PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CONTROL OVER AGE-RELATED-CHANGES IN PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Beliefs about appearance-related changes due to aging were used to tes t the effects of perceived control and secondary control (acceptance) in a sample of 412 young, early-middle-age, and late-middle-age colleg e-educated adults. Mean difference in aging-related appearance control and hypotheses regarding the adaptiveness of primary and secondary co ntrol were examined. Primary control over aging-related appearance was lower in older adults and secondary control was higher. In addition, the results indicated support for the Primacy/Back-Up Model that prima ry perceived control is important at all levels of actual control. Tho se with stronger beliefs in their primary control were less distressed . Secondary control served a back-up function in that it was related t o less distress only for those who had medium or lower beliefs in prim ary control. The implications of these findings, that primary control may be advantageous even in low-control circumstances, are discussed.