Preparedness for Older Age and Its Mental Health Implications: A Latent Class Analysis

Background and Purpose:

Preparedness for older age involves cognitive and behavioral investments to address anticipated aging-related challenges. This study aims to identify typologies of old-age preparedness behaviors and examine their associations with psychological outcomes among older adults. The study further offered practical implications for mental health interventions and social work practice in aging services.

Methods:

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2024 with 1,133 community-dwelling adults aged 60 and above recruited from five elderly service centers in Hong Kong. Participants reported their perceived preparation status and behavioral engagement across 15 items spanning four domains: financial planning, healthy living, housing, and information seeking. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) identified preparation typologies. ANCOVA models examined differences in mental health outcomes—psychological distress, well-being, and loneliness—across latent classes, adjusting for demographic covariates.

Results:

LCA identified a four-class solution: (1) Non-preparers (69%) reported minimal engagement across all preparatory domains; (2) Health-focused preparers (12%) showed higher activity in health-related domains but limited financial or housing preparation; (3) Information/Social-focused preparers (12%) engaged primarily in communication- and participation-related activities. (4) Comprehensive preparers (6%) demonstrated consistent planning across all domains. ANCOVA analyses revealed significant differences in psychological well-being across the four preparation classes. Health-focused preparers reported significantly lower psychological distress compared to non-preparers (p = .027). Regarding subjective well-being, both the health-focused (p = .004) and comprehensive preparers (p < .002) reported significantly higher scores than non-preparers. For loneliness, comprehensive preparers reported significantly lower loneliness than non-preparers(p < .01).

Conclusions and Implications:

Findings emphasize the psychological benefits of proactive and multidimensional preparation for older age. Based on the latent class analysis, the comprehensive preparers demonstrated the strongest association with positive mental health outcomes. For practical implication, the large proportion of non-preparers (68.9%)—highlights the urgent need for proactive outreach and early intervention strategies. Social workers should prioritize engagement with individuals in this group, many of whom may be unaware of the importance of planning for age-related transitions. Additionally, these findings support advocacy for policy initiatives that promote accessible preparation tools, community education, and early planning programs, especially for at-risk subgroups with limited engagement in aging preparation.