Supplementary Material for: Younger and older adults' aging well construals: A quantitative word use and topics comparison

Introduction: Individuals’ construals of aging capture how they think of aging, and what aging well means to them. Assessing such construals is important for understanding attitudes towards aging and, ultimately, how to tailor personalized aging well interventions to an individual. Methods: We analyzed 100 younger adults and 92 older adults’ spoken narratives of what aging well means to them using two language analysis approaches, closed vocabulary, word-count analysis via Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) and open vocabulary, word-co-occurrence analysis via topic modelling. Results: Younger and older adults’ spoken narratives differed in both word and topic use. Younger adults used more words related to physical aspects, more tentative language, and expressed themselves via higher status language (clout), while older adults used authentic language, i-talk, and words related to work, home, family, and religion. Topic modelling complemented the LIWC analyses and showed that younger adults primarily discussed topics of bodily and cognitive decline, and strategies of preventing aging, conveying concerns about, and negative stereotypes of aging. Older adults topicalized family reflections, openness to new experiences, and their social engagement, signaling a more positive outlook on (continued) aging. Conclusion: Our complimentary word-count and word-co-occurrence language analyses of aging well construals revealed stark differences between younger and older adults’ perceptions of aging well, that raise important questions about intergenerational exchanges and communications about aging more broadly. Further, we found that aging construals of older adults are useful for estimating their future outlook, an important aspect of resilience against cognitive decline and possible entry point for targeted precision aging interventions.

引言：个体对衰老的认知阐释（construals of aging）体现了其对衰老的认知视角，以及自身认知中何为良好衰老（aging well）。评估这类认知阐释，有助于理解人们对衰老的态度，并最终为个体定制适配的良好衰老干预方案。
方法：本研究针对100名年轻成年人与92名年长成年人的口语叙事文本展开分析，这些文本围绕“何为良好衰老（aging well）”展开。我们采用两类语言分析方法：其一为基于封闭词表的词计数分析，借助语言查询与词计数工具（Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count, LIWC）；其二为基于开放词表的词共现分析，借助主题建模（topic modelling）。
结果：年轻成年人与年长成年人的口语叙事在词汇使用与主题选取上均存在显著差异。年轻群体更多使用与身体机能相关的词汇、更多试探性表述，并通过彰显更高社会地位的权势语言（clout）表达自我；年长群体则更多使用真实感语言、第一人称自我指向话语（i-talk），以及与工作、家庭、宗教相关的词汇。主题建模作为语言查询与词计数分析的补充手段，结果显示年轻成年人主要讨论身体与认知衰退、预防衰老的策略，传递出对衰老的担忧与负面刻板印象。年长成年人的叙事主题则聚焦于家庭反思、对新体验的开放性以及社会参与，展现出对（持续）衰老更为积极的认知态度。
结论：本研究通过互补的词计数与词共现语言分析，揭示了年轻与年长成年人对良好衰老认知阐释的显著差异，这为更广泛范围内的代际衰老相关交流与互动提出了重要议题。此外，我们发现年长成年人的衰老认知阐释可用于预估其未来心态，这是抵御认知衰退的韧性评估的重要维度，同时也可为精准化衰老干预提供关键切入点。