Childhood adversities and home atmosphere as determinants of resilience in old age: findings from the Helsinki birth cohort study.

Early life stress has far-reaching effects on various aspects of well-being in later life, but whether it impacts resilience, i.e., the ability to tolerate hardship, in old age remains unclear.

Sense of Community and Social Participation Underlying Active Aging Among Senior Housing Residents.

Sense of community (SoC) and social participation are considered resources for active aging but there is sparse empirical knowledge on the topic. We investigated these associations among senior housing residents. Data were derived from the cross-sectional BoAktiv senior housing survey ( = 278).

Outdoor mobility in senior housing residents and community-dwelling older people in different population density areas.

Background: Outdoor mobility supports functioning and active life in old age. There is scarce knowledge about the outdoor mobility of senior housing residents, and it remains unclear whether outdoor mobility is dependent on one's home location.

Aims: We investigated outdoor mobility among senior housing residents and community-dwelling older adults in different population-density areas.

Resiliency amid the COVID-19 pandemic: engagement in meaningful activities as a mediator between coping ability and depressive symptoms among older adults.

Objectives: This study investigated the longitudinal association between coping ability and depressive symptoms from before to during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and whether engagement in meaningful activities plays a mediating role in this association.

Method: Individuals aged 75, 80, and 85 years ( = 1021) were interviewed in 2017-2018 (T1, pre-pandemic). Of these persons, 608 were interviewed in 2020 (T2, first wave) and 2021-2022 (T3, partly post-pandemic).

Social Mobility and Health-Related Quality of Life Trajectory Classes Among Older Women and Men.

Objectives: Changes in socioeconomic status (SES) during life may impact health in old age. We investigated whether social mobility and childhood and adulthood SES are associated with trajectories of health-related quality of life (HrQoL) over a 17-year period.

Methods: We used data from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study ( = 2003, 46% men, mean age 61.

Do the integrated theories of self-determination and planned behavior explain the change in active life engagement following a motivational counseling intervention among older people?

Background: An integrated model based on self-determination and planned behavior theories has been used to explain physical activity and other health-related behaviors mainly among younger populations, not older adults. The present study aimed to conduct a secondary analysis to explore whether changes in theory-based constructs explain a change in activity level (including 17 activities in essential life areas) among 75- and 80-year-old individuals.

Methods: Data came from the Promoting well-being through active aging (AGNES) study, a two-arm single-blinded randomized control trial, where participants in the intervention group (n = 101) received year-long individualized counseling between 2017-19 in Jyväskylä, Finland.

Active Aging in Senior Housing Residents and Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Comparative Study in Finland.

Objectives: Leading an active life in old age underpins positive life experience. This study aimed to compare the levels of active aging in senior housing residents and community-dwelling older people.

Methods: We combined data from the BoAktiv senior house survey (N = 336, 69% women, mean age 83 years) and AGNES cohort study among community-dwelling older adults (N = 1021, 57% women, mean age 79 years).

Changes in older people's quality of life in the COVID-19 era: a population-based study in Finland.

Purpose: We investigated how quality of life (QoL) changed between 2018 and 2020, and how its related factors, i.e., communication with friends and family, loneliness, and sleeping difficulties changed amid the early-phase COVID-19 pandemic among Finnish older people.

Self-rated resilience and mobility limitations as predictors of change in active aging during COVID-19 restrictions in Finland: a longitudinal study.

Social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic decreased older people's opportunities to lead an active life. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether walking difficulties predict changes in leading an active life during the COVID-19 social distancing recommendation compared to 2 years before, and whether self-rated resilience moderates this association among older people. Data were collected during social distancing recommendation in May and June 2020 and 2 years before (2017-18) among community-living AGNES study participants initially aged 75, 80, or 85 years ( = 809).

Use of walking modifications, perceived walking difficulty and changes in outdoor mobility among community-dwelling older people during COVID-19 restrictions.

Background: Outdoor mobility enables participation in essential out-of-home activities in old age.

Aim: To compare changes in different aspects of outdoor mobility during COVID-19 restrictions versus two years before according to self-reported walking.

Methods: Community-dwelling participants of AGNES study (2017-2018, initial age 75-85) responded to AGNES-COVID-19 postal survey in spring 2020 (N = 809).

Psychological resilience and active aging among older people with mobility limitations.

Active aging refers to striving for well-being through preferred activity and may be restricted with declining mobility. We investigated whether psychological resilience, i.e.

The Associations of Activity Fragmentation With Physical and Mental Fatigability Among Community-Dwelling 75-, 80-, and 85-Year-Old People.

Background: Fatigue related to task standardized by duration and intensity, termed fatigability, could manifest as shortening of activity bouts throughout the day causing daily activity to accumulate in a more fragmented pattern. Our purpose was to study the association of activity fragmentation with physical and mental dimensions of fatigability.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 485 community-dwelling 75-, 80-, and 85-year-old people using a thigh-worn accelerometer for 3-7 days.

Effects of an Individualized Active Aging Counseling Intervention on Mobility and Physical Activity: Secondary Analyses of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

The aim of this study was to report preplanned secondary analyses of the effects of a 12-month individualized active aging counseling intervention on six mobility and physical activity outcomes. A two-arm, single-blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted among 75- and 80-year-old community-dwelling people. The intervention group (IG, = 101) received counseling aimed at increasing self-selected, primarily out-of-home activity.

The effect of individualized, theory-based counselling intervention on active aging and quality of life among older people (the AGNES intervention study).

Background: We define active aging as a striving for activities as per one's goals, capacities and opportunities.

Aim: To test the 1-year counselling intervention effects on active aging.

Methods: In this two-arm single-blinded randomized controlled trial, the intervention group received individually tailored counselling supporting autonomous motivation for active life (one face-to-face session, four phone calls and supportive written material, n = 101) and the control group written health information (n = 103).

Psychometric properties of the 10-item Connor-Davidson resilience scale among Finnish older adults.

Objectives: Resilience, the ability to bounce back after adverse events may be an important factor in active aging. The 10-item version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC10) seems suitable for aging research owing to its low participant burden; however, its psychometric properties have not been comprehensively reported for older people. For example, no estimate exists of the test-retest reliability of the scale when used with older adults.

Assimilative and Accommodative Coping and Older People's Leisure Activities.

Assimilative and accommodative coping strategies have hardly been studied in relation to leisure activities in old age. We investigated whether tenacious goal pursuit (TGP) and flexible goal adjustment (FGA) influence the association between physical performance and participation in leisure activities. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted among 187 community-dwelling people aged 79 to 93 years.

Individualized counselling for active aging: protocol of a single-blinded, randomized controlled trial among older people (the AGNES intervention study).

Background: Active aging has been established as a policy goal for aging societies. We define active aging at the individual level as striving for elements of well-being through activities in relation to a person's goals, functional capacities and opportunities. Increasing evidence suggests that any meaningful activity is beneficial for different aspects of well-being in older people.

Association of tenacious goal pursuit and flexible goal adjustment with out-of-home mobility among community-dwelling older people.

Background: As people age, functional losses may limit the potential to get outside the home and participate in desired activities and community life. Coping with age-related losses has been reported to be important for psychological well-being. Hitherto is not known whether active use of coping strategies also helps maintain out-of-home mobility.

The Combined Effect of Lower Extremity Function and Cognitive Performance on Perceived Walking Ability Among Older People: A 2-Year Follow-up Study.

Background: We studied the combined effects of cognitive performance and lower extremity function on self-reported walking modifications and walking difficulty and on self-reported walking difficulty incidence over a 2-year follow-up.

Methods: A total of 848 community-dwelling older people aged 75-90 years participated at baseline, 816 at the 1-year follow-up, and 761 at the 2-year follow-up. Baseline lower extremity function was measured with the Short Physical Performance Battery (<10 vs.

Active aging - resilience and external support as modifiers of the disablement outcome: AGNES cohort study protocol.

Background: Population aging increases the need for knowledge on positive aspects of aging, and contributions of older people to their own wellbeing and that of others. We defined active aging as an individual's striving for elements of wellbeing with activities as per their goals, abilities and opportunities. This study examines associations of health, health behaviors, health literacy and functional abilities, environmental and social support with active aging and wellbeing.