Everything under Control? The Effects of Age, Gender, and Education on Trajectories of Perceived Control in a Nationally Representative German Sample

Autor/inn/en	Specht, Jule; Egloff, Boris; Schmukle, Stefan C.
Titel	Everything under Control? The Effects of Age, Gender, and Education on Trajectories of Perceived Control in a Nationally Representative German Sample
Quelle	In: Developmental Psychology, 49 (2013) 2, S.353-364 (12 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0012-1649
DOI	10.1037/a0028243
Schlagwörter	Age Differences; Structural Equation Models; Gender Differences; Aging (Individuals); Case Studies; Longitudinal Studies; Income; Health; Foreign Countries; Young Adults; Educational Attainment; Older Adults; Self Concept; Personality; Germany + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Geschlechterkonflikt; Aging; Altern; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Longitudinal study; Longitudinal method; Longitudinal methods; Längsschnittuntersuchung; Einkommen; Gesundheit; Ausland; Young adult; Junger Erwachsener; Bildungsabschluss; Bildungsgut; Älterer Erwachsener; Selbstkonzept; Personalität; Deutschland
Abstract	Perceived control is an important variable for various demands involved in successful aging. However, perceived control is not set in stone but rather changes throughout the life course. The aim of this study was to identify cross-sectional age differences and longitudinal mean-level changes as well as rank-order changes in perceived control with respect to gender and education. Furthermore, changes in income and health were analyzed to explain trajectories of perceived control. In a large and representative sample of Germans across all of adulthood, 9,484 individuals gave information about their perceived control twice over a period of 6 years. Using locally weighted smoothing (LOESS) curves and latent structural equation modeling, four main findings were revealed: (a) Perceived control increased until ages 30-40, then decreased until about age 60, and increased slightly afterwards. (b) The rank order of individuals in perceived control was relatively unstable, especially in young adulthood, and reached a plateau at about age 40. (c) Men perceived that they had more control than did women, but there were no gender differences in the development of perceived control. (d) Individuals with more education perceived that they had more control than those with less education, and there were slight differences in the development of perceived control dependent on education. Taken together, these findings offer important insights into the development of perceived control across the life span. (Contains 5 tables, 4 figures and 6 footnotes.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10