bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
EARLY PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH PREDICTORS OF NIGHTTIME DRIVING DIFFICULTY IN OLDER ADULTS
Authors: Peterson Colleen , Nelson Toben F
Published: December 2022

Older drivers are expected to make up about 25% of licensed U.S. drivers by 2050. Describing early predictors of driving difficulty can identify interventions that might delay driving cessation or support successful transition to driving retirement. In this exploratory study, we analyzed nationally representative data from the longitudinal National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) conducted in 2005–06, 2010-11, and 2015-16. Our purpose was to ascertain mental health and physical functioning correlates of increased nighttime driving difficulty, which often precedes daytime difficulties. The sample included 1,454 drivers with observations at all 3 waves aged 57 to 85 at baseline. By wave three, adjusting for non-response and sampling bias, 59% reported no driving difficulty, 23% reported some or much difficulty, and 17% reported no longer being able to drive at night. Results of mixed-effect ordinal logistic models, adjusting for demographics, showed increased inability to drive at night was associated most strongly with self-report of poor or fair physical health (OR=10.4, 95%CI=6.2,17.5; OR=2.4, 95%CI=1.8,3.2), considering oneself “not at all active” (OR=2.9, 95%CI=1.3, 6.4), and being unable to balance heel-to-toe for 10 seconds (unsuccessful attempt: OR=4.8,95%CI=1.5,15.5; less than 10 seconds: OR=2.3, 95%CI=1.1,4.9). Although generalized self-reported mental health was not associated with increased nighttime driving difficulty, each additional depressive symptom (CESD-11) increased the odds of having greater driving difficulty by 12% (95%CI=1.1, 1.5). This study found early predictors of increased nighttime driving difficulty and retirement, providing opportunity to inform interventions to reduce roadway risk to older adults and others.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL DETERMINANTS ON SLEEP HEALTH AMONG MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER ADULTS
Authors: Lorenz Rebecca , Orom Heather , Auerbach Samantha , Li Chin-Shang , Chang Yu-Ping
Published: December 2022

Poor sleep health, including short or long duration and/or irregular timing may lead to a variety of chronic health conditions including diabetes and heart disease. An estimated 50-70 million adults in the United States have poor sleep health and this burden is disproportionately felt among systematically disadvantaged groups. While social and behavioral determinants of sleep duration and quality have been examined, sleep health, a multidimensional concept, has been less explored. The study aims to examine the impact of social determinants on sleep health among middle-aged and older adults. Data from the 2014 wave of the Health and Retirement Study were weighted and restricted to respondents of “Leave-Behind” questionnaire (n=5334). Sleep Health score was derived from sleep variables (range 0-100). Structural equation modeling was conducted using the R package lavaan. Sample mean age was 68.2 years (SD=10.1). Majority were female (60%) and white (76%) with mean Sleep Health score of 50 (SD=5.2). Black (p< 0.0001) and Latinx respondents (p< 0.0001) had worse sleep health than white respondents. Depression, financial strain, and neighborhood characteristics of socioeconomic status, social cohesion, and physical disorder mediated the relationship between race and sleep health. Ongoing chronic stress and everyday discrimination also mediated the relationship between race and Sleep Health among Black vs. white respondents. These findings suggest multiple individual and neighborhood-level determinants may negatively influence sleep health among a nationally representative sample of middle-aged and older Black and Latinx adults. Neighborhood-level characteristics may be modifiable factors that can be targeted to improve sleep and related health outcomes.
INSTABILITY OF ECOLOGICALLY DERIVED MOOD, PAIN, AND FATIGUE SYMPTOMS IN OLDER ADULTS: THE ROAMM STUDY
Authors: Cenko Erta , Smail Emily , Fillingim Roger , Mardini Mamoun , Ranka Sanjay , Karnati Yashaswi , Alpert Jordan , Manini Todd
Published: December 2022

Background

Accurate assessments of mood, pain, and fatigue, are fundamental for evaluating and optimizing well-being in later life. However, traditional methods often do not capture instability – a measure of variability that incorporates the temporal order of the experiences. Objectives: Using the Real-time Online Assessment and Mobility Monitoring (ROAMM), a novel smartwatch platform, we sought to compare the instability of ecologically derived ratings of mood, pain, and fatigue symptoms among community-dwelling older adults.

Methods

Thirty-one participants answered questions on a smartwatch for approximately 2 weeks. Questions were delivered in the morning, afternoon, and evening, three days a week. Participants rated their current mood, pain, and fatigue on an anchored scale ranging from 0 to 10. We calculated the mean squared successive difference (MSSD) between ratings to determine the instability of each symptom.

Results

On average, instability was highest for mood (MSSD = 4.44) and lowest for pain (MSSD=1.51). Mood instability was moderately correlated with pain (r= 0.42, p = 0.02) and fatigue (r= 0.45, p = 0.01) instability, while fatigue and pain instability were strongly correlated (r=0.82, p< 0.01).

Conclusions

Results suggest that instability in pain, mood, and fatigue ratings are inter-correlated. The strong association between pain and fatigue instability suggests a co-occurrence that will aid in understanding the origins of these complex states. Repeated ecological assessment of common gerontological symptoms might provide new knowledge about the psychosocial well-being of older adults.
DAILY ARGUMENTS WITH SPOUSES AND NEGATIVE AFFECT: AGE AND EMOTION WORK AS MODERATORS
Authors: Witzel Dakota , Nichols Madeline , White Justin , Stawski Robert
Published: December 2022

Daily interpersonal stressors, such as arguments with spouses, are predictors for increased negative affect within the literature (Witzel & Stawski, 2021). Emotion work, or activities done to promote another’s positive emotional state, has been noted to have mixed effects on health and well-being (Umberson et al., 2020) and emotion work is more prevalent in times of increased stress (Rao, 2017). Moreover, with old age, individuals experience fewer daily interpersonal stressors (Witzel & Stawski, 2021). Using the 2015 wave of the Health and Relationships Study (Ncouples=756, Mage=48.22, Rangeage=35-65, Mmaritalduration=8.52; Umberson, 2015), we explored 1.) how daily arguments with spouses within diverse marriages were related to negative affect across 10 days and 2.) whether age and emotion work moderate these associations. HARP is a daily diary study exploring marriage and health in same-sex and different-sex marriages. Preliminary results using multilevel models suggest that individuals’ negative affect significantly increased on days they reported spousal arguments. The interaction between spousal arguments and emotion work was significant (p<.05); on days when individuals reported more emotion work, negative affective reactivity associated with spousal arguments was higher, compared to days when less emotion work was reported. No significant age differences were found. Discussion will focus on the import of spousal arguments and emotion work for shaping daily well-being, and their relevance throughout adulthood, midlife, and older age. Future work should explore how being the recipient of emotion work may buffer or exacerbate the associations between daily arguments and negative affect and potential gendered patterning therein.
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN OLDER PARENTS’ INFORMATION SHARING AND THEIR INTERGENERATIONAL AMBIVALENCE
Authors: Toyokawa Noriko , Darling Nancy , Toyokawa Teru
Published: December 2022

The current study examined (1) the relation between older parents’ information sharing of their life issues with their children as the primary helpers (helper children) and parents’ intergenerational ambivalence and (2) the effect of parents’ reasons for not sharing the information with the helper children on parents’ intergenerational ambivalence. Older parents (N=268, Mage =76, SD=5.41, range 65-94, female=59%) participated in an online survey and responded to how much they openly shared information on 10 issues of their lives developed based on a focus group study (Toyokawa et al., 2021). A series of one-way ANOVAs, followed by Bonferroni posthoc analysis, revealed that compared to parents who openly shared information on life issues and did not perceive the issues were not applicable for their lives, parents who did not openly share information reported significantly lower levels of intergenerational ambivalence on the issues of pain management, F(2, 265)=7.51, p=.0007, social partners, F(2,265)=9.50. p=.0001,what they do with other children, F(2,256)=7.49, p=.0007, financial management, F(2,265)=3.80, p=.0234, and their plan for the end-of-life, F(2,256), p=.004. A series of t-tests showed that parents who did not share the information with the helper children because of avoiding unwanted interventions reported significantly higher scores of intergenerational ambivalence than parents who did not share the information to prevent the helper children from being worried about them in eight issues. The findings suggest parents maintain their autonomy by limiting the helper children’s monitoring ability. Possible reasons for older parents’ managing issue-specific information sharing will be discussed.
EFFECTS OF TRANSMISSIONS OF OLDER MOTHERS’ INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP QUALITY ON ADULT CHILDREN’S WELL-BEING
Authors: Ogle Destiny , Hou Yifei , Suitor J Jill , Gilligan Megan
Published: December 2022

Prior research has rarely considered how the effects of social relationships on well-being can extend across generations. Drawing from the life-course perspective, we tested intergenerational transmission of relationship quality (with mothers and friends) as a mechanism through which mothers’ relationship quality affects adult children’s psychological well-being. We proposed that adult children bear the consequence of mothers’ relationship quality because they tend to develop interpersonal relationships similar to their mothers’ through socialization and observational learning, which in turn affects their psychological well-being. We investigated how this mechanism varied by adult children’s gender using mixed-method data collected from 693 adult children in 270 families as part of the Within-Family Difference Study. Multilevel mediation analyses revealed that transmission of mother-child closeness and tension affected adult sons’ but not daughters’ depressive symptoms. In contrast, transmission of friendship closeness decreased daughters’ but not sons’ depressive symptoms. Mother’s friendship tension affected both sons’ and daughters’ depressive symptoms, but the mechanisms differed by gender. Sons’ depressive symptoms were affected by intergenerational transmission of friendship tension. In contrast, intergenerational transmission was not the mechanism via which mothers’ friendship tension raised daughters’ depressive symptoms. Qualitative analyses revealed daughters’ well-being was affected by more diverse pathways besides intergenerational transmission of relationship quality and that these differences could be explained by gender socialization and differing meanings of social relationships for sons and daughters. These findings highlight the role of parental socialization in the mechanisms by which linked lives affect adult children’s well-being, even decades after these processes were set into motion.
ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION AND GRANDPARENT-GRANDCHILD RELATIONSHIPS IN ASIAN AND ASIAN AMERICAN YOUNG ADULTS
Authors: Ju Catherine , Carpenter Brian
Published: December 2022

Asians and Asian Americans experienced an increase in exposure to racial discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ethnic minorities may counter discrimination by actively strengthening their ethnic identity and engaging in behaviors designed to enhance ethnic and cultural identification, such as reaching out to people who personify their culture. Grandparents are one such resource to whom young adults may turn to learn about their cultural heritage. The current study examined the degree to which facets of Asian and Asian American grandparent-grandchild relationships were related to ethnic identity, particularly in response to exposure to discrimination. Asian and Asian American young adults (N = 102) completed survey questions related to their experiences with COVID-19-related racial discrimination, ethnic identification, and relational closeness and frequency of contact with grandparents. Overall, exposure to discrimination was not significantly associated with strength of ethnic identity. However, there was a significant positive association between strength of ethnic identity and frequency of synchronous contact with grandparents, rs(100) = .329, p < .001. Strength of ethnic identity and relational closeness with grandparents were also significantly positively correlated, rs(100) = .383, p < .001. In contrast to some previous research, results show that discrimination encountered during the pandemic may not be related to strength of ethnic identification. However, there is a strong relationship between Asian and Asian American young adults’ strength of ethnic identification and the nature of their relationships with their grandparents. These findings enhance understanding of how intergenerational relationships are related to ethnic identity.
SOMEBODY ELSE TO THINK ABOUT BESIDES MYSELF: VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCES WITH THE CARING CALLERS PROGRAM DURING COVID-19
Authors: Fields Noelle , Lee Kathy , Cassidy Jessica
Published: December 2022

Social distancing during COVID-19 had significant implications for older adults, a subpopulation already at greater risk of social isolation and loneliness prior to the pandemic. Emerging evidence showed promise for implementing peer- and volunteer-led, telephone-based support programs in collaboration with community agencies to reach older adults at-risk for loneliness. Given a need for research in this area, the Caring Callers Program was developed as a telephone-based intervention using Senior Companion volunteers for at-risk older adults in a large metropolitan area in Texas. Volunteers were provided training via zoom to prepare them to provide supportive, weekly calls as well as to share community resources with their Caring Callers clients. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore the experiences of Senior Companion volunteers (N = 20) in the Caring Caller Program through the lens of productive aging. Rapid and Rigorous Qualitative Date Analysis (RADaR) was used to analyze the data and yielded four themes: 1) reciprocity, reflecting how volunteers described the program mutually benefited their feelings of well-being as well as, those contacted.; 2) purposeful use of time, illustrating how the volunteers perceived their role as meaningful and fulfilled their value for civic duty; 3) learning new skills, such as active listening skills; and 4) gaining perspective, capturing how the volunteers gained new inspiration from their experiences in the program. Recommendations for future research and strategies for designing peer-led, telephone-based interventions to promote social connectedness among both older volunteers and socially isolated older adults are offered.
IMPLICATION OF SLEEPING DURATION ON THE OVERALL HEALTH STATE OF FAMILY CAREGIVERS
Authors: Ogunjesa Babatope , Schwingel Andiara , Ozgur Tosun , Oloo Alice
Published: December 2022

Family caregiving is integral to long-term care for older adults. The National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP Public Policy Institute in 2020 estimated there are 53 million Americans providing care for loved ones. Caregiving intensity often impacts the health and well-being of caregivers, including influencing their sleep duration. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended an average of 7 or more sleeping hours for adults. Unfortunately, most caregivers' average hours of sleep per night do not meet this recommendation. Using secondary data from the Long-Term Caregiving study conducted by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, the present study establishes the effect of sleep duration on the overall health of family caregivers while adjusting for socio-demographic factors. A binary logistic analysis was conducted to infer the effects of sleep duration, age, gender education, race, employment status, and household income relative to reporting high or low overall health wellbeing. The binary logistic model was statistically significant, χ2(16) = 77.5, p < .0001, Nagelkerke R2=0.111. Family caregivers with a sleeping duration of 7 hours or more were twice as likely to report a high overall health status than those who slept less than 7 hours (OR=2.08, 95%CI [1.52 – 2.84]). Increasing household income and being employed were positively associated with high overall health status. We do not find a statistically significant effect of gender, education level, age group, and race on overall health status. We recommend that policies that support family caregivers at a micro and macro level be implemented.
THE APPLICATION OF TIME BANKING IN ELDERLY CARING: A MIXED-STUDIES SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Authors: Ding Hui , Li Hui-Ling
Published: December 2022

Aging has become a universal concern of the world, and its process is accelerating, which leads to the shortage of the care resources and increased burden of social development. Based on this problem, The concept of time banking has been gradually applied to geriatric caring, forming a model of mutual support for older people, which has been practiced in different countries. However, there is no consensus about the effect of time banking for older person. Thus, the aim of this review was to integrate research on the application of time banking to summarize the benefits for older people and challenges faced in different countries. Moreover, the review put forward solutions to provide references for the localization of time banking in China. PubMed, Wiley Online Library, Web of Science, SAGE Journals Online, Science Direct, EbscoHost, SpringerLink and CNKI databases were searched to include 22 eligible studies. Qualities of included studies were assessed, evidences about the benefits for older person and challenges regarding time banking was synthesized. Although the overall study quality was medium, consistent evidence was existed to indicate that time banking has beneficial effects which containing social values and personal values on the older people. Furthermore, the comprehensive evidences also showed that time banking would be improved in the following four aspects: diversity of volunteers, improvement of service quality, variety of incentives and scientific management. Additional well-designed and high-quality studies are needed for us to better understand the opportunities and challenges of time banking.
EXAMINATION OF THE HEALTHY CAREGIVER EFFECT AMONG OLDER ADULTS FINDING FROM THE CANADIAN LONGITUDINAL STUDY ON AGING
Authors: Li Lun , Wister Andrew , Mitchell Barbara
Published: December 2022

Objective. The Healthy Caregiver Hypothesis (HCH) suggests that caregiving is associated with beneficial health impacts for family caregivers. However, mixed results have been reported, particularly when different levels of caregiving intensity were examined. This study analyzes the relationship between caregiving intensity and three health indicators (functional health, chronic illness, and self-rated general health) among Canadian older adults over three years. Method. We drew upon a sub-sample of 11,344 participants aged 65 and older from the Baseline and Follow-up 1 data of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging and used linear mixed models to test the hypothesis based on different levels of caregiving intensity. Results. Older adults who provided low-intensity care recently or continuously reported better functional health and self-rated health than non-caregivers. In contrast, older adults with low-intensity caregiving responsibility developed more chronic conditions over time compared to non-caregivers, but this association was not found for high-intensity caregivers. Discussion. This study elucidates the HCH by incorporating caregiving intensity to understand patterns of better functional health and perceived health, but more chronic conditions. The findings yielded from different health indicators suggest the impact of caregiving on health may be domain specific.
COMORBIDITIES AMONG RESIDENTS DIAGNOSED WITH DEMENTIA IN RESIDENTIAL CARE COMMUNITIES
Authors: Caffrey Christine , Lendon Jessica , Manisha Sengupta
Published: December 2022

Residential care communities (RCCs) are an important source of care for older adults, particularly those with dementia. Nationally in 2018, 34% of RCC residents had been diagnosed with dementia. Other common chronic conditions among RCC residents were high blood pressure (55%), depression (27%), arthritis (20%), diabetes (20%), and heart disease (17%). RCC residents with dementia who have comorbidities could present greater challenges when managing their care. This report presents national estimates of comorbidities among RCC residents with dementia and compares these estimates by selected characteristics. Estimates are from the 2018 National Post-acute and Long-term Care Study conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. Among RCC residents with dementia, 62% had also been diagnosed with high blood pressure, 28% with depression, 23% with arthritis, 16% with diabetes, and 16% with heart disease. Among RCC residents with dementia, 17% were diagnosed with only dementia, 38% were diagnosed with dementia and one other common condition, 31% were diagnosed with dementia and two other conditions, and 14% were diagnosed with dementia and three to five other conditions. A greater percentage of RCC residents with dementia and two or more common conditions compared to only dementia or dementia and one other condition were aged 85 years and older (69% vs 62%), needed help with three or more activities of daily living (82% vs 73%), were hospitalized (34% vs 28%), and were taking more than 10 medications (48% vs 32%). Results may benefit efforts focused on implementing long-term care practices to manage dementia and comorbidities.
REGULATORY COMPLIANCE AND RESIDENT OUTCOMES IN OREGON ASSISTED LIVING COMMUNITIES
Authors: Tunalilar Ozcan , Lin Sunny , Carder Paula
Published: December 2022

The outsized negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among residents of assisted living (AL) communities has drawn attention to the existing challenges that licensing agencies face in providing oversight in this setting. While regulatory compliance inspections in AL may be a critical tool for promoting high-quality care, no published research has examined the association between deficiencies and resident outcomes in AL. Using novel data collected from 331 AL communities in Oregon (response rate=62%) merged with deficiency data from inspections, we examined whether the number of deficiencies is associated with the following resident outcomes as measured at the community level: share of residents who fell at least one time (fall rate), who were hospitalized overnight (hospitalization rate), and who were treated in the hospital emergency room (ER rate) in the last 90 days. Negative binomial regression models that controlled for a robust set of community (e.g., size, rurality, profit status, “memory care” units) and resident (e.g., age, Medicaid use, ADL needs) characteristics showed a weak, but statistically significant, association between deficiencies and hospitalization rate (IRR=1.05). However, there was no statistically significant association between deficiencies and falls or ER visits among residents. The time lag between inspections and the resident outcome data did not moderate these observed associations. With more states moving to make available such deficiency data on public-facing websites, these results have policy implications for the role and content of regulatory compliance inspections for ensuring quality in AL communities and informing the public.
LEVERAGING COMMUNITY-BASED KNOWLEDGE TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF OLDER ADULTS FROM RACIAL/ETHNIC MINORITY POPULATIONS
Authors: Garcia Catherine , Hou Su-I
Published: December 2022

Racially and ethnically minoritized older adults constitute the fastest-growing demographic in the United States. Yet, they are largely underrepresented in population-based studies of aging despite NIH policies encouraging inclusion since the mid-1980s. The resulting and continued exclusion of racially and ethnically diverse populations in aging research limits efforts to elucidate and better understand the determinants of health and healthy aging to improve the lives of minoritized older adults, their families, and/or communities. To enhance the inclusion of racially and ethnically minoritized older adults in recruitment, survey development, analysis, and dissemination efforts, this symposium focuses on leveraging community-based knowledge that centers the lived experiences of community members that are needed to improve health outcomes and equitable changes, especially with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The first paper in this symposium highlights how Community-Based Participatory Advocacy is used in the Dine community, which includes working with indigenous older adults and decolonizing methodologies to facilitate community healing. The second paper focuses on developing culturally informed instruments to collect data on dementia care needs and resources among African immigrants. A third paper focuses on critical lessons learned in Project RAMA that provided crucial insights for a new initiative focused on Hispanic immigrant families affected by rheumatoid arthritis in Washington, DC, including recruiting through embedded community clinics and integrating community needs into the study design. The final paper discusses the meaningful inclusion of Asian American older adults regarding their demographic diversity and prioritizing engagement of community members and community-based organizations in the survey research process.
THE IMPACT OF DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF HOME- AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES AND FACTORS ON MULTIDIMENSIONAL UNMET NEEDS
Authors: Chen Ya-Mei , Zhong Zi-Ting , Wu Shih-Cyuan
Published: December 2022

Background

Long-Term Care (LTC) in Taiwan has been implemented over the last 15 years, focusing on providing home- and community-based services (HCBS). Previous studies have shown that care recipients’ level of unmet needs is associated with adverse health outcomes. This study aimed to identify HCBS use patterns among LTC care recipients and examine the impact of different patterns of HCBS on unmet needs.

Methods

Surveys of service users were conducted in eight counties. Latent class analysis was used to identify the underlying subgroups of LTC recipients. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the impact of HCBS patterns and care recipients’ predisposing, enabling, and need factors on the level of unmet needs.

Results

A total of 952 participants from northern, middle, and southern Taiwan completed the surveys. Three subgroups based on HCBS use were identified, including home-based personal care (HB-PC), home-based personal care and medical care (HB-PC/MC), and community care (CC). Care recipients in the HB-PC group (β = −1.922, p = 0.028) and the CC group (β = −2.177, p = 0.019) had lower unmet needs than those in the HB-PC/MC group. A lower disability level, living in a highly urbanized city, and lower levels of quality of life were associated with higher unmet needs (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Our results demonstrating that care recipients with lower disability levels had higher unmet needs may indicate insufficient funding support from Taiwan’s LTC plans. However, multiple service users had high unmet needs, which warrants further investigation.
ACTUAL AND DESIRED SERVICE USE OF COMMUNITY-DWELLING CONSUMERS OF HOME- AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES
Authors: Bucy Taylor , Mulcahy John , Jutkowitz Eric , Shippee Tetyana
Published: December 2022

Federal and state long-term care policies are focused on helping people age in their community rather than in nursing homes or other institutional settings. Through home- and community-based (HCBS) waiver programs, states have the flexibility to target specific populations, providing supportive services meant to promote residence in the community. Although consumer needs and goals are a key component of HCBS delivery and effectiveness, little is known about how actual service use differs from the services individuals desire to meet their needs. Using the National Core Indicators-Aging and Disability (NCI-AD™) survey responses from 2018-2019 (N=14,202), an effort by state agencies to measure and track performance outcomes using standardized measures, we examined differences in actual versus desired use of HCBS among people living in the community. Services were categorized as delivered in home-based setting, day services, transportation, support/modification services, health and therapeutic services, and respite. Among NCI-AD respondents in the community (n=9,860), 11% used one service area, 49% used two service areas, and 36% used three or more service areas. The most common service area was home-based services (57%). About a third of community-dwelling respondents desired at least one additional service area. Factors significantly associated with wanting more services included being in combined Medicaid-Medicare, managed LTSS, a woman, an adult aged >65, living alone, and having a physical disability. While the majority of community-dwelling HCBS recipients do not list unmet service needs, there is heterogeneity by program category and other key demographic and social characteristics.
MEASURING PERSONALITY IN DAILY LIFE: EVIDENCE FROM AN AGE-HETEROGENEOUS ADULT SAMPLE
Authors: Ferguson Giselle , Pasquini Giancarlo , Sliwinski Martin , Scott Stacey
Published: December 2022

Research on personality has theorized that repeated short-term experiences can lead to changes in personality traits across years or decades. Whereas much research on these short-term experiences relevant to personality has been done in samples of college students, this study intended to measure personality-relevant short-term experiences among an age-heterogeneous sample of adults. As part the Effects of Stress on Cognitive Aging, Physiology, and Emotions study, 260 participants (Mage=46.49 years, range=25-65 years) completed a measure of Big Five personality traits before completing a 14-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) period during which participants reported their momentary negative and positive thoughts, emotions, and social interactions up to six times per day on study-provided smartphones. We hypothesized that these EMA reports could be used as daily markers of trait extraversion and trait neuroticism such that these daily experiences could be interpreted as manifestations of personality traits in daily life. Results of parallel multilevel confirmatory factor analyses showed good model fit (extraversion: CFI=0.96; TLI=0.95; RMSEA=0.03; neuroticism: CFI=0.95; TLI=0.94; RMSEA=0.04). For both extraversion and neuroticism, the latent trait factor and the latent daily-marker factor were positively correlated (extraversion: r=0.36; SE=0.07; p<.001; neuroticism: r=0.45; SE=0.07; p<.001). Results suggest that among an age-heterogeneous adult sample, momentary thoughts, feelings, and behaviors across a two-week period represented expressions of extraversion and neuroticism in daily life. Measuring these short-term experiences is meaningful for understanding how personality changes across adulthood, and future work can use longitudinal data to test if daily markers of personality are sensitive to fluctuations and changes in personality.
HEALTH LITERACY ACROSS PERSONALITY TRAITS AMONG OLDER ADULTS: CROSS-SECTIONAL EVIDENCE FROM SHARE
Authors: Ryser Valerie-Anne , Meier Clément , Vilpert Sarah , Maurer Jürgen
Published: December 2022

Introduction

Personality traits (PTs) - Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to experience, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness - are related to how older adults deal with health-related issues. However, little is known about the relationship between PTs and health literacy (HL). HL measures individuals’ ability to find, understand, appraise, and use health information to deal with health-related outcomes. Objectives: This research tries to understand better differences in HL across PTs in a nationally representative sample of adults aged 58 years and older in Switzerland. Method: Multivariable probit regressions to explore how respondents’ PTs are independently associated with HL after controlling individuals’ social, regional and health characteristics are based on a paper-and-pencil self-completion questionnaire (N= 1’555) administered as part of wave 8 (2019/2020) of SHARE in Switzerland. HL is measured using the short version of the European Health Literacy Survey questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q16), whose scores of dichotomized responses is grouped into two categories: inadequate and adequate HL. PTs are measured with the Big-Five inventory ten (BFI-10).

Results

Results show that two out of five PTs are significantly associated with HL among older adults. Individuals who score higher on neuroticism and thus have a persistent tendency to experience negative emotions are more likely to have inadequate HL. More open individuals who are more prone to engage in self-examination are also more likely to have adequate HL.

Conclusion

These findings call for targeted interventions, such as using adjusted health or eHealth information tools that would consider individuals’ PTs when designing health policies to improve HL in the population.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONDITIONS AND PERSONALITY CHANGE AMONG OLDER ADULTS
Authors: Iveniuk James , Cagney Kathleen
Published: December 2022

Conscientiousness is a key aspect of personality, associated with overall better health and wellbeing across the life course, including among older adults. The past ten years have seen a growing interest in how social-environmental factors impact personality traits, but the impact of neighborhood conditions is rarely investigated. Broken windows theory argues that changes to residents’ character can be brought about through signals of disinvestment in local norms (i.e. visible disorder), pointing to neighborhood disorder as a possible environmental condition that can shape personality. Drawing upon three rounds of data from the National Social Life Health and Aging Project (2005/2006, 2010/2011, 2015/2016; N=1554), we investigate longitudinal associations between traits and changing neighborhood conditions using a Big Five self-assessment, and interviewer ratings of local disorder. Using a combination of mediation and cross-lagged models, we find mixed support for broken windows perspectives – significant mediation processes, but no cross-lagged effects.
FEASIBILITY OF AN EXERGAMING-BASED DANCE TRAINING PARADIGM IN THE HOME SETTING AMONG PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC STROKE
Authors: Subramaniam Savitha , Bhatt Tanvi
Published: December 2022

Background

Dance-based exergaming (DBExG) from laboratory (phase 1 -p1) to a safe and feasible home-based exercise program (HEP- phase 2-p2) could enhance physical activity (PA) behavior, and can be used as a maintenance therapy in PwCS. However, traditionally structured HEP are interfaced with impediments for employing best practice for fall prevention safety approach at home settings in PwCS, thus, making it essential to evaluate training strategies that foster safety. Aim: To evaluate the feasibility, compliance, and safety of a safety harness augmented rehabilitation using DBExG training paradigm (SHARP).

Methods

Community-dwelling PwCS (n=7) participated in the study and received DBExG training using the commercially available Kinect dance gaming “Just Dance 3”. The first 6 weeks training (20 sessions) was provided in the laboratory setting (health coach stand by assistance – SBA). Followed with 4 more weeks (12 sessions) of SHARP in the participant’s house with health coach SBA.

Results

The primary focus was feasibility, addressed by acceptability, and retention. All the seven participants completed the laboratory, and home-based DBExG. All participants reported enjoying the sessions and felt they were beneficial. Study retention and session adherence was 90% and 98%, at p1, and p2 respectively. There were no falls, and adverse safety events reported in either phase of the study. The intervention was safe with no falls, and major adverse events.

Conclusion

SHARP appears feasible and safe, thus promising for home-based PA rehabilitation for PwCS. A larger randomized controlled trial is recommended to further investigate efficacy.
A COMMUNITY-UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP TO ASSESS AFRICAN IMMIGRANT FAMILIES' EXPERIENCES WITH DEMENTIA
Authors: Nkimbeng Manka , Rosebush Christina , Akosah Kwame , Yam Hawking , Russel Wynfred , Albers Elizabeth , Shippee Tetyana , Gaugler Joseph
Published: December 2022

African immigrants are a fast-growing segment of the U.S. Black population, but the dementia care needs and resources of this population are not fully understood. We will describe the process of developing culturally informed instruments to collect data on dementia care needs and resources among African immigrants. Working together with a diverse project advisory board, a guide was developed and used to conduct community conversations about experiences with dementia/memory loss. Qualitative findings from these conversations were used to inform the development of a survey for quantitative data collection. Despite the challenges of conducting research during a global pandemic, having trusting relationships with a partnering community organization and project advisory board facilitated the successful development of instruments to conduct preliminary dementia care research in an underserved population. We anticipate that survey results will inform interventions that increase education, outreach, and access to dementia care and caregiving resources for this population.
MODERATION OF CUSTODIAL GRANDPARENT’S WELLNESS AND GRANDCHILD'S BEHAVIOR BY RELATIONSHIP QUALITY
Authors: Olson Marin , Pyles Karly , Lopez Acacia , Scott Rachel , Nadorff Danielle
Published: December 2022

A growing number of grandparents are assuming care of their grandchildren, and both grandparents and children report higher levels of stress than their peers, although the source of this stress remains largely unexplored. In Conger & Donnellan’s Family Stress Model, a parent’s distress can impact the levels of distress experienced by their child, and previous research indicates that parent/child relationship quality impacts children’s mental health. This study extended this to custodial grandfamilies, by investigating whether the relationship quality of custodial grandparents (GP) and grandchildren (GC) would moderate the relation between the health of GC and the wellness of their GP. Participants include 322 custodial grandparents within the United States recruited via Qualtrics Research Panel Survey (m age = 55.66 yr., 86.1% female). Measures included the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist, Kivnick’s Grandparent Meaning Scale, and grandparents’ wellness. Moderation of relationship quality on the relation between the GP’s wellness and internalizing behaviors of the GC was tested using SPSS’ Process macro. A significant interaction was found (t = 2.31, p = .02) wherein GP’s wellness was not predictive of changes in GC’s behavior for the group with high relationship quality, but greater GP wellness was associated with less GC internalizing behaviors when relationship quality was low (p < .001). These findings indicate that when a GP feels that they have a more positive relationship with their GC, there is a greater likelihood that they will report fewer health concerns and fewer GC’s internalizing behavior symptoms.
OLDER ADULTS’ RESILIENT IDENTITY APPRAISALS: WHO AM I COMPARED TO MYSELF AND OTHERS?
Authors: Bouchard Lauren , Manning Lydia
Published: December 2022

Resilience is the adaptation of bouncing back from adverse life events. Older adults provide rich and varied resilience narratives of personal growth across the life course, especially related to others. Many people describe resilience as part of their identity, formed in childhood and maintained throughout adulthood. As adults age, they continually integrate new information into their identity, and aging presents long-term adversity and new life course challenges that older people must navigate. This qualitative study explored how older adults describe their sense of resilient identity compared to their younger selves and other older adults in their lives. Our narrative findings indicate resilience narratives often include comparative appraisals to the strengths and weaknesses of younger selves (e.g., “I am more emotionally resilient, but not as physically strong as I used to be”). Additionally, our findings show older adults comparing their resilience to others in a similar age category (e.g., “I do not complain like my friends”). Comparisons to other older adults fit two themes: empathic and connected and judgmental and distanced. We conclude the participants who view other older adults in an empathic and connected way maintained solid social connections and a general sense of interconnectedness, while those in the judgmental and distanced category might be reacting to internalized ageism. The social implications of these findings will be discussed in detail. In addition to specific examples, our study also provides limitations and future directions in resilient identity and resilience appraisals.
INCREASING THE SENSE OF IDENTITY AND INTEGRITY: AN INTERVENTION STUDY OF ACTIVE AGING AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS
Authors: Ikeuchi Tomoko , Ono Mayuko , Yamazaki Sachiko , Hayashida Cullen , Tomioka Michiyo , Shimada Chiho , Osada Hisao
Published: December 2022

Identity and integrity (i.e., a sense of coherence and wholeness) are important elements for psychosocial development in later stages of life as described in Erikson’s life-span developmental theory. This study aimed to develop an intervention program to increase the sense of identity and integrity among older adults. The program included two types of workshops to examine the combined impact of searching for one’s post-retirement identity and clarifying personal goals and purpose for later life. The first workshop, Introductory of Active Aging, focused on providing the knowledge and skills necessary to prepare for life after retirement. The second workshop, Creating Your Life History, focused on a life review and composing one’s life history using the guided autobiography method developed by Birren. The study used a crossover design with a one-week break interval between the two workshops. Each workshop was conducted weekly with a two-hour session over four weeks. Thirty-eight participants aged 60 to 80 attended both workshops between October and December 2021 at a community center in Tokyo, Japan. The sense of identity and integrity were assessed using the Japanese version of the Erikson Psychosocial Inventory Scale (EPSI) at baseline and after completing both workshops (9th week). The scores of both identity and integrity increased significantly among participants who completed two workshops in sequence. This crossover study showed no statistical difference in the effects of each workshop. Further work is needed to monitor the long-term impact of these workshops in clarifying one’s identity and achieving satisfaction with self in later life.
THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF SELF-OBJECTIFICATION AND BODY ESTEEM ON AGE AND MOOD
Authors: Tran Sydney , Sherman Aurora
Published: December 2022

Objectification theory is a well-established framework that outlines the consequences of being sexually objectified (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). One of the major consequences of sexual objectification is self-objectification, or the tendency to internalize an observer’s perspective on one’s own body and the learned behavior to value one’s physical appearance over one’s body functionality. Self-objectification has been linked to poorer subjective well-being and poorer body image in college-aged women but has not yet been examined among older adult women. This study recruited a group of younger (N = 132 ; M age = 20.93, range = 18-26) and older (N = 86; M age = 67.83, range = 48-90) adult women to examine age differences in self-objectification and their relationships with body esteem and negative mood and anxiety. This study tested a serial mediation model using Model 6 of the Hayes PROCESS Macro in SPSS, in which self-objectification and body esteem were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between age and negative mood and anxiety. After controlling for sexual orientation, marital status, and education, results indicated that the standardized indirect effect was significant, B = -.09, SE = .03, 95% CI [-.16, -.04], suggesting that self-objectification and its related consequences are not unique to young adult women and that women of all ages are negatively impacted by self-objectification.
RURAL-URBAN DISPARITIES IN COMORBIDITY BETWEEN OBESITY AND DIABETES AMONG OLDER ADULTS
Authors: Bae Youngjoon
Published: December 2022

Obesity and diabetes are common among older Americans. While obesity is a risk factor for diabetes, research on rural-urban health disparities among older adults has reported paradoxical results. That is, living in rural areas is a risk marker of obesity, whereas rural residency is inversely associated with diabetes. This study utilized multiple national data resources to diagnose the inconsistency, including the 2006-2016 RAND HRS Longitudinal data, biomarker data, the 2010 US Census, and the USDA food access information. HRS survey participants 65 to 97 years of age comprised the study sample (N=6,476). General generalized estimating equation models with survey weights were used to estimate associations with measured obesity and diabetes. Age, race, Hispanic status, foreign-born status, education, marital status, working status, wealth, physical activity, smoking, drinking, ADL, IADL, loneliness, depression, cholesterol, HDL, CRP, and Cystatin C were included as control variables. Findings suggest that rurality is associated with a higher likelihood of obesity and a lower likelihood of diabetes, particularly for older women. However, by adjusting for confounders, these relationships disappeared. Instead, social isolation indicated significant associations with a lower likelihood of obesity and a higher likelihood of diabetes among older women. Contrary to prior research, the food desert and food insecurity measures did not correlate with both outcome variables. Further investigation on food consumption and dietary behavior among socially isolated older women is needed.
THE GUIDING POWER OF LOSS REFLECTION: FINAL MEMORIES AND FUTURE CARE
Authors: Mroz Emily
Published: December 2022

The life story framework emphasizes that past loss experiences guide current attitudes and behaviors. Final memories from the death of a spouse promote post-loss meaning-making. Through reliable narrative analysis, this study delineates positive and negative affective sequences in final memories from spousal loss in older adults (N = 65; Mage = 81.59). It also examines reported confidence in successfully caring for another seriously ill close other the future. Results demonstrate that 62% of participants narrated their final memories with affect, and 38% told semantic, affectively neutral narratives. Additionally, those who narrated positive or neutral final memories exhibited more confidence in future caregiving than those who narrated negative memories, t = 2.24, p < .05. As care systems are increasingly reliant on family members to provide car for the seriously ill, links between past loss experiences, current caregiving confidence, and future care mastery emerge as areas of research prioritization.