Abstract

Background. Apathy is one of the most common symptoms in the adulthood, however, its psychological predictors are still poorly understood.

Objective. This study was aimed to examine the psychological predictors of apathy in the middle and late adulthood.

Design. The sample consisted of 188 participants aged 50 to 83 years. This study is cross-sectional. Potential predictors of apathy (i.e., depression, subjective vitality, subjective happiness and satisfaction with life) were evaluated using multiple regression analysis. The diagnostic battery included the Zolotareva’s Apathy Scale and Russian-language versions of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-SF), Subjective Vitality Scale (SVS), Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), and Satisfaction Index for the Third Age-Short Form (LSITA-SF).

Results. Multiple regression analysis has shown that subjective vitality is a negative specific predictor of apathy in the middle adulthood, and depression is a positive universal predictor of apathy in both middle and late adulthood.

Conclusion. The findings can be used in the Russian gerontopsychology to prevent apathy in persons with depressive symptoms and a low level of subjective vitality.