Synonyms
Definition and Overview
Aging anxiety describes negative feelings and fears associated with growing older, including physical, psychological, social, and transpersonal losses (Lasher and Faulkender 1993). Fears related to physical losses include changes in health and functional abilities, such as being diagnosed with a disease or changes in one’s ability to attend to personal care like bathing; however, anxiety about physical changes also comprises those shifts in sexuality and outward appearance, such as loss of hair or wrinkles. Anxiety about psychological losses involves fears of dependency, loss of personal control, cognitive decline, and poor life satisfaction. Concerns about social losses center on relationships, including the number and quality of interactions with others and fear of loss also incorporates economic issues or lack of employment. Finally, fears associated with transpersonal losses are related to...
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Chonody, J.M. (2019). Anxiety About Aging. In: Gu, D., Dupre, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_592-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_592-1
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