Self-Perceptions of Aging in Older Adults: A Network Analysis of Clinical and Non-Clinical Samples

Background: Cognitive aging is highly heterogeneous, not only in performance but also in how individuals perceive their own aging. Such self-perceptions may shape emotional reactions and adaptation to memory difficulties, yet little is known about their organization in patients referred to a memory clinic for a first diagnostic consultation. The primary aim of this study was to identify the internal configuration of self-perceptions of aging in such patients. A secondary aim was to compare these patterns with those observed in older adults recruited in a research unit of experimental psychology, who reported subjective complaints but had no medical referral. Methods: In total, 130 memory clinic patients and 84 laboratory participants completed, prior to the same neuropsychological testing, a psychosocial questionnaire assessing four domains: self-perceptions of memory deficits, attitudes toward aging, aging stereotypes, and multiple facets of subjective age. Network analysis was applied to examine how these variables were interrelated and to determine their relative importance in each group. Results: Across both samples, network analyses revealed distinct organizational patterns. Patients showed a unified representational system characterized by more positive associations and centered on subjective age variables. By contrast, the laboratory group showed a two-cluster network with more negative connections, organized around negative aging stereotypes. Conclusions: These findings provide novel insights into the psychosocial profile of memory clinic patients, highlighting the central integrative role of subjective age in integrating emotional responses, aging beliefs and perceptions of memory difficulties, and underline the value of network approaches in capturing heterogeneity in cognitive aging.