International Journal of Aging & Human Development最新文献

Our study contributes to the scholarship by examining the concrete ways in which two distinct types of interpersonal connection-strong/close versus weak/distant-are independently related to self-rated health and life satisfaction cross-nationally. In addition, we explore whether and how the two types of interpersonal connection modify the magnitude of the associations between subjective social status (SSS) and health and well-being of older populations cross-nationally. According to results from our multilevel analysis, social capital available through strong ties (family and friends) is positively associated with both outcomes. On the other hand, social capital via weak ties (acquaintances) is positively related to health but negatively related to well-being. We also find that social capital mediated by strong ties significantly buffers the harmful implications of status disadvantage or low SSS on health and well-being of older adults. In comparison, weak tie-mediated social capital provides buffering against status disadvantage only for well-being.

Caregiving for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia presents significant challenges which were amplified throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, care partners were forced to navigate uncertain terrain as well as new and challenging relational tensions. This study investigated the experiences of dementia care partners and the relational tensions present as they managed the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic using Relational Dialectics Theory framework. By analyzing recorded support groups from the early days of the pandemic (April through June, 2020), we identified two chief tensions expressed by participants throughout their support groups: connection-independence and gratitude-frustration. Participants experienced these tensions in different ways, and they engaged in four tension management strategies (selection, minimization, reframing, and venting and comradery) through the support group. As the pandemic progressed, participants' tension management evolved, highlighting the complexity inherent in caring for a person with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The communication ecology model of successful aging (CEMSA) proposes that the messages individuals receive from the social environment, and their own communication about aging, shape the communication ecology of aging, which in turn influences the degree to which individuals experience successful aging. This content analysis study provides insight into the communication ecology of aging by examining the messages about aging forwarded by positive aging TikTok videos. Two-hundred and seventy videos from the top five most viewed positive aging hashtags were coded. Messages about appearance and evaluations of aging appear more frequently than messages about ability or advice about aging. Overall, these videos presented aging in a positive light; however, messages about skin, cognitive ability, advice about aging, and the #agingwell hashtag represented aging in a more negative light. The majority of positive aging TikTok videos feature middle-aged and older adults. Implications for the CEMSA are discussed.

Little is known about widowhood's effects on externalizing expressions of distress, like substance use, among sexual minorities. Our study is the first to address this issue using a large national sample of LGB individuals living in the United States. Using the 2010 Aging with Pride: National Health, Aging, and Sexuality/Gender Study (n = 2,258), we ran logistic regression models predicting current smoking, past 30-day binge drinking, and past year drug use. Widowhood predicted higher odds of drug use. These results were found for currently partnered individuals, suggesting that widowhood's effects are not completely offset by current partnership. In contrast, widowhood did not predict smoking or binge drinking. All results held for women and men. Results suggest that LGB widowhood's effects on substance use vary by current partner status and substance type. These findings contrast with those of studies examining widowhood's effects on internalized expressions of distress, which consistently find detrimental effects.

This study elucidates the direct and indirect effects of perceived age discrimination on depressive symptoms and life satisfaction among young, middle-aged, and older adults-through the mediator variables of psychosocial resources and aging stereotypes. Data were collected through a web-based survey conducted in Japan. The total sample size was 2400: 400 men and women in each of the age groups 20 to 39, 40 to 59, and 60 to 79. Our findings indicate that perceived age discrimination is linked depressive symptoms, even among young adults, who report more age discrimination than older adults. Its effect on life satisfaction, however, is stronger among older adults. Across age groups, most of its effect on life satisfaction was explained by both psychosocial resources and aging stereotypes. By contrast, its effect on depressive symptoms did not differ significantly by age group, and was partly explained by the mediators. These differing results may be attributable to selection bias in the web survey.

This study aims to test the hypothesis that the association between aging anxiety and ageism will be enhanced by age differently in the United States and in Japan. Data were obtained from online surveys in the United States (M_age= 40.44, SD = 14.98; 39.7% women; n = 886) and in Japan (M_age= 50.32, SD = 16.38; 52.7% women; n = 556). Our findings illuminate that the levels of aging anxiety in the Japanese participants were positively associated with their levels of ageism regardless of their age. On the other hand, for the American participants, the level of aging anxiety was positively associated with higher ageism only among older adults, and not among younger adults. Differences in lifespan or traditional values are thought to have alleviated the strength of the association between aging anxiety and ageism.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between autobiographical memory, exposure to traumatic events, and quality of life, in a group of elderly people. Method: The study was conducted using a sample of 362 participants (M_age = 68.35, SD = 6.67; 65.5% women and 34.5% men). They completed the questionnaires to measure quality of life, exposure to traumatic events, autobiographical memory, and time perspective. Results: Direct exposure to major traumatic life events negatively predicted quality of life, while autobiographical memory was not a predictor for quality of life. Time perspective mediated the relationship between exposure to traumatic life events, autobiographical memory, and quality of life. Discussion: How people manage their lives after exposure to traumatic events should be of particular interest to society as a whole and it is necessary to take into account various factors related to quality of life, especially in the case of elderly people.

Guided by the Communicative Ecology Model of Successful Aging (CEMSA), we conducted an interview study with 25 older adult volunteers (M = 71.8 years old, SD = 5.19) to explore how they discursively negotiated their identities and communicated about volunteering during the aging process. The conventional view of old age and aging tends to be negative, however, our findings from the older adult volunteers' accounts revealed positive themes regarding their self-categorization and volunteering experiences. These themes include: (a) positive representations of self and other older adult volunteers, (b) transcendence of negative perceptions of old age and aging through volunteering involvement, and (c) communication about engaging in selection, optimization, and compensation in managing volunteer work. Our findings carry significant theoretical and practical implications, underscoring how positive self-categorization and adaptive management of volunteering remarkably contribute to building an ecology of successful aging.

Intergenerational communication and aging is a thriving interdisciplinary, methodologically diverse field having significant implications for understanding the aging process. This opening article to the special issue provides a brief overview of this research domain, with particular attention to theoretical practices within it. Communication accommodation theory (CAT) is introduced given it has provided a foundation for other well-cited models of communication and aging. In so doing, a couple of the CAT principles are elaborated, based on recent work on age meta-stereotyping and intergroup felt understanding. CAT is also a component of the influential "communication ecology model of successful aging" and, after exploring some of its tenets, its visually schematic representation is elaborated as well as connections speculated regarding its relationship with the communicative lives of SuperAgers. Thereafter, highlights emerging from the articles in this special issue that follow are drawn out.

COVID-19 heightened the uncertainty of aging, mainly because older adults were considered most vulnerable to the virus's effects. This study utilized the Communicative Ecology Model of Successful Aging (CEMSA) as a framework to understand the intersection of aging, COVID-19, and communication. In-depth interviews were conducted to explore the nuanced accounts given by fourteen eligible participants from Ghana and Uganda to understand their communicative practices about successful aging during COVID-19. Findings revealed that expressing optimism about aging, planning for future care needs, self-categorization as old, or attributing behavior to old age, and using emerging communication technologies to foster engagement with friends and loved ones are crucial aspects of older adults' communication around successful aging during the pandemic. The study also extended CEMSA to the African context and introduced faith as a new element that influenced how older adults communicate about successful aging that the model had not previously accounted for.