Associations of awareness of age-related change with emotional and physical well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis

<div><div>Background and Objectives</div><p>This systematic review aimed to synthesize and quantify the associations of awareness of age-related change (AARC) with emotional well-being, physical well-being, and cognitive functioning.</p></div><div><div>Research Design and Methods</div><p>We conducted a systematic review with a correlational random effects meta-analysis. We included quantitative studies, published from January 1, 2009 to October 3, 2018, exploring associations between AARC and one or more of the following outcomes: emotional well-being, physical well-being, and cognitive functioning. We assessed heterogeneity (<em>I</em>²) and publication bias.</p></div><div><div>Results</div><p>We included 12 studies in the review, 9 exploring the association between AARC and emotional well-being and 11 exploring the association between AARC and physical well-being. No study explored the association between AARC and cognitive functioning. Six articles were included in the meta-analysis. We found a moderate association between a higher level of AARC gains and better emotional well-being (<em>r</em> = .33; 95% CI 0.18, 0.47; <em>p</em> <.001; <em>I</em>² = 76.01) and between a higher level of AARC losses and poorer emotional (<em>r</em> = −.31; 95% CI −0.38, −0.24; <em>p</em> < .001; <em>I</em>² = 0.00) and physical well-being (<em>r</em> = −.38; 95% CI −0.51, −0.24; <em>p</em> < .001; <em>I</em>² = 83.48). We found a negligible association between AARC gains and physical well-being (<em>r</em> = .08; 95% CI 0.02, 0.14; <em>p</em> < .122; <em>I</em>² = 0.00). Studies were of medium to high methodological quality.</p></div><div><div>Discussion and Implications</div><p>There is some indication that AARC gains and losses can play a role in emotional well-being and that AARC losses are associated with physical well-being. However, the number of included studies is limited and there was some indication of heterogeneity.</p></div><div><div>PROSPERO Registration</div><p>CRD42018111472.</p></div>