scholarly journals GROWING UP ON A FARM AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING IN LATER LIFE

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S57-S57
Author(s):  
Pamela Herd ◽  
Sanjay Asthana ◽  
Kamil Sicinski
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Wisconsin Longitudinal Study ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract There is growing interest in rural disadvantage and the implications for health and well-being in later life. We examine the relationship between living in rural areas in childhood and cognitive outcomes later in life using the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. The WLS has prospective childhood measures of geographic status, adolescent IQ, and detailed measures of socioeconomic status, combined with later life measures of health and cognitive functioning. We find a robust relationship between rurality and lower levels of cognitive functioning, but it is explained by growing up on a farm.

scholarly journals Cross-National Perspectives on Health and Well-Being in Later Life

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 484-484
Author(s):  
Jennifer Ailshire ◽  
Yuan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
International Comparisons ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Early Life Adversity ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Cross National

Abstract Cross-national comparisons are increasingly being used to re-evaluate whether our theories of aging are dependent on sociocultural context and to develop new insights into both long-standing and emerging issues in aging. The papers in this symposium use harmonized data from the Gateway to Global Aging to examine a range of topics in aging and provide new insights into key questions in aging research. Liu et al., determine whether social relationships mediate the association between early life adversity and later life health and well-being using longitudinal data from the U.S. and England. Considering multiple domains of the social determinants of health, such as socioeconomic status, social relationships, and health care access, Cho et al. identify which are related to self-rated health in China, Japan, and South Korea. Cheng et al. test the age-as-leveler hypothesis for explaining how socioeconomic differentials in health change in older ages in China and 19 European countries to determine if the protective effect of socioeconomic status on multi-morbidity changes with age. Harmonized data facilitate international comparisons papers, but additional efforts are sometimes needed to calibrate specific measures across international surveys. A major challenge in cross-national aging research, for instance, has been the limited ability to compare cognition across countries. Nichols and colleagues present a novel method for cocalibration of cognitive function across the U.S., England, and India that could be used for additional cross-national comparative research. The papers in this symposium demonstrate both the potential and challenges of cross-national studies of health and well-being among older adults.

Urban and Rural Differences in Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms in Later Life in the United States

2020 ◽  
pp. 073346482097252
Author(s):  
Na Sun ◽  
Cassandra L. Hua ◽  
Xiao Qiu ◽  
J. Scott Brown
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Growth Curve Analysis ◽  
Urban Residence ◽  
Latent Growth Curve Analysis ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Relationship

Objective: This research has two primary goals: to examine the relationship between urban residence and trajectories of depressive symptoms and to investigate whether this relationship differs by social isolation and loneliness. Method: Data are from 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults aged 51+ ( n = 3,346 females and 2,441 males). We conduct latent growth curve analysis to predict both baseline and trajectories of depression based on urban or rural residency. Results: Residing in urban or rural areas is neither significantly associated with baseline nor the development of late-life depressive symptoms. For females, the relationship between urban residence and baseline depressive symptoms is explained by socioeconomic factors. Discussion: Findings of this study serve to better understand how social and geographic contexts shape long-term well-being of older adults.

scholarly journals Job Characteristics, Job Preferences, and Physical and Mental Health in Later Life

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 237802311983600
Author(s):  
Jessica Halliday Hardie ◽  
Jonathan Daw ◽  
S. Michael Gaddis
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Job Characteristics ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Job Preferences ◽  
Wisconsin Longitudinal Study ◽  
The Life Course

Existing research linking socioeconomic status with work focuses primarily on the precursors (educational attainment) and outcomes (income) of work, rather than asking how diverse facets of work influence health. Using four waves of data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, the authors evaluate whether multiple measures of respondent job characteristics, respondent preferences for those characteristics, and their interaction substantially improve the fit of sociological models of men’s and women’s physical and mental health at midlife and old age compared with traditional models using educational attainment, parental socioeconomic status, and income. The authors find that nonwage job characteristics predict men’s and women’s physical and mental health over the life course, although there is little evidence that the degree to which one’s job accords with one’s job preferences matters for health. These findings expand what is known about how work matters for health, demonstrating how the manner and condition under which one works has lasting impacts on well-being.

Confinement risks and social inequality in Latin America: Evidence from Argentina

2021 ◽  
pp. 001139212199001
Author(s):  
Fiorella Mancini
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Inequality ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Sociological Approach ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Health And Well Being

Social distancing and isolation measures in response to COVID-19 have confined individuals to their homes and produced unexpected side-effects and secondary risks. In Latin America, the measures taken by individual governments to mitigate these new daily and experiential risks have varied significantly as have the responses to social isolation in each country. Given these new social circumstances, the purpose of this article is to investigate, from the sociological approach of risk-taking, the relationship between confinement, secondary risks and social inequality. The author argues that secondary risks, despite their broad scope, are deeply structured by social inequalities in contemporary societies, especially in developing countries. To corroborate this hypothesis, a quantitative comparative analysis is performed for the Argentine case. Using data from a web-survey and correspondence analysis (CA), there are three major findings: (1) there are some widespread experiences similarly distributed across all social strata, especially those related to emotional and subjective matters; (2) other risks follow socio-structural inequalities, especially those corresponding to material and cultural aspects of consumption; (3) for specific vulnerable groups, compulsory confinement causes great dilemmas of decision-making between health and well-being.

scholarly journals SOCIAL NETWORKS, HEALTH, AND WELL-BEING AMONG PEOPLE LIVING WITH DEMENTIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S71-S71
Author(s):  
Eleanor S McConnell ◽  
Kirsten Corazzini ◽  
T Robert Konrad
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sensor Technology ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Care Partners ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract Although the impact of dementia on the health and well-being of those living with Alzheimer’s Disease and related Disorders (ADRD) and their care partners has been widely studied, less attention has been paid to how the disease impacts individuals within the context of their larger social networks. This symposium presents findings from a series of integrated studies aimed at strengthening measurement of health and well-being among older adults with living with dementia and well-being among members of their social networks. Findings will be presented from five studies: (1) a scoping review of social network measurement in older adults in chronic illness, including dementia, that emphasizes the use of technology in measuring older adults’ social networks; (2) a simulation study to evaluate the feasibility and reliability of sensor technology to measure social interaction among a person living with dementia and others in their immediate surroundings; (3) development of a web-based application that allows older adults to map and activate their social networks; (4) a qualitative analysis of interviews from persons living with dementia, their unpaid caregivers, and paid caregivers from an adult day health program concerning well-being focused outcomes; and (5) a mixed methods analysis of the feasibility of using both traditional and novel measures of health and well-being deployed among networks of people living with dementia. Emerging technologies for measuring social networks health and well-being hold promise for advancing the study of the relationship-based nature of care for people living with dementia.

scholarly journals Perceived Control and Aging: A Mini-Review and Directions for Future Research

Gerontology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 435-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. Robinson ◽  
Margie E. Lachman
Keyword(s):  
Sex Education ◽  
Perceived Control ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Reciprocal Relationship ◽  
Control Beliefs ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
As Stress ◽  
Health And Well Being

This brief review on perceived control and aging is organized according to 3 perspectives of research involving description, explanation, and modification. An extensive body of literature has utilized cross-sectional and correlational methods to describe the sociodemographic variations and outcomes associated with perceived control. This work has focused on differences in perceived control as a function of age, sex, education, socioeconomic status, and culture and has identified positive associations with many aging-related outcomes involving health and well-being. With growing evidence regarding the health benefits of perceived control in the context of a declining sense of control with aging, there has been an increased effort to uncover the mechanisms involved, with the hopes of developing methods to maintain and/or promote adaptive control beliefs throughout adulthood. Through longitudinal and experimental work, researchers are beginning to clarify the directionality and elucidate the mechanisms to explain the associations. Recent evidence from longitudinal studies shows that control beliefs have an impact on subsequent changes in health. Yet, the findings suggest that it is not a unidirectional relationship. A conceptual model suggesting an ongoing reciprocal relationship between perceived control and health and well-being is discussed. Research examining the mechanisms that link perceived control to aging-related outcomes can help to inform and to develop effective interventions that are tailored to the individual's specific barriers and goals. We consider new directions for research, including more attention to intraindividual variability and reactivity to daily challenges, such as stress, with the goal of advancing our understanding of how perceived control contributes to aging-related outcomes. More work is needed to develop strategies to enhance control beliefs in later life. Although it will not always be possible to modify control beliefs, researchers can take these beliefs into account when developing interventions. A personalized approach is recommended as a way to tailor interventions that are compatible with individuals' beliefs about control to facilitate adaptive behavior change. Conclusions focus on selected issues and considerations for future research.

Exceptional patients: Narratives of connections

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 269-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan C. Engebretson ◽  
Noemi E. Peterson ◽  
Moshe Frenkel
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Crucial Importance ◽  
Higher Power ◽  
Personal Connections ◽  
External Connections ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Provided Examples

AbstractObjective:This study sought to better understand the patient s perspective of the experience of recovery from cancer that appeared to defy medical prognoses.Methods:Fourteen cases of medically verified exceptional outcomes were identified. A qualitative approach, employing long narrative interviews was used. Data was analyzed using a cross case thematic analytic approach.Results:The major overarching theme was connections, both internal and external. Internal included connections with God or a higher power and with oneself. The external connections, the focus of this paper, included 1) personal connections with friends and family, 2) connections with the medical system: the physician, nurses and other staff, and 3) connections with other patients. They described the nature of these relationships and the importance of frequent contact with family and friends as providing significant emotional and instrumental support. They expressed confidence in receiving care from a reputable clinic, and with very little probing illustrated the importance of the relationship with their providers. They articulated the significance of the compassionate qualities of the physician and identified communication attributes of their physician that were important in establishing this connection. These attributes were demeanor, availability, honesty, sensitivity in the decision making process. They provided examples of positive connections with nurses and other staff as well as with other patients through their illness process.Significance of results:The importance of connections in these illness narratives was richly illustrated. These issues often are overlooked in clinical settings; yet they are of crucial importance to the health and well-being of the patients.

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