The purpose of this study wets to investigate the interaction of age and co
gnitive representations of hypertension in predicting blood pressure. A mod
el of illness self-regulation war used ar the theoretical framework for the
study. Secondary analysis of data collected from 224 hypertensive adult ou
tpatients wets conducted to assess five constructs of illness. ANOVA result
s indicated that older adults reported fewer hypertension-related symptoms
than younger- and middle-aged adults, and that younger adults reported fewe
r health behaviors to control hypertension than did middle-aged and older a
dults. Results of hierarchical multiple regression models indicated that af
ter adjusting for effects of demographic factors, no single cognitive repre
sentation construct was a significant predictor of blood pressure. The inte
ractions of age and three cognitive representation constructs were, however
significant predictors of blood pressure. For younger adults. increases in
the perceived Consequences. Control, and Timeline for hypertension were pr
edictive of decreases in hypertension, although for older adults increased
perceptions of control were associated with increased blood pressure.