Measuring Psychological Resilience in Aging: Findings From the Health and Retirement Study and National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health.

Background And Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the measurement properties of 2 emerging psychological resilience (PR) measures constructed for use in large national data sources and to test their reliability across social axes including race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status.

Research Design And Methods: Using 2006/2008 data, the Simplified Resilience Score and the Add Health Resilience Scale were tested using overall and multigroup measurement models in a structural equation modeling framework.

Results: Both PR measures perform well as reliable, 1-factor latent constructs capturing adaptive capacity at various life stages.

Work and income instability and retirement financial wellbeing for women and men.

Financial wellbeing in retirement is contingent on realizations of financial expectations developed earlier in life and may differ substantially by gender. People's standard of living in retirement is tied to stability in work and income trajectories during working years along with retirement benefits and savings. Women have a greater overall income disadvantage relative to men, including reduced life course labor force exposure that may restrict retirement savings and benefits.

Life Satisfaction and Intergenerational Mobility Among Older Hispanics in the United States.

Objectives: To investigate the impact of intergenerational mobility-measured as the difference between one's own and one's father's education level-on overall life-satisfaction among Hispanic, White, and Black older Americans.

Methods: Data from the Health and Retirement Study were used to estimate life satisfaction by race/ethnicity using ordinary least squares regression (N = 5,057).

Results: Hispanic and Black older Americans report greater educational gains relative to their fathers compared to Whites.

Financial Hardship and Psychological Resilience During COVID-19: Differences by Race/Ethnicity.

Objectives: Research on the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among older adults has primarily focused on relatively acute virus outcomes, but it is likely financial hardships during this time have eroded the adaptive capacity of older adults. It is also possible these impacts vary by race and ethnicity. We examine changes in psychological resilience (PR) among older adults before and during the pandemic to determine whether financial hardships and other stressors have altered this resource for White, Black, and Hispanic older adults.

The Impact of Military Service Exposures and Psychological Resilience on the Mental Health Trajectories of Older Male Veterans.

We examine the impact of exposure to the dead, dying, and wounded (DDW) during military service on the later-life depressive symptom trajectories of male United States veterans, using psychological resilience as an internal resource that potentially moderates negative consequences. The Health and Retirement Study (2006-2014) and linked Veteran Mail Survey were used to estimate latent growth curve models of depressive symptom trajectories, beginning at respondents' first report of resilience. Veterans with higher levels of resilience do not have increased depressive symptoms in later life, despite previous exposure to DDW.

Psychological Resilience and Health Among Older Adults: A Comparison of Personal Resources.

Objectives: Research on life course inequality and successful aging has sought to understand how events and challenges may lead to poor outcomes in later life for some individuals, while others fare well in the face of adversity. Among internalized resources, research suggests psychological resilience is protective in the face of challenges, but little is known about the predictive efficacy of this measure compared to other resources such as mastery. This paper examines connections between psychological resilience and later life health compared to other internalized resources.

Loneliness Following Widowhood: The Role of the Military and Social Support.

Objectives: Increased loneliness is a common consequence of widowhood in later life. However, individuals with high levels of perceived social support from friends tend to cope more effectively following major social losses like widowhood. Military service is associated with cultivation of strong social support structures.

Psychological Health Benefits of Companion Animals Following a Social Loss.

Background And Objectives: In later life, the loss of a spouse due to divorce or widowhood is common and can lead to elevated depressive symptoms and loneliness. Research suggests that companion animal (CA) may be beneficial for psychological health, but limited research has explored whether CA can buffer negative consequences of social losses.

Research Design And Methods: This study uses data drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine changes in depressive symptoms and loneliness in relation to a social loss among those with/without a CA.

The Role of Maternal Relationship in the Persisting Effect of Combat Exposure.

Background And Objectives: The veteran population is aging. Combat exposure is associated with negative health and psychological outcomes in some, but not all veterans; others even appear to experience gains. One mechanism driving these varied responses might be early life relationships.

Cumulative Inequality at the End of Life?: Racial Disparities in Impairment in the Time Before Death.

Objectives: Drawing from cumulative inequality (CI) theory, the current study examined racial disparities in impairment as individuals approached death to determine whether proposed mechanisms hypothesized to fuel or diminish racial disparities at late ages were at work at the end of individualized life spans.

Method: Black-white disparities were analyzed among decedents using latent growth curves based on the data from the North Carolina Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) (N = 1,926).

Results: Consistent with previous literature, racial inequalities in functional disparities diminish at late ages.

Typologies of older adult companion animal owners and non-owners: moving beyond the dichotomy.

Research on the influence of companion animals (CA) on the health of older adults has yielded contradictory results. Selection factors, leading to heterogeneity both between and within groups of CA owners and non-owners, likely bias results. We conduct analyses to identify typologies of owners and non-owners.

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Influenza Vaccination Coverage Among US Adolescents, 2010-2016.

Objective: Although research suggests racial/ethnic disparities in influenza vaccination and mortality rates, few studies have examined racial/ethnic trends among US adolescents. We used national cross-sectional data to determine (1) trends in influenza vaccination rates among non-Hispanic white (hereinafter, white), non-Hispanic black (hereinafter, black), and Hispanic adolescents over time and (2) whether influenza vaccination rates among adolescents varied by race/ethnicity.

Methods: We analyzed provider-reported vaccination histories for 2010-2016 from the National Immunization Survey-Teen.

Depressive Symptoms and the Buffering Effect of Resilience on Widowhood by Gender.

Background And Objectives: Spousal loss is a stressful life event that often results in significant depressive symptoms, with men often experiencing more significant depressive symptoms than women. Recent research suggests that psychological resilience may play a role in shaping how well people recover from the loss of a spouse. This study examined the moderating effect of resilience on widowhood in relation to changes in depressive symptoms for men and women.

Early-Life Military Exposures and Functional Impairment Trajectories Among Older Male Veterans: The Buffering Effect of Psychological Resilience.

Objectives: Drawing on the life course framework and theoretical concept of resilience, we examine the impact of early-life service-related exposures (SREs) on later-life functional impairment trajectories among older U.S. male veterans.

Double Disadvantage in the Process of Disablement: Race as a Moderator in the Association Between Chronic Conditions and Functional Limitations.

Objectives: This study evaluated (a) whether the association between chronic conditions and functional limitations vary by race/ethnicity, and (b) whether socioeconomic status accounted for any observed racial variation in the association between chronic conditions and functional limitations.

Method: The Health and Retirement Study data were used to assess whether race/ethnicity moderated the association between chronic conditions and functional limitations, and whether education, income, and/or wealth mediated any of the observed moderation by race/ethnicity.

Results: Results from structural equation models of latent growth curves with random onset indicated that (a) the positive association between chronic conditions and functional limitations onset was larger for African Americans and Hispanics than it was for Whites, but (b) this difference largely persisted net of socioeconomic status.

Racial and Ethnic Variation in the Relationship Between Student Loan Debt and the Transition to First Birth.

The present study employs discrete-time hazard regression models to investigate the relationship between student loan debt and the probability of transitioning to either marital or nonmarital first childbirth using the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97). Accounting for nonrandom selection into student loans using propensity scores, our study reveals that the effect of student loan debt on the transition to motherhood differs among white, black, and Hispanic women. Hispanic women holding student loans experience significant declines in the probability of transitioning to both marital and nonmarital motherhood, whereas black women with student loans are significantly more likely to transition to any first childbirth.

Health Lifestyles in Adolescence and Self-rated Health into Adulthood.

Do health behaviors cluster together as health lifestyles in adolescence? Are these lifestyles socially patterned? Do these lifestyles impact physical health into adulthood? To answer these questions, we employed data from Waves 1 and 4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health ( n = 7,827). Our latent class analysis revealed four health lifestyles: (a) low risk, (b) moderate risk with substance use, (c) moderate risk with inactivity, and (d) high risk. As suggested by health lifestyle theory, membership in these classes varied according to gender, race-ethnicity, and family structure.

Adjustment to Widowhood and Loneliness Among Older Men: The Influence of Military Service.

Background And Objectives: Men are at higher risk of experiencing poorer adjustment to widowhood compared to women, a transition that is associated with increased loneliness. Military service may play an important role in how men process widowhood, particularly among current cohorts of older men. The present study explores whether military experiences relate to better adjustment to widowhood, that is, reduction of loneliness associated with widowhood for men.

Race Differences in ADL Disability Decline 1984-2004: Evidence From the National Long-Term Care Survey.

Objective: Disability declined in lower levels of impairment during the late 20th century. However, it is unclear whether ADL disability also declined, or whether it did so across race. In this study, we examine cohorts entering later life between 1984 and 1999, by race, to understand changing ADL disability.

The Impacts of Service Related Exposures on Trajectories of Mental Health Among Aging Veterans.

Objectives: Drawing on life-course perspective and cumulative advantage theory, we examined whether service related exposures (SREs)-combat and exposure to death-have lasting impacts on depressive symptom and psychiatric problem trajectories of aging veterans.

Methods: The Health and Retirement Study and linked 2013 Veterans Mail Survey were used to examine SREs and mental health among older veterans between 2002 and 2012 (N = 1,662). Latent growth curves were used to measure how individuals vary from average mental health trajectories based on SREs and other important covariates.

The Structural Burden of Caregiving: Shared Challenges in the United States and Canada.

In contrasting health care structures, we each served as caregivers to elderly parents where a shared and unexpected theme in our experiences was the substantial burden of negotiating and managing long-term care (LTC) services within our respective health and social care systems. In this article, we introduce and elucidate an under recognized source of caregiver burden in the United States and Canada: the structural burden of caregiving. We draw on shared and unique experiences cross-nationally, along with the literature, to illustrate that (a) today's caregiving is increasingly characterized by interactions with formal health and social systems in negotiating and managing services, (b) these systems are hampered by discontinuous and fragmented care which increase caregiver stress, and (c) this structural burden likely exacerbates inequity for both care recipients and caregivers.

Service-Related Exposures and Physical Health Trajectories Among Aging Veteran Men.

Purpose Of The Study: We examined the association of military service-related exposures (SREs) with physical health trajectories to establish whether combat and other hazards have lasting connections to health in later life. We also examined potential confounders and mechanisms to further understand the associations.

Design And Methods: We used the 2013 HRS Veterans Mail Survey linked to the longitudinal Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine military service experiences and health over a decade (2000-2010) among veteran men.

Social support, stress, and maternal postpartum depression: A comparison of supportive relationships.

A large body of literature documents the link between social support, stress, and women's mental health during pregnancy and the postpartum period; however, uncertainty remains as to whether a direct effect or stress mediating pathway best describes the relationship between these factors. Moreover, specific dimensions of social support that may be influential (family type, sources of support) have largely been neglected. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study (N=4150), we examine the pathway between social support, stress exposure, and postpartum depression in greater detail.