scholarly journals THE EFFECT OF VETERAN STATUS ON STRESS, HEALTH AND WELL-BEING IN LATER LIFE VARIES BY ETHNIC GROUP

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (Suppl_3) ◽  
pp. 95-95
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 636-636
Author(s):  
Avron Spiro

Abstract Military service during early life can result in exposure to traumatic events that can reverberate throughout life. Although much attention is focused on the negative effects of military service, many veterans report positive effects. These papers explore life course effects of military service on veterans’ health and well-being. Three used national US longitudinal cohorts (HRS, MIDUS); two sampled veterans from Oregon or from Korea. Three compared veterans to non-veterans; two examined veterans only. Cheng and colleagues found that veterans in HRS are more likely to be risk-averse than non-veterans. Risk aversion matters because it determines how people make decisions and predicts a wide array of health and economic outcomes. Kurth and colleagues examined Oregon veterans from several wars, finding PTSD symptoms were highest among Vietnam combat veterans, the oldest cohort; there were no differences among non-combat veterans. Piazza and colleagues examined in MIDUS the impact of veteran status on cortisol, a stress biomarker, finding older veterans more likely had non-normative patterns than did younger or non-veterans. Lee and colleagues studied patterns of mental health among Korean Vietnam veterans, identifying two patterns as ‘normal’ and ‘resilient’ encompassing half the sample; these veterans demonstrated positive outcomes of military service. Frochen and colleagues compared depression trajectories between veterans and non-veterans in HRS, finding veterans had less depression than non-veterans, but among veterans, trajectories varied based on extent of service. in sum, these papers demonstrate that military service can have positive as well as negative effects on veterans’ health and well-being in later life. Aging Veterans: Effects of Military Service across the Life Course Interest Group Sponsored Symposium.


Gerontology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 435-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. Robinson ◽  
Margie E. Lachman

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula McFadden ◽  
John Moriarty ◽  
Heike Schröder ◽  
Patricia Gillen ◽  
Gillian Manthorpe ◽  
...  

Abstract Social work, like many other human service professions, is ageing. This article reports and discusses the findings of a UK social work survey undertaken in 2018 (1,397 responses). It investigated how organisational policies and individual factors were affecting individual social workers’ decisions about working in later life. The survey measured (i) social workers’ attitudes to ageing at work and self-reported planning around retirement; (ii) mental health and well-being, quality of working life and home and work interface and (iii) intention to leave work and retirement planning. Statistical analysis enabled examination of how the interrelationship of these factors and relevant individual characteristics interact within the systemic work environment. Findings revealed that all participants had considered factors that might cause them to retire early. Framing the findings in an ecological conceptual model suggests that age-inclusive professional and organisational cultures, age-positive human resource management, support from line managers, fair working conditions and the ability to manage health and well-being, might enable social workers to extend their working lives in line with government policy. These findings provide insights for social work workforce policymakers and for employers to assist in their development of organisational and individual adjustments to sustain well-being in the social work profession.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey E. Stokes

Loneliness is not merely an unpleasant experience but is harmful for older adults’ health and well-being as well. While marriage buffers against loneliness in later life, even married adults experience loneliness, and aspects of adults’ marriages may either protect against or actually foster loneliness among spouses. The current study analyzed dyadic data from 1,114 opposite-sex married Irish couples who participated in the initial wave of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (2009–2011) in order to extend findings of two prior dyadic studies of marital quality and loneliness in the U.S. to older married couples in Ireland and to directly compare two theoretical and methodological frameworks used by these studies to explain associations between husbands’ and wives’ reports of marital quality and loneliness in later life. Results revealed that both spouses’ perceptions of positive and negative marital quality were significantly related with husbands’ and wives’ loneliness and that spouses’ reports of loneliness were significantly related with one another. Findings also indicated that associations between marital quality and loneliness were similar for Irish and American couples in later life. Comparison of differing modeling strategies suggested that emotional contagion may serve as a pathway for dyadic partner effects.


2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (S1) ◽  
pp. S23-S25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard F. Butterwick

In pets, as in humans, there is increasing interest in interventions that promote ‘health and well-being’ into later life and extend these beyond their current limits. The purpose of this review was to assess the relevance of current knowledge of ageing in humans, described in a companion paper, as well as reviewing recent research on ageing in pet populations. The role of diet and other factors that influence the ageing process and ultimately lifespan in pets are highlighted in this review; in addition, future opportunities and challenges to further our understanding of the ageing process in pets are identified. Advancing knowledge of the fundamental biology of ageing will be key for the development and evaluation of strategies that extend both the quality and the quantity of lifespan in human and pet populations.


2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joelle C. Ruthig ◽  
Judith G. Chipperfield ◽  
Nancy E. Newall ◽  
Raymond P. Perry ◽  
Nathan C. Hall

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