2. Introduction: Adjustment to
Retirement
Retirement has become a long and
meaningful phase in the older adult’s life
(e.g: Wiatrowski, 2001).
Encompasses many changes in lifestyle
and requires adjustment
Inconsistencies regarding the effect of
retirement on well-being (positive effects,
negative effects or no effects) and the
factors shaping the adjustment process
(Wang, 2007).
3. Existing Research and Research
Gaps
Research mainly focused on social attributes
as predictors of adjustment (wealth, marital
status, previous employment).
Psychological variables and personality
attributes have been relatively neglected
(Wang & Shultz, 2009).
Personality attributes may affect how the
retirement transition is framed and thus
condition the effects of changes experienced
4. This research:
Aims: To reconcile research inconsistencies and fill
research gaps by:
Identifying boundary conditions
Using a psychological framework – attachment
theory
Attachment will condition the effects of changes
experienced in retirement (focusing on changes
in financial situation and social involvement) on
well-being
Longitudinal research design
5. Attachment Theory as a Key
Personality Attribute
Attachment is an innate behavioral system that
functions to protect from danger by proximity
seeking behaviors.
It is shaped at infancy as a result of early
interactions with the caregiver.
Shapes later development of other personal
attributes, shapes expectation and behaviors in
personal relations, coping and adjustment
capabilities.
Two orthogonal dimensions underlie
attachment style: avoidance and anxiety.
6. Attachment Style
Attachment avoidance – Attachment anxiety –
deactivation strategy hyperactivation strategy
Uncomfortable with Desire very close relations
dependence and closeness and seek proximity
to others Depend on others for
Emotionally distant and feelings of confidence and
self reliant self-worth
Suppress distress Make catastrophic
Avoid support seeking
evaluations of situation
Dwell on negative emotions
7. Attachment Style
Attachment avoidance – Attachment anxiety -
deactivation strategy hyperactivation strategy
Uncomfortable with Desire very close relations
dependence and closeness and seek proximity
to others Depend on others for
Emotionally distant and feelings of confidence and
self reliant self-worth
Suppress distress Make catastrophic
Avoid support seeking
evaluations of situation
Dwell on negative emotions
Exposed to maladjustment Exposed to maladjustment
8. Attachment Security: when attachment anxiety
and attachment avoidance are low
Comfortable in close relationships
Efficient in mobilizing and using social support
Appraise situations in a benign way
Sense of self-worth and high levels of self-esteem
Perceive distress and manageable
Relatively resilient to stressors
Attachment security considered a valuable personal
resource while attachment insecurities (avoidance and
anxiety) are a burden.
9. Financial Situation in Retirement and
Well-being
Inconsistencies in research: some report no relation
between financial situation or financial changes and
well-being in retirement (e.g: Zimmerman, 2005); others
do (Cummins, 2000).
The moderating role of attachment: Attachment
insecurity places the individual at a disadvantage when
dealing with decline in income:
10. Anxiety Avoidance
Income decline in
retirement is
Make catastrophic
(almost) inevitable
appraisals of
and hence harms
situations. May
the ability to exert
perceive income
control and may
decline as an acute
lead to
threat and respond
dependence. Thus,
with elevated distress.
it may cause
elevated distress.
11. H1: Attachment avoidance will moderate the
relations between income decline and well-
being, such that high levels of attachment
avoidance will amplify the relation between
income decline and well-being.
H2: Attachment anxiety will moderate the
relations between income decline and well-
being, such that high levels of attachment
avoidance will amplify the relation between
income decline and well-being.
12. Involvement Changes and
Attachment
The transition to retirement may allow the elderly to
give priority to desired activities.
The ability to benefit from social involvement may be
dependent on attachment style
Attachment security allows one to develop adequate
social skills and social self efficacy. It allows exploration
of opportunities.
The securely attached may be more able to benefit from
new social roles and interactions.
13. Anxiety Avoidance
may promote may promote a
hyper-vigilance to perception of social
rejection cues and interaction as
perception of social unimportant and
interactions as uninteresting
negative
14. H3. Attachment anxiety will moderate the
relation between increase in social
involvement and well-being, such that high
levels of attachment anxiety will weaken the
relation between increased social involvement
and well-being.
H4: Attachment avoidance will moderate the
relation between increase in social
involvement and well-being, such that high
levels of attachment avoidance will weaken
the relation between increased social
involvement and well-being.
15. Method
T1 (2003):560 Time 2
blue collar (2008) Time 3 (2010)
American 276 had 251 respondent
workers retired Mean age 65
Mean age 58
Attachment:
(T3)
Changes in
household
income: T1-T2 Well-being
(T3):
•Depression
Changes in
•Psychosomatic
involvement:
T2-T1 complaints
•Health
16. Measurements
Involvement: 5 forms of activities: family, religious org’,
educational and cultural org’, charity & community,
sports & recreation.
Attachment: Experience in Close Relationship Scale
(Brennan, Clark & Shaver, 1998).
Well-being:
Depression: CESD (Radloff, 1977)
Psychosomatic complaints (Caplan,1975)
Health: Number of diagnosed illnesses (National Institute
on Aging)
Analytical Procedure: linear regressions for depression
and somatic complaints. Poisson regression for health.
17. Depression Somatic Health
complaints
B SE B SE B SE
Income change .003 .01 .01 .01 .02 .02
Involvement change -.03 .04 .05 .04 -.13 .08
Avoidance .001 .03 -.00 .03 .07 .06
Anxiety .15*** .03 .14*** .03 -.07 .06
Income*avoidance .03* .01 .05*** .01 .07** .02
Income*anxiety -.001 .02 -.04 .01 -.03 .03
Involve’*avoidance -.08 .05 .00 .05 -.03** .10
Involve’*anxiety .14** .05 .13** .05 -.12 .10
R2 0.42 0.40 -2ll = 622**
†p<0.1 *p<0.05 **p<0.01 ***p<0.001
18. 1,65
*
Depression
low avoidance 1,6
1,55
mean avoidance 1,5
1,45
1,4
high avoidance
1,35
1 2 3
Decrease in income
1,8
1,75 **
low avoidance
complaints
1,7
†
Somatic
1,65
1,6
mean avoidance 1,55
1,5
high avoidance 1,45
1,4
1,35
Decrease in income
2
low avoidance
1,8 **
1,6
Number of
illnesses
1,4
1,2
mean avoidance 1
0,8
0,6
high avoidance
0,4
0,2
0
Decrease in income
19. 2
Depression
low anxiety 1,5
†
mean anxiety 1 *
0,5
high anxiety
0
Increase in involvement
2
**
low anxiety complaints
Somatic
1,5
1
mean anxiety 0,5
high anxiety 0
Increase in involvement
2
1,8
1,6
Number of
illnesses
1,4
low avoidance 1,2
1 **
mean avoidance 0,8
0,6
high avoidance 0,4
0,2
0
Increase in involvement
20. Discussion and Conclusions
The effects of changes experienced in retirement on
well-being are conditioned by individuals’
attachment.
Attachment anxiety and avoidance are boundary
conditions for the effects of changes in income and
involvement on well-being
Income drop has negative effect on well-being only
when attachment avoidance is high.
Involvement contributes to well-being when
attachment is relatively secure.
21. Income and Avoidance
Decline in income may be perceived as uncontrollable
and inevitable, thus destructive to those who are most
reluctant to lose control and fear of dependence.
Avoidant individuals tendency to suppress emotions and
avoid coping with their distress may be especially
ineffective and extremely resource demanding in the long
run dealing with chronic stress.
Alternative: Severe income decline may promote social
withdrawal and aggravate avoidance tendencies.
Attachment anxiety has no effect, perhaps due to the long time
gaps.
22. Involvement and Attachment
Increased social involvement decreases depression when
anxiety is low or average.
Increased social involvement when attachment anxiety is high
results in elevated levels of psychosomatic complaints.
High levels of anxiety are related to worries about rejection
and abandonment.
It poses individuals at risk for experiencing distress caused by
social interactions and hinders the ability to benefit from it.
Avoidant individuals are not as sensitive to social activities,
more prone to experience physiological reactivity as a response
to stress. Hence physical health is more adversely affected
when avoidance is high, but not when anxiety is high.
23. Practical Implications and
Limitations
Help map populations in risk for experiencing
difficulties in the adjustment process (those who may
not benefit from involvement and may be distressed by
income decline)
Limitations and future research:
Results may be similar for other losses and gains
experienced in older adulthood. We only accounted for 2
independent variables.
Other boundary conditions for adaptation to retirement.
Additional measurements to account for both the short
and long term effects.
25. Depression somatic Health
Estimate SE Estimate SE Estimate SE
Income
Slope of income -0.03† 0.16 -0.02 0.01 -.05 .03
when avoidance is
low
Slope of income 0.005 0.01 0.02† 0.009 .02 .02
when avoidance is
mean
Slope of income 0.04* 0.03 .055** 0.02 .08** .03
when avoidance is
high
Involvement
Slope of -0.12* 0.06 -0.04 0.02
involvement when
anxiety is low
Slope of -0.02† 0.04 0.06 0.04
involvement when
anxiety is mean
Slope of 0.08 0.06 .16** .06
involvement when
anxiety is high
Slope of -.62** .12
involvement when
avoidance is low
Slope of -.12 .08
involvement when
avoidance is mean
Slope of .12 .12
involvement when
avoidance is high
