Australians positive about growing older

Australian baby boomers are increasingly positive about their future roles with more than 60% looking forward to getting older and one in five planning to continue paid work indefinitely.

And whereas half those under 40 believe you could only be considered old once you reached your 70s, people over 61 believe you should only be considered old once you reach your 80s. The positive results came from a survey of 1,500 Australians for the National Psychology Week.

Around 70% of 40 to 60 year olds listed leisure activities as their biggest priority as they got older, followed closely by access to health services and spending time with family and friends. Seven out of 10 believed they would be needing to care for an elderly relative.

The president of the Australian Psychological Society, Amanda Gordon, said that “a person’s attitude to life, fitness, and general appearance are now the main determinants of whether a person is considered to be aged. It has much less to do with birth date – it’s more to do with lifestyle and attitude”.

Ms Gordon said “ there is no doubt that with good access to psychological services people can develop strategies to prevent, delay, or manage some of the physical, social or personal challenges of ageing”. She said it was important to maintain relationships and take on challenges such as reading books, crosswords, or learning new skills at adult education classes.