Gerontologist最新文献

Background and objectives: Occupational licensing is the fastest-growing labor market institution, and a significant portion of newly licensed individuals are older workers. This study introduces occupational licensing as an influential factor of later-life work and retirement by investigating the sociodemographic and economic characteristics of older workers newly attaining licenses and the choices of work adjustments after attaining licenses, as well as measuring the changes in these trends before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research design and methods: I use the sample of workers aged between 50 and 60 from the IPUMS-CPS 2017-2019 (n = 3,831) and 2023-2025 (n = 2,674). I use propensity score matching to investigate the sociodemographic and economic characteristics of older workers newly attaining licenses, multinomial logistic regression with two-stage residual inclusion to examine the choice of work adjustments after newly attaining licenses, and linear regression to predict the reasons for newly attaining licenses.

Results: Older workers with more resources, from historically underrepresented groups, and self-employed are more likely to newly attain licenses, yet there is no statistical difference in license attainment before and after the pandemic. Attaining licenses increases the likelihood of moving to different employers before and after the pandemic, yet the reason for moving cannot be determined: career development or bridge employment.

Discussion and implications: Prolonging the labor force participation of older workers is a growing interest. Subsidizing older workers' license attainment will contribute to prolonging their labor force participation by providing financial, psychological, and social benefits throughout their remaining work life-course.

This article provides comprehensive guidance for gerontological researchers on preventing and identifying fraudulent research participants-from study design through dissemination. Drawing from our own experiences with identified fraudulent participants, we highlight the complex and often financially motivated nature of participant misrepresentation. These experiences inform our broad recommendations for researchers, funding bodies, and academic institutions, emphasizing protocol design focused on early detection of fraudulent participants including verification processes and proactive measures to uphold study integrity. Key recommendations include requiring a fraudulent participant detection plan in grant applications, training peer reviewers and research teams, and implementing regular data checks. We also discuss the importance of collaboration with Institutional Review Board representatives, funders, universities, and professional organizations who uphold scientific integrity of research accompanied by the dissemination of experiences to educate the scientific community. By normalizing the expectation of fraud and addressing it at multiple levels, we aim to enhance the reliability and trustworthiness of gerontological research. This article serves as a valuable resource for researchers to safeguard their studies against fraudulent activities and maintain the credibility of their data.

Background and objectives: Informal caregivers of people with dementia experience significant caregiving stress. Mindfulness-based interventions are effective approaches for alleviating caregiving stress. However, traditional mindfulness training is intensive and challenging to attend due to the substantial caregiving responsibilities of this population, leading to issues with program attrition and adherence. To address this limitation, a novel Mindfulness-Based Dementia Care Program (MBDCP) was developed by simplifying traditional mindfulness training and utilizing a hybrid delivery model tailored to the needs of dementia caregivers. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the MBDCP in reducing caregiving stress compared with a brief education program.

Research design and methods: A single-blinded, parallel-group randomized controlled trial was conducted with 127 dementia caregivers (MBDCP: n = 64; Control: n = 63) recruited from three community care centers in Hong Kong. The MBDCP included six weekly 90-min sessions delivered through face-to-face and online formats. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, postintervention, and 6-month follow-up. The primary outcome was perceived stress, whereas secondary outcomes included heart rate variability, mindfulness, depressive symptoms, caregiving burden, dyadic relationships, and neuropsychiatric symptoms of care recipients.

Results: MBDCP significantly improved perceived stress, depressive symptoms, trait mindfulness, and heart rate variability compared with the control group. No significant effects were observed on caregiving burden, dyadic relationships, positive caregiving aspects, or neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Discussion and implications: The MBDCP effectively reduced stress and improved psychophysiological outcomes in dementia caregivers. These findings highlight the potential of simplified, hybrid mindfulness training to enhance accessibility and effectiveness for this population.

Background and objectives: We assess differences in retirement knowledge between older Hispanic and non-Hispanic White adults, and the extent to which individual, household, and neighborhood characteristics account for these differences. We also evaluate whether the relationships of retirement knowledge with financial outcomes (i.e., wealth) and health differ between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White older adults.

Research design and methods: We analyzed the Retirement Knowledge Scale (RKS) included in the 2020 Health and Retirement Study (N = 1,350). We use a regression approach with a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis.

Results: The average RKS was significantly lower among Hispanic than among White older adults. The top three factors explaining differences in retirement knowledge between Hispanic and White older adults were educational attainment, financial literacy, and neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics. RKS was significantly (p < .05) and positively associated with financial account balances and the likelihood of reporting very good or excellent health. We find that the association of RKS with wealth is of smaller magnitude for Hispanic than for White older adults. However, the relationship between retirement knowledge and health did not differ across racial/ethnic groups. Finally, differences between Hispanic and White older adults on the RKS were larger for men than for women.

Discussion and implications: The results suggest that reducing gaps in financial literacy and education, and acknowledging the role of neighborhood characteristics, can be helpful channels for reducing differences in retirement preparedness among Hispanic and White older adults. It is also significant that retirement knowledge is more strongly linked to wealth among White older adults.

Background and objectives: Both societal and personal beliefs about aging shape how older adults experience and respond to age-related changes. This study explores how adults aged 65 years and above internalize or resist aging stereotypes and beliefs through age-related references embedded in daily experiences.

Research design and methods: Data were drawn from three research projects on relationships, sexuality, and employment in later life, each with a minimum age requirement of 50 years. For the secondary data analysis within this study, we selected 50 participants aged 65+ years from a total pool of 189 in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis methods were used to derive themes related to the context and function of age references.

Results: Results highlight four key contexts in which participants referred to age: (1) seeking balance between autonomy and limitations, (2) navigating societal versus personal expectations, (3) legitimizing end-of-life reflections, and (4) reframing hassles as unnecessary. In these contexts, references to age served two primary functions: (1) providing relief and (2) navigating decline. (3) Avoiding mentioning age constituted a unique third function. Participants employed these references to manage experiences of decline and seek relief from the discomfort associated with aging.

Discussion and implications: Findings from the present study suggest that age references-including some rooted in ageist stereotypes-play a key role in how older adults navigate the aging process. These references help normalize limitations, express discomfort, or avoid confronting declines, thereby supporting adaptation and emotional balance. Recognizing their function may guide interventions that enhance adaptive uses while reducing risks of internalizing harmful stereotypes.

The current discourse on artificial intelligence (AI) in gerontology remains mostly on an interventionist level and focused on solving problems faced by individuals, leaving the wider social conditions that shape the relationship between aging and AI out of view. The considerable accumulation of power, particularly for technology development companies, in the development and implementation of AI, however, calls for a deeper and more complex analysis of the relationships between AI, older adults and the "aging enterprise." Building on the classical political economy of aging, and expanding it with concepts from material gerontology, we propose a "political economy of aging and AI" as a conceptual tool to analyze the relationships between (older) individuals, social and political structures, and (technological) materialities. We exemplify how such a political economy perspective enables a more complex consideration of the current discourse on (a) AI solutions, (b) AI ethics, and (c) AI policies. We close by summarizing our understanding of a political economy of aging and AI that centers materialities as the critical-gerontological focus of analysis and by outlining calls for action toward strengthening the power of older adults in the emerging AI-aging-enterprise.

Blue Zones are geographically and temporally defined areas with a history of disproportionately high concentrations of nonagenarians and centenarians. Nearly two decades ago, these zones gained international attention when the Blue Zone term was introduced in seminal articles published in Experimental Gerontology and National Geographic. Since then, numerous scientific papers have extracted valuable insights into human health from investigating the long-lived people who live there. However recently, validity of the ages of people living in the Blue Zones has been questioned. Here, we address these concerns by describing in detail the age validation process undertaken in Blue Zones and comparing it to the prevailing standards in gerontological demography. As discovered a century and a half ago, most self-reported claims of exceptional longevity are false. However, using methods developed by gerontological demographers over the past decades, the true age of people claiming exceptional longevity can be determined by cross-checking multiple independent documentary sources. This procedure minimizes, and usually eliminates, errors due to fraud, honest mistakes, poor memory, or identity switches, especially between homonymous siblings. All Blue Zones described herein have been extensively validated based on thoroughly cross-checked data from multiple independent sources plus state-of-the-art demographic methods. Consequently, age data from these Blue Zones are valid and reliable.

Background and objectives: Becoming spousal caregivers for persons with young-onset dementia (YOD) is an unexpected event that deviates from the normal life course trajectory, creating unique and profound challenges. Understanding their burden, its primary sources, and their coping resources is essential for developing tailored support.

Research design and methods: We employed a mixed-methods approach to comprehensively understand the caregiving burden experienced by 11 community-dwelling spousal caregivers of YOD. We used the Zarit Burden Interview to quantify caregiving burden and conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews to explore the caregiving experience in depth. A joint display method was used to integrate and present the converging findings from quantitative and qualitative data, offering a holistic perspective on the caregiving burden.

Results: All participants experienced varying degrees of burden, with the average burden level being moderate. Four themes emerged regarding their caregiving burden experiences: diverse sources of caregiving burden, unexpected changes in personal and interpersonal interactions, complex emotional experiences, and inadequate social support and resources. Quantitative and qualitative results converged and supported each other. The burden was mainly driven by care recipients' excessive dependence and dynamic care needs. Spousal caregivers faced significant challenges in maintaining their personal identity and social life. Caregiving reshaped family dynamics. The inadequate support resources and overwhelming responsibilities imposed substantial psychological stress on them.

Discussion and implications: There is an urgent need to develop family-centered community support services and respite care to provide younger spousal caregivers with the time and space to manage their personal lives and alleviate their burden.

Background and objectives: As their cognitive function declines, people with dementia often lose decision-making capacity (DMC) for choosing certain medical treatments, but some retain the capacity to designate a surrogate (CDS) decision maker. There is currently no tool for assessing the CDS. The purpose of this study is to validate a novel capacity assessment tool for evaluating CDS for people with a clinical diagnosis of dementia.

Research design and methods: A concurrent mixed-methods design was used to evaluate 52 participants' ability to (a) consistently name a surrogate, (b) understand the role of the surrogate, and (c) provide a rationale for why they chose their surrogate. A basic difference of means was used to test differences in CDS scores between participants who had and did not have DMC. Thematic analysis was applied to the narrative data on reasons for the participants' choice of surrogate.

Results: The CDS instrument demonstrated high interrater reliability and evidence of validity. On every dimension, the CDS tool identified participants who otherwise lacked DMC who nonetheless had full understanding of the need, process, and role of a surrogate. Thematic analysis revealed 33 unique reasons participants chose their surrogate, which were then grouped into three overarching themes.

Discussion and implications: The CDS tool shows that there are patients who may otherwise lack DMC but who can validly designate a surrogate. The CDS tool may be a highly useful instrument to promote patient-centered care among vulnerable patients deemed to lack capacity for treatment decisions.

Background and objectives: This study investigates how friendships serve as a social pathway underlying the health effects of self-perceptions of aging (SPA). We adopt a conceptual framework integrating stereotype embodiment theory and the differential investment of resources (DIRe) model.

Research design and methods: This study used longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which tracks a nationally representative sample of 9,098 participants aged 50 and older over 8 years (Time 1: 2008/10, Time 2: 2012/14, Time 3: 2016/18). We examined the direct and indirect effects of both positive and negative SPA on physical, mental, and cognitive health through friendships. Positive and negative SPA were assessed separately. Friendships were measured through the number of close Friends, frequency of contact with friends, and positive and negative friendship quality. Health outcomes were measured across three domains: physical (functional disabilities), mental (depressive symptoms), and cognitive (cognitive functioning). Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the direct and indirect effects.

Results: Positive SPA was associated with more friends and more frequent contact. Negative SPA was associated with lower positive and higher negative friendship quality. Contact frequency with friends mediated the associations between positive SPA and physical, mental, and cognitive health. Positive and negative friendship quality mediated the associations between negative SPA with physical and mental health.

Discussion and implications: These findings identify friendships as critical pathways linking SPA to health. Interventions and community programs that promote positive aging beliefs and support friendship-building may be effective strategies to enhance later-life health and well-being.