Associations Between Personal Views of Aging and Quality of Life in Midlife and Older Age: The Mediating Role of Psychological Resilience

Background/Objectives: Ensuring quality of life (QoL) is a key aspect of promoting healthy aging. This cross-sectional study investigated whether and to what extent personal views of aging (VoA)—individuals’ perceptions, attitudes, and expectations regarding their own aging—and psychological resilience are associated with QoL and its domains in middle-aged and older adults. Methods: A sample of 224 individuals (46–85 years) was recruited. All participants reported their felt age (FA) and completed the Awareness of Age-Related Change (AARC) questionnaire, assessing awareness of age-related gains (AARC-Gains) and losses (AARC-Losses). They also completed the World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale for psychological resilience. Multiple regressions and path analyses were run to examine the associations among personal VoA, psychological resilience, and QoL. Results: Regression analyses showed that AARC-Gains and AARC-Losses (but not FA) predicted overall QoL, with AARC-Losses and, to some extent, FA also explaining specific QoL domains. Resilience also emerged as a significant positive predictor for overall QoL and its psychological and environmental domains. Path analyses confirmed and extended the role of personal VoA and resilience on QoL. Resilience directly influenced QoL and its domains, in turn mediating the effects of personal VoA, depending on the specific facets of VoA and the QoL domains examined. Conclusions: These findings suggest that promoting positive/correct personal views of aging and fostering psychological resilience may be promising healthcare strategies for enhancing QoL in adulthood into older age.