International Journal of Aging & Human Development最新文献

Researchers estimate that 20-40% of employers are influenced by bias in hiring decisions, with gender and age discrimination creating barriers, particularly during the attraction phase. We examined whether job ads include implicit preferences through gendered and age-based language. A total of 800 job ads from eight U.S. occupations were analyzed using exploratory latent content analysis, which informed a customized dictionary for linguistic inquiry and word count (LIWC). A 2 (industry) × 2 (gender dominance) mixed-design repeated measures ANOVA, we found significant differences in linguistic bias, with language favoring an older woman ideal most prevalent. White-collar industries exhibited higher overall bias, with interactions between industry and gender dominance. Despite this linguistic trend, older women continue to face hiring barriers-a disconnect we call the "older woman paradox." One explanation may be HR demographics, as women aged 45 + comprise over 75% of HR managers. Implications are discussed.

Self-reports of loneliness were growing in the United States even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Preventative health measures during the pandemic, such as social distancing and lockdowns, raised concerns that self-reports of loneliness would further increase. Published literature from the first few months of the pandemic supported these concerns, but long-term effects were largely unknown. Here, we examined whether self-reported loneliness varied across the pandemic by gender, age, and co-residence with a romantic partner. We conducted an exploratory secondary analysis of 26 survey waves from the understanding COVID in America study spanning 15 months of the pandemic, starting from April 2020. Self-reported loneliness was consistently greater among women, younger people, and those not living with a romantic partner, but decreased across the pandemic for all demographic groups. A significant four-way interaction between survey wave, gender, age, and co-residence with a romantic partner showed that younger women who were not living with a romantic partner were the most likely to report loneliness at the beginning of the pandemic and showed the greatest reduction in risk of loneliness by the last survey wave. Based on our findings, we discuss potential interventions to decrease loneliness.

Previous studies document the positive health benefits of volunteering among older adults. However, little is known about the relationships between volunteering and lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) older adult health. This study explored associations between volunteering and health across sexual orientations of older Americans. Using nationally representative 2016 Health and Retirement Study data, weighted ordinary least squares regression analyses were conducted. Included in this cross-sectional study were 204 LGB participants and 3,333 heterosexual participants. Results indicated that for heterosexual older adults, formal volunteering was positively associated with current memory rating (p < .05). For LGB older adults, there were no significant relationships between volunteering and health. Statistically, the findings suggest that the well-documented health benefits of volunteering may not be supported in the LGB older adult population; substantively, the findings suggest a need to examine socially constructed meanings of volunteering among LGB older adults and related benefits. Further research is urged.

This study aimed to explore the relationship between WeChat use and life satisfaction among the elderly. Additionally, through the lens of self-determination theory, we examined the mediating roles of the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (autonomy, relatedness, and competence) in this relationship. A total of 188 elderly people from China completed the measurements of WeChat use, life satisfaction, and basic psychological needs satisfaction. Results showed that WeChat use is positively correlated with life satisfaction among the elderly. The satisfaction of relatedness need and autonomy need played a mediating role in the relationship between WeChat use and life satisfaction, while the mediating role of competence need satisfaction was not significant. The findings of this study contribute to the literature exploring the relationship between social media use and well-being among the elderly and have important implications for promoting re-socialization and improving the quality of life for this demographic in the digital age.

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.

This Epilogue extends themes from the Special Issue, with a particular focus on how communication operates during times of social disruption. Three forms of disruption are discussed: societal-global disruption (manifested in the Covid-19 pandemic), individual-relational disruption (manifested in a dementia diagnosis), and societal progress (manifested in technological change). The Epilogue discusses how these disruptions affect the quality and quantity of intergenerational contact, and feed into hostile and benevolent forms of ageism. The conclusions discuss connections between disruptions and the Communication Ecology Model of Successful Aging, as well as links to societal segregation, thus suggesting the multiplicity of ways that communication serves as a platform for healthier approaches to aging in society.

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 COVID-19 pandemic presented significant challenges to researchers collecting data with older adults, particularly older adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). The goal of this article is to articulate the communicative and methodological challenges and lessons learned from collecting data with older adults in senior living communities with mild cognitive impairment and ADRD and their adult children (who were geographically separated) during the pandemic. Communication was much more than what we were studying; it was essential to the success and ethical implementation of our research. We were working with a vulnerable population during a pandemic where recruitment, consent, and data collection required heightened and adapted communication strategies to reduce confusion, promote safety, and ensure data could be collected in an effective manner. The way we communicated with the participants, their networks, and the senior living communities was crucial to establishing strong human connections and subsequently successful data collection.

Grounded in Lin and Giles' communication model of elder abuse and neglect and McCubbin and Patterson's double-ABCX model of family stress, this study examined whether caregiver self-efficacy and perceptions of positive caregiving outcomes predicted caregivers' lowered tendency to engage in potential harmful behaviors (PHB) toward care receiver directly or indirectly through lowered reports of care receivers' problem behaviors and negative coping strategy (i.e., communication neglect coupled with expressed anger). These expectations were tested through structural equation modeling of survey responses of 339 family caregivers in the U.S. Model results identified "negative coping strategy" as a strong mediating variable for the effects of reports of care receivers' problem behaviors on PHB. A serial mediation path from higher caregiver self-efficacy to lowered reports of care receivers' problem behavior, to reduced use of "negative coping strategy" and finally to reduced PHB was significant. Perceptions of positive caregiving outcomes did not yield similar results.

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.