Functional Limitations and Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adults in Korea: Gender Differences in the Moderating Roles of Relationship Satisfaction With Family, Friends, and Neighbors.

Objectives: This study investigated the association between functional limitations and depressive symptoms among older adults in South Korea, focusing on gender differences in the moderating roles of relationship satisfaction with family, friends, and neighbors.

Methods: Fixed-effect models were applied to five waves of data from the Korean Retirement and Income Study, encompassing 19,180 observations.

Results: Increases in functional limitations were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms, regardless of gender.

Sharing in Caring: Family Caregiving Task-Sharing Patterns for Older Adults in Singapore.

Objectives: Research on family caregiving for older adults has largely focused on primary caregivers. We identify caregiving task-sharing patterns among multiple caregivers, including family members and live-in hired workers. In addition, we investigate caregiver and care-recipient characteristics associated with these patterns.

A Reciprocal Relationship between Formal and Informal Social Engagement and Handgrip Strength of Older Adults in South Korea.

Introduction: The relationship between social engagement and handgrip strength has been underexplored. Further, no prior research examined a plausible reciprocal association between them.

Methods: The study employed the seven waves of data (2006-2018) from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) survey (7,927 respondents, mean age: 59 years old at wave 1 [71 years old at wave 7], women: 58%).

Stress and Loneliness Among Family Caregivers of Older Persons With Cognitive Impairment: The Mediating Role of Social Isolation and the Moderating Role of Personal Mastery.

Objectives: Relatively little attention has been paid to the underlying processes and conditions leading to loneliness among caregivers of older persons with cognitive impairment (PCI). Drawing upon the caregiver stress-process model and the social relationship expectations framework, this study examined the mediating role of social isolation and the moderating role of caregiver personal mastery in the association between PCI memory and behavioral problems and caregiver loneliness.

Methods: Structural equation modeling was applied to cross-sectional data from 266 caregivers in Singapore.

Informal Caregiver Social Network Types and Mental Health: The Mediating Role of Psychological Resilience.

Little is known about whether and why social networks protect mental health among informal caregivers. This study examined the association between informal caregiver social network types and depressive symptoms and the mediatory mechanism of psychological resilience. Latent class analysis, applied to cross-sectional data on 278 Singaporean caregivers, identified four social network types: restricted (42%), friend (16%), family (21%), and diverse (21%).

Feeling Alone Together: Loneliness in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment and Their Family Caregivers with Low Mastery.

Introduction: Loneliness in older persons with cognitive impairment (PCI) may beget loneliness in their family caregivers, depending on buffering resources caregivers possess. This study examined the association between loneliness in older PCI and loneliness experienced by their family caregivers, and the moderating role of caregiver mastery in this association.

Methods: Dyadic data from 135 PCI and their family caregivers in Singapore were analyzed using multivariable regression.

Engagement in Physical Activity and Quality of Life Among Informal Caregivers of Older Adults.

Objectives: This study examined (1) the association of caregiver engagement in physical activity (PA) with their quality of life (QoL) and (2) the moderating effect of caregiver engagement in PA on the relationship between several caregiving stressors and their QoL, among informal caregivers of older adults.

Methods: Multivariable regression was applied to data from 278 adult caregivers, aged 23-90 years, in Singapore.

Results: Engagement in PA by caregivers was positively associated with psychological, social relationships, and environment domains of their QoL.

Older adult patient preferences for the content and format of prescription medication labels - A best-worst scaling and discrete choice experiment study.

Background: Patient preferences for the content and format of prescription medication labels (PMLs, i.e., sticker labels placed on medication bottles/packets at dispensing) have been extensively studied.

Health Profiles among Community-Dwelling Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment and Their Implications for Caregiving Experience.

Introduction: Identifying health conditions of persons with cognitive impairment (PCI) in the community and exploring their implications for caregiving experience are vital for effective allocation of healthcare resources. This study examined distinct PCI health profiles among community-dwelling PCI and their association with caregiving burden and benefits.

Methods: Latent profile analysis and multivariable regression were applied to dyadic data from 266 PCI and their caregivers in Singapore.

Reciprocal Relationship Between Lifelong Learning and Volunteering Among Older Adults.

Objectives: Lifelong learning and volunteering contribute to not only health and well-being, but also social inclusion and cohesion among older adults. However, less is known about whether lifelong learning and volunteering promote each other. This study examined the reciprocal relationship between older adults' lifelong learning and volunteering and whether the relationship varied by the purpose of lifelong learning.

The Reciprocal Relationship Between Social Engagement and Cognitive Function Among Older Adults in South Korea.

A greater number of studies have examined the impact of social engagement on cognitive function rather than the other way around, leaving their reciprocal association underexplored. Furthermore, formal and informal social engagement are not differentiated, although they may have independent relationships with cognitive function. This study aims to identify (1) whether informal and formal social engagements are effective in maintaining cognitive health and (2) if cognitive function has a bidirectional effect on social engagement.

Lonely in a Crowd: Social Isolation Profiles and Caregiver Burden Among Family Caregivers of Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment.

Objectives: This study identified distinct social isolation profiles among caregivers, each formed by varied combinations of social disconnectedness and loneliness, and examined if and how the profiles were associated with caregiver burden.

Methods: Latent class analysis and multivariable regression were applied to data from 266 caregivers of community-dwelling older Singaporeans with cognitive impairment.

Results: Two caregiver social isolation profiles were identified: strongly connected, not lonely (86%), and moderately connected, lonely (14%).

Met and Unmet Needs of Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment, and Burden and Benefits of Their Family Caregivers.

Objectives: This study examined the association between met and unmet needs of older adults with cognitive impairment living in the community and unique types of caregiving experience, each comprising different levels of caregiving burden and benefits.

Methods: Latent class analysis and multivariable regression were applied to data on 266 caregivers of community-dwelling Singaporean older adults, aged 60 years and above, with cognitive impairment who participated in a community-based dementia care study in 2018.

Results: Three unique types of caregiving experience were identified: satisfied (low burden and high benefits; 54% of caregivers), dissatisfied (low burden and low benefits; 35%), and intensive (high burden and high benefits; 11%).

Care Needs Profiles and Their Association with Caregiver Strain among Community-Dwelling Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment.

Introduction: This study examined distinct profiles of met and unmet care needs among community-dwelling older adults with cognitive impairment and their association with caregiver strain.

Methods: Latent class analysis and multivariable regression were applied to data from 266 caregivers of older Singaporeans, aged 60 years and above, with cognitive impairment. Care needs were evaluated by caregivers using the Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly.

The Negative Impact of Adult Children's Marital Dissolution on Older Parents' Mental Health in South Korea.

Objective: Little is known about whether and the extent children's marital dissolution deteriorates older parents' mental health. This study examines the association of children's marital dissolution with parents' mental health, and whether children's gender and intergenerational contact and support moderate such an association in South Korea, where family lives are strongly linked under the Confucian collectivistic legacy.

Methods: We apply fixed-effects models on 15,584 parent-child dyads nested in 5,673 older parents (45-97 years in Wave 1) participating in the four waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA), conducted from 2006 to 2012.

Transitions in Social Network Types over Time among Older Adults.

Objective: Network typology studies have identified heterogeneous types of older adults' social networks. However, little is known about stability and change in social network types over time. We investigate transitions in social network types among older adults, aged 60 years and older, and factors associated with such transitions.

Does a reciprocal relationship exist between social engagement and depression in later life?

Objectives: We examine if reciprocal associations exist between formal and informal social engagement and depression in older adults.

Method: We apply dynamic panel-data structural equation models accompanied with the maximum likelihood estimator (ML-SEM) to the seven waves of data of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA).

Results: Formal social engagement in and through various voluntary groups exerts both cross-lagged and proximal effects in lessening depressive symptoms.

Transitions between social network profiles and their relation with all-cause mortality among older adults.

Background: The importance of social network in mortality among older adults has been acknowledged. However, existing studies typically overlook the interplay among social network indicators, and seldom consider the change in social network over time. We take a person-centered approach to identify transitions between social network profiles, and examine the linkage of such transitions with subsequent mortality risk.

Types of Caregiving Experience and Their Association With Caregiver Depressive Symptoms and Quality of Life.

ObjectiveThis study examines distinct types of caregiving experience, each formed by varied combinations of caregiving burden and benefits, and their association with caregiver depressive symptoms and quality of life. We apply latent profile analysis and multivariable regression to data on 278 caregivers participating in the Caregiving Transitions among Family Caregivers of Elderly Singaporeans (TraCE) study in 2019-2020. We identify four caregiving experience types: (1) balanced (low burden and moderate benefits, 40% of caregivers), (2) satisfied (low burden and high benefits, 33%), (3) intensive (high burden and high benefits, 17%), and (4) dissatisfied (moderate burden and low benefits, 10%).