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Typologies of older adult companion animal owners and non-owners: moving beyond the dichotomy
- Authors:
- CARR Dawn C., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 23(11), 2019, pp.1452-1466.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objectives: Research on the influence of companion animals (CA) on the health of older adults has yielded contradictory results. Selection factors, leading to heterogeneity both between and within groups of CA owners and non-owners, likely bias results. This research provides analyses to identify typologies of owners and non-owners. Methods: Using data on older adults (60+) from the 2012 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), and the HRS companion animal module, (owners = 478) and (non-owners = 624), the research conducted latent class analyses (LCA). The research used key demographic, health, daily engagement, and pet characteristic variables to complete its analyses. Results: Analyses revealed five clusters of CA owners and four clusters of non-owners. Health and CA related characteristics distinguishing clusters suggest important sources of variability and reflect qualitatively different profiles of owners and non-owners. The research also found CA owners were more likely than non-owners to be high on neuroticism and to be less extroverted than non-owners–but again there was considerable within group variability. Implications: Factors that select people into pet ownership not only work individually to characterize ownership, they create distinct typologies of CA owners and non-owners that likely contribute to subsequent health outcomes. In order to determine if having a CA is beneficial to health in later life and for whom, future research should consider selection factors like those identified in the typologies. Statistical analyses, such as LCA, that can adequately account for these selection factors is necessary to avoid biases in the interpretation of results. (Edited publisher abstract)
Task-switching ability protects against the adverse effects of pain on health: a longitudinal study of older adults
- Authors:
- BOGGERO Ian A., EISENLOHR-MOUL Tory, SEGERSTROM Suzanne C.
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Health Psychology, 21(2), 2016, pp.434-450.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: Ageing is often accompanied by increases in pain, which may threaten physical health. Successfully managing increased pain requires the ability to switch attention away from the pain and towards adaptive health cognitions and behaviours. However, no study to date has tested how pain interacts with task-switching ability to predict future health in older adults. Additionally, no study has tested whether objective (i.e., task-switching performance) or subjective measures of cognitive ability have a stronger impact on future health. Design/Methods: The current study tested these interactions in community-dwelling older adults. Participants included 150 older adults who provided pain, task-switching ability, subjective cognitive functioning, and health data every 6 months for up to 5 years. Results: Multilevel modelling was used to analyse the data, yielding gammas (γ) analogous to unstandardized beta weights in regression. A significant interaction between task-switching and pain indicated that when task-switching ability was lower than usual, higher-than-usual pain predicted poorer health at the following wave. When task-switching ability was higher than usual, there was no effect of pain on health. No significant interaction was found for subjective cognitive functioning. Conclusions: Objective task-switching ability, but not subjective cognitive functioning, may have health-protective effects when older adults experience increases in pain. (Edited publisher abstract)
Health capital in everyday life of the oldest old living in their own homes
- Authors:
- BERGLAND Astrid, SLETTEBO Ashild
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 35(10), 2015, pp.2156-2175.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
As more people experience old age as a time of growth and productivity, more research is needed that explores how they master everyday life. This paper reports on a qualitative study that explored how ten older women age 90 years or more experience and cope with the challenges of everyday life with a salutogenic perspective. The findings suggest that health resources such as positive expectation, reflection and adaptation, function and active contribution, relations and home, contribute to the health capital of women. These health resources were of importance for the women's experience of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness in daily life. Health capital is a meaningful concept for understanding coping in everyday life by older people. (Edited publisher abstract)
Health beliefs of community dwelling older adults in the United Arab Emirates: a qualitative study
- Author:
- CAMPBELL Carol
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing International, 40(1), 2015, pp.13-28.
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Place of publication:
- New York
There is a paucity of information about the health beliefs that older adults in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hold. This is a serious omission as understanding people’s ideas about health maintenance and disease prevention informs public health policy and practice. Using a qualitative methodology, twenty-three community dwelling adults aged between sixty and eighty years were interviewed. The data were analysed to uncover the meanings of health and health beliefs ascribed by the participants within their narratives. Participant narratives revealed representations of health that were in close alignment with previous research. ‘Health as value’ also emerged as a distinct health belief. Analysis of the interview data identified three superordinate themes labelled ‘Health is what you eat’; ‘Health was better in the past’; and ‘Health is from God’ as factors that participants attributed to their health. The implications for the health care system in the UAE are discussed. As the first study of its kind within the UAE, this study provides a solid base from which future studies exploring health beliefs and social representations of health can build upon. (Edited publisher abstract)
Is the association between social capital and health robust across Nordic regions? Evidence from a cross-sectional study of older adults
- Authors:
- NYQVIST Fredrica, NYGARD Mikael
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Social Welfare, 22(2), 2013, pp.119-129.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The study examined the association between structural and cognitive social capital and self-rated health among 65- and 75-year-olds in Vsterbotten in Sweden and Österbotten and Pohjanmaa in Finland. Data were retrieved from a cross-sectional postal questionnaire survey conducted in 2005 and was answered by 3,370 persons, yielding a total response rate of 69 per cent. The association between self-rated health and interpersonal trust and membership in organisations was tested by logistic regression analysis. The results showed that older adults in Vsterbotten in Sweden experienced better self-rated health than in Finland. Furthermore, interpersonal trust and active membership in organisations were associated with self-rated health among 65- and 75-year olds even after having controlled for the influence of region. We therefore conclude that the association between social capital and self-rated health tends to be robust across contextually similar regions, but that further analyses are warranted in order to clarify the nature of this relationship. (Publisher abstract)
Self-neglect and cognitive function among community-dwelling older persons
- Authors:
- DONG XinQi, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 25(8), August 2010, pp.798-806.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
While self-neglect with older people is a public health issue, it is unclear to what extent it is associated with cognitive function. As such, this study examined the cross-sectional association between self-neglect and cognitive function. The study identified 1,094 Chicago Health and Aging Project participants who had self-neglect reported to social services, which assessed the self-neglect severity. Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (Perceptual Speed), and both immediate and delayed recall of the East Boston Memory Test (Episodic Memory). An index of global cognitive function scores was derived by averaging z-scores of all tests. Findings indicated that self-neglect was associated with poorer cognitive function. After adjusting for confounders, self-neglect was associated with lower global cognitive function, and perceptual speed. In addition, higher self-neglect severity scores were associated with lower global cognitive function. Greater self-neglect severity was not correlated with worse performance on MMSE, but was correlated with worse performance on both episodic memory, and perceptual speed. While self-neglect was associated with lower cognitive function, episodic memory and perceptual speed, future research is needed to examine the temporality of these associations.
An empirical typology of lifetime and current gambling behaviors: association with health status of older adults
- Authors:
- HONG Song-Lee, SACCO Paul, CUNNINGHAM-WILLIAMS Renee M.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 13(2), March 2009, pp.265-273.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Despite the low prevalence of gambling problems, older adults experience poorer health status given certain vulnerabilities associated with aging. This study aimed to classify lifetime (LPG) and current (CPG) problem gambling patterns, identify determinants of gambling patterns, and examine their association with current health status. Using older adult gamblers (n = 489) in the Gambling Impact and Behavior Study, Latent Class Analysis classified LPG and CPG subgroups based on 10 DSM-IV criteria: preoccupation, tolerance, withdrawal, loss of control, escape, chasing losses, lying, illegal acts, relationship impairment and financial bailout. A two-class solution was the best fitting for LPG and CPG groups. Except for illegal acts, the remaining criteria endorsed the distinguishing patterns. It was observed that 10.8% LPGs, 8.4% CPGs and 2.2% with both. Participation in religious services was protective of both groups. Gambling for excitement and to win money were related to CPG. Further, CPG was significantly related to worse self-rated health. Although problem gambling is strongly characterized by number and type of diagnostic criteria, findings support a focus to include targeted assessment of additional clinically meaningful gambling correlates. Research on the moderator of participation in faith-based communities on problem gambling is also warranted.
Well-being of older people in ageing societies
- Author:
- ZAIDI Asghar
- Publisher:
- Ashgate
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 318p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Aldershot
Part 1 of this book sets the context with an introduction and chapters on conceptualising well-being of older people, methodological choices in measuring well-being and the British pension and social benefit system. Part 2 gives empirical findings on coupling of disadvantages - income deprivation and limiting health in old age, income mobility in old age, covariates of income mobility in old age, and a comparative investigation of income mobility of the elderly in Britain and the Netherlands. Part 3 has a single chapter consisting of a synthesising discussion and conclusions. Much information is given in figures and tables.
Reconceptualizing early and late onset: a life course analysis of older heroin users
- Authors:
- BOERI Miriam Williams, STERK Claire E., ELIFSON Kirk W.
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 48(5), October 2008, pp.637-645.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article applies a life course perspective to gain a further understanding of older adult drug use, specifically contrasting early- and late-onset heroin users. Qualitative data were collected from 29 older heroin users in the US. Life course analysis focused on the users' experiences across the life span. The findings suggest that those ageing into heroin use (late onset- ie those who began using heroin in their 30s or older) are disadvantaged compared to those who are maturing in (early onset - those who began using heroin before their 30s and continue using) except in areas of health. It is proposed that conceptualizing the use of heroin and other illicit drugs among older adults based on the user's life course trajectory will provide insights for social and health services, including drug treatment.
Financial strain, negative social interaction, and self-rated health: evidence from two United States nationwide longitudinal surveys
- Authors:
- KRAUSE Neal, NEWSOM Jason T., ROOK Karen S.
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 28(7), October 2008, pp.1001-1023.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Three hypotheses concerning negative social interaction in later life were evaluated in this study. First, it was predicted that greater personal economic difficulty is associated with more frequent negative social interaction with social network members in general. Secondly, it was proposed that more frequent negative social interaction exacerbates the undesirable effect of personal financial strain on change in self-rated health during late life. Thirdly, an effort was made to see if some types of negative social interaction, but not others, accentuate the undesirable effects of personal economic problems on self-rated health. Data from two nationwide longitudinal surveys that were conducted in the United States revealed that greater personal financial difficulty is associated with more interpersonal conflict. The findings further indicate that the undesirable effects of personal economic difficulty on change in self-rated health are more pronounced at progressively higher levels of negative social interaction. Finally, the data suggest that one form of negative social interaction (not getting help when it is expected) is more likely to intensify the unwanted effects of personal financial strain on self-rated health than other types of negative social interaction.