Development in old and very old age
Our research group investigates processes of development over the lifespan, with a special focus on positive development in old and very old age. Being embedded in the Swiss Center of Competence in Research LIVES, our research aims at identifying factors which could contribute to individuals’ resilience at different phases of the adult life span. Of special interest are psychological aspects that allow people to handle the difficulties they encounter in advanced age. In our research, we study aging individuals in a laboratory as well in applied settings. Besides conducting empirical studies to better understand the mechanisms responsible for aging well and to advance theory with our findings, our efforts aim at developing practical applications including prevention and intervention programs that can help people to age more successfully. Since we also see old age as the result of life style choices we make over the lifespan, we also include young and middle-aged individuals in our studies, with the goal of designing programs that create awareness of potential influences and that offer learning opportunities to create healthier choices. Finally, our research is dedicated to developing scholarship in lifespan and aging research.
List and description of the main current projects
Requestor : Prof. Daniela Jopp
Collaborator : Dr. Kim Uittenhove, Dr. Charikleia Lampraki
Funding : Fonds Nationale Suisse (FNS)
SWISS100 is the first Swiss nation-wide study aimed at gaining insight into centenarians’ life situations, characteristics, and needs. SWISS100 takes an interdisciplinary approach to this issue, by combining medical/biological, psychiatric, psychological, and sociological perspectives, through a collaboration between UNIL, UNIZH, SUPSI, CHUV and HUG. The SWISS100 study started in 2020 and is ongoing until 2024. This first nation-wide study of Swiss centenarians will generate an important knowledge base for developing interdisciplinary models of vulnerability and resilience in very old age and for creating innovative service models required for future public health planning and policies.
Requestor : Prof. Daniela Jopp
Collaborator : Dr. Angélique Roquet
Aging is often described as a processes of decline such as cognitive and physical loss, or reduction in well-being and social relationships. However, some people of the third and fourth age show high capacities that are maintained or even improved during aging. The key objective of this project is to determine by which factors (social, cognitive, inter-cultural, etc.) may help older individuals to maintain or improve their capacities over the life course, in order to age "successfully". Our studies investigate, on the one hand, how lay individuals define successful aging, and which factors are in their view contribute to aging well. On the other hand, following scientific models on successful aging, we investiage which factors are associated with successful aging outcomes, such as subjective well-being or mortality.
Requestor : Prof. Daniela Jopp
Collaborators : Dr. Charikleia Lampraki, Dr. Angélique Roquet
This project investigates the parent-child relationships in older age. Despite the fact that the very old represent the population group with the fastest increase in our society, very little is know about this specific relationship constellation, very old parent with advanced-age child. Given the importance of close social relationships for well-being and health, with protective effects of high-quality and the potential harm of low-quality relationships, investigation of the very old parent-child constellation is imperative. Together with Prof. Kathrin Boerner (University of Massachusetts, Boston), we have examined the relationship between very old individuals and advanced age children in Switzerland, with the support of Fondation Leenaards (Quality of Life in Older Adults Award 2015) and the support of National Research Center of Excellence LIVES (2016-2018), as well as in the USA, the Boston Aging Together Study (funded by the NIA).
Requestor : Prof. Daniela Jopp
Maladaptive daydeaming (MD) is a new psychological disorder, which we have identified in a series of studies. There are individuals who have the gift of being able to create very rich and detailed fantasy worlds in their heads, yet for some of them, this ability turns into a serious problem. In collaboration with Jayne Bigelsen and Jonathan Lehrfeld (Fordham University, New York) and Prof. Eli Somer (University of Haifa), we found that people suffering from MD spend an average of 60% of their waking time in an imaginary world which they themselves have created. As a consequence, 97% of them feel restricted in their everyday life. In our research group, we investigate the characteristics of MD, its experience and consequences, as well as clinical approaches to assess MD, in order to provide support for people suffering from MD.
