Grant: Fellowship: Prize of Excellence in Research on Aging

Age-related stereotypes can negatively impact older adults' health. One particularly insidious stereotype involves the belief that 'old people are sick' and that chronic illnesses (such as diabetes or heart disease) are a 'normal part of aging.' This stereotype embodies a dangerous logic: If age causes illness - and aging is uncontrollable - then illness is also uncontrollable. When self-directed, this belief can result in a reduced sense of responsibility for health, and can be a barrier to health maintenance behavior (e.g., getting enough exercise). Indeed, research demonstrates that older adults who attribute illness to 'old age' are at an increased risk for detrimental outcomes including hospitalization and earlier death. The objectives of this research are: 1) To examine who is most susceptible to these 'old age' attributions; and 2) To test the effectiveness of a brief attributional retraining intervention designed to address these attributions. Participants (N = 200, ages 45-65) will be assessed in terms of their attributions for illness, socio-demographic factors, psychosocial characteristics, and health behaviors; and will be assigned to either a treatment group (intervention) or a control group (no intervention). It is hypothesized that 1) 'old age' attributions will be associated with greater age, lower education, and poorer health status, as well as several psychosocial variables (e.g., pessimism); thereby allowing for the creation of a 'profile' of individuals who are most at-risk; 2) compared to the control group, participants who receive the attributional retraining intervention will show a decrease in the belief that old age causes illness, and an increase in motivation with regard to health maintenance behaviors. This research represents a first step towards the transfer of research knowledge into action in the area of illness attributions - and has the potential to improve health outcomes among older adults.