The Psychological and Behavioral Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Ways to Cope With Them

2022 ◽  
pp. 385-410
Author(s):  
Zulal Törenli Kaya
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
The Other ◽  
Psychological Responses ◽  
Age Group ◽  
New Normal ◽  
And Coping

The COVID-19 pandemic and the life after the outbreak introduced numerous changes and uncertainties that led to elevated stress levels in the societies and caused the emergence of various psychological responses for people of all ages to deal with this unprecedented transformation. Throughout this period, the children and adolescents were mostly influenced by being away from school and their peers while the adults had to struggle with the economic crisis and the increased workload both at home and at work. The older adults, on the other hand, had to contend with loneliness, feeling useless, and ageism. In this chapter, considering different age groups, how people are affected by the pandemic-related changes and their common psychological and behavioral responses and coping strategies will be presented. Some recommendations and common solutions to adapt to the “new normal” brought by the pandemic will be also emphasized separately for each age group.

scholarly journals Healthy aging profile in octogenarians in Brazil

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Cristina Viana Campos ◽  
Efigênia Ferreira e Ferreira ◽  
Andréa Maria Duarte Vargas ◽  
Lúcia Hisako Takase Gonçalves
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Tree ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Population Based ◽  
P Value ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Monthly Income ◽  
Tree Model ◽  
Socioeconomic Characteristics

ABSTRACT Objective: to identify the healthy aging profile in octogenarians in Brazil. Method: this population-based epidemiological study was conducted using household interviews of 335 octogenarians in a Brazilian municipality. The decision-tree model was used to assess the healthy aging profile in relation to the socioeconomic characteristics evaluated at baseline. All of the tests used a p-value < 0.05. Results: the majority of the 335 participating older adults were women (62.1%), were aged between 80 and 84 years (50.4%), were widowed (53.4%), were illiterate (59.1%), had a monthly income of less than one minimum wage (59.1%), were retired (85.7%), lived with their spouse (63.8%), did not have a caregiver (60.3%), had two or more children (82.7%), and had two or more grandchildren (78.8%). The results indicate three age groups with a healthier aging profile: older adults aged 80 to 84 years (55.6%), older adults aged 85 years and older who are married (64.9%), and older adults aged 85 and older who do not have a partner or a caregiver (54.2%). Conclusion: the healthy aging profile of octogenarians can be explained by age group, marital status, and the presence of a caregiver.

scholarly journals Slowed sensory reweighting and postural illusions in older adults: the moving platform illusion

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 690-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chesney E. Craig ◽  
Michail Doumas
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Postural Sway ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Sensory Reweighting ◽  
Perceptual Illusion ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Stable Conditions ◽  
Illusory Perception

We investigated whether postural aftereffects witnessed during transitions from a moving to a stable support are accompanied by a delayed perception of platform stabilization in older adults, in two experiments. In experiment 1, postural sway and muscle cocontraction were assessed in 11 healthy young, 11 healthy older, and 11 fall-prone older adults during blindfolded stance on a fixed platform, followed by a sway-referenced platform and then by a fixed platform again. The sway-referenced platform was more compliant for young adults, to induce similar levels of postural sway in both age groups. Participants were asked to press a button whenever they perceived that the platform had stopped moving. Both older groups showed significantly larger and longer postural sway aftereffects during platform stabilization compared with young adults, which were pronounced in fall-prone older adults. In both older groups elevated muscle cocontraction aftereffect was also witnessed. Importantly, these aftereffects were accompanied by an illusory perception of prolonged platform movement. After this, experiment 2 examined whether this illusory perception was a robust age effect or an experimental confound due to greater surface compliance in young adults, which could create a larger perceptual discrepancy between moving and stable conditions. Despite exposure to the same surface compliance levels during sway-reference, the perceptual illusion was maintained in experiment 2 in a new group of 14 healthy older adults compared with 11 young adults. In both studies, older adults took five times longer than young adults to perceive platform stabilization. This supports that sensory reweighting is inefficient in older adults. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first paper to show that postural sway aftereffects witnessed in older adults after platform stabilization may be due to a perceptual illusion of platform movement. Surprisingly, in both experiments presented it took older adults five times longer than young adults to perceive platform stabilization. This supports a hypothesis of less efficient sensory reintegration in this age group, which may delay the formation of an accurate postural percept.

scholarly journals Agency and communion attributes in adults’ spontaneous self-representations

2004 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfred Diehl ◽  
Stephanie K. Owen ◽  
Lise M. Youngblade
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Defence Mechanisms ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Agency And Communion ◽  
Middle Aged Adults ◽  
Group Self ◽  
Age And Sex

This study investigated agency and communion attributes in adults’ spontaneous self-representations. The study sample consisted of 158 adults (80 men, 78 women) ranging in age from 20 to 88 years. Consistent with theorising, significant age and sex differences were found in terms of the number of agency and communion attributes. Young and middle-aged adults included significantly more agency attributes in their self-representations than older adults; men listed significantly more agency attributes than women. In contrast, older adults included significantly more communion attributes in their self-representations than young adults, and women listed significantly more communion attributes than men. Significant Age Group × Self-Portrait Display and Sex × Self-Portrait Display interactions were found for communion attributes, indicating that the importance of communion attributes differed across age groups and by sex. Correlational analyses showed significant associations of agency and communion attributes with personality traits and defence mechanisms. Communion attributes also showed significant correlations with four dimensions of psychological well-being.

Nuclear War: Fear of Children and Adolescents

1990 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-4
Author(s):  
Neville J King ◽  
Kate Ollier ◽  
Eleonora Gullone
Keyword(s):  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Middle Age ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Psychological Development ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Nuclear War ◽  
Fear Survey Schedule ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTUsing an extended fear survey schedule, 72 per cent of a sample of 8 to 16 year old children and adolescents in Australia reported a lot of fear of nuclear war. Although a high proportion of respondents in all age groups expressed a lot of fear of nuclear war, significantly more respondents in the middle age group (11-13 years) were found to be afraid. Consistent with the findings on children's fears in general, significantly more females than males reported fear of nuclear war. Further research should be undertaken on the impact of the fear of nuclear war on the psychological development of children and adolescents.

scholarly journals Age-Related Changes in the 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Versus Parathyroid Hormone Relationship Suggest a Different Reason Why Older Adults Require More Vitamin D

2003 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reinhold Vieth ◽  
Yasmin Ladak ◽  
Paul G. Walfish
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Vitamin D ◽  
Secondary Hyperparathyroidism ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Hydroxyvitamin D ◽  
Age Related ◽  
25 Hydroxyvitamin D ◽  
The Relationship

Vitamin D requirements are thought to vary with age, but there is little comparative evidence for this. One goal in establishing a vitamin D requirement is to avoid secondary hyperparathyroidism. We studied 1741 euthyroid, thyroid clinic outpatients without evidence of calcium abnormalities, ranging in age from 19 to 97 yr, whose serum and urine had been analyzed for calcium, vitamin D, and parathyroid status. We found no effect of age on the 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration associated with specific vitamin D intakes, and there was no relationship between 25(OH)D and 1,25hydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D]. In every age group, serum 1,25(OH)2D declined with increasing creatinine (P &lt; 0.001). What changed with age included creatinine, which correlated with 25(OH)D (r = 0.146, P &lt; 0.001) only in the youngest age group (19–50 yr) but not in the older age groups (P &gt; 0.1). Creatinine did not correlate with PTH in the youngest age group, but the relationship became significant as age increased (e.g. for the elderly, r = 0.365, P &lt; 0.001). Linear regression of log PTH vs. log 25(OH)D agreed with the natural shape of the relationship observed with scatterplot smoothing, and this showed no plateau in PTH as 25(OH)D increased. We compared PTH concentrations among age groups, based on 20 nmol/liter increments in 25(OH)D. Mean PTH in adults older than 70 yr was consistently higher than in adults younger than 50 yr (P &lt; 0.05 by ANOVA and Dunnett’s t test). PTH levels of the elderly who had 25(OH)D concentrations greater than 100 nmol/liter matched PTH of younger adults having 25(OH)D concentrations near 70 nmol/liter. This study shows that all age groups exhibit a high prevalence of 25(OH)D insufficiency and secondary hyperparathyroidism. Older adults are just as efficient in maintaining 25(OH)D, but they need more vitamin D to produce the higher 25(OH)D concentrations required to overcome the hyperparathyroidism associated with their diminishing renal function.

Money and happiness: does age make a difference?

2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 1289-1306 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHANG-MING HSIEH
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Middle Age ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Significant Positive Association ◽  
Social Surveys ◽  
The Relationship

ABSTRACTAlthough the factors that influence people's perception of happiness have long been a focus for scholars, research to date has not offered conclusive findings on the relationships between income, age and happiness. This study examined the relationship between money and happiness across age groups. Analysing data from United States General Social Surveys from 1972 to 2006, this study finds that even after controlling for all the major socio-demographic variables, income (whether household income or personal equivalised income) had a significant positive association with happiness for young and middle-age adults, but it was not the same case with older adults. After controlling for the major socio-demographic variables, there was no evidence of a significant relationship between income (whichever definition) and happiness for older adults. The results also showed that the effect of household income on happiness was significantly smaller for older adults than for young or middle-age adults in the model controlling for major socio-demographic variables. The relationship between household income and happiness no longer differed significantly across age groups after social comparison variables were included. The relationship between equivalised income and happiness did not vary significantly by age group after controlling for the major socio-demographic variables.

Age Differences in Source Monitoring and Referent Discrimination

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trinidad Ruiz-Gallego-Largo ◽  
Teresa Simón ◽  
Aurora G. Suengas
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Source Monitoring ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The Other ◽  
Reality Monitoring ◽  
Monitoring Framework ◽  
Effects Of Aging ◽  
Two Age Groups

In contrast to previous studies which addressed separately memory for source and referent, the present experiment analyzes the effects of aging on memory for both, source and referent. The experiment simulated a conversation between two people exchanging descriptors of themselves and the other speaker (e.g., “I am helpful,” “you are capable”). Participants (N = 60) were divided into two age groups: younger (M = 23.47 years old, SD = 2.37), older (M = 70.30 years old, SD = 3.73). Recall, recognition, and accuracy in identifying source (e.g., “who said helpful?”) and referent (e.g., “about whom was capable said?”) were analyzed. Younger and older adults recalled and recognized equally well information read by the experimenter about herself, but only young adults showed better memory for the descriptors they read about themselves. Older adults were impaired in source monitoring, but not in reference discrimination. Normal referent discrimination in older adults is attributed to the fact that the referent forms part of the content of the episode, whereas who spoke it is part of its context, and older adults tend to show greater deficits in context than in content memory. These results are explained within the source and reality monitoring framework.

scholarly journals Cycling efficiency and energy cost of walking in young and older adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
pp. 414-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn A. Gaesser ◽  
Wesley J. Tucker ◽  
Brandon J. Sawyer ◽  
Dharini M. Bhammar ◽  
Siddhartha S. Angadi
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
Energy Cost ◽  
Intraclass Correlation ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Net Energy ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Cycling Efficiency ◽  
Considerable Individual Variation ◽  
Energy Cost Of Walking

To determine whether age affects cycling efficiency and the energy cost of walking (Cw), 190 healthy adults, ages 18–81 yr, cycled on an ergometer at 50 W and walked on a treadmill at 1.34 m/s. Ventilation and gas exchange at rest and during exercise were used to calculate net Cw and net efficiency of cycling. Compared with the 18–40 yr age group (2.17 ± 0.33 J·kg−1·m−1), net Cw was not different in the 60–64 yr (2.20 ± 0.40 J·kg−1·m−1) and 65–69 yr (2.20 ± 0.28 J·kg−1·m−1) age groups, but was significantly ( P < 0.03) higher in the ≥70 yr (2.37 ± 0.33 J·kg−1·m−1) age group. For subjects >60 yr, net Cw was significantly correlated with age ( R2 = 0.123; P = 0.002). Cycling net efficiency was not different between 18–40 yr (23.5 ± 2.9%), 60–64 yr (24.5 ± 3.6%), 65–69 yr (23.3 ± 3.6%) and ≥70 yr (24.7 ± 2.7%) age groups. Repeat tests on a subset of subjects (walking, n = 43; cycling, n = 37) demonstrated high test-retest reliability [intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), 0.74–0.86] for all energy outcome measures except cycling net energy expenditure (ICC = 0.54) and net efficiency (ICC = 0.50). Coefficients of variation for all variables ranged from 3.1 to 7.7%. Considerable individual variation in Cw and efficiency was evident, with a ~2-fold difference between the least and most economical/efficient subjects. We conclude that, between 18 and 81 yr, net Cw was only higher for ages ≥70 yr, and that cycling net efficiency was not different across age groups. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study illustrates that the higher energy cost of walking in older adults is only evident for ages ≥70 yr. For older adults ages 60–69 yr, the energy cost of walking is similar to that of young adults. Cycling efficiency, by contrast, is not different across age groups. Considerable individual variation (∼2-fold) in cycling efficiency and energy cost of walking is observed in young and older adults.

scholarly journals Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on the Behavior of Families in Italy: A Focus on Children and Adolescents

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Uccella ◽  
Elisa De Grandis ◽  
Fabrizio De Carli ◽  
Maria D'Apruzzo ◽  
Laura Siri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Sleep Difficulties ◽  
Risk Categories

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed individuals' lifestyles to a great extent, particularly in Italy. Although many concerns about it have been highlighted, its impact on children and adolescents has scarcely been examined. The purpose of this study was to explore behavioral consequences and coping strategies related to the pandemic among families in Italy, by focusing on developmental ages from the caregivers' perspective, 3 weeks into quarantine. An exploratory cross-sectional online survey was conducted over 14 days. Google Forms was employed to conduct the survey. Demographic variables and pre-existing Psychological Weaknesses (PsW) were asked. Adults' sleep difficulties (SleepScore) and coping strategies during quarantine were assessed. Behavioral changes related to quarantine of both subjects completing the form (COVIDStress) and their children (when present) were questioned. Of the 6,871 respondents, we selected 6,800 valid questionnaires; 3,245 declared children aged under 18 years of age (caregivers). PsWs were recognizable in 64.9% among non-caregivers and in 61.5% of caregivers, with a mean PsW score of 1.42 ± 1.26 and 1.30 ± 1.25 over 3 points, respectively. The 95.5% of the non-caregivers and the 96.5% of caregivers presented behavioral changes with a mean COVIDStress of 3.85 ± 1.82 and 4.09 ± 1.79 over 8, respectively (p&lt;0.001). Sleep difficulties were present in the 61.6% of the non-caregivers and in the 64.4% of the caregivers (p &lt; 0.001), who showed higher SleepScores (2.41 ± 1.26 against 2.57 ± 1.38 points over 6, p &lt; 0.001). COVIDStress (and SleepScore) strongly correlated with PsW (p &lt; 0.001). Caregivers observed behavioral changes in their children in the 64.3% of the &lt;6 years old and in 72.5% of 6–18 years old. Caregivers' discomfort related to quarantine (COVIDStress, SleepScore) was strongly associated to behavioral changes in both age groups of &lt;6 and 6–18 (p &lt; 0.001). Presence of caregivers' coping strategies was less associated to behavioral changes in the &lt;6 sample (p = 0.001) but not in the 6–18 (p = 0.06). The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted families in Italy with regard to behavioral changes, especially in high-risk categories with PsWs and caregivers, especially the ones with children aged &lt;6 years. While coping strategies functioned as protective factors, a wide array of stress symptoms had implications for children's and adolescents' behaviors. It is recommended that public children welfare strategies be implemented, especially for higher-psychosocial-risk categories.

scholarly journals Differences Between Young and Older Adults in Working Memory and Performance on the Test of Basic Auditory Capabilities†

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry E. Humes ◽  
Gary R. Kidd ◽  
Jennifer J. Lentz
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Age Related

The Test of Basic Auditory Capabilities (TBAC) is a battery of auditory-discrimination tasks and speech-identification tasks that has been normed on several hundred young normal-hearing adults. Previous research with the TBAC suggested that cognitive function may impact the performance of older adults. Here, we examined differences in performance on several TBAC tasks between a group of 34 young adults with a mean age of 22.5 years (SD = 3.1 years) and a group of 115 older adults with a mean age of 69.2 years (SD = 6.2 years) recruited from the local community. Performance of the young adults was consistent with prior norms for this age group. Not surprisingly, the two groups differed significantly in hearing loss and working memory with the older adults having more hearing loss and poorer working memory than the young adults. The two age groups also differed significantly in performance on six of the nine measures extracted from the TBAC (eight test scores and one average test score) with the older adults consistently performing worse than the young adults. However, when these age-group comparisons were repeated with working memory and hearing loss as covariates, the groups differed in performance on only one of the nine auditory measures from the TBAC. For eight of the nine TBAC measures, working memory was a significant covariate and hearing loss never emerged as a significant factor. Thus, the age-group deficits observed initially on the TBAC most often appeared to be mediated by age-related differences in working memory rather than deficits in auditory processing. The results of these analyses of age-group differences were supported further by linear-regression analyses with each of the 9 TBAC scores serving as the dependent measure and age, hearing loss, and working memory as the predictors. Regression analyses were conducted for the full set of 149 adults and for just the 115 older adults. Working memory again emerged as the predominant factor impacting TBAC performance. It is concluded that working memory should be considered when comparing the performance of young and older adults on auditory tasks, including the TBAC.

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