This study adds to the understanding of long-term implications of aging attitudes for cognitive decline trajectories and shows that negative aging attitudes are a risk factor for age-vulnerable cognitive abilities, particularly among men. Further research is needed to better understand the underlying mechanisms of observed relationships.

Converging longitudinal research suggests that more negative views on aging predict accelerated cognitive decline. Although conceptually suggested, reciprocal relationships between cognitive functioning and attitudes toward aging have remained less clear empirically. We used the 20-year data from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development (ILSE) to better understand such potential bidirectionality. Drawing on 1,002 baseline participants from 2 age groups, a midlife (M age ϭ 43.7 at baseline) and an old age group (M age ϭ 62.5 at baseline), we examined longitudinal trajectories between attitude toward own aging, performance-based cognitive measures, and subjective cognitive complaints. Findings from multigroup latent growth curve modeling replicated previous findings that attitude toward own aging predicts cognitive change over 20 years in old age with 2 important specifications: We show that this effect (a) does not apply to midlife and (b) disappears in old age after controlling for depression over time. Further, as expected, cognitive complaints but not cognitive performance were related to change in attitude toward own aging in midlife and old age. Results suggest that differentiating between objective cognitive functioning and subjective cognitive complaints is important when investigating relations between cognitive functioning and attitude toward own aging in different age groups.

Previous research has demonstrated the harmful impact of subjective aging processes (e.g., negative age self-stereotyping) on normal cognitive aging in different domains of cognitive functioning, such as memory, executive function, and fluid abilities. Recently, subjective aging has also been linked to important biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia-related outcomes, indicating associations with pathological cognitive aging. With data from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development and Aging (ILSE), the present study extends this research by examining the long-term effect of attitude toward own aging (ATOA) on expert-based clinical diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD in old age. In the study, 260 initially cognitively healthy participants with a mean age of 62.5 years were followed for 12 years. In the course of the study, 103 participants developed MCI and 14 received diagnosis of AD. Logistic regression models showed that baseline ATOA predicted future clinical diagnoses of MCI and AD 12 years later, while controlling for sociodemographic, genetic, and health variables. Although theoretically suggested, evidence for a mediating role of leisure-activity level and control beliefs was scarce. Our findings add to the emerging literature supporting negative views of aging as a risk factor for cognitive disorder in old age. (PsycINFO Database Record