Well-being in aging: Mental engagements in elderly men as a moderator of losses

To explore the intrapsychic components of adjustment in aging, this study investigated whether mental and emotional engagements with the present and the past contribute positively to well-being in elderly men, and whether any of these engagements can moderate the negative effects of losses on well-being. Mental engagements are the cognitive components of both the outer and the inner world. They comprise the activities and interests with which the individual is mentally involved and which occupy his mind. Emotional engagements with significant others include the relationships with significant people in one's life cycle. Mental and emotional engagements with significant others also consist of preoccupation with the past through representation in the inner world of significant objects, events, and people. Participants were 60 elderly retired Australian men. The results indicated that all the engagements were positively associated with well-being, but that only mental engagement with the present buffered the negative impact of loss of work and loss of health on well-being.