P131 Do conceptions of the future self influence older adults’ acceptance of camera-based active and assisted living technologies?: The moderating role of multimorbidity

Background

Camera-based active and assisted living (AAL) technologies are a potentially transformative solution for population ageing but are hardly accepted by older adults. While health-related antecedents to the acceptance of these technologies (e.g., chronic disease status) are well-known, psychological factors remain understudied. According to a ‘future self-continuity’ hypothesis, individuals who feel less similar to their future self may fail to act in their future self-interest, preferring immediate gratification over longer-term reward. Thus, to the extent that the wellbeing benefits of camera-based AAL technologies manifest primarily in the future, older adults who feel less similar to their future selves may be less willing to accept the technology today. Notwithstanding, it is unclear whether the effects of future self-similarity on acceptance apply similarly to all older adults. This study examined the effect of future self-similarity on older adults’ acceptance of camera-based AAL technologies. The moderating role of chronic disease status on the relationship between future self-similarity and acceptance was also assessed.

Methods

In a cross-sectional study design, an online questionnaire collected data from community-dwelling older adults aged 60 and above (n = 183 with valid data, M_age = 64.2, SD = 5.48; 51.9% male). Demographic information, self-reported chronic disease status, future self-similarity, and acceptance of camera-based AAL technologies were assessed. Logistic regression models were used to assess statistical associations between future self-similarity and acceptance of camera-based AAL technologies, controlling for demographic covariates. The moderating effect of chronic disease status (no chronic disease, one chronic disease, multimorbidity) was assessed using the Hayes PROCESS macro in SPSS.

Results

Felt similarity to the future self positively influenced the likelihood of self-reported acceptance only among older adults with multimorbidity (OR = 4.96, p = .002, 95%CI [.601,2.60]). The beneficial effect of future self-similarity on acceptance did not generalise to older adults with a single chronic disease (OR = 1.25, p = .640, 95%CI [-.701,1.14]) or to those with no chronic disease (OR = .616, p = .214, 95%CI [-1.25,.280]).

Conclusion

The beneficial impact of future self-similarity on acceptance of camera-based AAL technologies does not apply equally to all older adults. These findings stand to inform the development of targeted strategies to enhance acceptance of camera-based AAL technologies. Self-continuity-enhancing techniques may be especially impactful among multimorbid cohorts. Alternative measures should be explored to benefit the acceptance of camera-based AAL technologies among older adults more generally.