Positive mental health moderates the association between PTSD symptoms and subjective accelerated aging among older adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 885-889
Author(s):  
Yuval Palgi

ABSTRACTPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are known for predicting accelerated aging. However, it has not been examined whether individuals are subjectively aware of this process. The present study examined whether PTSD symptoms predict subjective accelerated aging and whether positive mental health status moderates this relationship. One hundred and thirty-two community-dwelling older adults (M = 66.85, SD = 9.13) who were sampled through random dialing of Jewish residents in the south of Israel completed the questionnaire twice: At Wave 1 after the flare-up of an Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and at Wave 2, a year later. Participants reported their PTSD symptoms, positive mental health, and on their subjective accelerated aging a year later. Higher levels of PTSD symptoms and lower levels of positive mental health were separately related to increased subjective accelerated aging. Participants with a lower level of positive mental health demonstrated a stronger association between PTSD symptoms and subjective accelerated aging. These findings emphasize that individuals who suffer from higher levels of PTSD symptoms and specifically those with lower levels of positive mental health status tend to feel they are aging faster. This finding adds to previous research suggesting that alongside the physiological process of accelerated aging there is also a subjective similar process.

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 511-519
Author(s):  
Omolola Adepoju ◽  
Szu-Hsuan Lin ◽  
Michael Mileski ◽  
Clemens Scott Kruse ◽  
Andrew Mask

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-154
Author(s):  
Shima Nazari ◽  
◽  
Pouya Farokhnezhad Afshar ◽  
Leila Sadegh Moghdada ◽  
Alireza Namazi Shabestari ◽  
...  

Introduction: The elderly need social support to reduce their physical and mental disabilities. Perceived social support is one of the effective factors in the lifestyle of older adults. Objective: This study aimed to determine the association between perceived social support and mental health status among older adults. Materials and Methods: This research is a cross-sectional analytical study. The study data were collected using a perceived social support (PSS) scale and general health questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). A total of 302 eligible older adults were selected through a random sampling method from primary health centers in the north, south, east, west, and center of Tehran. The inclusion criteria were those community-dwelling older adults aged ≥60 years and with normal cognitive abilities. The collected data were analyzed using t test, ANOVA, the Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regressions. Results: The mean ±SD age of older adults was 70.01 ±6.29 years. Their mean ±SD scores of the PSS and GHQ-12 were 130.95 ±16.05 and 7.29 ±5.55, respectively. The results showed no significant relationship between demographic variables and PSS. There was a significant inverse correlation between the PSS score and the GHQ-12 score (P= 0.01, r= -0.878). The PSS explained 0.66 of the total variances of “positively phrased items” of GHQ-12 (adjusted R2= 0.66) and 0.76 of the total variances of “negatively phrased items” of GHQ-12 (adjusted R2= 0.76). Conclusion: Our findings showed that the PSS and mental health are at a desirable level in this study, and the PSS is not affected by demographic variables. The PSS is a promoting factor for mental health status among older adults.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 436-436
Author(s):  
Daniel R Y Gan ◽  
Grand H-L Cheng ◽  
Tze Pin Ng ◽  
John Chye Fung ◽  
Im Sik Cho

Abstract Given reduced life spaces, the neighborhood often functions as a social venue for older adults. Yet how these everyday social spaces affect older adults’ psychosocial wellbeing remains largely unknown. Drawing on the GRP-CARE Survey data, this paper examined the relation between neighborhood experiences and positive mental health. Participants were 601 community-dwelling Singaporeans aged 50+ who lived in public housing neighborhoods. Neighborhood experiences were measured using the four-factorial, 16-item OpenX scale (Gan, Fung, Cho, 2019); positive mental health was measured using a six-factorial, 19-item scale (Vaingankar et al., 2011). Both scales have good psychometric properties and had been validated. Path analysis between relevant factors of both scales was conducted using Stata, within a theorized model of causation from neighborhood environment to social factors to psychosocial health. Age, education, ethnicity and sex were controlled for. Multiple linear regression analysis showed a strong, positive association between neighborhood experiences and mental health (p=0.000) even after controlling for personal traits (operationalized as depressive symptoms, GDS) in addition to sociodemographic variables. Path analysis showed that two distinct neighborhood health processes mediated this association. These were (1) the potential for a sense of community in the neighborhood improved emotional support, and (2) having better neighborly friendships improved interpersonal skills. These neighborhood health processes provide us with new lenses to understand older adults’ everyday experiences of their neighborhoods. Community-based interventions to improve older adults’ psychosocial wellbeing may be developed to facilitate these processes. Spatial and programmatic implications will be discussed in relation to age-friendly cities and communities (AFCC).


2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 310-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Anne Sirey ◽  
Samprit Banerjee ◽  
Patricia Marino ◽  
Ashley Halkett ◽  
Elmira Raeifar ◽  
...  

GeroPsych ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Yaakov Hoffman ◽  
Amit Shrira ◽  
Ehud Bodner

Abstract. This study had three goals: (1) to address daily links between subjective age and the three psychological distress facets (depression/anxiety/somatization); (2) to examine whether such links would be stronger under higher posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) levels; (3) to assess which PTSD cluster is most relevant. The sample (168 community-dwelling-older-adults, mean age = 73.48, 46% female) completed an online, web-based questionnaire across 14 consecutive days. Results show that on the days participants felt older, they reported higher psychological distress, which was further exacerbated by higher PTSD levels. The PTSD cluster of intrusive thoughts was most relevant. The discussion addresses the “double-burden” view, two theories of subjective age (resource/stress vs. ageism), and finally interventions for daily psychological distress reduction amongst older adults.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 220-221
Author(s):  
Kosuke Fujita ◽  
Aiko Inoue ◽  
Masafumi Kuzuya ◽  
Chiharu Uno ◽  
Chi Hsien Huang ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen-Maria Vasiliadis ◽  
Sarah Gagné ◽  
Natalia Jozwiak ◽  
Michel Préville

ABSTRACTBackground: To ascertain gender-specific determinants of antidepressant and mental health (MH) service use associated with suicidal ideation.Methods: Data used in this study came from the ESA (Enquête sur la Santé des Aînés) survey carried out in 2005–2008 on a large sample of community-dwelling older adults (n = 2,004). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out.Results: The two-year prevalence of suicidal ideation was 8.4% and 20.3% had persistent suicidal thoughts at one-year follow-up. In males, the prevalence of antidepressant and MH service use in respondents with suicidal ideation reached 32.2% and 48.9%, respectively. In females, the corresponding rates were 42.6% and 65.6%. Males were less likely to consult MH services than females when their MH was judged poorly. Male respondents with higher income and education were less likely to use antidepressant and MH services. However, males using benzodiazepines were more likely than females to be dispensed an antidepressant. Among respondents with suicidal ideation, gender was not associated with service use. Younger age, however, was associated with antidepressant use.Conclusions: Increased promotion campaigns sensitizing men to the prodromal symptoms of depression and the need to foster access to MH care when the disorder is manageable may be needed.


2003 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 390-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Parker ◽  
L. Lee Roff ◽  
D. L. Klemmack ◽  
H. G. Koenig ◽  
P. Baker ◽  
...  

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