COVID-19 Concerns and Depression Among Older Adults: Does Race/Ethnic Status Moderate the Association?

This study examined the association between COVID-19 concerns and depression among adults in later life. We also examined whether race/ethnic status moderated this relationship. This study used data from the 2020 Using the 8-item CES-D scale, we defined probable depression as having three or more depressive symptoms.

Internet Use and Loneliness Among Urban and Non-Urban Chinese Older Adults: The Roles of Family Support, Friend Support, and Social Participation.

Objectives: This study investigated the association between internet use and loneliness among older Chinese adults, and the mediating effects of family support, friend support, and social participation. These associations were evaluated in the context of urban and non-urban geographic settings.

Methods: This study used data from the 2018 wave of the China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey (N = 10,126), examining samples of urban (n = 3,917) and non-urban (n = 6,209) older adults separately.

Childhood and Midlife Cultural Awareness and Activity Engagement Among Korean Married Couples.

Objectives: Cultural reproduction theory posits that cultural resources are transmitted across generations, suggesting early parental influences on cultural experiences in adulthood. Further, cultural resources may be transferred within the same generation-through significant others, such as spouses. This study investigates cultural engagement among middle-aged adults, focusing on individual and spousal influences of childhood cultural engagement.

Frailty, cognitive impairment, and depressive symptoms in Chinese older adults: an eight-year multi-trajectory analysis.

Background: Frailty, cognitive impairment, and depressive symptoms are closely interrelated conditions in the aging population. However, limited research has longitudinally analyzed the concurrent trajectories of these three prominent conditions in older adults in China. This study aimed to explore the eight-year trajectories of frailty, cognitive impairment, and depressive symptoms, and to identify individual-level and structural-level factors associated with the trajectories.

Internet use and loneliness among older Chinese adults.

Objectives: This study examined the association between Internet use and loneliness among Chinese older adults (aged 60+) over a two-year period using nationally representative survey data from China.

Methods: Using data from the 2016 and 2018 waves of the ( = 8,059), we estimated difference-in-differences regression models to assess the association between Internet use and levels of loneliness over time.

Results: Compared to Internet non-users, Chinese older adults who were new Internet users, as well as those who were continuous Internet users, reported lower levels of loneliness over time ( = -0.

Status and Cognitive Function Among Older Chinese Adults: Does Support from Friends Matter?

Objectives: This study examined whether older Chinese adults with different types of status (government household registration system) exhibited different cognitive outcomes and whether receiving support from friends, an under-appreciated resource, helped mitigate the negative impacts of agricultural status on cognitive health disparities.

Methods: Using nationally representative data from the , this study tested these relationships with well-validated measures.

Results: Our results showed that older Chinese adults with agricultural were more likely to have worse cognitive function than those with non-agricultural .

Type of Home Care-Informal Versus At Least Some Formal-Matters for Recipients' Perceived Control.

Background And Objectives: Perceived control is an important psychological resource for middle-aged and older adults. Aging in place may help foster feelings of control, yet many community-dwelling older adults must rely on others-whether family, friends, or professionals-for physical assistance. This study investigated how receiving home care from different sources was associated with two facets of perceived control (mastery and perceived constraints) among adults with varying levels of physical disability.

Social Contact, Social Participation, and Emotional Well-Being Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Giving and Receiving Social Support.

This study examined whether social contact, social participation, and social support during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with depression and anxiety. Data were taken from the 2020 COVID-19 Supplement of the ( = 2,778). Depression and anxiety were regressed on social contact frequency, social participation, and social support.

Sensory impairment and depressive symptoms among older adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: This study examined the associations between sensory impairment (SI), lack of social contact during the COVID-19 pandemic, and depressive symptoms among Americans aged 50 and above.

Methods: We employed data from the 2018 and 2020 Health and Retirement Study ( = 13,460) to examine four SI groups: no SI, visual impairment (VI) only, hearing impairment (HI) only, and dual sensory impairment (DSI). First, multilevel models were employed to estimate the associations between SI and depressive symptoms before and during the pandemic using the full dataset ( = 13,460).

Pathways Linking Information and Communication Technology Use and Loneliness Among Older Adults: Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study.

Background And Objectives: This study investigated the association between information and communication technology (ICT) use and loneliness among community-dwelling older adults (aged 65+), as well as the mediating effects of social relations, perceived control, and purpose-in-life.

Research Design And Methods: The study used data from the 2014 and 2018 Health and Retirement Study (N = 3,026), employing autoregressive path models with contemporaneous mediation to assess the association of 2 kinds of ICT use, social media communication and general computer use, with loneliness through the pathways of perceived social support, social contact, perceived constraints, and purpose-in-life.

Results: Social media communication had a negative association with loneliness.

Online engagement, resilience, and loneliness among older people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background And Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the public health concerns of social isolation and loneliness for older people who are vulnerable due to their health conditions and more restrictive social measures. However studies revealed that many older adults demonstrated high resilience and remained emotionally stable during the pandemic, particularly those who had a broad engagement with online technology that could compensate for their isolation. Yet, little empirical research has examined explicitly the association between online engagement and loneliness among older adults, and the role resilience played in this relationship during the pandemic.

Age and Cohort Trends in Formal Volunteering and Informal Helping in Later Life: Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study.

Formal volunteering holds great importance for the recipients of volunteer services, individuals who volunteer, and the wider society. However, how much recent birth cohorts volunteer in middle and late adulthood compared with earlier birth cohorts is not well understood. Even less well-known are the age and cohort trends in informal helping provided to friends and neighbors in later adulthood.

Mild Neurocognitive Disorder, Social Engagement, and Falls Among Older Primary Care Patients.

Objectives: (1) To estimate the association between social engagement (SE) and falls; (2) To examine the relation between mild neurocognitive disorder (MNCD) and falls by different levels of SE.

Design: We performed a secondary data analysis using prospective cohort study design.

Setting: Primary care.

Friendship in Later Life: A Pathway Between Volunteering Hours and Depressive Symptoms.

Objectives: Friendships are essential in the face of social network changes in later life and friendships may be important for reducing depression risk. Social participation through volunteering is also associated with fewer depressive symptoms. What is less well-understood is whether friendships serve as a pathway in the link between volunteering and depression.

Association of Chronic Diseases and Functional Limitations with Subjective Age: The Mediating Role of Sense of Control.

Objectives: This study examined the relationships between chronic diseases, functional limitations, sense of control, and subjective age. Older adults may evaluate their subjective age by reference to their younger healthier selves and thus health and functional status are likely to be determinants of subjective age. Although sense of control is also a potential predictor of subjective age, stress-inducing factors associated with disease and functional limitations may reduce older adults' sense of control, making them feel older.

Financial Problems in Established Adulthood: Implications for Depressive Symptoms and Relationship Quality with Parents.

Using two waves of data from the (2008 and 2013), this study examined changes in financial problems before and after the Great Recession and investigated the implications for adults' depressive symptoms and relationship quality with parents. Participants in established adulthood ( = 170, age 30-46 in 2013) provided information about their financial difficulties and depressive symptoms, as well as negative relationship quality with each parent (parent-child tie;  = 316) at baseline and 5 years later. Results showed that a growing number of participants experienced financial problems between the two waves, rising from 16 to 72% of participants.

Cognitive function and cognitive decline among older rural Chinese adults: the roles of social support, pension benefits, and medical insurance.

Objectives: This study investigated whether social support, pension benefits, and medical insurance coverage are related to cognitive function and decline among older rural Chinese adults and whether depressive symptoms represented a pathway linking these factors with cognitive function.

Methods: Data are taken from three waves of the ( = 5,135). Cognitive function is assessed with episodic memory and depressive symptoms are assessed with the 10-item CESD Scale.

Adult children's achievements and ageing parents' depressive symptoms in China.

This study examined the association between adult children's achievements and ageing parents' depressive symptoms in China. The research topic was examined within the contexts of one-child and multiple-children families in rural and urban China. Older adults (aged 60-113, = 8,450; nested within 462 communities/villages) from the 2013 China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey provided information about themselves and their adult children ( = 22,738).

Perceptions of Childhood Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Cognitive Function in Middle and Late Adulthood.

Background And Objectives: Framed within the life course perspective and the neighborhood stress model, this study investigated the association between perceptions of childhood neighborhood social cohesion and cognitive function among middle-aged and older Chinese adults. We also examined whether gender, childhood hukou status, the Chinese national administrative household registration system, and birth cohort moderated the association.

Research Design And Methods: This study used 3 waves of nationally representative data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011-2015; N = 11,469).

Friendship and Cognitive Functioning Among Married and Widowed Chinese Older Adults.

Objectives: Guided by the social convoy model, this study investigated the association between friendship and cognitive functioning among older Chinese adults, as well as the moderating effect of marital status (married vs widowed). We also explored whether depression might account for the link between friendship and cognitive functioning.

Methods: We used data from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey in 2014 (N = 8,482).

Take a sad song and make it better: Spousal activity limitations, caregiving, and depressive symptoms among couples.

Objectives: Framed around key concepts of the life course perspective, we examined the linkages between spousal activity limitations, caregiving transitions, and depression among married couples. The key study objectives were 1) to demonstrate how the caregiving-depression link widely reported in earlier research may have been over-stated, and 2) to investigate whether caregiving yields mental health benefits by weakening the link between spousal activity limitations and depressive symptoms.

Methods: We used longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (2004-2016) to examine a national sample of coupled individuals (6,475 couples; 57,844 person-wave observations).

Diagnoses of Chronic Health Conditions and Change in Subjective Age: The Moderating Role of Chronological Age.

Background And Objectives: Health is a predictor of subjective age, and although inconclusive, the strength of this association is not uniform across different age groups. This study investigates if new diagnoses of chronic health conditions are associated with a change in subjective age and if chronological age moderates this relationship.

Research Design And Methods: Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, residualized change regression analysis was performed for a sample of 5,158 respondents older than 50 years to examine their subjective age in 2014 relative to that reported in 2010.

Early Child-Parent Relationship Quality and Cognitive Function in Older Rural Chinese Adults: The Mediating Role of Educational Attainment.

Framed within a life course perspective and cognitive reserve theory, this study examined the mediating role of educational attainment for the association between child-parent relationships during childhood and cognitive function among older adults in rural China. Data were obtained from three waves of the ( = 9809). We employed latent growth curve modeling to test the association among early child-parent relationship quality, educational attainment, and cognitive function in later life.

Depression and Elevated Inflammation Among Chinese Older Adults: Eight Years After the 2003 SARS Epidemic.

Background And Objectives: This study examined associations between exposure to the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic and Chinese older adults' depression and inflammation 8 years after the crisis. Further, this study investigated the buffering effects of perceived social support and social participation.

Research Design And Methods: Data were drawn from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey, including N = 4,341 Chinese adults aged 60 years and older.

Psychological Pathways Linking Parent-Child Relationships to Objective and Subjective Sleep Among Older Adults.

Objectives: This study investigated whether older adults with better relationships with their adult children have better subjective and objective sleep quality than older adults with less-positive relationships with their children. We also examined whether depressive symptoms and loneliness mediated the association between parent-child relationships and sleep among older adults.

Methods: Data were used from the second wave of the National Social life, Health, and Aging Project, in which 548 respondents (aged 62-90) participated in the sleep survey to measure their actigraph sleep activity for three consecutive days.