Faculty Bibliography

Our society's demographics reflect the fact that people live longer than even a decade ago. Of this aging group, more than 50% are women (Administration on Aging, 2003) and as more women approach middle age, many of them may experience fears about aging due to ageist and sexist norms. Thus, a large segment of the population may be under psychological and possibly physical distress. In order to improve the quality of women's lives, it is important to understand how the psychological aspect of aging may affect them. A sociocultural perspective of aging provides a framework for understanding middle-aged women's feelings about aging; it contends that cultural norms on appearance, and what it means to be a female in society, impact women's feelings about the aging process. This perspective suggests that social pressure to adhere to cultural norms results in women's internalization of societal standards (Jackson, 1992), which can in turn lead to anxiety about aging. However, there is a surprising paucity of research in the area of aging anxiety in general, and on middle-aged women's attitudes about aging in particular. This is of note given that middle age is a complex and transitional time in women's lives, with many social, emotional and physical changes encompassed therein. The present study was an attempt to learn more about how cultural factors (body image, gender role and internalization of sociocultural norms) relate to aging anxiety. A national mail survey was conducted, in which 836 White women aged 40-55 years old participated. They completed a survey packet, which included a personal data sheet, an assessment of two aspects of body image, ratings of two gender role traits, and a rating of internalization of sociocultural norms. Hierarchical regression analysis confirmed that body image, internalization of sociocultural norms and gender role significantly predicted aging anxiety. In the conclusion, future research directions are suggested and practice implications are discussed.