Household members’ positive personality traits and age stereotypes do not predict perceived expectations for active aging

Abstract

The household represents a proximal social context whose members can convey various expectations to each other, including expectations for active aging. We used a nationally representative sample (N = 2007, aged 16–94 years) to investigate the household predictors of perceived expectations for active aging (PEAA, i.e., “activation demands” targeting individuals as older adults) in three domains: physical health, mental health, and social engagement. We considered household members’ dispositional optimism, conscientiousness, age stereotypes, and the life goal of civic engagement. A set of preregistered multiple regression analyses indicated that, irrespective of age, household members’ life goal of civic engagement had a positive effect on individual PEAA in the social engagement domain, which disappeared upon controlling for the respective individual life goal. In middle-aged and older adults, household members’ conscientiousness unexpectedly had a significantly negative effect on individual PEAA in the physical health domain. Neither household members’ dispositional optimism nor their domain-specific age stereotypes had significant associations with individual PEAA. Our findings suggest that household members’ mindsets and attitudes play a limited role in predicting PEAA of individuals from the same household.