Sleep Quality as a Critical Pathway Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Multimorbidity and the Impact of Lifestyle.

Objectives: This study aims to establish the effects of ACEs on multimorbidity through sleep quality and investigate whether lifestyle factors (e.g., eating habits and exercise) may influence this relationship among middle-aged and older adults.

Prospective exploration of the role of combined internalizing symptoms in self-reported memory among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: A growing literature suggests depression and anxiety increase risk of cognitive decline. However, few studies have examined their combined effects on cognition, among older adults, especially during periods of high stress.

Method: Based on a sample of community dwelling older adults ( = 576), we evaluated the effects of pre-pandemic anxiety and depressive symptoms, obtained in September 2018, to changes in self-reported memory (SRM) assessed 3 months into the COVID-19 pandemic.

A longitudinal examination of the protective effect of resilience against anxiety among older adults with high COVID-related worry.

This longitudinal study of community dwelling older adults ( = 453) examined consequences of COVID-related worries on changes in anxiety symptoms before relative to during the pandemic. We further evaluated if pre-COVID psychological resilience (PR) buffered the impact of COVID-related worry. Pre-COVID data were collected in September 2018.

Prediction of COVID-19-related distress: the role of anxiety and resiliency.

Objectives: Among older adults, anxiety is a likely risk factor for COVID-19-related distress, whereas psychological resilience may attenuate the negative impact of the pandemic. In this longitudinal study, we hypothesized that pre-pandemic anxiety would predict higher COVID-19-related distress, whereas resiliency would predict lower distress. Further we hypothesized that resilience would moderate the association between anxiety and distress.

History of childhood mistreatment and the psychological health consequences of COVID-19 for older adults.

Objectives: We examine the associations between childhood mistreatment (emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional neglect) and older adults' changes in depressive symptoms from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic (September 2018-June 2020).

Methods: Using a community-based sample of older adults in North Florida ( = 581), we used ordinary least-squares regression to estimate associations between childhood mistreatments and depressive symptoms in June 2020, controlling for baseline symptoms and demographic characteristics. Additional models tested whether emotion regulation and social support attenuated associations between childhood mistreatments and depressive symptoms.

Emotion regulation and the late positive potential (LPP) in older adults.

Emotion regulation (ER) processes in older adults may be important for successful aging. Neural correlates of ER processes have been examined using event-related brain potentials (ERPs), such as the late-positive potential (LPP) during cognitive reappraisal paradigms. The current study sought to extend this research by examining the LPP from an ER task in a sample of 47 community-dwelling older adults between the ages of 60 and 84 years, scoring either high on emotional well-being (as measured by habitual ER use and resiliency; high WB group, n = 20) or low on emotional well-being (as measured by habitual ER use, resiliency, and depression; low WB group, n = 27).

Cognitive reappraisal, emotional suppression, and depressive and anxiety symptoms in later life: The moderating role of gender.

Objectives: Although socioemotional selectivity (SST) suggests that people experience more positive affect as they age, symptoms of anxiety and depression persist and are often greater in older women than men. Coping strategies may influence the extent to which older adults experience these symptoms. The purpose of the current study is to examine possible gender differences in the use of an adaptive (cognitive reappraisal (CR) and a maladaptive (emotive suppression (ES) emotion regulation strategy in relation to depressive and anxiety symptoms.

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

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.

Cognitive reappraisal and the association between depressive symptoms and perceived social support among older adults.

Objectives: There is an association between depression and diminished social support; indeed, interpersonal dysfunction is often a central feature of depression. The purpose of this study is to examine the role that an emotion regulation (ER) strategy, cognitive reappraisal, plays in influencing the association between depressive symptoms and perceived social support in older adults.

Method: Data for this cross-sectional study come from a community-based survey of older adults (60+,  = 910).

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.

Adverse childhood experiences and coping strategies: identifying pathways to resiliency in adulthood.

Objective: The current study examined whether coping strategies mediate the link between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adult psychiatric and physical health outcomes.

Methods: Data were drawn from wave I ( = 7108), wave II ( = 4963), and wave III ( = 3294) of the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) Survey. An ACE count was created using seven aspects of early adversity based on prior literature.

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.

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.

Perceptions of belongingness and social support attenuate PTSD symptom severity among firefighters: A multistudy investigation.

Firefighters experience high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is imperative to identify malleable factors that protect against the development of PTSD symptoms among this population. We examined whether perceptions of belongingness broadly (Study 1) and social support from supervisors, coworkers, and family/friends specifically (Study 2) are associated with lower PTSD symptom severity among firefighters.

Putamen Volume Differences Among Older Adults: Depression Status, Melancholia, and Age.

Background: Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) may exhibit smaller striatal volumes reflecting deficits in the reward circuit. Deficits may change with age and be more pronounced among the melancholic subtype. Limited research has investigated striatal volume differences in older adults and by depression subtypes.

When Emotional Pain Becomes Physical: Adverse Childhood Experiences, Pain, and the Role of Mood and Anxiety Disorders.

Objective: We examined the association between retrospective reports of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and painful medical conditions. We also examined the mediating and moderating roles of mood and anxiety disorders in the ACEs-painful medical conditions relationship.

Method: Ten-year longitudinal data were obtained from the National Comorbidity Surveys (NCS-1, NCS-2; N = 5001).

Racial Differences in the Effect of Stress on Health and the Moderating Role of Perceived Social Support.

Objective: The current study examined racial differences in the relationship between late-life stress and health functioning and the moderating role of perceived social support (PSS) in older adults.

Method: A biracial sample of community-dwelling older adults (65+) from the first two waves of the Duke University's Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE; N = 2,952) was analyzed. Baseline levels of PSS and stress were obtained.