Recent studies point to social change of age stereotypes and their increasing negativity during the last decades. This has recently been described as paradox because of improved living situations of older adults. However, self-perceptions of aging (SPA) do not need to follow the same trend as age stereotypes, in particular in older adults. This study examines social change in SPA from 1996 to 2014. Data come from four independent, cross-sectional waves of the German Ageing Survey (DEAS). The sample consists of n = 19,826 participants (40–83 y.). Findings point to diverging trends in middle adulthood and old age. For individuals aged 66 or older, SPA have changed to the positive. In middle adulthood, a tendency towards more negative SPA is observed. Whereas social change of SPA in older adults might reflect improved living situations in later life, findings for middle-aged adults rather support findings of increasing negativity of age stereotypes.

Previous studies have shown impressively the preponderance of negative views on aging (VoA), in particular in older adults. On the contrary, portrayals of older people in the media have become more positive and individuals born later are healthier in old age compared to those born earlier. Thus, VoA may have changed to the positive in Germany between 1996 and 2014. Overall, findings based on four waves of the German Ageing Survey (n = 20,715; 42–83 years) show that VoA became more positive during this period. Social change of VoA differed, however, by age: More positive changes were found for older adults compared to middle-aged adults; resulting in a convergence in the valence of their VoA. Moreover the findings showed varyingly strong changes for gain- vs. loss-related VoA during the 18-year period. Results are discussed beyond the background of chances and strains in different cohorts and age groups.

Views on aging (VoA) are known as important resource for health in old age. Few studies have investigated contextual factors influencing VoA. Cross-cultural studies suggest: individuals in countries with rapid demographic change (DC) have more negative VoA. The contact hypothesis, however, postulates that individuals living in regional contexts with greater share of older adults have more positive VoA. The study investigates the effect of DC on changes in individual VoA over 12 years in adults (40+) comparing districts in Germany. Changes in VoA in three clusters of districts with different pace of DC are compared to districts with average DC. Results of three-level-growth-modeling show on average more negative VoA, but more positive change in VoA in rapid-aging/shrinking districts as compared to districts with average DC. The other clusters were similar to average DC. Results support the contact hypothesis and underline the importance of regional differences in the development of VoA.

001) two years later, controlling for age, gender, education, and baseline health.Furthermore, AARC-Losses predicted functional health and mental health over and above the unidimensional measures.The effect of AARC-Gains on functional and mental health became non-significant after adding baseline health into the model (p > .05).Age did not moderate these effects.The results underscore the importance of AARC for predicting physical and mental health outcomes throughout adulthood.

CAN VIEWS ON AGING BE CHANGED WITHIN AN EXERCISE PROGRAM? FINDINGS FROM AN INTERVENTION STUDY A. Beyer1, J.K. Wolff2, S. Wurm1, 1. Friedrich-AlexanderUniversity of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute of Psychogerontology, Nuremberg, Germany, 2. German Centre of Gerontology, Berlin, Germany Previous studies have shown impressively that individual views on aging (VoA) are more often negative than positive, especially in older adults, and have detrimental effects on health, well-being and longevity. Based on an intervention study with randomized group design we tested the effectiveness of a VoA intervention in older adults. Eighty-nine community-dwelling adults (65–88 years; M=76.5) with functional impairments participated in an exercise program over 12 weeks. Participants were randomly allocated to the exercise program with (n=51) or without (n= 38) VoAintervention. VoA were assessed three times, before, during and after the exercise program. Results from latent change score models showed that participants with VoA intervention held more positive VoA after the program than participants in the control group, controlling for age, gender, education and health status (p=.009). Intervention strategies used in the current study and further approaches to alter VoA will be discussed.