Middle-aged women might start noticing signs of aging and becoming older as they continue through this life stage. While physical signs of aging are often emphasized in the literature and society, it is important to understand the wider picture of the aging experience in middle age. This study aimed to explore how middle-aged women experience aging, in particular, what experiences or signs they talk about as signaling them that they are aging. The participants were 26 women aged 30 – 57 in Lithuania. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted and analyzed using theme analysis. Thematic analysis resulted in five main themes. In the theme Discrepancy between outside and inside participants discussed feeling young inside and being forced to confront signs from others or other external sources about them aging or being older than they feel. Participants talked about experiencing that they are aging through physical and physiological changes as well as feeling older through internal changes in themes Physiological changes and Internal changes. The theme Fleeting time illustrates participants mentioning that one aspect of aging is feeling that time is ticking away, being confronted and uneasy by the realization of how much time of their life already passed. The theme of Cycle of generations represented participants reflecting on the experience of stepping into the role or life stage previously taken by their parents or other older generation family members, understanding their perspective or even repeating the same patterns that previously they were critical of. Study results give insight into important areas of middle-aged women’s aging experience which might be a source of strength or stress and should be considered when researching or counselling middle-aged women. This study was financed by the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), agreement No. S-PD-24-58.

Background. Autistic sociality is often viewed as impaired, characterised by a lack of social motivation and defined by observable behavioural traits (Baron-Cohen et al., 1985; Pennington and Ozonoff, 1996; Chevallier et al., 2012). However, there is a lack of research exploring autistic adults’ inner experiences and perspectives on the process of forming connections. This study aims to understand how autistic adults in Lithuania experience building connections with strangers.

Methods. Seven semi-structured interviews will be conducted in January–February 2025 to explore the lived experiences of autistic adults in Lithuania in building connections with strangers. Interview topics include how participants understand and conceptualise connection and friendship, how they feel around strangers, their experiences of building connections with strangers, and how being autistic and other aspects of their lives impact the process of forming connections and friendships. Their narratives will be analysed using inductive thematic analysis. To ensure the inclusivity and relevance of the project, we adopted a participatory approach and formed an autistic adults’ advisory board of five members, who informed every stage of the research and will contribute to the dissemination of the study results.

Expected results. By the time of the conference, we will present findings from our research on autistic adults' experiences in building connections with strangers. We expect to gain a better understanding of the inner experiences of how autistic adults in Lithuania build connections and friendships.

Implications. The study may contribute to a better understanding of autistic sociality from insiders’ perspectives, as well as inform professional practices and foster social inclusion.

This project has received funding from the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), agreement No S-ST-24-56

Empathy-related responding is a key aspect of social-emotional development (Yavuz et al., 2024) and involves specific responses such as empathy (sharing the emotions of another person), sympathy (feeling of concern toward another's wellbeing) and personal distress (PD; feeling overwhelmed by someone else's negative emotionality; Eisenberg et al., 2015). Inhibitory control (IC), a key component of self-regulation, supports empathetic responses by enabling individuals to manage emotional reactivity and engage in socially appropriate behaviors (Eisenberg & Spinrad, 2004; Rothbart et al., 2001).

While prior research has established the developmental trajectory of IC and its role in adaptive functioning (Best & Miller, 2010; Casey & Caudle, 2013), little is known about the daily fluctuations of IC and its relations with empathetic responses in young adults (18–35 years). To address this gap, for 21 days, once a day, 76 young adults (50% women) were asked to respond to questions about IC and PD. To investigate the dynamic relations of the variables, we used Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling (Hamaker et al., 2018).

Results showed no significant spill-over effects between daily IC and PD. However, we found that IC and PD were negatively associated at the within-person level (r=-.163, 95% CI [-.284, -.038]): peaks of IC were negatively associated with drops of PD on the same day. At the between-person level, people who reported higher levels of IC on average also reported lower levels of PD on average (r=-.526, 95% CI [-.748, -.205]). The results also remained stable for controlling age and gender. The present study's results could help psychologists develop interventions based on inhibitory control to deal with young adults' challenges, ultimately promoting emotional wellbeing and social competencies during this critical life stage. Future studies should also investigate the dynamic relations between the variables of interest in a shorter time framework.

Goals are mental representations of end states young people strive to achieve (Austin & Vancouver, 1996). They are at the heart of individuals’ agentic behaviour helping them to channel resources while exploring, planning, making decisions, and committing to specific future-oriented representations of themselves and their envisioned futures (Parada & Salmela-Aro, 2022). Our study aims to investigate the temporal dynamics of young people’s personal goals during the third decade of life. The focus is on examining the internal dynamics of the interactions between the different general or personal goals domains over 8 years, from the early to the late twenties. Data from 754 participants from the Finnish Educational Transitions (FinEdu) Studies were collected 4 times: 2008 (age 20-21 years), 2011 (age 22-23), 2013 (age 24-25), and 2016 (age 28-29 years). First, a content analysis of participants’ answers to a revised version of Little’s 1983 Personal Project Analysis inventory (Salmela-Aro, 2001) was conducted using Atlas.ti8. Consensus qualitative research was used to code the data (Hill et al., 2005). The analysis identified 6 general goal domains (e.g., caring and close relationships, employment) which comprehended 15 specific goal domains (e.g., parenthood, securing employment, finances, health). Next, Python and NetworkX package was used to examine the interdependencies between the general and the specific goal domains and how these goal patterns change over time. The co-occurrence network analysis conducted to visualize the co-occurrences of the goals at each time point and across the four time points showed there were no important structural differences across the networks[FP1] . Young people’s personal goals reflect both the protracted nature of the transition to adulthood and the main developmental tasks they are expected to achieve during the third decade of life, with goals about caring and close relationships, education, employment, health and wellbeing being among the most named.

What makes life meaningful for middle-aged single women without children in a collectivist, pronatalist and predominantly Catholic context like the Philippines, where a woman’s value seems largely tied to their performance of the role of a wife and a mother? While meaning in life involves an internal process within an individual, one’s socio-cultural context as well as where they are situated in their developmental life stage could be pivotal in shaping an individual’s perceptions and interpretations of their experiences. Thus, the study aims to explore how meaning in life as a phenomenon is experienced by people who do not subscribe to the gold standard of successful passage into adulthood in a society that promotes and privileges the ideology of marriage and family. We explored this question using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Seven middle aged single women aged 41 to 58 who lived in different cities within the Philippines were interviewed through mobile, audio or video calls. Meaning in life was experienced by these middle-aged, always single Filipino women through caring for the self, accepting life, and engaging in social and in meaningful pursuits. Implications and recommendations for research and practical applications for women at this particular life stage are also identified and discussed.