A mediation effect of agitation to the relationship between searching new lifestyle and retreating in young old

Abstract

Advancement in medical science has largely lengthened and improved human’s life expectancy and body condition of the elderly population. It also leads to a consequence that people after their retirement are still relatively energetic in terms of physical and psychological aspects, compared to the past. Hence, numerous challenges relating to life planning after retirement have rapidly arisen in recent years. The current study tried to focus on the relationship between the perception of life after retirement and the emotional states of the young old. A hundred and ten participants whose age ranged from 55 to 69 were recruited to fill in the questionnaires for this study. Transition to Retirement Questionnaire was adopted to measure participants’ perception of lifestyle after retirement, whereas Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale was used to assess their psychological states. Results showed that female participants scored significantly higher in the positive aspects of the perception of life after retirement than their counterparts. Furthermore, a significant positive relationship between the tendencies of searching (of a new role after retirement) and retreating (from a functioning lifestyle) was observed in the sample (r = 0.53, p < 0.01). This relationship could also be partially mediated by participants’ agitation towards aging (indirect effect = 0.09, 95% CI = (0.013, 0.212)). These results suggested that improving the positive perception towards retirement life may not help reducing the negative perception. Yet, relieving the agitation feeling may potentially reduce the negative effect of the searching process to the retreating tendency.