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Coping with loneliness: what do older adults suggest?
- Authors:
- SCHOENMAKERS Eric C., TILBURG Theo G. van, FOKKEMA Tineke
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 16(3), April 2012, pp.353-360.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Loneliness is common among old people. High levels of loneliness in old age are generally linked to widowhood, shrinking social networks, and health problems. Ways of coping with loneliness can be categorised into 2 types: active coping by improving relationships; and regulative coping by lowering expectations about relationships. This study explored how often older adults suggest these options to their lonely peers in various situations, and to what extent individual resources influence their suggestions. The participants were 1187 respondents aged 62–100 years from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. The participants were presented with 4 written vignettes of lonely individuals, discriminated with regard to age, partner status, and health, were asked whether this loneliness can be alleviated by using various ways of coping. In general, the respondents suggested both ways of coping. However, active coping was suggested less often to people who are older, in poor health, or lonely and by older adults who were employed in midlife and have high self-esteem. Regulative coping was suggested more often to people who are older and by older adults with a low educational level and with low mastery. The problems of developing interventions to combat loneliness are discussed.
Resilience and coping as predictors of general well-being in the elderly: a structural equation modeling approach
- Authors:
- TOMÁSA José Manuel, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 16(3), April 2012, pp.317-326.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Well-being is a complex construct concerning optimal experience and functioning. One of the constructs that can determine well-being is coping. This study aimed to explore the relationships between problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping and resilience with well-being in the elderly. Hypotheses about these relationships are tested within a structural modelling framework. The aims of this article are: to test for the validity of the 3 constructs involved in the structural model; to test for the effects of both coping strategies and resilient coping on well-being in a sample of elderly, by means of a structural model with latent variables; and to empirically study whether a brief scale of resilient coping could predict well-being over and above that predicted by the coping resources. The study participants comprised 225 non-institutionalised elderly people living in the city of Valencia, Spain. The participants completed a survey with included measures of well-being, resilient coping, and coping strategies. Analyses indicate that the best predictive model is that with a single predictor of well-being: resilient coping. Resilient coping is able to predict a significant and large part of the variance in well-being, without the need for including coping strategies.
Exploring resiliency factors of older African American Katrina survivors
- Author:
- THOMAS Cecilia L.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 9(4), July 2012, pp.351-368.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina created unparalleled destruction on the Gulf Coast region of the United States. Such disasters present an increased risk of trauma, especially for older people. This qualitative study investigated the resiliency processes demonstrated by 10 older African American hurricane survivors who relocated to a large metropolitan area in the aftermath of the storm and were consequently faced with difficult challenges. In-depth interviews were used to assess the multidimensional characteristics of resiliency that enabled these older adults to deal with adversity. Findings highlighted distinct processes reflecting resiliency, such as trusting in a higher power, the importance of living in the present, activating resources, creating community, and doing for others. Implications for social work practice and research with older adults is discussed.
Adherence to physical and mental activity interventions: coping plans as a mediator and prior adherence as a moderator
- Authors:
- EVERS Andrea, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Health Psychology, 17(3), September 2012, pp.477-491.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Adherence to behavioural intervention programmes is necessary for beneficial outcomes. This study tested whether social cognitive variables and coping plans predicted such adherence. Participants included healthy older women from Berlin, Germany, who were randomised to a physical (N= 86) or a mental (N= 85) activity intervention. Intentions, self-efficacies, coping plans, and objectively measured adherence levels were assessed. Findings indicated that adherence to the physical activity programme (65%) was significantly lower than adherence to the mental activity programme (84). Intentions weakly predicted adherence in the initiation period of the physical activity programme. In both groups, coping plans predicted long-term adherence, moderated by prior adherence. In conclusion, instructing older individuals to generate coping plans facilitated their adherence to physical and mental activity programmes, which may help prevent them from dropping out of the programme.
Examining self-protection measures guarding Adult Protective Services social workers against compassion fatigue
- Author:
- BOURASSA Dara
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27(9), June 2012, pp.1699-1715.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Compassion fatigue is a recognised phenomenon that may occur when a social worker, or any helping professional, listens to clients’ traumatic histories. Adult Protective Services (APS) social workers could be at risk for developing compassion fatigue as they are the first responders to an abused or neglected individual. The aim of this qualitative study is to explore APS workers’ perceptions on working with older adult clients who are abused and neglected in order to identify and define the symptoms and potential repercussions of compassion fatigue. The participants were 9 APS social workers. Data were collected through 3 waves of intensive semi-structured interviewing, over a 4-month time frame. All interviews lasted approximately 1 to 1.5 hours each, with a total cumulative time of 4.5 hours for each participant. It was found that this group of social workers were not experiencing compassion fatigue. The participants discussed the personal characteristics and professional factors that led to the creation of boundaries that protected them against the symptoms and effects of compassion fatigue. The implications centre around the elements needed to implement boundaries in order to maintain a separation between the work and home environment.
Listening to older adult parents of adult children with mental illness
- Author:
- SMITH Judith R.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Family Social Work, 15(2), March 2012, pp.126-140.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Current knowledge about the conflicts of older parents with dependent children is underdeveloped. This qualitative study investigated the experience of women age 55 and older who were parents caring for adult children with mental illness. All participants were from Rockland County, New York. Analysis of the women's stories about parenting in later life suggested that they had two sets of feelings – wanting to be free from the responsibility of caregiving and feeling responsible to continue the support and protection of their adult vulnerable children. The women's conflicts were considerable and were founded in the ideational themes of the narratives, as well as the structure of how the narratives were spoken. A discussion details the relevance of the theory of ambivalence for clinical practice when working with older women who are caregivers for their adult dependent children.
Coping with negative life events in old age: the role of tenacious goal pursuit and flexible goal adjustment
- Authors:
- BAILLY Nathalie, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 16(4), May 2012, pp.431-437.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This paper considers the question of how older adults cope with negative life events. It draws on a model suggested by Brandtstädter which addresses the dynamics of goal striving throughout the life span, allowing a clearer understanding of how people adapt as they get older. The model postulates 2 fundamental modes of self-regulation: tenacious goal pursuit (TGP) and flexible goal adjustment (FGA). The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between negative life events and TGP and FGA in elderly people, and their effects on mental health. The participants were 670 community-dwelling elderly people who completed measures of TGP, FGA, negative life events and depression. Analyses of the findings demonstrate the role of TGP and FGA in coping with negative life events. While both FGA and TGP were related to depression, FGA was found to have beneficial effects for the participants who had encountered negative life events. With age, people become less tenacious, but no conclusive relationship was found between flexibility and age. The findings support the importance of both modes of coping for the mental health of older adults. In particular, the ability to adjust goals is shown to be critical as a way of preventing the development of depressive symptoms following negative life events.
Proactive aging: a longitudinal study of stress, resources, agency, and well-being in late life
- Authors:
- KAHANA Eva, KELLEY-MOORE Jessica, KAHANA Boaz
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 16(4), May 2012, pp.438-451.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
During late life, older adults are exposed to stressors of social losses and increasing frailty, which can threaten their quality of life (QOL). The Proactivity Model of Successful Aging proposes that older adults utilise personal and social resources in anticipation of, and in response to, age-related stressors. The aim of this study was to examine how internal and external resources contribute to the maintenance of QOL outcomes (psychological well-being and social activities) among older adults who experience normative stressors of aging. Data was obtained from the Florida Retirement Study, a panel study which focuses on late-life adaptation of retirement community-dwelling elderly persons. Five annual interviews were conducted with a sample of 561 participants. QOL outcomes were measured at the 5th year, and predictor variables were measured in the 4 prior annual waves. The findings showed that stressors negatively influenced QOL 4 years later. Internal and external resources led to better QOL 4 years later, both directly and indirectly through proactive adaptations of marshalling support and planning for the future. These findings lend support to the Proactivity Model of Successful Aging by documenting the value of proactive adaptations (such as exercise, planning ahead, and marshalling support) as proximate influences on QOL outcomes.
Coping trajectories in later life: a 20-year predictive study
- Authors:
- BRENNAN P. L., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 16(3), April 2012, pp.305-316.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Research has suggested that there may be intrinsic aging-related changes in adults’ coping responses. This paper describes the findings of a 20-year longitudinal study which aimed to investigate older adults’ intraindividual coping trajectories, and to determine the influence of 2 sets of predictors (threat appraisal and stressor characteristics; gender and baseline personal and social resources) on the level and rate of change in these trajectories. At baseline, the participants were 1884 community residents aged 55 to 65 years. Data was collected from the participants at baseline, then 1, 4, 10, and 20 years later. The findings are based on the data from the 719 surviving participants. They show that, over the 20-year study interval, participants declined in the use of both approach coping (active attempts to change stressful circumstances) and most avoidance coping (efforts to avoid or manage emotions associated with stressful circumstances) strategies. Female gender, more threat appraisal, stressor severity, social resources, and depressive symptoms, and fewer financial resources were associated with higher initial levels of coping responses. The article concludes that the overall decline in coping may be a normative pattern of coping change in later life. However, there is significant variation in this trend. Coping is also is modifiable by older adults’ stressor appraisals, their stressors, and the personal and social resources they possess at entry to later life.
A grounded theory longitudinal study of carers’ experiences of caring for people with dementia
- Authors:
- LIN Mei-Chun, MACMILLAN Maureen, BROWN Norrie
- Journal article citation:
- Dementia: the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 11(2), March 2012, pp.181-197.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Provision of care for older people with dementia in the UK is shifting from institutions to the community. This, coupled with increased longevity, is increasing the burden on, and reducing the autonomy of, those who care for these individuals. This longitudinal, grounded approach study sought to identify, describe and explore the changes in the carers’ experiences, autonomy and health over time. Six spouses (mean age 69 years, 6-10 years caring since diagnosis) were interviewed at the beginning, at six months and at eighteen months. Four themes emerged; my life changed, commitment, responsibility and duty, and support. The core category “my life changed” represented the beginning of the caregiving journey and the learning from experience that occurred as a consequence. “Commitment” referred to a deepened and sustained element. “Responsibility and duty” increased over time and “support” reflected the fluctuating nature of help provided by formal and informal sources. All participants experienced changes on their caregiving journey but the degree and nature of necessary adaptations varied. The authors conclude that a theory of caring emerged, but the changes did not appear to conform to any fixed pattern. All carers learned by experience to manage their situations. Autonomy and health was challenged in every case.