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Background Given the rise of remote work in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many studies have investigated how working from home (WFH) is related to employee well-being. So far, findings have been mixed and based predominantly on cross-sectional analyses. Methods We used multi-level regression models to describe the longitudinal relationship between WFH and well-being over 11 assessments from April 2020 to November 2023, based on a unique, population-based sample of N  = 3403 employed participants from five European countries. Results Even after controlling for relevant covariates, WFH was negatively related to well-being in the initial stages of the pandemic, but unrelated to WFH thereafter. Conclusion Our analysis offers a differentiated picture on within- and between-person dynamics of WFH and well-being over the course of the pandemic and beyond and can inform the discussion how individuals, organizations, and societies can prepare for a future in which WFH plays a more prominent role.

According to recent surveys, dementia worry (DW) is a widespread phenomenon in mid-life and old age, at least in Western populations. DW has been shown to be only loosely related to sociodemographic factors. Unfortunately, the concept of DW has found only very little conceptual and empirical attention in previous research. In this conceptual review, we take (mostly) a psychological approach to DW. First, we define DW as an emotional response to the perceived threat of developing dementia. We then conceptualise DW as a hybrid, combining elements of ageing anxiety and health anxiety. On the population level, we argue that the high prevalence of DW may be reflective of the increasing awareness of dementia in times of increasing ‘‘dementia encounters’, widespread misperceptions of risks and consequences of dementia and a perceived lack of coping resources. Finally, we propose that DW may affect a range of important behaviours, such as how people interpret evidence of their own or others’ age-related cognitive changes, how they interact with people with dementia, how they anticipate and plan for their future, how they engage in screening and prevention behaviours and how they exploit healthcare resources. We conclude with suggestions for future research, including a further in-depth investigation of psychological and micro-/macrosocial factors associated with DW.

Views on ageing (VoA) have special relevance for the ageing process by influencing health, well-being, and longevity. Although VoA form early in life, so far, most research has concentrated on how VoA affect later middle-aged and older adults. In this theoretical article, we argue that a lifespan approach is needed in order to more fully understand the origins of VoA, how they change over ontogenetic time, and how they shape development across the full breadth of the lifespan. We begin by explicitly linking VoA to fundamental principles of lifespan development. We review existing theories of VoA and discuss their respective contributions and limitations. We then outline a lifespan approach to VoA that integrates existing theories and addresses some of their limitations. We elaborate on three core propositions of a lifespan approach to VoA: (1) VoA develop as the result of a dynamic, ongoing, and complex interaction between biological-evolutionary, psychological, and social-contextual factors; however, the relative importance of different sources changes across the lifespan; (2) VoA impact development across the whole lifespan; however, different outcomes, mechanisms, and time frames need to be considered in order to describe and understand their effects; and (3) VoA are multidimensional, multidirectional, and multifunctional throughout life, but their complexity, meaning, and adaptivity change across the lifespan. We conclude with recommendations for future lifespan research on VoA.

“Dementia worry” (DW; i.e., concern about developing dementia) is highly prevalent in the general population. However, research on the characteristics associated with lower and higher levels of DW is still limited. Based on previous empirical and conceptual work, we examined the extent to which DW was related to a comprehensive range of objective and subjective characteristics (sociodemographics, contact with people with dementia, physical health-related risk factors, well-being/psychological distress, aging self-perceptions, social-cognitive health beliefs about dementia). A convenience sample of N  = 219 German adults 40 + years ( M  = 65.50 years, SD = 11.34; 40–94 years) reporting no dementia or cognitive impairment diagnosis completed questionnaires. We improved upon previous research by using a ten-item scale to measure DW. We used bivariate correlations and multivariate regression to examine the extent to which DW was related to the potential concomitants. 41.1% of the participants indicated DW. Together, the predictor variables explained 53.3% of the variance in DW. DW was related to psychological distress, perceived memory change, aging anxiety, and personal risk perception in both the bivariate and multivariate analyses. There was a quadratic (reverse U shape) relationship between age and DW. Physical health-related risk factors were not related to DW. Our findings suggest that DW represents a hybrid of psychological distress, aging self-perceptions, and a specific type of health concern. Healthcare practitioners should consider a person’s psychological characteristics when deciding how to intervene when someone indicates moderate or high DW.

How long do people want to live? Why do some people want to live a very long time, and others would rather die relatively young? In the current study we examine the extent to which the preference to die young (<80 years, less than average life expectancy) or to live somewhat longer or much longer than average life expectancy (90-99 years or 100+ years, respectively) is related to a person's positive and negative expectations of what their life will be like in old age. We use multinomial regression analysis based on survey data from a large sample of younger and middle-aged adults in the United States of America (USA) (N = 1,631, age 18-64 years). We statistically control for socio-demographic characteristics as well as self-reported happiness and health. We find that having fewer positive expectations for their own old age distinguishes people who prefer to die relatively young, while having fewer negative expectations distinguishes people who want to live beyond current levels of life expectancy. The results provide evidence that pessimistic expectations of life in old age can undermine the desire to live up to and beyond current average life expectancy. The study also provides descriptive data about how young and middle-aged adults in the USA anticipate their own ageing.

Although a large body of research has demonstrated the predictive power of subjective ageing for several decisive developmental outcomes, there remains some controversy about whether subjective ageing truly represents a unique construct. Thus, information about the convergent and discriminant validity of different approaches to measuring subjective ageing is still critically needed. Using data from the 2014 wave of the German Ageing Survey, we examined how three established subjective ageing measures (subjective age, global attitude toward own ageing, multidimensional ageing-related cognitions) were inter-related as well as distinct from general dispositions (optimism, self-efficacy) and well-being (negative affect, depressive symptoms, self-rated health). Using correlational and multivariate regression analysis, we found that the three subjective ageing measures were significantly inter-related ( r  = |.09| to |.30|), and that each measure was distinct from general dispositions and well-being. The overlap with dispositional and well-being measures was lowest for subjective age and highest for global attitudes towards own ageing. The correlation between global attitudes towards own ageing and optimism was particularly striking. Despite the high convergent validity of the different dimensions of ageing cognitions, we nevertheless observed stronger associations between specific dimensions of ageing cognitions with negative affect and self-rated health. We conclude that researchers should be aware of the multidimensional nature of subjective ageing. Furthermore, subjective age appears to be a highly aggregated construct and future work is needed to clarify its correlates and reference points.

Well-being in retirement is thought to depend on person’s level of resources and how his or her resources change during retirement. However, to date few studies have directly investigated resource trajectories during retirement. The current study therefore examines how economic, personal, and social-relational resources change during the retirement transition for people retiring from paid employment and for people retiring from other, non-working labour market statuses (e.g. disability pension, homemaker, unemployment). Based on four representative baseline samples of the German Ageing Survey (1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014) and their respective 6-year follow-up interviews, we identified N  = 586 retirees. We then used dual change score models to separately estimate the level and change in income, health, activity, family and non-family network size, and social support for people retiring from paid work ( n  = 384) and people retiring from other statuses ( n  = 202) adjusted for age, gender, education, region, period, and time since retirement. Overall, we found that resources changed only modestly during the retirement transition. Resource changes did, however, differ by last labour market status and sociodemographic characteristics. Income and social support declined and family networks increased for both those retiring from paid work and those retiring from other statuses. Leisure activities increased only for those retiring from paid work. No changes in health or non-family networks were observed. People with many resources before retirement also had many resources after retirement. We conclude that retirement affects resources less than researchers often expect. Accordingly, differences based on labour market remain despite retirement.

We use questionnaire data from the MIDUS study ( N  = 6325 and a subsample n  = 2120) to examine the extent to which people in their late 20s, late 40s and late 60s think that positive characteristics apply to themselves, their age peers and other age groups. Results based on factor analysis confirmed the existence of age stereotypes, such that one constellation of characteristics (wise, caring, calm, knowledgeable, generative; “wise”) was seen as more descriptive of older adults, while another constellation of characteristics (energetic, healthy, willing to learn; “energetic”) was seen as more descriptive of younger adults. Self-evaluations were, however, highly positive and largely independent of age. As a group, younger adults saw themselves as being as “energetic” but “wiser” than their age peers, while older adults saw themselves as being more “energetic” but less “wise” than their age peers. In sum, the results suggest that self-views are relatively independent of existing age stereotypes but also indicate that the “better-than-average effect” depends on age and whether the considered characteristics represent a relative strength or weakness of one’s own age group. The results also indicate that, at the aggregate level, older adults’ tendency to use stereotypes about their age group’s weaknesses as a frame of reference for making flattering self-evaluations seems to outweigh the effects of stereotype internalization.

Young adults in more developed countries can expect to celebrate their 85th, 90th and even their 100th birthdays. Although time horizons have a major influence on behavior and adult development, little is currently known about how young people feel about the prospect of living such long lives. We therefore explored young adults’ preferred life expectancy (how long one wants to live) based on questionnaire data from N  = 715 university students in Austria, Norway, Poland and Russia. The countries represented in the sample differ substantially with regard to period life expectancy and the extent to which women outlive men. Overall, participants indicated wanting to live for M  = 87.43 years (SD = 14.91), M  = 8.12 years longer than they expect to live and M  = 13.04 years longer than they think that an average person with the same age and sex will live. There was thus no indication that participants felt that they will live “too long.” There was a 7-year difference between the country subsamples with the highest and lowest PLE, providing first evidence that PLE meaningfully differs across countries. Men wanted to live longer than women in each country subsample. Despite country differences in the extent to which women outlive men, there was no evidence that the magnitude of the gender difference in PLE differed across country subsamples. PLE was also related to young people’s representations of old age and subjective health. Young people who prefer to die relatively young (< 80 years) were much more likely to use tobacco daily and be physically inactive than their peers.

The article “The uniqueness of subjective ageing: convergent and discriminant validity”, written by Svenja M. Spuling, Verena Klusmann, Catherine E. Bowen, Anna E. Kornadt and Eva-Marie Kessler., was originally published electronically on the publisher’s internet portal on 09 October 2020 without open access. With the author(s)’ decision to opt for Open Choice the copyright of the article changed on 05 January 2021 to © The Author(s) 2021 and the article is forthwith distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 .