Journals of Gerontology Series B-Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences最新文献

Objectives: While caregivers are typically enmeshed in broad networks of family and friends assisting with care, this network has been neglected in favor of examining a "primary" caregiver. This study examines types of family and unpaid friend networks for individuals with dementia and how one's network type relates to the well-being of care recipients with dementia and their caregivers.

Methods: Data are drawn from the nationally representative 2017 National Health and Aging Trends Study and associated National Study of Caregiving. The sample includes 336 dementia care networks (Network size mean=2.9). We first identified network types using Latent Class Analysis and then examined the extent to which network type is associated with the well-being of care recipients with dementia (sleep, depressive symptoms) and their caregivers (emotional difficulty, overload, social support from family and friends) using ANOVA and linear regressions adjusting for demographics.

Results: Three network types were identified: "Siloed"- small networks, limited task sharing (29.8% of networks); "Small but mighty"- small networks, high task sharing (23.0% of networks); and "Complex"- large networks, diverse membership, members who share and specialize in task assistance (47.2%). Individuals with dementia with a "Siloed" network had significantly poorer sleep quality and caregivers in "Siloed" networks reported receiving less social support from family and friends than those in "Small but mighty" and "Complex" networks.

Discussion: Caregiver networks that are less collaborative may need supports to reduce isolation amongst caregivers and improve health outcomes for individuals with dementia.

Objectives: This study examined the reciprocal relationship between older adults' well-being and their accounts of human-nature relations (HNR). Guided by the tenets of the Eco-Appreciation Perspective, the question addressed was: What can be learned from older adults' relations with nature about reciprocal nature-based welfare in older adulthood?

Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 60 participants over the age of 65 in Israel, followed by a sequential deductive-inductive analysis of the data.

Results: Four major themes were yielded: HNR as presence and being; HNR as connection; HNR as past, present, and future; and HNR as benevolence. Participants' experiences revealed an interaction between gratitude and awareness toward HNR and an enhanced sense of well-being, purpose, meaning, and belonging. The analysis also exposed novel insights into how HNR in older adulthood can prompt mutual nature-based welfare and provide an ongoing source of comfort and resilience, both through current activities and by accessing childhood memories.

Discussion: The findings are discussed in the context of eco-centric viewpoints on contemporary aging, and highlight the active role that older adults can play in deepening their connection with nature while calling on professionals in health, gerontology, social work, and community care to recognize and harness the mutual benefits of this bond.

Objectives: Loneliness at older ages is a significant public health concern, and promoting participation in neighborhood events and activities may be a possible avenue for alleviating loneliness among older adults. However, there remains a scarcity of empirical research in this field. Addressing this knowledge gap, our study examined the association between frequency of neighborhood participation by older adults and their subsequent feelings of loneliness two years later, in a nationally representative longitudinal cohort of community-dwelling Singapore citizens and permanent residents aged 60 years and older.

Methods: We used two waves (2016-2017 and 2019) of data from the Transitions in Health, Employment, Social engagement, and Inter-Generational transfers in Singapore Study (THE SIGNS Study) (n=1,217). Frequent neighborhood participation was defined as participating in neighborhood committees, clubs, or events once a week or more, while loneliness was measured using the Three-item loneliness scale. To mitigate selection bias, we employed inverse probability-weighted regression adjustment to estimate the relationship between the frequency of neighborhood participation and loneliness.

Results: Our findings indicate that older adults who participated in neighborhood events frequently had a lower probability of loneliness at wave 2 compared to non-participants. Conversely, infrequent neighborhood participation at baseline did not demonstrate an association with loneliness at wave 2.

Discussion: Our findings suggest that a higher intensity of involvement in neighborhood activities may be necessary to achieve the benefits of participation. Our findings also highlight the potential of neighborhood-based interventions as a public health strategy to address loneliness in aging populations.

Objectives: The relationship between resilience trajectories and cognitive health is not well understood. This study aimed to identify clusters of psychological resilience trajectories in a national sample of older adults and to examine the association with cognitive impairment over time.

Methods: This study used data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) from 2008 to 2018, and 2,788 respondents were included in this prospective analysis. Using a group-based trajectory modeling approach, we identified resilience trajectory groups over a 6-year period. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the relationship between the resilience trajectory groups and cognitive impairment.

Results: Three distinct trajectories of psychological resilience, including decreasing resilience group (n=131, 4.7%), persistent middle resilience group (n=1,808, 64.8%), and persistent high resilience group (n=849, 30.5%). During the 6-year follow-up, compared to those with persistent high resilience, participants with persistent middle resilience (HR=1.40, 95%CI=1.11-1.75) and decreasing resilience (HR=2.31, 95%CI=1.65-3.23) remained consistently associated with a higher risk of cognitive impairment. The associations between resilience trajectories and cognitive impairment varied by lifestyle and health conditions.

Discussion: Psychological resilience is a relatively stable trait among older adults in China, with most individuals maintaining a persistently high or middle level of resilience throughout the follow-up period; however, declining psychological resilience was significantly associated with the risk of cognitive impairment. Therefore, developing targeted interventions to strengthen psychological resilience in older adults is crucial for promoting cognitive health and successful aging.

Objectives: Previous research on eldercare among minority populations often highlights the role of values, beliefs, and social expectations, placing greater emphasis on ideational factors than on sociostructural and health factors in explaining racial-ethnic differences in care arrangements. This study aims to describe the extent to which care received by older adults varies by race-ethnicity and to explore possible explanations for these variations using the behavioral model of health care use.

Methods: Data were sourced from the 2018 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), a nationally representative survey of Medicare beneficiaries aged 68 and older. Latent class analyses were used to develop a care network typology with combinations of care from different sources. Multinomial regression models assessed various predisposing, enabling, and need factors associated with racial-ethnic differences in the distribution of constructed care network types. Formal mediation analysis tested potential mediators of these differences.

Results: Black and Hispanic older adults tended to receive care from children and extended kin caregivers, while White older adults were more likely to receive care from their spouses and perform self-care with assistive technologies. Mediation analyses revealed that racial-ethnic differences in care networks were primarily attributable to enabling factors, including family configurations, social networks, and socioeconomic status. Limited evidence was found for the roles of predisposing factors, measured by care preferences, and need factors, measured by health conditions, in explaining these differences.

Discussion: The findings highlight the need for more research and policy interventions to address the diverse challenges faced by socially disadvantaged older adults.

Background: While greater social engagement is often associated with a reduced risk of depression, longitudinal studies that account for diverse social structures and cultural contexts among middle-aged or older are limited.

Methods: This study utilized cohort data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (n=11,174; 2006-2020) in South Korea (KR), the Health and Retirement Study (n=42,405; 2004-2019) in the US, and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (n=28,624; 2002-2019) in the UK, including a total of 29,378 individuals from the population aged ≥45 years. Social engagement frequency was categorized into infrequent, intermediate, and frequent, with changes classified as unchanged, increased, or decreased. The primary outcome was the onset of depression, assessed using the CES-D Scale. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using a Cox proportional hazards regression model.

Results: In the KR cohort, increased social engagement significantly reduced depression risk only in the infrequent group (KR: HR, 0.20 [95% CI, 0.14-0.28]). However, decreased social engagement elevated depression risk in both the intermediate group (KR: 6.92 [3.73-12.83]; US: 1.44 [1.16-1.79]) and the frequent group (KR: 1.50 [1.30-1.74]; US: 1.24 [1.13-1.38]). Conversely, in the UK cohort, increased social engagement raised depression risk in the infrequent group (UK: 1.35 [1.01-1.79]) and intermediate group (UK: 1.63 [1.17-2.27]), while decreased engagement lowered depression risk only in the frequent group (UK: 0.80 [0.71-0.90]).

Discussion: We observed notable national variations in the association between social engagement and depression risk, influenced by cultural and political differences.

Objectives: A growing body of research examines how adult children's education influences older parents' cognitive health. Whereas prior studies tend to focus on educational advantage, this study seeks to understand how various measures of educational disadvantage are associated with parents' dementia likelihood. In addition, we ask how the risks associated with one child's educational disadvantage are shaped by a sibling's educational success.

Methods: Using data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (2000-2018) and event history analyses, comparisons are made between measures of offspring educational disadvantage and their relationships with parents' risk of dementia onset. In addition, analyses are conducted to understand whether the link between one child's educational disadvantage and parental dementia onset is influenced by a sibling's educational advantage.

Results: Educational disadvantage is associated with an increased risk of parental dementia onset, with a threshold measure for whether a parent had at least one child without a high school education providing the best model fit for the data. Moreover, the heightened risks associated with one child's educational disadvantage are not offset by another sibling's educational success.

Discussion: Children's educational deficits are a hidden source of health disparities among older parents. Although scholars in recent years have rightly focused on the importance of offspring education, more attention should be paid to conceptualizing how educational disadvantage matters for parents and how the educational attainment of each child shapes parents' cognitive health.

Objectives: Mothers with young children tend to have shorter sleep durations than childfree women, but previous research has not considered heterogeneity in sleep duration among mid-life mothers who have varying coresidential patterns with their adult, minor, and grandchildren. We examine distribution of sleep duration across mothers' different intergenerational coresidential contexts (living without any children, living with any minor children, living with only adult children, and living with any grandchildren) and test how these patterns differ across racial/ethnic groups.

Methods: Regression analyses estimate sleep duration among a sample of mid-life mothers with minor and adult children and grandchildren from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) data (N=3,300). Moderation analyses consider differences across racial/ethnic groups (non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic).

Results: Relative to the mothers with no coresiding children or grandchildren, mothers with coresiding minor or adult children reported less sleep. However, this gap varies across racial/ethnic groups; specifically, the lower sleep duration for mothers with coresidential children is only significant for White and Black mothers, not Hispanic mothers.

Discussion: Sleep is a critical health indicator across the life course and a contributor to other health outcomes later in life. Thus, it is important to identify whose sleep is most vulnerable-especially in mid-life when sleep trajectories are the groundwork for later-life well-being. We demonstrate the importance of coresidential status with adult and minor children and grandchildren on the sleep of mothers in mid-life, drawing specific attention to the differences across racial/ethnic groups.

Objectives: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are associated with increased mortality risk. Individuals with a history of certain adversity during childhood tend to report higher levels of loneliness in later life. In our pre-registered study, we examined whether loneliness mediates the ACEs to mortality risk relation.

Methods: Participants were from the Midlife in the United States Survey (N = 4963; M [SD] 46.44 [12.52] years, 53.3% female). Follow-up period spanned 26 years. A comprehensive measure of ACEs was employed consisting of 20 ACEs from five categories: physical abuse, emotional abuse, socioeconomic disadvantage, adverse family structure, and poor health at age 16 years.

Results: ACEs was a significant predictor of mortality risk. Loneliness mediated the ACEs-mortality risk relation. In other words, loneliness in adulthood accounted for the relation between ACEs and future death. These effects withstood a range of sensitivity checks and adjustments for important factors, such as social isolation.

Discussion: Loneliness appears to be a central mechanism in the long-term impact of ACEs on longevity, such that, for adversity during childhood, loneliness experienced during adulthood may be a toxic pathway to future death.

Objectives: Excessive financial risk taking in older age can have harmful consequences as opportunities to recover lost wealth are limited. Understanding financial risk taking in older age is important for identifying vulnerabilities and developing interventions to empower aging investors to make wise financial choices. In this paper, we explore how overconfidence in financial knowledge affects financial risk-taking among older adults.

Methods: We examine this research question in older adults aged 58-101 (N = 1242) using data from the Rush Memory and Aging Project (MAP).

Results: After controlling for demographics, overconfidence was associated with self-reported financial risk tolerance such that those who were more overconfident reported tolerating more financial risks. Moreover, this relationship emerged for both healthy older adults and those diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, overconfidence did not predict performance on a behavioral measure of risk aversion.

Discussion: The present results suggest that overconfidence may partially contribute to financial risk-taking in older adults, regardless of cognitive status. Thus, interventions aimed at calibrating confidence to actual levels of financial knowledge could be an impactful target for intervention.