Prof. Hans-Werner Wahl

Experts

Director Network Aging Research

Hans-Werner Wahl researches activities the role of subjective aging and physical-technological environments for aging well.

Languages : German, English

BIOGRAPHY

Hans-Werner Wahl is a former Professor of Psychological Ageing Research, now being Seniorprofessor and Director of the Network Aging Research of Heidelberg University. He is also a senior researcher in the Department of Psychological Aging Research at the Institute of Psychology of Heidelberg University. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from the Free University of Berlin in 1989. His research activities include the role of subjective aging as well as the physical-technological environments for aging well, adaptational processes related to chronic functional loss, and conceptual issues in aging research. He is the author or editor of more than 25 books and more than 390 scholarly journal articles and chapters related to the study of adult development and aging. He is the founding editor of the European Journal of Ageing (together with Dorly Deeg), consulting editor of Psychology and Aging, one of the editors of the Zeitschrift für Geronotlogie and Geriatrie, and an editorial board member of The Gerontologist. Dr. Wahl is also a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) since 2002. He has received the 2008 Social Gerontology Award of the GSA (together with Manfred Diehl), the 2009 M. Powell Lawton Award of the GSA, the 2019 IAGG-ER Advanced Scholar Award: Socio-Behavioral Sciences, and the 2020 BSS – Richard M. Kalish Innovative Publication Award (Article) of the Gerontological Society of America (together with Denis Gerstorf).

MEDIA APPEARANCES

The Gerontological Society of America congratulates 2020 awardees

EurekAlert!

May 27, 2020

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) -- the country's largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging -- is proud to acknowledge the work of 30 outstanding individuals through its prestigious awards program. Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award Recipients: Hans-Werner Wahl, PhD, FGSA, of Heidelberg University; Denis Gerstorf, PhD, FGSA, of Humboldt University Berlin...

GSA's journals begin publishing peer-reviewed research on aging and COVID-19

EureakAlert!

April 22, 2020

Aging in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Avoiding Ageism and Fostering Intergenerational Solidarity: Editorial in The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences by Liat Ayalon, PhD, Alison Chasteen, PhD, Manfred Diehl, PhD, Becca Levy, PhD, Shevaun D. Neupert, PhD, Klaus Rothermund, PhD, Clemens Tesch-Römer, PhD, and Hans-Werner Wahl, PhD...

Six Propositions against Ageism in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Journal of Aging & Social Policy

The risk of developing severe illness from COVID-19 and of dying from it increases with age. This statistical association has led to numerous highly problematic policy suggestions and comments revealing underlying ageist attitudes and promoting age discrimination. Such attitudes are based on negative stereotypes on the health and functioning of older adults.

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Six Propositions against Ageism in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Journal of Aging & Social Policy

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Nurses’ emotional tone toward older inpatients: Do cognitive impairment and acute hospital setting matter?

European Journal of Ageing

The emotional tone of nurses’ voice toward residents has been characterized as overly controlling and less person-centered. However, it is unclear whether this critical imbalance also applies to acutely ill older patients, who represent a major subgroup in acute hospitals. We therefore examined nurses’ emotional tone in this setting, contrasting care interactions with severely cognitively impaired (CI) versus cognitively unimpaired older patients. Furthermore, we included a general versus a geriatric acute hospital to examine the role of different hospital environments.

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Mindful vs. mind full: Processing strategies moderate the association between subjective aging experiences and depressive symptoms

Psychology and Aging

2018 Recent evidence suggests that the longitudinal association between subjective aging experiences, that is, the way people perceive and evaluate their aging process, and well-being-related developmental outcomes depends on individual differences.

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Four-year reciprocal relationships between personality and functional ability in older adults with and without sensory impairment: focus on neuroticism and agreeableness

Aging & Mental Health

Personality traits have been found to influence health and functional ability (FA) via multiple pathways. However, personality traits may also change in reaction to constraints in FA, particularly in more vulnerable individuals with high risk of decline in independent functioning in daily life (e.g. older adults with sensory impairment).

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Awareness of Age-Related Change and Depressive Symptoms in Middle and Late Adulthood: Longitudinal Associations and the Role of Self-Regulation and Calendar Age

The Journals of Gerontology

Studies that examine bidirectional relations between subjective aging and depressive symptoms have remained rare. We addressed this issue by investigating longitudinal linkages between awareness of age-related change (AARC) and depressive symptomatology in midlife and old age. Assimilative and accommodative self-regulation strategies and calendar age were studied as moderators.

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