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Risk factors and mediating pathways of loneliness and social support in community-dwelling older adults
- Authors:
- SCHITTGER Rebecca I. B., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 16(3), April 2012, pp.335-346.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Loneliness is a pervasive issue among the elderly. Two forms of loneliness are: emotional loneliness, which involves the lack of a close attachment relationship; and social loneliness, which stems from the lack of a satisfying and engaging social network. The aim of this study was to identify the biopsychosocial and cognitive risk factors of emotional loneliness, social loneliness, and social support. The study participants were 579 community-dwelling older adults living in Dublin. The participants completed a battery of biopsychosocial, physiological, cognitive, and demographic assessments. Analysis of the results was used to develop comprehensive models of emotional loneliness, social loneliness, and social support. The risk factors in the model for: emotional loneliness included depression, neuroticism, perceived stress, living alone and accommodation type; social loneliness included neuroticism, perceived stress, animal naming and number of grandchildren; and social support included extraversion, executive functioning, history of falls, age and whether the participant drives or not. Social support influenced emotional loneliness predominantly through indirect means, while its effect on social loneliness was more direct. The differing nature of these models confirms the importance of distinguishing between different types of loneliness and also between a lack of social support and loneliness.
Adherence to antiretroviral medication in older adults living with HIV/AIDS: a comparison of alternative models
- Authors:
- JOHNSON Christopher J., et al
- Journal article citation:
- AIDS Care, 21(5), May 2009, pp.541-551.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The CDC estimates that by 2015, half of all persons living with HIV/AIDS in the USA will be over the age of 50. Despite increasing HIV seroprevalence rates in older adults, most research examining adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) has focused on young HIV-infected persons and, in general, has been atheoretical in nature. This study examined two ART adherence conceptual frameworks to determine whether these models generalize to HIV-seropositive older adults. Two hundred and forty-four HIV-positive adults 50-plus years of age were recruited through AIDS service organizations in Ohio and New York. Participants completed a neuropsychological battery and an audio computer-assisted self-interview. FIML SEM analyses revealed that neuropsychological functioning was not associated with adherence. Fit indices supported a stress and coping model, with negative affect mediating the effects of social support and maladaptive coping on ART adherence. Results were consistent with stress and coping models and suggest that interventions intending to increase adherence to ART in HIV-infected older adults may be more effective if they address negative affect and enhance adaptive coping and social support.
Happiness and congruence in older adulthood: a structural model of life satisfaction
- Authors:
- BISHOP A.J., MARTIN P., POON L.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 10(5), September 2006, pp.445-453.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The purpose of this American study was to determine how health impairment, socioeconomic status, and social support relate to life satisfaction in later life. Using data from a sample of 320 older adults from The Georgia Centenarian Study, the authors constructed a structural model of life satisfaction. LISREL analysis was performed to test a two-factor model that included Happiness and Congruence and to determine the relationship of health impairment, socioeconomic status (SES), and social support to Happiness and Congruence, two measures of the Life Satisfaction Index-A (LSI-A). Data were found to provide a satisfactory fit of the model. Social support and SES were found to have direct effects on health impairment. Health impairment was a key predictor and mediating variable of Happiness and Congruence. Findings also support a relationship between social resources and subjective well-being in later life. In particular, the association between social resources and life satisfaction was mediated through health impairment. These findings offer understanding relative to how health and social resources influence past and present assessments of subjective well-being among the elderly.
Morale in old age: refining the model
- Authors:
- WENGER G. Clare, DAVIES Richard, SHAHTAHMASEBI Said
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 10(11), November 1995, pp.933-943.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The literature on morale has identified many variables as correlates. In most instances, relationships have been sought with specific variables without taking into account the possible effects of other factors which may be responsible for the correlation. Identifies correlating variables identified in a review of the literature and matches most of them with similar variables from a study conducted in North Wales. Bivariate and multivariate analyses are presented in an attempt to create a refinement of the model of morale. In so doing, the authors reduce the number of variables of interest by half and present a refined model which, when all other variables are controlled for, includes: health limited activities; potential carer when ill; support network type; meeting as many people as desired; self-assessed loneliness; self-assessed health.
Assessment of dementia patients and their families: an ecological-family-centred approach
- Author:
- MONAHAN Deborah J.
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Work, 18(2), May 1993, pp.123-131.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Demand for assessment and treatment of dementia patients and their families in the USA is expected to increase substantially by the end of the decade. Offers a guide to social work practice in the assessment of dementia patients and their families using an ecological-family-centred model of practice. A case presentation illustrated how to apply the model whilst incorporating ethnically sensitive practice principles. The model organized complex assessment issues that often arise when working with families of dementia patients and illustrates the significance of cultural diversity in case practice.
Loneliness, older people and a proposed social work response
- Author:
- HAGAN Robert
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work, 21(5), 2021, pp.1084-1104.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Summary: This article is based upon a scoping review of literature about older people and loneliness. Findings: Increasingly in the UK, older people’s experience of loneliness is conceptualised as a public health concern. Social workers will wish to respond appropriately to older adults reporting loneliness but may react on the basis of keenly held assumptions about loneliness in later life, with scant regard to distinct subcategorisation of the construct. Exploring what an appropriate social work response may be, this article first sets out four misconceptions related to older people’s loneliness: that older people are especially lonely, loneliness correlates with living alone, strengthening family networks is best for alleviating loneliness, and loneliness interventions should tackle the issue directly. Applications: A proposed model is introduced regarding social work intervention, focusing upon direct assessment of needs, the maintenance of meaningful existing relationships and, if required, potential introduction of new social support avenues. Additionally, it is recognised that a separate response to long-term chronic loneliness may involve psychological work addressing cognition. (Edited publisher abstract)
The concept of aging in place as intention
- Authors:
- AHN Mira, KANG Jiyun, KWON Hyun Joo
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 60(1), 2020, pp.50-59.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Objectives: This study aimed to frame the ageing in place (AIP) concept within an extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model incorporating environmental domains. The proposed model depicts the direct and indirect effects of environmental domains on AIP intention. The environmental domains related to meanings of home embrace personal, built, and interpersonal environments. As partial mediators between the environmental domains and AIP intention, TPB components (attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control toward AIP) were included to the model. Methods: The study sample comprised older adults aged 60 and older living in their own homes in the United States. Participants (N = 650) were obtained through an online survey with a nationwide sample. Path analyses were used to test hypothesised relationships within the proposed model. Results: The results confirmed the significant mediating role of the TPB components between the path from personal, built, and interpersonal environments to AIP intention. Except for one built environmental construct (housing satisfaction), personal and interpersonal environmental constructs were found to indirectly affect AIP intention. One of the interpersonal environmental constructs, social connectedness, was revealed as the strongest factor in this relationship. Implications: One major implication was drawn from the role of social connectedness and neighbourhood satisfaction toward AIP intention. These factors operate beyond an individual level and are closely interrelated. Because social connectedness can be promoted or discouraged by community-level physical or social interventions, the findings of this study confirm the critical role of community-level planning and programs to support healthy ageing among older adults. (Edited publisher abstract)
Social support networks of older migrants in England and Wales: the role of collectivist culture
- Authors:
- BURHOLT Vanessa, DOBBS Christine, VICTOR Christina
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 38(7), 2018, pp.1453-1477.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This article tests the fit of a social support network typology developed for collectivist cultures to six migrant populations living in England and Wales. We examine the predictive utility of the typology to identify networks most vulnerable to poor quality of life and loneliness. Variables representing network size, and the proportion of the network classified by gender, age, kin and proximity, were used in confirmatory and exploratory latent profile analysis to fit models to the data (N = 815; Black African, Black Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese). Multinomial logistic regression examined associations between demographic variables and network types. Linear regression examined associations between network types and wellbeing outcomes. A four-profile model was selected. Multigenerational Household: Younger Family networks were most robust with lowest levels of loneliness and greatest quality of life. Restricted Non-kin networks were least robust. Multigenerational Household: Younger Family networks were most prevalent for all but the Black Caribbean migrants. The typology is able to differentiate between networks with multigenerational households and can help identify vulnerable networks. There are implications for forecasting formal services and variation in networks between cultures. The use of a culturally appropriate typology could impact on the credibility of gerontological research. (Edited publisher abstract)
Using the social determinants of health as a framework to examine and address predictors of depression in later life
- Authors:
- CROSS-DENNY Bronwyn, ROBINSON Michael A.
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing International, 42(4), 2017, pp.393-412.
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Place of publication:
- New York
Depression in later life is an important public health concern. Comprehensive assessments incorporating all key areas of the social determinants of health (SDOH) framework can assist in developing effective interventions to ensure mental health for the increasing older adult population. This study uses the SDOH model for identifying, evaluating, and addressing risk factors that contribute to depression in older adults. Secondary data analysis of the Health and Retirement Study was used to conduct a hierarchical multiple regression analysis to examine predictors of depression in later life. The SDOH key areas were used as a framework for the regression model. The main findings showed predictors of depression were health and social support, emphasising the importance of ageing in place. Implications for practice include the provision of services within the home, neighbourhood, and community to maintain older adults within the least restrictive environments where they can maximise healthy living and continue to maintain connections with their social support networks. (Edited publisher abstract)
Six innovations in social care
- Authors:
- COMMUNITY CATALYSTS, et al
- Publisher:
- Community Catalysts
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 7
This paper provides summaries of six innovative models of support which draw upon the strengths and assets of people and communities. The innovations covered are: Community Catalysts CIS, Community Circles, Local Area Coordination, Shared Lives, Homeshare, and Wellbeing teams. Each summary provides information on the problem the approach aims to solve; the solution; evidence base; expected impact; the current state of the initiative; and what need to support the innovation to happen and what would stop the innovation from happening successfully. (Edited publisher abstract)