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

Objectives: This study adds to the literature on the relationship between social relationships and cognitive function by using social integration theory to examine whether a sense of community belonging at different ages is related to cognitive function in later life. We also examine whether the relationship between community belonging, and cognitive function is distinct among White, Black, and Hispanic older adults.

Methods: Using data from the Health and Retirement Study including the 2017 Life History Mail Survey (N = 3,302), we use parallel measures of community belonging across 3 periods in the life course. We estimated relationships using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and lagged dependent variable models.

Results: Respondents who experienced greater community belonging at age 10 and during later life (i.e., age in 2016) had higher levels of cognitive function in 2018 than those who reported feeling less belonging with their community at those ages (b = 0.193, p < .001; b = 0.090, p < .05, respectively). The main effects of community belonging at any age were not related to change in cognitive function from 2016 to 2018; however, there were significant interaction effects between community belonging at age 10 on cognitive function in 2018 and from 2016 to 2018 (p < .05 and p < .01, respectively) with the beneficial effects of community belonging at age 10 being stronger for Black older adults compared with White older adults.

Discussion: These findings highlight the importance of early and later life community belonging for the cognitive functioning of older adults, and particularly for Black older adults' cognitive function.

Objectives: Compared to non-Latino White adults, Mexican Americans in the United States are disproportionally exposed to more social, environmental, and economic stress that increase risk for poor physical and mental health outcomes. Despite this, Mexican Americans tend to benefit from a mortality and mental health advantage indicative of unique resilience and risk factors. We assessed stress exposure and appraisals in eight domains among Mexican Americans compared to non-Latino Whites, and evaluated if compared to high acculturation, low acculturation may be associated with lower stress exposure and appraisal in Mexican Americans.

Methods: We used data from 2,004 participants (49.4% Mexican American; 50.6% non-Latino White; age range = 50-92). Stress exposure was the total of endorsed events and stress appraisal was the average reported severity. Poisson and linear regression models tested race/ethnic (and acculturation) differences in exposure and appraisal.

Results: There were no differences in the total number of stress exposures between Mexican American and non-Latino White adults (incidence rate ratio = 1.08 [95% CI: 0.99-1.18]), but the types of stress exposures differed. Compared to Mexican Americans, non-Latino Whites consistently endorsed higher stress appraisal (B = 0.23 [SE = 0.04], p < .0001). Mexican Americans with low acculturation reported lower stress appraisal compared to Mexican Americans with high acculturation (B = -0.45 [SE = 0.05], p < .0001).

Discussion: Results indicate that the stress process among Mexican American adults may differ from traditional propositions and highlight the need for more research on the intricacies of the stress process for Mexican Americans in the United States.

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 2 years later, in a nationally representative longitudinal cohort of community-dwelling Singapore citizens and permanent residents aged 60 years and older.

Methods: We used 2 waves (2016-2017 and 2019) of data from the Transitions in Health, Employment, Social engagement and Intergenerational 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 nonparticipants. 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: We examine the mental health trajectories of people who start providing personal care and compare their trajectories with matched controls who remain non-carers. We also investigate whether trajectories vary by gender, financial resources, and supportive long-term care policies.

Methods: Using 9 waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe, collected in 28 European countries from 2004 to 2022, we analyze longitudinal data from 68,075 men and women aged 50 or older. We identify transitions into regular personal care within the household and use depressive symptoms from up to 4 waves before and after transitioning into care to measure mental health trajectories. Financial resources are measured by household wealth, whereas 3 macro indicators assess (1) support for caregivers, (2) support for care recipients, and (3) public care service availability. Propensity score matching, applied separately for men and women, identifies matched noncaregivers from the same country, and we use piecewise growth curve models to examine changes before, during, and after becoming a carer.

Results: Both men and women have a clear increase in depressive symptoms when becoming a regular carer, and this increase even begins before the transition. The increase during the transition is slightly more pronounced for women and those with lower wealth, but we find no systematic differences by policy indicators.

Discussion: Our study highlights the need for improved support for carers. Although national policies may influence the likelihood of becoming a carer, their effectiveness in mitigating the mental health impact of caring remains unclear.

Objectives: It has been proposed that the effect of an external focus in gait might be more beneficial in more challenging tasks compared to a natural walking condition. This study sought to (a) address any causal link between an external focus and improved gait stability during walking on an unstable surface and (b) explore any possible psycho-cognitive mechanism underpinning these changes in older adults.

Methods: 98 older adults (mean age: 70.6 ± 4.6) were invited to walk along an 8-meter elevated, foam walkway at a self-selected pace under 3 blocks of attentional focus conditions (i.e., internal focus, external focus, and control) for a total of 9 trials (3 trials for each condition). Gait stability was represented by the variability of spatial and temporal gait parameters. Electroencephalography (EEG) T3-Fz coherence was used to indicate real-time conscious movement processing during walking.

Results: Older adults displayed significantly lower variability of stride length and step width under an external focus condition compared to control. No gait changes were observed between an internal focus condition and control. There were no significant differences in EEG T3-Fz coherence among the 3 conditions.

Discussion: We demonstrate evidence of a causal link between an external focus and improved gait stability in older adults under a challenging walking environment. However, we postulate that this improvement might be independent of real-time conscious movement processing. Our findings nonetheless suggest that external focus strategies might be an effective rehabilitative approach for falls prevention by reducing gait variability during adaptive locomotion in older adults.

Clinical trials registration number: NCT05411536.

Objectives: Bilingualism can stimulate brain plasticity and is often associated with better executive function. We investigated whether language usage was related to the volume of white matter lesions in a cohort of middle-aged to older adults with different multilingual characteristics, including monolingualism in daily life (use of one language), bilingualism (use of two languages), and multilingualism (active use of 3 languages, i.e., Catalan, Spanish, English). We also explored cognitive status and cognitive change over a 2-year follow-up period linked to possible associations between language usage and white matter status to provide insights into the theory of cognitive reserve (CR).

Methods: All participants (N = 397, age range: 45-69, 50.1% female) underwent cognitive and structural magnetic resonance imaging assessments at baseline, and 306 of them completed additional cognitive and neuroimaging assessments 2 years later. Active use of languages was computed at baseline with the Shannon Entropy equation, which measured the frequency of use of each language in 4 different contexts: home, work, friends, and family. The volume of white matter hypointensities (WM-hypo) was determined using FreeSurfer.

Results: There was a positive correlation between Entropy values and WM-hypo. Compared to monolinguals, participants using 3 languages daily presented equivalent cognitive function and increased white matter lesions, both at baseline and follow-up examinations.

Discussion: Among middle-aged participants with equivalent cognitive levels, active multilingualism was associated with greater white matter deterioration, suggesting increased CR.

Objectives: Social isolation has emerged as a significant risk factor for psychological well-being in later life. However, our understanding of how this link varies across race/ethnicity and gender remains limited.

Methods: To address this gap, we utilized longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, 2008-2018) to investigate the longitudinal association between social isolation and the overall subjective well-being (SWB) using multilevel mixed-effects linear regression models. We further examined variations in this relationship across race/ethnicity (White, Black, U.S.-born Hispanic, foreign-born Hispanic) and gender subgroups.

Results: Consistent with the stress process model, our results demonstrate that social isolation is closely linked to reduced SWB for older adults. However, our findings reveal nuances in the isolation-SWB link by race/ethnicity and gender. The association was weaker for Black and Hispanic (U.S.- and foreign-born) individuals than for Whites. Among women, Black women were less likely than White women to be affected by this relationship. Among men, the isolation-SWB association was less pronounced for U.S.-born Hispanic men compared to their White counterparts. Across all levels of social isolation, foreign-born Hispanic adults consistently exhibited higher SWB than others.

Discussion: This study underscores the need for tailored interventions to address the impact of social isolation on SWB. Although Black and Hispanic older adults experience higher levels of isolation compared to their White counterparts, they demonstrate resilience that helps mitigate its negative effects. These findings highlight the importance of culturally relevant strategies to enhance the quality of life in diverse aging populations.

Objectives: Loneliness affects more than a quarter of older people. The particular sociodemographic characteristics of Chinese society mean that there are growing numbers of older people, with fewer adults of working age to support them. We explored the experience, meaning, and consequences of loneliness for Chinese older adults, as well as the strategies deployed to counteract unmet social needs.

Methods: This qualitative study was nested within the 10/66 DRG LIFE2YEARS study in China. We conducted in-depth interviews with 49 older people and 13 caregivers. Interviews covered experiences of aging, including social life, expectations of health and social care, and psychosocial support.

Results: We used thematic analysis and developed three main themes: (a) the interconnection of negative emotions, depression, and social deficits; (b) reasons for social deficits-avoiding "making trouble," social exclusion/isolation, intergenerational strain; and (c) addressing unmet social needs. Older adults experienced loneliness as unexpected pain in later life. They practiced withdrawal behaviors to avoid social embarrassment and perceived risks to health. Older participants described living in communities where they felt increasingly alienated. Whilst some older people described effective strategies for counteracting loneliness, these were only feasible for those who were fit and able.

Discussion: Our findings relating to the shame of loneliness and avoiding burdening others are particularly salient against a backdrop of Confucian ideals. Our work highlights the importance of considering cultural expectations and values in loneliness research and the need to ensure those most at-risk of loneliness are not excluded from future research and intervention development.

Objectives: The oldest-old adults (90+) constitute the fastest-growing demographic at the highest dementia risk among older adults. Depression, a common risk factor, inherently presents with heterogeneous clinical manifestations. Here, we explored the associations of the predominant depression dimensions with cognition in the LifeAfter90 study.

Methods: The LifeAfter90 study consists of racially/ethnically diverse community-dwelling adults of >90. Cognitive assessments measured episodic memory, semantic memory, and executive function. Baseline depression was measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 item (GDS-15), yielding dimensions of Dysphoria, Withdrawal-Apathy-Vigor, Anxiety, Hopelessness, and Subjective Memory Complaint (SMC). We used generalized linear mixed models to explore associations between depression dimensions, and cognitive outcomes at baseline and over time adjusting for demographic factors.

Results: The cohort (n = 960, mean age 92.4 ± 2.3 years, 61.56% female) was very racially and ethnically diverse with 27% of participants identifying as White, 24% as Asian, 23% as Black, and 19% as Latino. Common complaints included not identifying as "full of energy" (52.45%), preference to "stay home" (46.31%), and "dropped activity" (40.0%), and 25% reported SMC. Depression dimensions showed distinct associations with cognitive outcomes: SMC correlated with worse global cognition, executive function, and verbal episodic memory (all ps < .0001). Hopelessness was associated with worse executive function (p < .001). Over 1.2 years, baseline hopelessness showed a trend for a faster decline in episodic memory (β = -0.22; p = .035).

Discussion: In the oldest old, specific dimensions like SMC and hopelessness may help identify individuals at high risk for cognitive decline in this highly vulnerable population.

Objectives: Grandparents caring for grandchildren (i.e., grandparenting) is a key aspect of intergenerational family dynamics. While extensive research has documented the health implications of grandparenting, relatively few studies have explored its association with social well-being. Grandparenting can either promote or constrain grandparents' social participation, depending on caregiving intensity and intergenerational living arrangements. These associations may also vary by gender due to gendered social norms and differences in opportunities for social networking. This study investigates the longitudinal association between grandparenting and social participation among grandparents and examines how this association differs by gender.

Methods: Data are drawn from the 2011, 2013, and 2018 waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (N = 8,907, aged 45-80). We use fixed-effects Poisson regression models to examine the association between different types of grandparenting and the number of social participation activities of grandparents. Subgroup analyses are conducted by grandparents' gender.

Results: In fixed-effects regression models adjusting for time-varying covariates, we find that nonintensive noncoresident grandparenting, intensive noncoresident grandparenting, and skipped-generation grandparenting are associated with increased social participation among grandparents compared to no grandparenting. However, no significant difference in social participation is observed between three-generation grandparenting and no grandparenting groups. Grandfathers show higher levels of social participation when engaging in nonintensive or intensive noncoresident grandparenting, whereas grandmothers experience increased social participation primarily with nonintensive noncoresident grandparenting.

Discussion: Overall, grandparenting promotes rather than hinders social participation among grandparents. This study highlights the role of intergenerational family relationships in facilitating older adults' social engagement in later life.