Social media (SM) offers older adults new avenues for social interaction, yet its relations to social cognition remain unclear given its fundamental differences from face-to-face communication. This study examined how SM use and abuse relate to social cognition, cognitive functioning, and loneliness in older adults. A total of 529 participants aged 60-89 completed online measures of social cognition, cognitive functioning, loneliness, and social support, along with assessments of SM use and abuse. Four main findings emerged. First, greater SM use and SM abuse were both associated with poorer social cognition. Second, SM abuse, but not general use, was associated with lower cognitive functioning, particularly among adults aged 65 and older. Third, SM use was related to reduced loneliness via higher social support; however, loneliness also strengthened the association between SM use and SM abuse. Fourth, women tended to both use and abuse SM to a greater extent than men. These results suggest that SM might be a double-edged sword for older adults: moderate use is related to social connectedness and lower loneliness, whereas excessive or addictive use is linked to declines in cognitive and social functioning. The findings highlight the need to distinguish between normal and problematic SM engagement and to promote healthy digital habits among aging populations.

Caregiving can be time-consuming, and it can be challenging for caregivers to combine caregiving tasks with other obligations. While we know a lot about the problems of combining informal care with employment and family obligations, past employment and family histories are seldom discussed. This study tries to fill this gap by examining the association between employment and family histories and caregiving in later life. We used pooled data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE, waves 1 and 2) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA, waves 2 and 3) and combined them with the life history interviews from both surveys conducted in wave 3. First, we used sequence analysis and cluster analysis to analyze employment, partnership, and children histories between 25 and 50years of age, separately for men and women. Then, we used logistic regression analysis to examine the relationships between these clusters and informal caregivingat ages 50 and above. Results indicate that women who stayed home (homemakers) and those who were self-employed were more likely to provide informal care in later life. Partnership histories matter only for men. Men who were separated were less involved in in-household caregiving and more in care provision outside of the household. Furthermore, childless men and women were more likely to be caregivers. Finally, differences in long-term care policies across countries significantly affected the likelihood of informal caregiving for men and women.

Ageing involves changes across the life span in cognitive abilities, mental health, and personality traits. Although these domains are often studied separately, recent findings highlight their interdependence and dynamic interplay. To examine these relationships, we analysed data from the Human Connectome Project (HCP-Young and HCP-Aging datasets) divided into three age groups: Young (22-39; n = 230), Middle-aged (40-59; n = 242), and Older adults (60-79; n = 209). The interrelationships among 19 cognitive, psychological, and personality variables were investigated using a psychometric network approach, estimating one network per age group and examining how variables clustered into communities (exploratory graph analysis) and comparing the emerging networks using the network comparison test (NCT). We observed substantial differences across age groups. In younger adults, cognitive variables were split into two communities, separating lower from higher cognitive functions, whereas middle-aged and older adults did not present this separation. Two variables-delay discounting and emotion recognition -associated with cognition in younger populations clustered with personality traits and psychological factors in the Older Adults' network, suggesting an increased relevance of their affective significance. The NCT confirmed that the architectures of the Young Adults and the two older groups' networks were significantly different. Compared to the Young Adults, the Older Adults network also showed reduced overall association strength. Altogether, these findings support the view that ageing is associated with structural transformations in the relationships among cognitive, psychological, and personality domains, following a dedifferentiation trajectory across cognitive variables and a general reorganization of psychometric factors.

Behaviour-related health risk factors are associated with an increased risk of early exit from the working life, but their contribution to working life expectancy (WLE) remains unclear. We investigated the associations of obesity, alcohol intake, smoking and low levels of physical activity with WLE among adults aged 50years and older. Individuals working at study baseline with 18years of follow-up data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) (n = 3233) and the Finnish Public Sector study (FPS) were included (n = 65,255). Obesity, alcohol consumption, smoking and low physical activity were self-reported at study baseline. WLE from age 50 to 70years was estimated using a multi-state modelling, separately for men and women across occupational position categories (low, intermediate and high), with adjustment for age. Our findings suggest that individuals who were obese, smoked, had low physical activity levels and reported heavy alcohol use (only in FPS) could expect to work fewer years than those who did not have these behaviour-related health risk factors. A higher number of risk factors was associated with shorter WLE across sex and occupational position categories in both studies. The difference in WLEs between those with no behaviour-related health risk factors and those with ≥ 2 risk factors was up to 1.5years in ELSA and less than 1year in FPS. Having multiple behaviour-related health risk factors is linked to shorter WLE after age of 50years, a difference that may have important economic implications in societies with ageing populations.

The predictive value of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), such as self-esteem in advanced age in relation to biological age (frailty), remains to be elucidated. In a secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial (RCT), 107 hospitalised patients (mean age 77.2 (SD 7.1) years, 56% female) underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). Assessments included the Multidimensional Prognostic Index (MPI), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), evaluation of geriatric syndromes and resources, the EQ-5D-5L quality-of-life scale, and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Follow-up data were collected via telephone six months later. After adjusting for age, sex, intervention, and MPI, baseline RSES were significantly associated with pressure ulcer risk (p = 0.009), nutritional status (p = 0.042), number of geriatric syndromes (p = 0.003), geriatric resources (p < 0.001), depressive symptoms (GDS, p < 0.001), and quality of life (EQ-5D-5L, p = 0.020). These findings show that self-esteem appears to be an independent mediator of multiple geriatric outcomes, including geriatric resources and syndromes, as well as of PROMs, beyond what is explained by MPI-based frailty. Incorporating self-esteem measures into CGA may enhance the identification of at-risk individuals and guide interventions.

Earlier research has found that adult children’s caregiving for older parents is associated with a decline in life satisfaction. However, other research indicates that emotional stress in adult children might be related to the declining health and frailty of their older parents rather than caregiving per se. Hence, there is a possibility that the first set of findings (declining life satisfaction when giving care) reflects factors not specified in statistical models rather than the care provided by adult children. This study tests this possibility by investigating changes in life satisfaction among 3,094 adult children from panel data in Norway that includes multiple indicators of health and care needs in older parents, together with data on who is providing care. Declining life satisfaction was observed among daughters but not among sons, and these changes were driven by the frailty and care needs of their parents rather than caregiving per se. The findings indicate that it is not caregiving that affects life satisfaction but the circumstances leading to caregiving. In these situations, adult daughters may struggle with sources of distress beyond providing support and care. Further research should investigate these relationships in countries with different distributions of care between families and public care institutions.

There are considerable interindividual differences regarding when individuals perceive someone as “old” (i.e., perceived individual onset of old age). Individuals might also differ in when they believe that society considers someone as “old” (i.e., perceived societal onset of old age). We investigated how multiple indicators of views on aging (age stereotypes, subjective age, age knowledge, perceived ageism), socio-demographic factors (age, sex, education, region of residence), and self-rated health are related to perceptions of individual vs. societal onset of old age and with the difference between both measures in an age-heterogeneous sample. In the Age_ISM Germany survey, a representative sample of 2,000 Germans was recruited (age range 16–96 years, M = 56.6 years). We ran structural equation models with sampling weights and found that individuals report a perceived individual onset of old age that was on average more than eight years later than their perceived societal onset of old age. Perceived ageism was associated with an earlier perceived individual and societal onset of old age as well as with a greater discrepancy between both indicators. Feeling younger was associated with a later perceived individual onset of old age. Associations of views on aging, socio-demographics, and self-rated health with perceived individual onset of old age did not vary across age groups, whereas age-group differences emerged for perceived societal onset of old age. Our findings advance theoretical frameworks on views on aging by demonstrating a meaningful discrepancy between perceived individual and societal onset of old age, which are uniquely associated with views on aging.

This study examines the association between gray parental divorce and family solidarity, defined as the quality and frequency of intergenerational relationships, including contact, emotional closeness, and functional support. The analysis focuses on how the effects of gray divorce vary across families with differing levels of closeness and interaction prior to the divorce, given that families with weaker bonds—such as infrequent contact or less emotional closeness—may face greater challenges in maintaining relationships after divorce compared to those with stronger ties. To test this, I use 13 waves of longitudinal data from pairfam and recentered influence function (RIF) regression that allows to examine how the effects of parental divorce differ across the entire distribution of solidarity, distinguishing between families with weak, moderate, and strong ties. Families with lower solidarity, particularly in terms of contact frequency and emotional closeness, are more likely to experience gray parental divorce. The negative effects of parental divorce on parent–adult child relationships are also more pronounced in these families and among fathers. Conversely, families with moderate or high levels of solidarity are more resilient to the negative impacts of divorce. Accordingly, the gap in intergenerational solidarity widens across families, with low-solidarity families being more likely to experience parental divorce later in life and exhibiting more negative outcomes compared to families with stronger ties. This growing differences across families also highlight the relevancy of targeted policy interventions aimed at supporting families, particularly those with weaker ties, and addressing the unique challenges faced by fathers after divorce.

Subjective age, that is felt age compared to chronological age, is an important predictor of health and well-being in later life. It can fluctuate from day to day and from one moment to another. Previous cross-sectional and macro-longitudinal studies have shown that feeling younger is related to physical fitness and exercise. Yet, there is limited knowledge on the effects of physical activity on subjective age in daily life and moderators of this association. We thus aim to investigate the association of momentary physical activity with momentary subjective age, expecting that more activity is related to feeling younger. We further expect that concurrent pain experience attenuates this relationship. N = 54 participants aged 50–62 years (Mage = 56.1 years, 75% female) wore chest-sensors measuring their physical activity (step count, movement acceleration) for one week and reported on their subjective age five times per day. Multilevel regression analyses revealed between and within-person variation in momentary subjective age (ICC = 0.74), pain (ICC = 0.63) and physical activity (ICC Moac30 = 0.078, steps30 = 0.053). Pain emerged as a consistent predictor of momentary subjective age (b = 4.64, p = 0.000), whereas results were mixed for the physical activity measures. No significant moderating effect of pain was observed on the relationship between physical activity and subjective age. Our study shows the importance of pain experiences for momentary subjective age, whereas the role of momentary physical activity needs further exploration.

In current research, social relationships are increasingly recognized for their positive associations with cognitive outcomes in older adults. One of the most vulnerable groups for cognitive decline are very old adults (80+ years). However, they are relatively underrepresented in the field. Therefore, our study aimed to test if social relationships remain a protective factor against cognitive decline in very old age, using a representative sample from the Study of Quality of Life and Well-Being in North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW80+ Study). We hypothesized that social characteristics would be positively associated with global cognition and episodic memory cross-sectionally and would predict cognitive performance two years later. 1.207 very old adults were included in the representative, cross-sectional analyses, and 639 in the panel analyses. They were aged between 80 and 103 years and showed no signs of dementia. The associations between various social aspects and cognitive functions were investigated using hierarchical linear regression, controlling for relevant sociodemographic and health characteristics. Cross-sectionally, leisure engagement was positively associated with episodic memory (β = 0.53 [0.26, 0.79], p < .01) and global cognition (β = 0.50 [0.22, 0.79], p < .01), while overall network size was positively associated with global cognition (β = 0.04 [0.02, 0.07], p < .01). In contrast, we observed no associations between baseline social relationships and cognitive functions two years later. The findings suggest that while social relationships are associated with cognitive functions in very old age, short-term protective effects such as over two years may be less robust compared to other age groups.