution of depression to external causes. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that gender bias within the family may contribute to the higher recorded rates of depression in women.

Adult↗