Latent profiles of attitudes toward ageing during the nursing home “early transition period” and its correlation with quality of life

TL;DR

This study explores how older adults' attitudes toward aging change during the early transition to nursing homes and how these attitudes affect their quality of life.

Contribution

The study identifies distinct profiles of aging attitudes and shows how self-efficacy mediates their impact on quality of life in nursing home residents.

Findings

Three distinct profiles of attitudes toward aging were identified: most negative, moderately negative, and positive.

Negative attitudes were linked to factors like social isolation, lack of pension, and involuntary nursing home admission.

Self-efficacy partially mediates the relationship between aging attitudes and quality of life dimensions.

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the heterogeneity of attitudes toward ageing among older adults in the “early transition period” (the initial 2–4 weeks after nursing homes transition from home to nursing homes). and the mediation effect of self-efficacy between attitudes toward ageing and quality of life (QoL).

A total of 300 older adults were enrolled from October 2023 to May 2024. Participants completed the General Information Questionnaire, the Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire (AAQ), the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief (WHOQOL-BREF), and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES). Latent profile analysis (LPA), R3STEP methods, BCH methods, and mediation analysis were conducted to analyze the data.

LPA categorized the attitudes toward ageing into three profiles: most negative (18.333%), moderately negative (64.000%), and positive (17.667%). Attitudes toward ageing profiles were associated with the following factors: age, pension, number of children, number of chronic diseases, ADL, willingness to reside in nursing homes, and social isolation. Self-efficacy partially mediates between attitudes toward ageing and the three dimensions of QoL (physical health, psychological health, and environmental health).

Older adults during the “early transition period” had negative attitudes toward ageing. It may be related to the Chinese traditional interpersonal communication mode, family culture, and various maladaptive problems. Older adults who have two or more children, chronic diseases, no pension, moderate to severe dependency, involuntary admission to nursing homes, and social isolation are associated with more negative attitudes toward ageing. Mediation analysis reminds that self-efficacy can be used as intervention targets to improve the QoL.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-026-07007-7.