Frieder R Lang
Biographic Data
| ID | 303980 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Frieder R Lang |
| GIVEN NAMES | Frieder R |
| FAMILY NAME | Lang |
| SIGNATURE | LANG F R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2660-1619 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 37 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 171 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 37 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1994 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Phone contact with parents contributed to emotional closeness and life satisfaction of Israeli and German students during 2010–2014
Introduction This study explored the contribution of various contact modes of adult children with their parents to the children's emotional closeness with parents and to the children's life satisfaction. Methods Students at colleges and universities in Israel ( N = 557) and in Germany ( N = 535) were recruited during 2010-2011 and 2013-2014, respectively, through convenience sampling and completed web-based questionnaires reporting on the frequen…
Depression in older Turkish immigrants and natives in Germany: A comparative analysis of risk and protective factors
The findings indicated that appraisals and mental health effects of receiving support differed by both ethnicity and gender. Family satisfaction varied by ethnicity and played a moderating role in depression. Future research may focus on the basis of differences in depression in old age
Memento Mori? Differences in translating perceived engagement into end-of-life preparatory activities in Germany and South Korea
Objectives This study examines whether perceived engagement in end-of-life planning translates into culturally specific patterns of formal (e.g., having a living will) and informal (e.g., discussing one’s own death with relatives) preparatory activities by comparing older adults in Germany and South Korea, two countries with distinct cultural and legislative contexts. Methods Data were drawn from two sources: an online survey from the “Ageing as …
Coping with life’s finitude: The protective role of death preparation and death acceptance amid resource loss
Our findings suggest that death acceptance plays a critical role in supporting older adults' emotional and existential well-being when facing health declines and limited FTP. These results extend theoretical models of self-regulation and aging by demonstrating how domain-specific acceptance of life's finitude can foster resilience and meaning in later life
Acculturation, self-regulation, and depression among Turkish older immigrants: An SEM study
Finitude and eternity: Mental companions of soulful aging
It is a well-known finding that perceived finitude plays a critical role in the process of aging. The current article addressed how perceptions of finitude and eternity contribute to a soulful aging experience. Infinity is introduced as a temporal concept involving endurance and everlasting existence of time that marks the opposite end of finitude of a human life. Eternity, in contrast, relates to a timeless concept going beyond time without begi…
Covid-19 Worries Predict Aging Preparation: Culture- and Domain-Specific Perspectives
Findings imply that worrying about the COVID-19 pandemic predicts people to engage in aging preparation particularly in the culture and domains most affected by the pandemic. These results from those worried about the virus may be attributed to the increased self-relevance to the topic and hence motivation
Late-Life Preparedness and Its Correlates: A Behavioral Perspective on Preparation
Findings suggest that some of the examined psychosocial factors are similarly associated with both the presence of at least one and the variety of late-life preparatory activities, although the extent of their effects varies depending on one's subjective life stage
A healthy dose of realism: The role of optimistic and pessimistic expectations when facing a downward spiral in health
Negative Self-perception of Aging and Mortality in Very Old Chinese Adults: The Mediation Role of Healthy Lifestyle
The findings provided support for a longitudinal behavioral pathway of health, linking negative perceptions of aging to mortality, and also yielded important practical implications for older adults to reach longevity
Internet Use and Cognitive Functioning in Late Adulthood: Longitudinal Findings from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)
This study sheds light on the direction of the association between cognitive functioning and Internet use. Findings indicate that using the Internet positively affects cognitive functioning in late life
How Do Emotional Closeness and Support From Parents Relate to Israeli and German Students' Life Satisfaction
This study explores the relationships of adult children with their parents, and their impact on the child's life satisfaction, in Israel and in Germany. Structural equation models tested three types of parental support (practical, emotional, and advice) and emotional closeness as predictors of the child's life satisfaction. Israeli students aged 21 to 40 years ( N = 590) reported significantly more frequent social support and a higher degree of e…
Paradoxical Effects of Perceived Control on Survival
These findings deepen the knowledge regarding the conditions under which PC is or is not adaptive, suggesting the consequences depend on age and the extent to which health is valued
The Detrimental Consequences of Overestimating Future Health in Late Life
Results suggest that repeatedly unmet health expectations may undermine motivational resources and accelerate late life declines in physical functioning
Parental Involvement With College Students in Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, and the United States
Rates of college attendance have increased throughout the world. This study asked whether students across nations experience high involvement with parents (frequent contact and support) and how satisfied they are with parental involvement. College students from four major Western and Asian economies participated-Germany ( n = 458), Hong Kong ( n = 276), Korea ( n = 257), and the United States ( n = 310). Consistent with solidarity theory, student…
Successful Aging in Societies of Long Living: The Model of Selection, Optimization, and Compensation
Subjective acceleration of time experience in everyday life across adulthood
Most people believe that time seems to pass more quickly as they age. Building on assumptions of socioemotional selectivity theory, we investigated whether awareness that one's future lifetime is limited is associated with one's experience of time during everyday activities across adulthood in 3 studies. In the first 2 studies (Study 1: N = 608; Study 2: N = 398), participants completed a web-based version of the day reconstruction method. In Stu…
Social Network Characteristics of Early Midlife Voluntarily and Involuntarily Childless Couples
Whether couples have children or remain childless has largely been associated with individual and couple characteristics. We propose that the broader social network additionally differentiates between parents and childless couples, particularly between involuntarily and voluntarily childless couples. In light of this, we studied social network differences and their interplay with dyadic and individual characteristics in three types of couples wit…
The Role of Anticipated Gains and Losses on Preferences About Future Caregiving
Preferences about future caregiving are not described solely by socio-demographic aspects but are also colored by anticipations of both gains and losses. Findings point to the need to focus on motivational factors to enhance our understanding in the context of caregiving decisions
“They” are old but “I” feel younger: Age-group dissociation as a self-protective strategy in old age.
Age becomes an important self-defining aspect particularly during advanced age. With increasing age, negative attributes related to age and aging become salient. Aging-related declines, losses, as well as the finitude of life seem to threaten older adults' sense of self. We hypothesize that older adults will try to avoid the negative consequences of their age group membership by distancing themselves from their age group. Study 1 (N = 544, 65% wo…
Short assessment of the Big Five: Robust across survey methods except telephone interviewing
We examined measurement invariance and age-related robustness of a short 15-item Big Five Inventory (BFI-S) of personality dimensions, which is well suited for applications in large-scale multidisciplinary surveys. The BFI-S was assessed in three different interviewing conditions: computer-assisted or paper-assisted face-to-face interviewing, computer-assisted telephone interviewing, and a self-administered questionnaire. Randomized probability s…
Benefits of Negative Social Exchanges for Emotional Closeness
Negative exchanges in social relationships have traditionally been studied as having negative consequences. This study explored whether they might have positive effects for relationship closeness. The sample included 351 adults, aged between 18 and 91 years, residing in Hong Kong, China. Closeness of social partners to the participants was measured by the Social Convoy Questionnaire, and the levels of negative exchanges and social support from ea…
Cultural Specificity of Socioemotional Selectivity: Age Differences in Social Network Composition Among Germans and Hong Kong Chinese
We examined age differences in social network composition among 330 Germans and 330 Hong Kong Chinese, aged 20 to 91 years. We measured social network composition with the Social Convoy Questionnaire. In both cultures, older age was associated with the same number of close social partners and fewer peripheral social partners than was younger age. However, the patterns of age differences in specific relationships differed across cultures: Age was …
Desired Lifetime and End-of-Life Desires Across Adulthood From 20 to 90: A Dual-Source Information Model
How long do people want to live, and how does scientific research on aging affect such desires? A dual-source information model proposes that aging expectations and desires are informed differently by two sources: personal experiences on the one hand, and scientific and societal influences on the other. Two studies with independent German national samples explored desires regarding length of life and end of life among adults between the ages of 2…
Kooperationsnetzwerke und Karrieren an deutschen Hochschulen: Der Weg zur Professur am Beispiel des Faches Psychologie
Endings and Continuity of Social Relationships: Maximizing Intrinsic Benefits within Personal Networks when Feeling Near to Death
Changes within an individual's personal network may reflect either non-deliberate endings, such as loss, or active choice of social partners. This research explores to what extent perceptions of limited future time are associated with deliberate endings of social relationships and active maximization of intrinsic benefits in one's personal network. In a longitudinal follow-up study, the personal networks of 206 older adults aged between 70 and 10…
Adapting to Aging Losses: Do Resources Facilitate Strategies of Selection, Compensation, and Optimization in Everyday Functioning
Previous cross-sectional research has shown that older people who are rich in sensorimotor-cognitive and social-personality resources are better functioning in everyday life and exhibit fewer negative age differences than resource-poor adults. Longitudinal data from the Berlin Aging Study was used to examine these findings across a 4-year time interval and to compare cross-sectional indicators of adaptive everyday functioning among survivors and …
Perspectives on Socioemotional Selectivity in Late Life: How Personality and Social Context Do (and Do Not) Make a Difference
This research extends earlier cross-sectional findings suggesting that although social network sizes were smaller in very old age as compared to old age, the number of emotionally close relationships in the network did not distinguish age groups. In a representative sample of community dwelling and institutionalized adults, aged 70 to 104 years, we explored whether such indication of socioemotional selectivity was related to personality character…
Blood is thicker than water: Kinship orientation across adulthood
The importance of kin relationships was investigated across adulthood with 5 samples (total N = 1,365). Within the personal networks, the genetic relatedness with relationship partners predicted subjective closeness (mean r = .50) and social support (mean r = .13). Effects were robust in 2 samples when controlling for residential proximity and contact frequency. These intraindividual correlations showed considerable variability and were interpret…
Adult Children’s Supportive Behaviors and Older Parents’ Subjective Well–Being—A Developmental Perspective on Intergenerational Relationships
Adult children’s supportive behaviors were examined with respect to children’s autonomy and social motivation towards parents, and with respect to longitudinal changes of parents’ subjective well–being. In total, 115 adult children from 83 German families completed a questionnaire on supportive behaviors and social motivation. The children also reported what pleased or irritated their parents most. Findings suggest that filial autonomy was associ…
Parental Involvement With College Students in Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, and the United States
Rates of college attendance have increased throughout the world. This study asked whether students across nations experience high involvement with parents (frequent contact and support) and how satisfied they are with parental involvement. College students from four major Western and Asian economies participated-Germany ( n = 458), Hong Kong ( n = 276), Korea ( n = 257), and the United States ( n = 310). Consistent with solidarity theory, student…
Benefits of Negative Social Exchanges for Emotional Closeness
Negative exchanges in social relationships have traditionally been studied as having negative consequences. This study explored whether they might have positive effects for relationship closeness. The sample included 351 adults, aged between 18 and 91 years, residing in Hong Kong, China. Closeness of social partners to the participants was measured by the Social Convoy Questionnaire, and the levels of negative exchanges and social support from ea…
Perceived control over development and subjective well-being: Differential benefits across adulthood
The relationship between perceived control over development (PCD) and subjective well-being (SWB) across adulthood was examined in 3 studies. In Study 1, with 480 adults aged between 20 and 90 years, PCD was closely related to SWB. Chronological age moderated the associations between PCD and SWB beyond individual differences in health, intelligence, social support, and socioeconomic status. In the longitudinal Study 2, with 42 older adults, stron…
Cultural Specificity of Socioemotional Selectivity: Age Differences in Social Network Composition Among Germans and Hong Kong Chinese
We examined age differences in social network composition among 330 Germans and 330 Hong Kong Chinese, aged 20 to 91 years. We measured social network composition with the Social Convoy Questionnaire. In both cultures, older age was associated with the same number of close social partners and fewer peripheral social partners than was younger age. However, the patterns of age differences in specific relationships differed across cultures: Age was …
Late-Life Preparedness and Its Correlates: A Behavioral Perspective on Preparation
Findings suggest that some of the examined psychosocial factors are similarly associated with both the presence of at least one and the variety of late-life preparatory activities, although the extent of their effects varies depending on one's subjective life stage
Subjective acceleration of time experience in everyday life across adulthood
Most people believe that time seems to pass more quickly as they age. Building on assumptions of socioemotional selectivity theory, we investigated whether awareness that one's future lifetime is limited is associated with one's experience of time during everyday activities across adulthood in 3 studies. In the first 2 studies (Study 1: N = 608; Study 2: N = 398), participants completed a web-based version of the day reconstruction method. In Stu…
Desired Lifetime and End-of-Life Desires Across Adulthood From 20 to 90: A Dual-Source Information Model
How long do people want to live, and how does scientific research on aging affect such desires? A dual-source information model proposes that aging expectations and desires are informed differently by two sources: personal experiences on the one hand, and scientific and societal influences on the other. Two studies with independent German national samples explored desires regarding length of life and end of life among adults between the ages of 2…
Kooperationsnetzwerke und Karrieren an deutschen Hochschulen: Der Weg zur Professur am Beispiel des Faches Psychologie
Internet Use and Cognitive Functioning in Late Adulthood: Longitudinal Findings from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)
This study sheds light on the direction of the association between cognitive functioning and Internet use. Findings indicate that using the Internet positively affects cognitive functioning in late life
The Role of Anticipated Gains and Losses on Preferences About Future Caregiving
Preferences about future caregiving are not described solely by socio-demographic aspects but are also colored by anticipations of both gains and losses. Findings point to the need to focus on motivational factors to enhance our understanding in the context of caregiving decisions
A healthy dose of realism: The role of optimistic and pessimistic expectations when facing a downward spiral in health
Social Network Characteristics of Early Midlife Voluntarily and Involuntarily Childless Couples
Whether couples have children or remain childless has largely been associated with individual and couple characteristics. We propose that the broader social network additionally differentiates between parents and childless couples, particularly between involuntarily and voluntarily childless couples. In light of this, we studied social network differences and their interplay with dyadic and individual characteristics in three types of couples wit…
Die Gestaltung und Regulation sozialer Beziehungen im Lebenslauf: Eine entwicklungspsychologische Perspektive
Negative Self-perception of Aging and Mortality in Very Old Chinese Adults: The Mediation Role of Healthy Lifestyle
The findings provided support for a longitudinal behavioral pathway of health, linking negative perceptions of aging to mortality, and also yielded important practical implications for older adults to reach longevity
How Do Emotional Closeness and Support From Parents Relate to Israeli and German Students' Life Satisfaction
This study explores the relationships of adult children with their parents, and their impact on the child's life satisfaction, in Israel and in Germany. Structural equation models tested three types of parental support (practical, emotional, and advice) and emotional closeness as predictors of the child's life satisfaction. Israeli students aged 21 to 40 years ( N = 590) reported significantly more frequent social support and a higher degree of e…
Paradoxical Effects of Perceived Control on Survival
These findings deepen the knowledge regarding the conditions under which PC is or is not adaptive, suggesting the consequences depend on age and the extent to which health is valued
The Detrimental Consequences of Overestimating Future Health in Late Life
Results suggest that repeatedly unmet health expectations may undermine motivational resources and accelerate late life declines in physical functioning
Close emotional relationships in late life: Further support for proactive aging in the social domain.
Perspectives on Socioemotional Selectivity in Late Life: How Personality and Social Context Do (and Do Not) Make a Difference
This research extends earlier cross-sectional findings suggesting that although social network sizes were smaller in very old age as compared to old age, the number of emotionally close relationships in the network did not distinguish age groups. In a representative sample of community dwelling and institutionalized adults, aged 70 to 104 years, we explored whether such indication of socioemotional selectivity was related to personality character…
Endings and Continuity of Social Relationships: Maximizing Intrinsic Benefits within Personal Networks when Feeling Near to Death
Changes within an individual's personal network may reflect either non-deliberate endings, such as loss, or active choice of social partners. This research explores to what extent perceptions of limited future time are associated with deliberate endings of social relationships and active maximization of intrinsic benefits in one's personal network. In a longitudinal follow-up study, the personal networks of 206 older adults aged between 70 and 10…
Testgüte und psychometrische Äquivalenz der deutschen Version des Big Five Inventory (BFI) bei jungen, mittelalten und alten Erwachsenen
In einer Studie mit 480 jungen, mittelalten und alten Erwachsenen wurde eine deutsche Version des “Big Five Inventory (BFI)“ eingesetzt. Es wurde die Äquivalenz der faktoriellen Struktur in den Altersgruppen sowie die Kriteriumsvalidität in Bezug auf 6 Außenkriterien überprüft (Intelligenz, positiver und negativer Affekt, Kontrollerleben, soziale Zufriedenheit und Netzwerkgröße). Die Stichprobe beruht auf einer nach Alter und Geschlecht geschicht…
Age-Related Patterns in Social Networks among European Americans and African Americans: Implications for Socioemotional Selectivity across the Life Span
Socioemotional selectivity theory contends that as people become increasingly aware of limitations on future time, they are increasingly motivated to be more selective in their choice of social partners, favoring emotionally meaningful relationships over peripheral ones. The theory hypothesizes that because age is negatively associated with time left in life, the social networks of older people contain fewer peripheral social partners than those …
Regulation of Social Relationships in Later Adulthood
Individuals are seen as coproducers of their social environments who actively manage the social resources that contribute to their positive aging. The regulation of social relationships reflects adaptive mechanisms of deliberate acquisition, maintenance, transformation, or discontinuation of relationships within the individual's personal network. Mechanisms of relationship regulation in later life are illustrated on the individual level with rece…
Perceived control over development and subjective well-being: Differential benefits across adulthood
The relationship between perceived control over development (PCD) and subjective well-being (SWB) across adulthood was examined in 3 studies. In Study 1, with 480 adults aged between 20 and 90 years, PCD was closely related to SWB. Chronological age moderated the associations between PCD and SWB beyond individual differences in health, intelligence, social support, and socioeconomic status. In the longitudinal Study 2, with 42 older adults, stron…
Time counts: Future time perspective, goals, and social relationships.
On the basis of postulates derived from socioemotional selectivity theory, the authors explored the extent to which future time perspective (FTP) is related to social motivation, and to the composition and perceived quality of personal networks. Four hundred eighty German participants with ages ranging from 20 to 90 years took part in the study. In 2 card-sort tasks, participants indicated their partner preference and goal priority. Participants …
Adapting to Aging Losses: Do Resources Facilitate Strategies of Selection, Compensation, and Optimization in Everyday Functioning
Previous cross-sectional research has shown that older people who are rich in sensorimotor-cognitive and social-personality resources are better functioning in everyday life and exhibit fewer negative age differences than resource-poor adults. Longitudinal data from the Berlin Aging Study was used to examine these findings across a 4-year time interval and to compare cross-sectional indicators of adaptive everyday functioning among survivors and …
Adult Children’s Supportive Behaviors and Older Parents’ Subjective Well–Being—A Developmental Perspective on Intergenerational Relationships
Adult children’s supportive behaviors were examined with respect to children’s autonomy and social motivation towards parents, and with respect to longitudinal changes of parents’ subjective well–being. In total, 115 adult children from 83 German families completed a questionnaire on supportive behaviors and social motivation. The children also reported what pleased or irritated their parents most. Findings suggest that filial autonomy was associ…
Die Gestaltung und Regulation sozialer Beziehungen im Lebenslauf: Eine entwicklungspsychologische Perspektive
Blood is thicker than water: Kinship orientation across adulthood
The importance of kin relationships was investigated across adulthood with 5 samples (total N = 1,365). Within the personal networks, the genetic relatedness with relationship partners predicted subjective closeness (mean r = .50) and social support (mean r = .13). Effects were robust in 2 samples when controlling for residential proximity and contact frequency. These intraindividual correlations showed considerable variability and were interpret…
Kooperationsnetzwerke und Karrieren an deutschen Hochschulen: Der Weg zur Professur am Beispiel des Faches Psychologie
Desired Lifetime and End-of-Life Desires Across Adulthood From 20 to 90: A Dual-Source Information Model
How long do people want to live, and how does scientific research on aging affect such desires? A dual-source information model proposes that aging expectations and desires are informed differently by two sources: personal experiences on the one hand, and scientific and societal influences on the other. Two studies with independent German national samples explored desires regarding length of life and end of life among adults between the ages of 2…
Cultural Specificity of Socioemotional Selectivity: Age Differences in Social Network Composition Among Germans and Hong Kong Chinese
We examined age differences in social network composition among 330 Germans and 330 Hong Kong Chinese, aged 20 to 91 years. We measured social network composition with the Social Convoy Questionnaire. In both cultures, older age was associated with the same number of close social partners and fewer peripheral social partners than was younger age. However, the patterns of age differences in specific relationships differed across cultures: Age was …
Benefits of Negative Social Exchanges for Emotional Closeness
Negative exchanges in social relationships have traditionally been studied as having negative consequences. This study explored whether they might have positive effects for relationship closeness. The sample included 351 adults, aged between 18 and 91 years, residing in Hong Kong, China. Closeness of social partners to the participants was measured by the Social Convoy Questionnaire, and the levels of negative exchanges and social support from ea…
Short assessment of the Big Five: Robust across survey methods except telephone interviewing
We examined measurement invariance and age-related robustness of a short 15-item Big Five Inventory (BFI-S) of personality dimensions, which is well suited for applications in large-scale multidisciplinary surveys. The BFI-S was assessed in three different interviewing conditions: computer-assisted or paper-assisted face-to-face interviewing, computer-assisted telephone interviewing, and a self-administered questionnaire. Randomized probability s…
“They” are old but “I” feel younger: Age-group dissociation as a self-protective strategy in old age.
Age becomes an important self-defining aspect particularly during advanced age. With increasing age, negative attributes related to age and aging become salient. Aging-related declines, losses, as well as the finitude of life seem to threaten older adults' sense of self. We hypothesize that older adults will try to avoid the negative consequences of their age group membership by distancing themselves from their age group. Study 1 (N = 544, 65% wo…
The Role of Anticipated Gains and Losses on Preferences About Future Caregiving
Preferences about future caregiving are not described solely by socio-demographic aspects but are also colored by anticipations of both gains and losses. Findings point to the need to focus on motivational factors to enhance our understanding in the context of caregiving decisions
Successful Aging in Societies of Long Living: The Model of Selection, Optimization, and Compensation
Subjective acceleration of time experience in everyday life across adulthood
Most people believe that time seems to pass more quickly as they age. Building on assumptions of socioemotional selectivity theory, we investigated whether awareness that one's future lifetime is limited is associated with one's experience of time during everyday activities across adulthood in 3 studies. In the first 2 studies (Study 1: N = 608; Study 2: N = 398), participants completed a web-based version of the day reconstruction method. In Stu…
Social Network Characteristics of Early Midlife Voluntarily and Involuntarily Childless Couples
Whether couples have children or remain childless has largely been associated with individual and couple characteristics. We propose that the broader social network additionally differentiates between parents and childless couples, particularly between involuntarily and voluntarily childless couples. In light of this, we studied social network differences and their interplay with dyadic and individual characteristics in three types of couples wit…
Parental Involvement With College Students in Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, and the United States
Rates of college attendance have increased throughout the world. This study asked whether students across nations experience high involvement with parents (frequent contact and support) and how satisfied they are with parental involvement. College students from four major Western and Asian economies participated-Germany ( n = 458), Hong Kong ( n = 276), Korea ( n = 257), and the United States ( n = 310). Consistent with solidarity theory, student…
Paradoxical Effects of Perceived Control on Survival
These findings deepen the knowledge regarding the conditions under which PC is or is not adaptive, suggesting the consequences depend on age and the extent to which health is valued
The Detrimental Consequences of Overestimating Future Health in Late Life
Results suggest that repeatedly unmet health expectations may undermine motivational resources and accelerate late life declines in physical functioning
Psychology (32 works) · Aging and Gerontology Research (20 works) · Developmental psychology (20 works) · Health disparities and outcomes (15 works) · Social Psychology (14 works) · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction (12 works) · Social Psychology (12 works) · Medicine (11 works) · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving (8 works) · German (7 works)