A Siege on Positive Ageing: COVID-19 as Exacerbating Age-based Stereotype Threats among Older Adults

Older adults face significant challenges in regards to the various stereotypes associated with ageing, which have consequences for their mental health and wellbeing. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened these age-based stereotypes due to older adults’ proportionally higher vulnerability to the virus. The present research explored how the pandemic has exacerbated the challenges of ageing by impacting on the social identities of older adults and how these challenges have been met. Eleven focus groups were conducted with 32 UK older adults from a range of household compositions. Guided by the social identity approach, a thematic analysis found that participants faced a number of recognisable stereotype threats: loss of opportunities to enact meaningful identities, loss of autonomy and loss of usefulness. Despite these threats, we also found participants used identity management strategies and mobilised existing or new social identities to give and receive of support and to retain a meaningful and purposeful life. The implications of this research are that governments and those supporting older adults can attend to the negative psychology impact of protective policies and know that fostering group connections can be a source of pandemic resilience.

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Thy Will Be Done: Exploring the Longitudinal Rewards of Religious Group Membership Enactment During Volunteering

10.31234/osf.io/ev8jg ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Juliet Wakefield ◽

Mhairi Bowe ◽

Blerina Kellezi

Keyword(s):

Group Dynamics ◽

Online Survey ◽

Group Identification ◽

Religious Group ◽

Voluntary Work ◽

Health And Wellbeing ◽

Dynamic Relationship ◽

The Social ◽

The Relationship ◽

Social Identity Approach

The volunteering literature is replete with studies revealing the health benefits of volunteering. This has led psychologists to question whether social processes may help deliver these benefits while also supporting sustained volunteering engagement. The Social Identity Approach (SIA) recognises that volunteering takes place in groups, and sheds light on these processes by providing insights into group dynamics. Specifically, recent work within the Social Cure tradition has revealed the dynamic relationship between volunteering and group identification, and how this can influence health and wellbeing. This study extends previous work by exploring whether the relationship is mediated by the extent to which volunteers feel able to enact their membership of a valued group (specifically their religious group) through their volunteering. People who volunteer with religiously-motivated voluntary groups (N = 194) completed the same online survey twice, three months apart (T1/T2). For participants high in religiosity, T1 identification with their voluntary group positively predicted their sense of being able to enact the membership of their religious group through their voluntary work at T2, which in turn was a positive predictor of T2 mental health and volunteer engagement. The implications of these findings for both the theoretical literature and for voluntary organisations are discussed.

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Employment after incarceration: managing a socially stigmatized identity

Equality Diversity and Inclusion An International Journal ◽

10.1108/edi-09-2018-0175 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 38 (5) ◽

pp. 564-582 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kemi Salawu Anazodo ◽

Rose Ricciardelli ◽

Christopher Chan

Keyword(s):

Identity Management ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Criminal History ◽

Criminal Record ◽

Formerly Incarcerated ◽

Content Type ◽

The Social ◽

Disclosure Decisions ◽

Incarceration History ◽

Stigmatized Identity

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the social stigmatization of the formerly incarcerated identity and how this affects employment post-release. The authors consider the characteristics of this identity and the identity management strategies that individuals draw from as they navigate employment. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 men at various stages of release from federal institutions in Canada. Participants were actively searching for employment, intending to or would consider searching for employment, or had searched for employment in the past post-incarceration. Participant data were simultaneously collected, coded and analyzed using an inductive approach (Gioia et al., 2012). Findings Formerly incarcerated individuals have a unique awareness of the social stigmatization associated with their criminal record and incarceration history. They are tasked with an intentional choice to disclose or conceal that identity throughout the employment process. Six identity management strategies emerged from their accounts: conditional disclosure, deflection, identity substitution, defying expectations, withdrawal and avoidance strategies. More specifically, distinct implications of criminal record and incarceration history on disclosure decisions were evident. Based on participants’ accounts of their reintegration experiences, four aspects that may inform disclosure decisions include: opportune timing, interpersonal dynamics, criminal history and work ethic. Originality/value The authors explore the formerly incarcerated identity as a socially stigmatized identity and consider how individuals manage this identity within the employment context. The authors identify incarceration history and criminal record as having distinct impacts on experiences of stigma and identity management strategic choice, thus representing the experience of a “double stigma”.

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Acting One’s Age in Physical Exercise: Do Perceived Age Norms Explain Autonomous Motivation Among Older Adults?

Journal of Aging and Physical Activity ◽

10.1123/japa.2016-0290 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 521-529 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Johan Pelssers ◽

Emalie Hurkmans ◽

Jeroen Scheerder ◽

Norbert Vanbeselaere ◽

Steven Vos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Social Identity ◽

Autonomous Motivation ◽

Self Determination Theory ◽

Self Determination ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Exercise Participation ◽

The Social ◽

Social Identity Approach

Background: The social identity approach proposes that the more older adults identify with the social group of “older adults,” the more they will conform to what they perceive as being normative exercising for their group. However, so far, it remains unclear why older adults adhere to these norms. Objective: This study evaluated whether perceived exercise norms are associated with higher levels of autonomous motivation according to the self-determination theory and actual exercise participation. Methods: A cross-sectional survey, either by regular mail or online, was conducted among 409 older adults in Flanders (Belgium). Results: Our analyses revealed that older adults who perceived more positive older adult norms for exercising were more autonomously motivated to exercise. In explaining 24% of their exercise motivation, older adults’ perceptions of the exercise norms for older adults predicted 6% of their exercise participation. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that social identity approach and self-determination theory can be meaningfully integrated.

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Longitudinal changes in social networks, health and wellbeing among older Koreans

Ageing and Society ◽

10.1017/s0144686x15000811 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 36 (9) ◽

pp. 1915-1936 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

BORIN KIM ◽

SOJUNG PARK ◽

TONI C. ANTONUCCI

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Social Networks ◽

Life Satisfaction ◽

Social Network ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Latent Class ◽

Health And Wellbeing ◽

Self Rated Health ◽

The Social ◽

Restricted Type

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the changes in social network types among older adults in South Korea, and it examines whether, and to what extent, these changes influence their health and psychological wellbeing. Data were obtained from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing. The sample was restricted to respondents over 65 years of age who participated in both the 2006 and 2008 surveys (N = 3,501). The social network types for both years were derived by Latent Class Analysis. Changes in network types over time were then identified. A series of multivariate regression analyses were conducted to examine the effects of social network changes on self-rated health, depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. Restricted, Family, Friend and Diverse network types were derived in each wave of the study. Although the direction of social network changes was not always towards the Restricted type, the Restricted network was the most prevalent and stable type among older Koreans. Older adults who remained in or transitioned to restricted types of social networks were more likely to have poor self-rated health, higher levels of depressive symptoms and lower levels of life satisfaction. This study adds to the limited body of literature on longitudinal network typology, and it expands the knowledge of social network types among older adults in diverse social and cultural contexts.

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Dog Walking and the Social Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Loneliness in Older Adults

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11071852 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 1852

Author(s):

Dawn Carr ◽

Erika Friedmann ◽

Nancy R. Gee ◽

Chelsea Gilchrist ◽

Natalie Sachs-Ericsson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Social Impact ◽

Later Life ◽

Social Consequences ◽

Therapeutic Effects ◽

Health And Wellbeing ◽

Dog Walking ◽

Longitudinal Survey Data ◽

The Social ◽

Socially Isolated

Pet ownership can provide important companionship and facilitate social connections, which may be particularly important to socially isolated older adults. Given the significant deleterious impact of loneliness on health and wellbeing in later life, many predicted that public safety measures imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic would greatly increase loneliness, particularly among vulnerable populations like older adults. We investigated whether dog walking buffers loneliness in the context of stressors imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Longitudinal survey data were obtained from a Florida community-based sample of adults (n = 466) aged 60+ years old in September 2018 and October 2020. Using OLS regression models, we tested: (a) the association between the social consequences of COVID-19 and changes in loneliness, and (b) the buffering effect of dog walking on this relationship. The high social consequences of COVID-19 were related to increases in loneliness. Walking a dog daily buffered the relationship. These results suggest potential therapeutic effects of dog walking for the promotion of mental health in older adults, particularly in the context of stressful situations that accentuate risks for loneliness.

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GPs, nurses and pharmacists as prescribers in primary care: an exploration using the social identity approach / Hausärzte/-innen, Diplomierte Pflegefachpersonen und Apotheker/-innen als Arzneimittelverschreiber/-innen: eine Exploration mit dem Ansatz der Sozialen Identität

International Journal of Health Professions ◽

10.1515/ijhp-2016-0023 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 153-164 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Marjorie C Weiss ◽

Jo Platt ◽

Ruth Riley ◽

Susan Horrocks

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Social Identity ◽

Improve Patient Care ◽

Social Identities ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

The Social ◽

Shared Practice ◽

No Man's Land ◽

Further Development ◽

Social Identity Approach

Abstract The social identity approach was used to explore the inter-professional relations between nurse prescribers, pharmacist prescribers and general practitioners (GPs) in primary care in the United Kingdom. We investigated their social identities as prescribers, the influence of social structure in practice settings and the implications for further development of nurse and pharmacist prescribing. Interviews were conducted with 21 GPs, nurse prescribers and pharmacist prescribers in primary care from the south of England. Five themes emerged, including the ambiguous social identity of some nurse and pharmacist prescribers (‘a no man’s land’), constraining social structures (‘the doctor is king’), the content of GPs’ social identity (‘subtle prescribing’), the content of nurse and pharmacists’ social identity (‘more than just competent’) and context (‘engaging with each other’s identities’). At some GP practices, there was a willingness to engage with the different social identities and reframe them within the organisational context of a GP surgery. At these sites, where social identities were respected and supported, the social identity approach offered insight into how the resulting teamwork could lead to a shared practice identity focused on multi-disciplinary working. This research provides evidence of how professional and organisational identities can be enhanced and supported. Further, there is the potential for an intervention using the social identity approach to improve patient care.

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Mobile Health Interventions to Support Caregivers of Older Adults: An Equity-Focused Systematic Review (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.33085 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Anna Garnett ◽

Melissa Northwood ◽

Justine Ting ◽

Ruheena Sangrar

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Older Adults ◽

Social Determinants Of Health ◽

Mobile Health ◽

Social Determinants ◽

Determinants Of Health ◽

Health Technologies ◽

Health And Wellbeing ◽

The Social ◽

The Impact

BACKGROUND Caregivers provide crucial support to older adults so they can remain safely in their homes as they age. Over time, caregivers’ own health can be negatively impacted by their caregiving role. The social determinants of health, such as gender and socioeconomic status, can influence assuming a caregiving role as well as the impacts of caregiving on the caregiver. While programs exist to support caregivers, uptake of these services does not match the need for services expressed by caregivers. Research suggests that supportive interventions offered via mobile health technologies have the potential to increase caregiver accessibility of supportive services. However, a knowledge gap exists regarding the extent to which the social determinants of health are considered in the design, implementation, and evaluation of mobile health (mHealth) interventions intended to support caregivers of older adults. Furthermore, a comprehensive review of the impact of mHealth interventions in this population does not exist. OBJECTIVE To conduct a systematic review to: (1) determine how health inequities are considered in the design, implementation, and evaluation of mHealth interventions for caregivers of older adults using Cochrane-Equity's PROGRESS-Plus framework; and (2) synthesize evidence of the impacts of caregiver-focused mHealth interventions. METHODS A systematic review was conducted in five databases and articles published between January 2010 and June 2021 were included if they evaluated or explored the impacts of mHealth interventions on the health and wellbeing of informal caregivers of older adults. mHealth interventions were defined as those that caregivers of older adults accessed via mobile or wireless devices. RESULTS A total of 28 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review. The interventions evaluated by the included studies sought to help caregivers make connections with services, facilitate the caregiving process, and promote the caregivers’ health and wellbeing. The PROGRESS-Plus framework factors were mainly considered in the results, discussion, and limitations sections of included studies. Some PROGRESS-Plus factors such as sexual orientation, religion and occupation, received little to no consideration in all phases of intervention design, implementation, or evaluation. Overall, findings of this review suggest that mHealth interventions were positively received by users. Such interventions may have the potential to reduce caregiver burden and positively impact caregivers’ physical and mental health while supporting them in their caregiving role. Study findings highlight the importance of available supports to help facilitate caregivers’ use of mHealth interventions particularly early on as well as the use of appropriate language and text. CONCLUSIONS Successful uptake and spread of mHealth interventions to support caregivers of older adults will depend on creating opportunities for inclusive involvement of a broad range of stakeholders at all stages of design, implementation, and assessment. CLINICALTRIAL PROSPERO CRD42021239584; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=239584

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Family identification is a protective resource for people with eating disorders because it ameliorates feelings of loneliness

10.31234/osf.io/xpjfh ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Niamh McNamara ◽

Juliet Wakefield ◽

Tegan Cruwys ◽

Adam Potter ◽

Beth Jones ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Eating Disorders ◽

Eating Disorder ◽

Interpersonal Relationships ◽

Protective Role ◽

Health And Wellbeing ◽

Psychological Mechanisms ◽

The Social ◽

The Family ◽

Social Identity Approach

Families play an important role in eating disorder recovery. Recently, it has been suggested that they can ameliorate the loneliness and social isolation associated with an eating disorder. However, the psychological mechanisms through which this occurs have yet to be systematically explored. Utilising the Social Identity Approach to Health, we explore whether identification with one’s family group positively predicts health and wellbeing in people with eating disorders due to its capacity to reduce feelings of loneliness. We investigate this in two studies (N=82; N=234), one of which was conducted in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. In both studies, we demonstrated that family identification protects health. This was apparent in participants reporting fewer and less severe ED symptoms, and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, reduced eating disorder-related impact and reduced anxiety. In both studies, these benefits were attributable to the protective role of family identification against loneliness. Our findings provide a framework for understanding in general why family is so important in treatment, including in the case of adults. It also supports the focus in treatment on the family as a group rather than as a collection of interpersonal relationships.

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The Buffering Effect of Resilience on the Social Consequences of COVID in Older Women

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.3737 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 1057-1057

Author(s):

Nacia Goldberg ◽

Dawn Carr ◽

Miles Taylor ◽

Natalie Sachs-Ericsson

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Social Connectedness ◽

Later Life ◽

Social Consequences ◽

Psychological Resilience ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Major Life ◽

Social Lives ◽

Health And Wellbeing ◽

The Social

Abstract Prior to the pandemic, public health experts argued that loneliness was among the most significant threats facing women’s health and wellbeing. As the COVID-19 pandemic brought our social lives to an abrupt pause in March, 2020, older adults were encouraged to remain isolated from friends and family. Social distancing guidelines led many older people to decrease social interactions with others. Using a community-based longitudinal study of women age 60+, we examined how changes in feelings of social connections with others influenced loneliness in October 2020 relative to prior to the pandemic (in September 2018). Our previous research has shown that psychological resilience decreases the negative consequences of major life stressors in later life. We hypothesized that women with high social consequences of the pandemic would experience increased loneliness, but resilience would buffer these effects. In line with our hypotheses, results showed that those who reported significant declines in social connectedness with others during the pandemic (i.e., high social consequences) experienced significant increases in loneliness (beta=0.125; p<0.001). Resilience, alternatively, was significantly associated with decreased loneliness (beta=-0.05; p<0.05), and buffered the social consequences of the pandemic. That is, as resilience increased, the social consequences of COVID-19 significantly declined (p<0.01), and resilience attenuated the negative consequences of high levels of social consequences of COVID-19 on loneliness, while those with high social consequences and low resilience experienced significant increases in loneliness in association with the pandemic. Based on our findings, we discuss potential clinical implications for resilience-based interventions for older adults.

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Health Promotion in the Community Via an Intergenerational Platform: Intergenerational e-Health Literacy Program (I-HeLP)

Health Promotion in Health Care – Vital Theories and Research ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-63135-2_24 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 349-357

Author(s):

Vivien Xi WU

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Active Role ◽

Critical Issue ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Health And Wellbeing ◽

Use Of Technology ◽

The Social ◽

Health Related ◽

Health Illiteracy

AbstractThe increase in life expectancy and emphasis on self-reliance for older adults are global phenomena. As such, living healthily in the community is considered a viable means of promoting successful and active aging. Existing knowledge indicates the prevalence of health illiteracy among the older population and the impact of poor health literacy on health outcomes and health care costs. Nevertheless, e-health literacy is a critical issue for a rapidly aging population in a technology-driven society. Intergenerational studies reported that older adults enjoy engaging with younger people and benefit from the social stimulation by improved social behaviours, intergenerational social network, and participation.An Intergenerational e-health Literacy Program (I-HeLP) is developed to draw upon the IT-savvy strength of the youth, and teach older adults to seek, understand and appraise health information from electronic sources and apply knowledge gained to address the health problem. I-HeLP is an evidence-based program, which provides comprehensive coverage on relevant health-related e-resources. I-HeLP aims to engage youth volunteers to teach older adults regarding e-health literacy, and enhance older adults’ sense of coherence, e-health literacy, physical and mental health, cognitive function, quality of life, and intergenerational communication. I-HeLP promotes social participation, health, and wellbeing of older adults, and empowers the younger generation to play an active role in society. Furthermore, I-HeLP aligns with the ‘Smart Nation’ initiative by the Singapore government to empower citizens to lead meaningful and fulfilled lives with the use of technology.

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