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Affect and loneliness among centenarians and the oldest old: the role of individual and social resources
- Authors:
- MARGRETT Jennifer A., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 15(3), April 2011, pp.385-396.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Affect and loneliness are important indicators of mental health and well-being in older adulthood. Negative affect appears to be related to psychological distress and depression. Positive affect is associated with optimism, adaptive coping responses, and lower depression. The aim of this study was to examine the ability of individual and social resources in predicting positive and negative affect and loneliness within a sample of oldest-old individuals including centenarians. Data collection was done as part of the Georgia Centenarian Study, Phase 3, 2001-2008. The eligible sample for this study included 55 octogenarians aged 81-90 years and 77 centenarians and near centenarians aged 98-109 years, all of whom scored 17 or more on the Mini-Mental Status Exam. The participants completed demographics and multiple indicators of mental health, functional ability, cognition, social functioning, and personality. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that, within this sample of cognitively intact oldest old, measures of executive control and cognitive functioning demonstrated limited association with mental health. Personality, specifically neuroticism, was strongly related to mental health indicators for both age groups and social relations were particularly important associates of centenarians' mental health.
Seasonal mood variation in the elderly: the Leiden 85-plus Study
- Authors:
- DE CRAEN Anton J. M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(3), March 2005, pp.269-273.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The influence of seasonal changes on mood and behaviour is called seasonality. The prevalence of seasonality in elderly subjects is unknown. All subjects from the Leiden 85-plus Study with an MMSE score of 19 or more were assessed for depressive feelings at age 85 and yearly thereafter. The influence of time of the year, duration of sunlight, daylight, and rain on the prevalence of depressive symptoms was assessed using linear mixed models for repeated measurements. There was no significant seasonal pattern in the data (p = 0.44). Within each of the four years of observation (85, 86, 87 and 88 years) and all years combined, there was also no significant association between the one-month cumulation of duration of sunlight, daylight, or rain and the score on the GDS (all p-values >0.05). The results of either the one week or three-month accumulation of sunlight, daylight, or rain were comparable to the one-month results. Estimates of prevalence of seasonality reported in the literature might be overestimated or a remarkable difference between young and old subjects exists.
Lifetime trauma, emotional support, and life satisfaction among older adults
- Author:
- KRAUSE Neal
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 44(5), October 2004, pp.615-623.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among lifetime exposure to traumatic events, emotional support, and life satisfaction in three cohorts of older adults. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a nationwide sample of 1,518 older people in 2003. Approximately 500 elders were interviewed in each of the following age cohorts: Young–old (age 65–74), old–old (75–84), and oldest–old (85 and older). The findings suggest that exposure to lifetime trauma is associated with less life satisfaction in all three age cohorts. The data further reveal that emotional support offsets the effects of trauma on feelings of life satisfaction in the old-old and the oldest–old. The stress buffering properties of emotional support were especially evident in the oldest–old cohort. The findings underscore the need to develop interventions that help older people deal more effectively with lifetime trauma. Moreover, the results suggest that interventions providing emotional support may be especially helpful for the oldest–old.
Positive attitude toward life, emotional expression, self-rated health, and depressive symptoms among centenarians and near-centenarians
- Authors:
- KATO Kaori, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 20(9), 2016, pp.930-939.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objectives: Favorable attitudes, emotions, personality characteristics, and self-rated health have been associated with successful ageing in late life. However, less is known regarding these constructs and their relationships to mental health outcomes in the oldest old persons. This study examined cross-sectional relationships of these psychological factors to depressive symptoms in centenarians and near-centenarians. Methods: A selected sample of Ashkenazi Jewish older adults aged 98–107 (n = 54, 78% female) without significant cognitive impairment participated. Cognitive function was assessed by Mini-Mental Status Examination, positive attitude toward life and emotional expression by the Personality Outlook Profile Scale (POPS), self-rated health by participants' subjective rating of their present health, and depressive symptoms by the Geriatric Depression Scale. Results: Results demonstrated inverse associations of the positive attitude toward life domain of the POPS and self-rated health with participants' levels of depressive symptoms even after adjusting for the effects of history of medical illnesses, cognitive function, and demographic variables. Additionally, participants with high levels of care showed higher levels of depressive symptoms. Path analysis supported the partially mediating role of positive attitude toward life in the relationship between self-rated health and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: These findings emphasised the important roles of positive attitudes and emotions as well as self-rated health in mental health outcomes in the oldest old. Although, limited by its cross-sectional design, findings suggest these psychological factors may exert protective effects on mental health outcomes in advanced age. (Edited publisher abstract)
Predictors of life satisfaction in frail elderly
- Authors:
- ABU-BADER Soleman H., ROGERS Anissa, BARUSCH Amanda S.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 38(2), 2002, pp.3-17.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This study examined the relationship between life satisfaction and physical status, emotional health, social support and locus of control in the frail elderly. Analysis identified four significant predictors of life satisfaction: Perceived physical health, social support, emotional balance, and locus of control. Physical health emerged as the most significant predictor of life satisfaction accounting for 14% of the variance. Social support, emotional balance and locus of control each accounted for an additional 6%of the variance in life satisfaction.
Death attitudes and the older adult: theories, concepts and applications
- Editor:
- TOMER Adrian
- Publisher:
- Brunner-Routledge
- Publication year:
- 2000
- Pagination:
- 293p.,bibliogs.
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, PA
Death and aging are two topics not often discussed together. This book seeks to bridge the fields of gerontology and thanatology. Topics discussed include death attitudes, defined as attitudes towards the dying process, end-of-life decision making, and death itself.
Successful aging in the Australian longitudinal study of aging: applying the MacArthur model cross-nationally
- Authors:
- ANDREWS Gary, CLARK Michael, LUSZCZ Mary
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Issues, 58(4), Winter 2002, pp.749-765.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study used the criteria developed in the MacArthur studies on successful aging to identify subgroups with higher, intermediate, or lower levels of function, and to compare them across a range of other domains. Data were drawn from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ALSA) in Adelaide, Australia, which is a population-based, bio-psycho-social study of a cohort of 1947 adults aged 70 years or more. Results showed risk and protective effects of successful aging for physical functioning and performance, lifestyle, cognition, affect, and personality. The findings confirm that people age with differing degrees of success and those aging most successfully not only live longer, but also experience a better quality of life.