ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Psychology of Aging
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1624197
The Relationship Between Ageism, Loneliness, and Anxiety in Widowed Older Adults: Cognitive Function as a Moderator in the Mediated Model
Provisionally accepted
- 1Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
- 2Shenyang Mental Health Center, Shenyang, P.R. China, China, China
- 3Shenyang Mental Health Center, Shenyang, P.R. China, Shenyang, P.R. China, China
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Objective. As the global population ages and traditional family support structures decline, mental health issues-particularly anxiety-among widowed older adults have become increasingly prevalent. Studies have shown a positive correlation between ageism and anxiety disorders in older bereaved individuals, but the underlying mechanism by which ageism affects anxiety in this population has not yet been clarified.This study aimed to examine whether loneliness mediates the relationship between age discrimination and anxiety disorders, and whether cognitive functioning moderates this mediation. Methods. A random sampling approach was used to select 406 older adults who have lost their spouse from Shenyang, China. The Generalized Anxiety Scale (GAD-7), Perceived Age Discrimination Scale (PAD), UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS), and Alzheimer's Disease 8-Item Screening Instrument (AD-8) were used to assess the status of anxiety, ageism, loneliness, and cognitive functioning, respectively. Moderated mediation models were analyzed by SPSS PROCESS version 4.0 software. Results. Age discrimination had a significant direct effect on anxiety in widowed individuals in later life. Loneliness partially mediated the effect of age discrimination knowledge on anxiety. In addition, the second half of the path of the indirect effect was moderated by cognitive functioning. The indirect effect of loneliness on anxiety was enhanced when cognitive functioning was poor. Conclusions.Loneliness enhances the positive association between ageism and anxiety in widowed older adults, in which cognitive functioning plays a moderating role. These findings suggest the need for targeted psychosocial interventions that prioritize cognitive health and social engagement to reduce anxiety among bereaved older adults.
Keywords: Anxiety, ageism, Loneliness, Cognitive Function, widowed older adults, moderated mediation model
Received: 07 May 2025; Accepted: 30 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Shen, Pan, Zhang, He, Yao and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Mingyang Yao, Shenyang Mental Health Center, Shenyang, P.R. China, Shenyang, P.R. China, China
Yilong Yang, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
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