The effects of self-perceived aging and emotion regulation strategies on psychological abuse of elderly people in rural China: a structural equation modeling approach

TL;DR

This study explores how self-perceived aging and emotion regulation strategies affect psychological abuse in elderly people in rural China.

Contribution

The study identifies emotion regulation strategies as mediators between self-perceived aging and psychological abuse in rural Chinese older adults.

Findings

Higher self-perceived aging and expressive inhibition are linked to increased psychological abuse.

Cognitive reappraisal is negatively associated with psychological abuse.

Emotion regulation strategies mediate the relationship between self-perceived aging and psychological abuse.

Abstract

In China, psychological abuse is increasingly prevalent among elderly people. Psychological abuse can have a significant negative impact on elderly people in terms of worsening chronic illness, increased suicide rick and death. Previous studies have suggested that self-perceived aging may serve as a risk factor for psychological abuse. However, the immediate impact of self-perceived aging on psychological abuse within Chinese culture remains unclear.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between self-perceived aging and psychological abuse among rural Chinese older adults, while considering the parallel mediating role of emotion regulation strategies (including cognitive reappraisal and expressive inhibition).

A cross-sectional design was used in this study. A total of 449 rural older adults were recruited from a county in Dezhou City, Shandong Province, from July to October 2023 to assess self-perceived aging, cognitive reappraisal, expressive inhibition and psychological abuse. A hypothesized model based on Socioemotional Selectivity Theory pathways was proposed to examine the relationships between self-perceived aging, cognitive reappraisal, expressive inhibition and psychological abuse.

Higher self-perceived aging and expressive inhibition were positively associated with the propensity to be psychological abuse, and cognitive reappraisal was negatively associated with psychological abuse. Structural equation modeling revealed that the cognitive reappraisal and expressive inhibition strategy mediated the relationship between self-perceived aging and psychological abuse.

This study reveals that self-perceived aging is associated with the occurrence of psychological abuse in older adults as they enter the aging stage. It further suggests that part of this effect can be explained by cognitive reappraisal or expressive inhibition. Thus, the use of emotion regulation strategies may help to reduce the incidence of psychological abuse after self-perceived aging.

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