Age-Group Differences in Factors Emphasized in Decision-Making:An Exploratory Comparative Analysis Based on Questionnaire Data
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study aims to exploratorily clarify how the factors emphasized in decision-making differ across age groups. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 1,112 general adults aged 20 to 85 years, and the mean scores of 30 decision-making items were compared among three groups: young and middle-aged adults, pre-seniors, and older adults. The analysis employed one-way analysis of variance and Tukey’s HSD post hoc tests. The results showed that dependence on others’ opinions and external reference tendencies had lower mean scores among pre-seniors and older adults than among young and middle-aged adults. In contrast, economic anxiety had a lower mean score among older adults than among both young and middle-aged adults and pre-seniors. In addition, consideration of one’s own health was higher among pre-seniors and older adults than among young and middle-aged adults, while orientation toward social interac-tion and community participation showed relatively higher mean scores among older adults. Furthermore, concern for the future of one’s family showed stepwise higher mean scores across the three groups. These findings suggest that the factors emphasized in decision-making do not differ uniformly across age groups; rather, they may show different patterns of age-group dif-ferences depending on the factor. However, this study is an exploratory analysis based on cross-sectional data and does not directly examine intra-individual age-related change or causal change. Future research should examine the process of change in decision-making factors through longitudinal data and analyses that take cohort effects into account.
Authors: Eriko Musashi, Takaaki Hosoda, Daisuke Ikeda
Language: English
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7206200038