Perceptions of interpersonal complementarity in late-middle-aged and older adults: The role of interpersonal traits and social context within an intensive ecological momentary assessment framework

Objectives: Guided by interpersonal theory, this study examined the links between everyday perceptions of interpersonal dynamics, trait-level interpersonal styles, and time-varying social contexts (i.e., with spouses, family, non-family) as they unfold in older people’s everyday life. Method: A sample of 78 late-middle-aged and older adults completed 2,739 reports of their social interactions over a one-week period (average 5.02 per day, SD = 2.95). For each report, participants recorded their perceptions of their own agentic and communal behavior, as well as that of their partner. Results: Results from multilevel modeling revealed that the complementarity in agentic behaviors was stronger when people were interacting with spouses and family members, whereas such contextual differences were not found to influence the degree of communal complementarity. Individuals with higher level trait agency tended to view their partner as more agentic across interactions with different social partners. Individuals with higher level trait communion tended to view their partner as more communal during interactions; this tendency was more pronounced when interacting with non-family members. Conclusions: The differing degrees of perceived complementarity along the dimensions of agency and communion should be understood through varying social contexts. Participants’ trait interpersonal styles tended to affect how they viewed the agentic and communal behaviors of others.

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Effect of older adults in the family on the sandwich generation's pursuit of entrepreneurship: evidence from China

Ageing and Society ◽

10.1017/s0144686x21001033 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-20

Author(s):

Yiwei Liu ◽

Wenjing Wang ◽

Zhen Cong ◽

Zhirui Chen

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Family Members ◽

Mediating Effect ◽

Entrepreneurial Activity ◽

Basic Unit ◽

Instrumental Support ◽

Middle Aged ◽

Social Wellbeing ◽

The Relationship ◽

Elderly Family

Abstract Household entrepreneurship is a basic unit of entrepreneurial activity, and a crucial aspect of connecting personal and social wellbeing. This study examines the relationship between the proportion of elderly family members and household entrepreneurship. This study also assesses the mediating effect of the middle-aged generation's support to their parents and the moderating effect of the parents’ support with respect to the proportion of elderly family members and entrepreneurship. We use data from the China Family Panel Studies. We adopt the instrumental variable method to deal with endogeneity, robustness and credibility of the estimation results. The results show that a higher proportion of elderly family members impedes household entrepreneurship. Moreover, the financial and instrumental support provided by the middle-aged generation to their parents significantly mediates the relationship between the proportion of elderly family members and household entrepreneurship. In turn, parents’ financial support to the middle-aged generation moderates the focal relationship; however, parents’ instrumental support does not moderate the focal relationship. These findings emphasise the need to develop a comprehensive social security network for older adults that will indirectly promote household entrepreneurship, and improve personal and social wellbeing.

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Better Off Alone: Daily Solitude Is Associated With Lower Negative Affect in More Conflictual Social Networks

The Gerontologist ◽

10.1093/geront/gny060 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 59 (6) ◽

pp. 1152-1161 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kira S Birditt ◽

Jasmine A Manalel ◽

Heidi Sommers ◽

Gloria Luong ◽

Karen L Fingerman

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Social Networks ◽

Negative Affect ◽

Social Contact ◽

Adaptive Strategy ◽

Well Being ◽

Social Contexts ◽

Network Quality ◽

Ecological Momentary ◽

Design And Methods

Abstract Background and Objectives Older adults are often considered at risk for social isolation. Little is known, however, about how often older adults lack social contact (in person, phone, electronic) throughout the day, the implications of lacking contact (i.e., solitude), and whether the effects of solitude vary by the broader social context. Research Design and Methods Participants were from the Daily Experiences and Well-being Study (DEWS) which included 313 older adults (aged 65+) who completed baseline interviews followed by 5–6 days of ecological momentary assessments approximately every 3 hr. Results Individuals reported having no social contact (i.e., solitude) on 11% of the occasions. Solitude predicted lower negative and positive affect on those occasions. The solitude-negative affect link varied by social network quality. Solitude predicted lower negative affect among individuals with more conflictual social networks but not among those with less conflictual networks. Discussion and Implications Overall, solitude may serve as an adaptive strategy for individuals embedded in demanding or irritating social contexts.

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CHATTIER WITH FRIENDS: OLDER ADULTS’ DAILY SOCIAL CONTACT AND CONVERSATION

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.614 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S172-S173

Author(s):

Yee To Ng ◽

Meng Huo ◽

Karen Fingerman

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Skills ◽

Multilevel Models ◽

Family Members ◽

Social Contact ◽

Well Being ◽

Daily Basis ◽

Social Partner ◽

Social Partners ◽

Ecological Momentary

Abstract Studies suggest conversation improves cognitive skills among older adults. While contact with family members is common in late life, contact with friends and acquaintances is relatively less frequent. Yet, we know little about how often older adults engage in conversation when they have contact with different social partners. This study used data from the Daily Experiences and Well-being Study to investigate how older adults talk with different social partners on a daily basis. Participants (N = 303) completed an initial interview about their social partners and reported on their contact with each social partner in ecological momentary assessments every 3 hours across 5 to 6 days. Participants also wore Electronically Activated Recorders (EAR), which captured snippets of their daily conversation. Findings revealed that contact with family members (e.g., spouse, children, siblings) occurred most often, with less frequent contact with other social partners (e.g., acquaintances, neighbors), and then friends. Multilevel models also revealed that participants talked more (i.e., saying more words in each 30-second snippet and had a greater proportion of snippets when they talked) when they had contact with their friends than when they had contact with family members or other social partners. Results from these multiple methods suggest that daily contact with friends could potentially encourage conversation that may facilitate cognitive functioning among older adults.

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SOURCES SOCIAL SUPPORT AND SUBTYPES OF ELDER MISTREATMENT AMONG CHINESE OLDER ADULTS: FINDINGS FROM THE PINE STUDY

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.2795 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S760-S761

Author(s):

Shenglin Zheng ◽

Stephanie Bergren ◽

XinQi Dong

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Older Adults ◽

Representative Sample ◽

Family Members ◽

Social Contexts ◽

Chinese Older Adults ◽

Financial Exploitation ◽

Lower Likelihood ◽

Positive Social Support ◽

Different Sources

Abstract To examine the relationships between positive social support (PSS) and negative social support (NSS) from different sources and subtypes of EM, we used the data from a representative sample of 3,157 Chinese older adults aged 60 years or older in Chicago. Subtypes of EM include psychological mistreatment, physical mistreatment, financial exploitation, and caregiver neglect. Higher PSS from spouse and family members were less associated with lower likelihood to experience any of four self-reported EA subtypes. Higher PSS from friends was associated with lower likelihood of caregiver neglect. Increased levels of NSS from spouse and family members were associated with higher likelihood of psychological mistreatment, financial exploitation, and caregiver neglect. A significant association was also found between NSS from friends and psychological mistreatment. This study demonstrates the positive and negative aspects of social contexts in relationship to EM. Future longitudinal studies are needed to examine causal relationships.

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Daily Activities Related to Mobile Cognitive Performance in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: An Ecological Momentary Cognitive Assessment Study

JMIR mhealth and uhealth ◽

10.2196/19579 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (9) ◽

pp. e19579 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Laura M Campbell ◽

Emily W Paolillo ◽

Anne Heaton ◽

Bin Tang ◽

Colin A Depp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Real Time ◽

Cognitive Assessment ◽

Verbal Learning ◽

Leisure Activities ◽

Daily Activities ◽

Neurocognitive Performance ◽

Middle Aged ◽

And Behavior ◽

Ecological Momentary

Background Daily activities have been associated with neurocognitive performance. However, much of this research has used in-person neuropsychological testing that requires participants to travel to a laboratory or clinic, which may not always be feasible and does not allow for the examination of real-time relationships between cognition and behavior. Thus, there is a need to understand the real-time relationship between activities in the real world and neurocognitive functioning to improve tracking of symptoms or disease states and aid in the early identification of neurocognitive deficits among at-risk individuals. Objective We used a smartphone-based ecological momentary cognitive assessment (EMCA) platform to examine real-time relationships between daily activities and neurocognitive performance (executive functioning and verbal learning) in the everyday environment of middle-aged and older adults with and without HIV. Methods A total of 103 adults aged 50-74 years (67 persons with HIV; mean age 59 years, SD 6.4) were recruited from the University of California, San Diego HIV Neurobehavioral Research Program and the San Diego community. Participants completed our EMCA protocol for 14 days. Participants reported their current daily activities 4 times per day; following 2 of the 4 daily ecological momentary assessment (EMA) surveys, participants were administered the mobile Color-Word Interference Test (mCWIT) and mobile Verbal Learning Test (mVLT), each once per day. Activities were categorized into cognitively stimulating activities, passive leisure activities, and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). We used multilevel modeling to examine the same-survey and lagged within-person and between-person effects of each activity type on mobile cognitive performance. Results On average, participants completed 91% of the EMA surveys, 85% of the mCWIT trials, and 80% of the mVLT trials, and they reported engaging in cognitively stimulating activities on 17% of surveys, passive leisure activities on 33% of surveys, and IADLs on 20% of surveys. Adherence and activity percentages did not differ by HIV status. Within-persons, engagement in cognitively stimulating activities was associated with better mCWIT performance (β=−1.12; P=.007), whereas engagement in passive leisure activities was associated with worse mCWIT performance (β=.94; P=.005). There were no lagged associations. At the aggregate between-person level, a greater percentage of time spent in cognitively stimulating activities was associated with better mean mVLT performance (β=.07; P=.02), whereas a greater percentage of time spent in passive leisure activities was associated with worse mean mVLT performance (β=−.07; P=.01). IADLs were not associated with mCWIT or mVLT performance. Conclusions Smartphones present unique opportunities for assessing neurocognitive performance and behavior in middle-aged and older adults’ own environment. Measurement of cognition and daily functioning outside of clinical settings may generate novel insights on the dynamic association of daily behaviors and neurocognitive performance and may add new dimensions to understanding the complexity of human behavior.

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Daily Activities Related to Mobile Cognitive Performance in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: An Ecological Momentary Cognitive Assessment Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.19579 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Laura M Campbell ◽

Emily W Paolillo ◽

Anne Heaton ◽

Bin Tang ◽

Colin A Depp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Real Time ◽

Cognitive Assessment ◽

Verbal Learning ◽

Leisure Activities ◽

Daily Activities ◽

Neurocognitive Performance ◽

Middle Aged ◽

And Behavior ◽

Ecological Momentary

BACKGROUND Daily activities have been associated with neurocognitive performance. However, much of this research has used in-person neuropsychological testing that requires participants to travel to a laboratory or clinic, which may not always be feasible and does not allow for the examination of real-time relationships between cognition and behavior. Thus, there is a need to understand the real-time relationship between activities in the real world and neurocognitive functioning to improve tracking of symptoms or disease states and aid in the early identification of neurocognitive deficits among at-risk individuals. OBJECTIVE We used a smartphone-based ecological momentary cognitive assessment (EMCA) platform to examine real-time relationships between daily activities and neurocognitive performance (executive functioning and verbal learning) in the everyday environment of middle-aged and older adults with and without HIV. METHODS A total of 103 adults aged 50-74 years (67 persons with HIV; mean age 59 years, SD 6.4) were recruited from the University of California, San Diego HIV Neurobehavioral Research Program and the San Diego community. Participants completed our EMCA protocol for 14 days. Participants reported their current daily activities 4 times per day; following 2 of the 4 daily ecological momentary assessment (EMA) surveys, participants were administered the mobile Color-Word Interference Test (mCWIT) and mobile Verbal Learning Test (mVLT), each once per day. Activities were categorized into cognitively stimulating activities, passive leisure activities, and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). We used multilevel modeling to examine the same-survey and lagged within-person and between-person effects of each activity type on mobile cognitive performance. RESULTS On average, participants completed 91% of the EMA surveys, 85% of the mCWIT trials, and 80% of the mVLT trials, and they reported engaging in cognitively stimulating activities on 17% of surveys, passive leisure activities on 33% of surveys, and IADLs on 20% of surveys. Adherence and activity percentages did not differ by HIV status. Within-persons, engagement in cognitively stimulating activities was associated with better mCWIT performance (β=−1.12; P=.007), whereas engagement in passive leisure activities was associated with worse mCWIT performance (β=.94; P=.005). There were no lagged associations. At the aggregate between-person level, a greater percentage of time spent in cognitively stimulating activities was associated with better mean mVLT performance (β=.07; P=.02), whereas a greater percentage of time spent in passive leisure activities was associated with worse mean mVLT performance (β=−.07; P=.01). IADLs were not associated with mCWIT or mVLT performance. CONCLUSIONS Smartphones present unique opportunities for assessing neurocognitive performance and behavior in middle-aged and older adults’ own environment. Measurement of cognition and daily functioning outside of clinical settings may generate novel insights on the dynamic association of daily behaviors and neurocognitive performance and may add new dimensions to understanding the complexity of human behavior.

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