Znaczenie wieku realnego i wieku subiektywnego w doświadczaniu siebie cielesnego przez osoby w okresie senioralnym

In the late adulthood, people tend to feel younger than it is indicated by their real age. It has been shown that subjective age (psychological variable) is a better predictor of psychosocial functioning than an actual age (objective variable). The aim of this study was to address the question of whether a subjective sense of age is more important than chronological age in experiencing oneself in a bodily dimension in people in old age. A group of 194 seniors (including 111 women and 83 men) aged from 57 to 90 years has been examined using Beata Mirucka’s Battery of Tests To Examine Representation of Body Self. The results revealed that the majority of respondents felt on average 12 years younger compared to their chronological age. At the same time, the subjective age, as opposed to chronological age, proved to be a good predictor of the positive experience of the body self at the old age; experiencing oneself as a younger person remained closely related to the positive body image, body schema and body feeling.