Research on Aging

To date, knowledge of the association between social-relational patterns and health among rural elders in non-Western social and cultural contexts is scant. Using regional population data in rural South Korea, this study examines comprehensive social relations among rural elders, and the extent to which heterogeneous patterns of social relations were associated with cognitive impairment and depression. Using comprehensive social-relational indicators with (a) the structure of social relations (b) the quality of social relations, we applied latent class analysis identified four subgroups of social relations among rural older adults: Restricted, Spouse Focused-Ambivalent, Community Engaged-Positive, and Diverse. We found that the Community-Engaged group was less likely to be depressed as well as have co-ocurring problems of cognitive impairment and depression.

A mixed method design was used to examine how caregiving and transitioning a family member into long-term care (LTC) influence planning. Participants, aged 50+ from the community, completed self-report questionnaires. Quantitative data evaluated differences between three groups (non-caregivers, caregivers, caregivers with experience in assisting with a LTC transition); and predictive effects of caregiving, care expectations and social support to planning. Interviews among a subsample of caregivers examined how experiences of caregiving, including assisting in a transition to LTC, and social support influenced planning. Results indicated that: (1) caregivers with LTC transition experience planned significantly more than non-caregivers, (2) caregiving, care expectations, and social support significantly predicted of planning, and (3) future care expectation was an important mechanism in the relationship between caregiving and planning. These findings underscore the impact of caregiving experiences on expectations of future care needs and preparation for future care needs, and the importance of social support.

Research shows that ageism (systemic discrimination against people because of their age) significantly undermines physical and psychological wellbeing, particularly among older adults. Our aim is to contribute to the literature by investigating whether this negative association varies across national religious context. We estimate multilevel models by drawing on a subset of data (ages 55 and above) from the fourth round of the European Social Survey (2008/2009). We find that ageism is negatively related to measures of wellbeing (happiness, life satisfaction, self-rated health). More importantly, the relationship is less pronounced in countries with higher levels of religiosity. These findings suggest that the country’s religious environment serves as a buffer against deleterious health consequences of ageism for the older population. Our study thus provides additional evidence on ageism as a critical risk factor and sheds novel light on the moderating role of country-level religiosity as a protective factor.

This study examined the relationship between the “availability of hugs” and self-rated health (SRH) in later life. Data of 20,258 older adults, aged 65 years and greater, were analyzed from the Canadian Community Health Survey. Logistic regression techniques were used to estimate the association between the availability of hugs and reporting higher SRH. Results demonstrated that participants who had hugs available to them “all,” “most,” and “some” of the time had significantly greater odds of reporting higher SRH than those who reported hugs available to them “none of the time” (OR_range = 1.31–1.46, 95% CI_range = [1.10–1.74], p_range = .01–.001). The availability of hugs was a stronger or more reliable associate of SRH than other established associates. As such, the potential health promoting role of hugs can be supported. Future research should examine the appropriate contexts, settings, and implementation practices for hugging interventions among consenting older adults.

Drawing on a life course and stress process perspective, this study examined the pathway from childhood SES to later year depressive symptoms, focusing on multiple life course SES and coping resources in old age. Data came from the 2006 and 2015 waves of the Korea Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS). We selected respondents aged 51–55 in 2006 who were followed up when they were between 60 to 64 years of age in 2015. We merged the middle aged data in 2006 with the 2015 data when the respondents were 60–64 years of age (N = 687). Phantom modeling was used to examine a multiple mediation pathway and multi-group analyses were conducted to examine the gender differences in the pathway.

For older men, satisfaction with social/leisure activities was a significant coping resource, while, for older women, satisfaction with family relations was important.