Date and time: Wednesday 11th January 2023, 11.30am to 12.30pm Speaker:  Dr Serena Sabatini, University of Nottingham Topic: "Awareness of age-related changes and health indicators: bidirectional associations and underlying factors" Presentation via Microsoft Teams - please note that you will need to register to join the seminar and you will need to have access to Microsoft Teams. Given the rapid increase in the number of older people worldwide, the promotion of active and healthy ageing has become a global priority. Active and heathy ageing means engagement in all those activities, such as physical exercise, that promote maintenance and enhancement of health throughout the lifespan, including advanced old age. A possible innovative way of fostering active and healthy ageing is through the promotion of both positive views of ageing and positive self-perceptions of ageing. The concept of Awareness of Age-Related Changes captures both the positive (gains) and negative (losses) changes individuals notice in their daily life and that they attribute to their increased age. Perceived age-related gains and losses can co-occur in each of five life domains that are physical functioning, cognitive functioning, socio-cognitive and socio-emotional engagement, lifestyle, and interpersonal relations. Research has showed that individuals reporting higher awareness of age-related gains and lower awareness of age-related losses have better mental, physical, and cognitive health and functioning over time. However, the causal relationships between these factors are unknown. Using cross-lagged panel models I explored the bidirectional influence of awareness of age-related gains and losses with a range of indicators of mental, physical, and cognitive health over one year. Once identified the causal paths, I explored the mediating role of physical activity and the moderating role of rumination in such associations. Project results support the promotion of positive self-perceptions of aging as a potential strategy to promote health in older age. Serena Sabatini pursued her undergraduate and master’s degrees in Psychology at the University of Padua (Italy).  Her PhD, University of Exeter, was on the topic of awareness of age-related change (AARC). She has worked as Postdoctoral Researcher at Exeter and at the Università della Svizzera Italiana (Switzerland). She recently joined the University of Nottingham as ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow, focusing on the bidirectional influence of AARC & health indicators. To register your attendance please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. no later than 9.00am Tuesday 10th January 2023, to be added to the electronic Teams invitation list.