Comparative Dynamics of Individual Ageing among the Investigative Type of Professionals Living in Russia and Russian Migrants to the EU Countries

Eur J Investig Health Psychol Educ. 2020 Jul 26;10(3):749-762. doi: 10.3390/ejihpe10030055.

Abstract

The goal of this study was to uncover the influence of professional activity, migration, and gender on dynamics of subjective age and ageing biomarkers. We examined the representatives of investigative types of professions (ITP), 30-75 years old in Russia, (101/62 women), and Russian migrants to the European Union, (101/56 women). ITPs appeared to be ageing slower than statistical standards; men age faster than women; the pre-retirement group (51-65 years old) showed acceleration of relative biological ageing in the Russian sample (women +4.5 years, men +10.7 years) against the EU sample, suggesting a boost of pre-retirement stress in Russia; subjectively, Russian people (51-65 years old) feel close to their chronological age, while EU people perceive themselves far below their calendar age (men-lower by 20.4, women-lower by 10.9 years). The subjective ageing depends on the country of residence, while biological ageing depends on occupation, gender, and negative expectations of retirement.

Keywords: biological age; individual ageing; investigative type of professions; migration; occupational health; subjective age.