Psychological Well-being In Later Life Research Articles

AN ULTRA-SHORT SCALE ASSESSING AWARENESS OF AGE-RELATED CHANGE IN LARGE-SCALE SURVEYS

Awareness of Age-Related Change (AARC) may play a key role in maintaining physical health and psychological well-being in later life. Thus, incorporating the concept of AARC into large-scale population-based surveys of well-being and health is relevant to gain a better understanding of its relevance. Hence, a brief measure that recognizes the multi-dimensionality of the construct (i.e. gain-related vs. loss-related self-perceptions) is needed. Based on multi-dimensional item response (MIRT) analyses of AARC responses from a total of 819 community-residing individuals aged 40–89 from the United States and Germany, a 10-item scale is presented that offers a valid, reliable, and effective measurement of AARC gains and losses across this segment of the adult life span. This scale will be used for the first time in a representative population survey of adults aged 80 and older, the NRW80+ Study, conducted in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.

Childhood Maltreatment and Psychological Well-Being in Later Life: The Mediating Effect of Contemporary Relationships with the Abusive Parent.

Parental childhood maltreatment has a negative impact on psychological well-being in adulthood. However, little is known about whether and how contemporary relationships with an abusive parent might explain the long-term harmful effects. Thus, this study aims to examine the mediating effect of later-life relationships with an abusive parent on the association between parental childhood maltreatment and psychological well-being. Using the 2004-2005 Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, this study analyzed a total of 1,696 adults aged 65 years. A series of ordinary least squares regression and mediational analyses were performed. Key findings showed that maternal childhood neglect and abuse were associated with decreased emotional closeness with mothers, which was, in turn, associated with diminished psychological well-being. In addition, childhood neglect was associated with less frequent exchanges of social support with mothers, which was, in turn, associated with diminished psychological well-being. This study suggests that, despite childhood maltreatment, parent-child relationships persist throughout life, and the continuing relationship with an abusive parent may undermine adult victims' psychological well-being. When intervening with mental health issues of adults who have experienced childhood maltreatment, their unresolved issues with the parent should be properly addressed.

Prayer, Attachment to God, and Changes in Psychological Well-Being in Later Life.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of prayer and attachment to God on psychological well-being (PWB) in later life. Using data from two waves of the nationwide Religion, Aging, and Health Survey, we estimate the associations between frequency of prayer and attachment to God at baseline with cross-wave changes in three measures of PWB: self-esteem, optimism, and life satisfaction. Prayer does not have a main effect on PWB. Secure attachment to God is associated with improvements in optimism but not self-esteem or life satisfaction. The relationship between prayer and PWB is moderated by attachment to God; prayer is associated with improvements in PWB among securely attached individuals but not those who are insecurely attached to God. These findings shed light on the complex relationship between prayer and PWB by showing that the effects of prayer are contingent upon one's perceived relationship with God.

Secure attachment and eudaimonic well-being in late adulthood: The mediating role of self-compassion

ABSTRACTObjectives: Attachment style refers to a systematic pattern of emotions, behaviors, and expectations that people have for how others will respond in relationships. Extensive evidence has documented the importance of attachment security in infants, children, adolescents, and adults, but the effects of attachment among exclusively older adult populations have received less attention. The present study explored the relationships between attachment style in late adulthood and eudaimonic well-being, which refers to a life replete with meaning, productive activity, and striving to reach one's potential. It also explored the mediating role of self-compassion, which can be described as a kind and forgiving attitude toward the self.Method: A sample of 126 community-dwelling older adults (mean age = 70.40 years) completed measures tapping adult attachment, self-compassion, and six theoretically derived markers of eudaimonic well-being.Results: Attachment anxiety and avoidance were inversely related to self-acceptance, personal growth, interpersonal relationship quality, purpose in life, and environmental mastery. Mediation analyses showed that self-compassion mediated each of these relationships.Conclusion: Results support the importance of attachment orientation for psychological well-being in late life and indicate that secure attachment facilitates an attitude of kindness and acceptance toward the self.

Purposeful Engagement, Healthy Aging, and the Brain.

Research on psychological well-being in later life has identified strengths and vulnerabilities that occur with aging. We review the conceptual and philosophical foundations of a eudaimonic model of well-being and its empirical translation into six key dimensions of positive functioning. We also consider its implications for health, broadly defined. Numerous findings from national longitudinal samples of U.S. adults are described. They show declining scores on purpose in life and personal growth with aging, but also underscore the notable variability among older persons in these patterns. Recently, health benefits have been identified among older adults who maintain high levels of a particular aspect of well-being, namely, purposeful life engagement. These benefits include extended longevity, reduced risk for various disease outcomes, reduced physiological dysregulation, and gene expression linked to better inflammatory profiles. The brain mechanisms that underlie such outcomes are also examined via a focus on affective style. Adults with higher levels of purpose in life show more rapid recovery from negative stimulus provocation, whereas those with higher well-being overall show sustained activation of reward circuitry in response to positive stimuli, and this pattern is associated with lower diurnal cortisol output. Volumetric findings (right insular gray matter volume) have also been linked with eudaimonic well-being. Eudaimonic well-being predicts better health and longer lives, and thus constitutes an important direction for future research and practice. Intervention studies designed to promote well-being, including among those suffering from psychological disorders, are briefly described.

Do cherished children age successfully? Longitudinal findings from the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study.

Although early adversity has been linked to worse mental and physical health in adulthood, few studies have investigated the pathways through which positive and negative dimensions of early experiences can jointly influence psychological well-being in later life. This study examined: (a) profiles of early experiences across multiple domains, (b) the relations of these profiles to hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in later life, and (c) whether midlife social support mediated these relations. We first conducted latent class analysis of early experiences using data from 1,076 men in the VA Normative Aging Study who completed the Childhood Experiences Scale (age: M = 69, SD = 7). Analyses yielded 3 profiles of early experiences, labeled as cherished (strong support and some losses), harshly disciplined (harsh parental discipline, low positive reinforcement, and nonnormative stressors), and ordinary (few stressors and low parental attention). Next, we applied structural equation modeling to data on a subset of this sample assessed 7 years later on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being (n = 496; age: M = 76, SD = 7). In general, the cherished group reported stronger qualitative social support in midlife than the harshly disciplined and ordinary groups, which in turn was related to greater hedonic (life satisfaction, positive affect) and eudaimonic (competence, positive relations with others) well-being in later life. The cherished group also reported higher autonomy than the ordinary group, but this association was independent of midlife social support. Our findings suggest that experiencing adversity in the context of a nurturing early environment can promote successful aging through the maintenance of supportive relationships in midlife.

Social ties and psychological well-being in late life: the mediating role of relationship satisfaction

Objective: The current paper examines whether quantitative aspects of social support (i.e., support network characteristics) indirectly influence psychological well-being via older adults' qualitative perceptions of support (i.e., satisfaction with social relationships).Methods: A sample of 416 adults aged ≥60 was drawn from the Social Integration and Aging Study, a community-based survey conducted in a small US (Midwestern) city. The survey assessed social networks, social support, and physical and mental health among older adults.Results: Bootstrapping was used to examine mediation models. Greater support network size predicted lower perceived stress, fewer depressive symptoms, and better life satisfaction, yet this association was fully mediated by relationship satisfaction. For support network composition, greater proportion kin was associated with lower stress and better life satisfaction, though not depressive symptoms, however, relationship satisfaction did not mediate this link.Discussion: Findings highlight the complex interplay of support network characteristics and satisfaction, and suggest the greater import of support satisfaction for older adults' psychological well-being.

Listening to Religious Music and Mental Health in Later Life.

Research has linked several aspects of religion--including service attendance, prayer, meditation, religious coping strategies, congregational support systems, and relations with God, among others--with positive mental health outcomes among older U.S. adults. This study examines a neglected dimension of religious life: listening to religious music. Two waves of nationally representative data on older U.S. adults were analyzed (n = 1,024). Findings suggest that the frequency of listening to religious music is associated with a decrease in death anxiety and increases in life satisfaction, self-esteem, and a sense of control across the 2 waves of data. In addition, the frequency of listening to gospel music (a specific type of religious music) is associated with a decrease in death anxiety and an increase in a sense of control. These associations are similar for blacks and whites, women and men, and low- and high-socioeconomic status individuals. Religion is an important socioemotional resource that has been linked with desirable mental health outcomes among older U.S. adults. This study shows that listening to religious music may promote psychological well-being in later life. Given that religious music is available to most individuals--even those with health problems or physical limitations that might preclude participation in more formal aspects of religious life--it might be a valuable resource for promoting mental health later in the life course.

The latent factors of depression from the short forms of the CES-D are consistent, reliable and valid in community-living older adults

BackgroundDepression is an important public health outcome in the older adult population. It is associated with declining physical and psychological well-being and increasing healthcare utilisation. The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) although widely accepted as a screening tool for depressive symptoms in older adults, can be long and exhaustive as part of a comprehensive geriatric assessment. AimWe investigated the consistency, reliability and validity of the original and three short formats of the CES-D. MethodsSix thousand six hundred and thirty-seven community-living adults, aged ≥50years from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), completed the 20-item CES-D. Confirmatory factor analysis determined the factor structures of the 20-, 10- and two 8-item formats of the CES-D. Latent factors from each format were validated against disability and perceived stress, particularly the Positive Affect factor. Analysis was also performed in a subset aged 65+years. ResultsAll formats of the CES-D displayed good internally consistency (0.87–0.72) and good model fit for the expected four- and three-factor structures of the CES-D. Latent factors from all formats were representative of each other and the Positive Affect factor was negatively correlated with disability and perceived stress on all CES-D formats. ConclusionShort forms of the CES-D are consistent, reliable and valid for use in the older adult population (50+ or 65+years), where avoiding long assessments and response fatigue is warranted. These formats may be used to measure Positive Affect, an important construct related to physical health, resilience and psychological well-being in later life.

Psychological well-being and incident frailty in men and women: the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Observations that older people who enjoy life more tend to live longer suggest that psychological well-being may be a potential resource for healthier ageing. We investigated whether psychological well-being was associated with incidence of physical frailty. We used multinomial logistic regression to examine the prospective relationship between psychological well-being, assessed using the CASP-19, a questionnaire that assesses perceptions of control, autonomy, self-realization and pleasure, and incidence of physical frailty or pre-frailty, defined according to the Fried criteria (unintentional weight loss, weakness, self-reported exhaustion, slow walking speed and low physical activity), in 2557 men and women aged 60 to ≥ 90 years from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Men and women with higher levels of psychological well-being were less likely to become frail over the 4-year follow-up period. For a standard deviation higher score in psychological well-being at baseline, the relative risk ratio (RR) for incident frailty, adjusted for age, sex and baseline frailty status, was 0.46 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.40-0.54]. There was a significant association between psychological well-being and risk of pre-frailty (RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.63-0.77). Examination of scores for hedonic (pleasure) and eudaimonic (control, autonomy and self-realization) well-being showed that higher scores on both were associated with decreased risk. Associations were partially attenuated by further adjustment for other potential confounding factors but persisted. Incidence of pre-frailty or frailty was associated with a decline in well-being, suggesting that the relationship is bidirectional. Maintaining a stronger sense of psychological well-being in later life may protect against the development of physical frailty. Future research needs to establish the mechanisms underlying these findings.

When a Partner Has a Sexual Problem: Gendered Implications for Psychological Well-being in Later Life

Guided by symbolic interactionism, we examined (a) whether the psychological well-being of older adults might be threatened if they feel bothered by an intimate partner's sexual unresponsiveness and (b) whether such sexual unresponsiveness of a partner might be compensated by perceived supportiveness of significant others. We explored these questions separately by gender, anticipating that sexual unresponsiveness might affect men and women differently and that support from a partner might be more important for men and support from others more important for women. Using data from 1,346 participants in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, we conducted multiple group regression analysis and estimated models separately but simultaneously for women and men. Although feeling bothered by the sexual unresponsiveness of an intimate partner was significantly associated with both women's and men's depressive symptoms, the moderating effect of the partner's supportiveness was significant only for women. The results suggest that gender is a key dimension for understanding the relations among negative feelings about sexual relationships, socioemotional support from significant others, and psychological well-being in older age.

Subjective Well-being in Later Life: 20 Years after the Butterworths Monograph Series on Individual and Population Aging

This article discusses developments in theory and research on happiness two decades after publication of Psychological Well-Being in Later Life (Butterworths, 1991) by Albert Kozma, Michael Stones, and Kevin McNeil. Major empirical advances include new knowledge about contributions to happiness resulting from genetically related effects and personality. Personality traits have stronger relationships with happiness than was apparent 20 years ago and contribute to covariance between happiness and some of its predictors. Evolving emphases in research include the ways in which genetically related effects influence how people shape, and react to, their environment.

Functional disability and psychological well-being in later life: Does source of support matter?

Objectives: This study explored the buffering effects of instrumental and emotional support from different sources against the impact of increasing functional disability on depression and life satisfaction. Methods: Random effects modeling was utilized with data from a nationwide longitudinal study in Taiwan. A total of 6722 observations from 2856 elders over a seven-year period served as subjects of this study. Results: The results suggested that instrumental support from family members and formal organizations as well as emotional support from families, friends and formal organizations was significantly associated with better psychological well-being among the elderly in Taiwan. In addition, receiving instrumental support from family members and formal organizations can moderate the linkage between increasing functional disability and depression. Conclusion: The results emphasize the importance of encouraging a partnership between natural helpers and health care professionals. A good integration between formal and informal networks could more effectively meet the needs of the frail older adults and their families. This study also calls for more attention to the cultural competence of health care policy and service delivery.

The Long Arm of Offspring: Adult Children’s Troubles as Teenagers and Elderly Parents’ Mental Health

Little research examines the longevity of the influence of children’s problems on parental well-being. Integrating stress process and life-course perspectives, the authors argue that children’s problematic experiences in adolescence have strong capabilities to influence parents’ mental health in late life, decades after these experiences occur. With a sample of 670 African American and White mothers and fathers age 65 and older, the authors show that elderly parents have higher levels of anger when their offspring had more difficulties as teens; for Black parents this association remains with controls for children’s problems as adults and current concerns about adult children, whereas for Whites it is mediated by concerns. Teen difficulties are also related to current depression for elderly Black but not White parents. This research adds to the literature on family, mental health, and aging by showing how psychological well-being in late life is in part a function of parenting experiences decades earlier.

Determinants of a sense of mastery in Korean American elders: A longitudinal assessment

Objectives: Given the importance of sense of mastery for physical and psychological well-being in later life, this study examined the predictors of a sense of mastery among Korean American elders. Method: The sample included 141 community-dwelling Korean Americans aged 60 and older (M age = 68.5, SD = 6.40), who provided data in both 2003 and 2005. The model predicting sense of mastery at time 2 was estimated with sets of predictors that included (a) baseline sense of mastery, (b) other baseline characteristics (age, gender, education, length of stay in the United States, and baseline chronic conditions and functional disability), (c) non-health-related change (widowhood, decline in financial status and increased difficulty with transportation), (d) health-related change (increase in chronic conditions and increase in functional disability) and (e) an interaction term (increase in chronic conditions × increase in functional disability). Results: After adjusting for baseline mastery, we found that baseline functional disability, decline in financial status and increased functional disability posed a significant threat to subsequent levels of mastery. Additionally, the interaction between increase in chronic conditions and increase in functional disability was significant: individuals who experienced increases in both chronic conditions and functional disability were at particular risk of a diminished sense of mastery. Conclusion: Findings underscore the need for intervention efforts to preserve and promote a sense of mastery among older adults facing health decline.

Close Companion Friends, Self-Expression, and Psychological Well-Being in Late Life

This study has two central aims. Both are associated with self-expression, which is defined as the ability to fully utilize one’s own talents and abilities. The first goal is to see if self-expression reduces depressive symptoms over time whereas the second aim is to see whether close companion friends help older people more fully utilize their talents and abilities. Data from a nationwide longitudinal survey of older people in the United States suggest that older people who are able to find an outlet for their talents and abilities experience fewer symptoms of depression over time than older adults who do not feel they have been able to use their talents and abilities. The findings further reveal that older people who have a good relationship with a close companion friend are more likely to experience higher levels of self-expression.

Dealing with negative social exchanges in later life: Coping responses, goals, and effectiveness.

Negative exchanges have been shown to detract from psychological well-being in later life, but little research has investigated how older adults respond to such exchanges. The authors examined older adults' coping responses, goals, and effectiveness following a specific negative social exchange. The findings revealed that participants' coping responses and the effectiveness of these responses varied as a function of their coping goals. The results underscore the importance of considering older adults' coping responses and goals when evaluating factors that affect the impact of negative social exchanges on well-being in later life.

God-Mediated Control and Psychological Well-Being in Late Life

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between feelings of God-mediated control and psychological well-being in a nationally representative sample of older adults. In the process, race differences in the relationship between God-mediated control and well-being are evaluated. The findings reveal that older people with a strong sense of God-mediated control tend to have greater life satisfaction, more optimism, a higher sense of self-worth, and lower levels of death anxiety. Pervasive race differences also emerged from the data. Specifically, older Blacks reported higher levels of God-mediated control than older Whites. In addition, the relationship between God-mediated control and all the well-being outcome measures was stronger for older Blacks than older Whites.

Psychological wellbeing in later life: the longitudinal effects of marriage, widowhood and marital status change

The study examined cross-sectionally and longitudinally psychological wellbeing in the context of marital status, gender, and age. Measures were taken eight years apart for three groups: married at both interviews; widowed at both interviews; and married at first interview but widowed at third. Data were analysed using multiple regression models: dependent variables were morale and social engagement; independent variables were marital status, gender and age. Cross-sectionally significant differences were found for marital status and age for both morale and social engagement. Both widowed and newly widowed participants reported lower morale and social engagement than their married counterparts. In the longitudinal model, when prior levels of morale were taken into account, only age and being newly widowed contributed significantly to the variance (R2). The same pattern of results was found for social engagement. Gender was never significant. The results illustrate the value of modelling both cross-sectional and longitudinal data. The latter demonstrated that the size of the effect differed between those who had recently widowed and those who had been widowed for longer. The study shows that age needs to be taken into account when examining widowhood.

Accounting for worker well-being

Preface (S.W. Polachek). Output-based pay: incentives, retention or sorting (E. Lazear). Independent contractors and self-employment as systems of incentives and control: theory, empirics, and a survey of evidence (J. Garen). Job loss in the United States, 1981-2001 (H. Farber). A long-term view of health status, disabilities, mortality, and participation in the DI and SSI disability programs (K. Rupp, P.S. Davies). Aids and the market for nurses (D.E. Kalist, S.J. Spurr). Bounding estimates of wage discrimination (J. G. Hirschberg, D. J. Slottje). Assortative mating or glass ceiling: Under-representation of female workers among top earners (E. Becker, C.M. Lindsay). Is retirement depressing: labor force inactivity and psychological well-being in later life (K.K. Charles). The employment effects of domestic violence (A. Farmer, J. Tiefenthaler). Earnings dispersion, risk aversion and education (C. Belzil, J. Hansen). Collective bargaining under complete information (C. Diaz-Moreno, J.E. Galdon-Sanchez). Active labor market policies and real-wage determination - Swedish evidence (A. Forslund, A.-S. Kolm).