Contribution of Leisure-Time Physical Activity on Psychological Benefits Among Elderly Immigrants

Research provides evidence that leisure-time physical activity engagement promotes health and well-being among older adults. In this study, using data released from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in 2008, we focused on the exploration of the relationship between leisure-time physical activity and psychological benefits such as positive affect, optimism, psychological well-being, and life satisfaction among elderly immigrants. The results of this study demonstrated that leisure-time physical activities play an important role in gaining psychological benefits. This finding provided further evidence that leisure-time physical activities provides rich opportunities for elderly immigrants to experience psychological benefits, which may contribute to quality of life and successful aging.     

Spirituality and Health Outcomes in the Elderly

The purpose of this mail survey was to examine the relationship of attitudinal and behavioral measures of spirituality to physical and mental health outcomes in a sample of elderly community residents. Frequency of prayer, importance of faith, and reliance on religion for their coping were compared for their association with eight categories of physical and mental health. All three measures, prayer, faith and religious coping, correlated strongly with positive mental health, but not with the other seven physical health categories. Multiple regression analyses indicated importance of one's faith had the strongest association with positive mental health, even after controlling for the effect of other significant variables, age and education. The behavioral measure of prayer was a component of importance of faith to mental health, with no independent impact. This study highlights attitudes rather than practices, as the stronger spiritual variables related to mental health in the elderly.     

Impact of Religious Activities on Quality of Life and Cognitive Function Among Elderly

Journal of Religion and Health - Religiosity and spirituality have previously been found to have significant effects on mental and physical health. This study aimed to compare...     

日常小团体多样性与老年人身体症状的关系：团体积极情绪的中介作用和心理压力感的调节作用

采用日记追踪法,以53名老年人为被试,探讨日常小团体的多样性对其身体症状的影响及机制。结果显示:(1)日常小团体内多样性负向预测老年人当天的身体症状;(2)在个体内水平,团体积极情绪在老年人小团体内多样性对身体症状的关系中起中介作用;(3)心理压力感能够跨层正向调节日常小团体内多样性对每日身体症状的影响。研究结果有助于揭示小团体多样性如何与老年人身体症状相联系,以及两者之间的关系在何种条件下更强,这对于老年人身体症状的干预工作具有一定实践意义。     

Early Versus Late Onset of Spinal Cord Injury Among the Elderly

The objective of this study is to compare elderly individuals with late (60 years old) versus early (<60 years old) onset spinal cord injury (SCI) across quality of life (QOL) domains for which cross-sectional design was used. The outcome measures selected were secondary medical complications (e.g., pneumonia, autonomic dysreflexia, number of days hospitalized), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), and the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (CHART). Analyses between groups showed that individuals with SCI onset 60 years of age or older were significantly older, had a greater proportion of incomplete lesions, were more likely to have SCI resulting from medical complication, and were less likely to be working. After controlling for differences in demographic and lesion characteristics, the majority of QOL domains were similar between groups. However, overall self-reported handicap (CHART-total score) was significantly greater among elderly with late onset SCI, particularly in the areas of physical independence and social integration. Differences in QOL between elderly with late versus early onset SCI were most prominent in the area of physical independence and social integration. The importance of appropriate statistical control, theoretical implications, and future directions are discussed.     

互联网的使用对中老年人生活幸福感的影响

采用2018年中国健康与养老追踪调查数据(CHARLS),运用主成分回归和结构方程模型,探究互联网的使用对中国中老年人生活幸福感的影响。主成分回归的结果显示中老年人互联网使用程度、家庭情况以及其身体状况都会对其生活幸福感产生积极的影响,结构方程模型的结果显示中老年人家庭情况会直接或通过影响其互联网使用程度间接的对其身体状况产生积极的影响,进而提升其生活幸福感。     

Depression at 3 Months Poststroke in the Elderly: Predictors and Indicators of Prevalence

The prevalence and determinants of depression in 79 elderly patients were assessed at 3 months poststroke. Predictor variables included gender, age, history of previous stroke, and hemispheric location of stroke. Indicator variables included two measures of physical functioning and seven aspects of cognitive functioning. Results indicated that 56% of patients had impairment in activities of daily living, and 39% reported clinically significant levels of depression. Prevalence of cognitive impairment ranged from 31% on a measure of basic cognitive functioning, through to 89% on a measure of complex attention. The results from a hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that the combination of predictor and indicator variables explained 53% of the variance in depression scores. The three individual variables of history of previous stroke, physical functioning, and simple attention all made significant unique contributions to the variance in depression scores. The contribution of these findings to the ongoing debate concerning lesion location and poststroke depression is discussed.     

大学生对年轻人和老年人的年龄刻板印象

采用内隐联想测验(IAT)和相应的外显测量,考察了大学生被试对年轻人和老年人的内隐和外显年龄刻板印象。结果表明:大学生被试在身体特征、个人表达和认知能力等3个方面对老年人都普遍存在明显消极的内隐态度;而在外显测量中,对年轻人和老年人的态度不存在显著差异;内隐和外显的年龄刻板印象测量之间相关不显著,可以用不同的记忆系统理论和联结-命题评价(APE)模型来解释内隐和外显测量不一致现象;不同性别的大学生被试在外显态度测量和内隐联想测验中测得的年龄刻板印象均不存在显著差异。     

Family Violence and Health Among Elderly in Croatia

This article presents the research carried out on a sample of 303 elderly men and women. In the last year they reported experiencing violence in the family as follows: psychological abuse (24.1%), financial exploitation (6.4%), physical abuse (4.4%), and sexual abuse (2.1%). The abusers were most often husbands (30.15%), sons (16.64%), daughters (14.01%), and wives (9.21%). In the partner relationship, 44%?of the women and 35%?of the men had experienced at least some form of violence. The results showed that elderly men and women who were victims of family abuse had poorer psychological health than those without such experiences. Elderly who had experienced partner violence consumed alcohol more often than those who had experienced violence by other household members.     

Undisturbed Upright Stance Control in the Elderly: Part 2. Postural-Control Impairments of Elderly Fallers

A common way of predicting falling risks in elderly people can be to study center of pressure (CP) trajectories during undisturbed upright stance maintenance. By estimating the difference between CP and center of gravity (CG) motions (CP - CG_v), one can estimate the neuromuscular activity. The results of this study, which included 34 sedentary elderly persons aged over 75 years (21 fallers and 13 nonfallers), demonstrated significantly increased CG_h and CP - CG_v motions in both axes for the fallers. In addition, the fallers presented larger CG_h motions in the mediolateral axis, suggesting an enlarged loading—unloading mechanism, which could have reflected the adoption of a step-initiating strategy. As highlighted by fractional Brownian motion modeling, the distance covered by the CP - CG_v motions before the successive control mechanisms switched was enhanced for the fallers in both axes, therefore increasing the risk that the CG would be outside of the base of support.     

Gender Differences in Stress and Coping among Elderly Patients on Hemodialysis

The study investigated whether gender differences in the stressor, coping strategies, and how they associate stress and copings among 875 elderly patients undergoing hemodialysis in Taiwan. Chi-square tests, MANOVA and Structural Equation Modeling were used to attain the research purposes. The results found that the women had reported higher stress in response to physical and vessel problems and higher scores in using emotion-oriented and support-seeking coping strategies, while the men reported higher stress in reproductive system functioning and higher score in using avoidance as a coping strategy. Furthermore, the results from SEM demonstrated that after controlling for patient characteristics, no statistical difference was found between the two groups with regard to their linking of stress and coping strategies.     

Subjective Well-Being and Its Determinant from A Study of Beijing＇s Urban Elderly

Abstract This study was designed to obtain an understanding of the subjective well - being ( SWB ) status amongChina‘s urban elderly, and to find out the major factors that could influence the status in question. Our survey wasconducted of 233 urban elderly individuals, and the data was statistically examined by multiple regression analysiswith the results that: 1 ) The SWB of China‘ s urban elderly was relatively high as only 4.5 96 of all respondentsconsidered themselves unhappy or very unhappy; 2) Major factors that had an influence on SWB included economicresource, mobility, age and social support; and 3 ) Five demographic variables accounted for 18.6 96 of the variancein SWB, which was slightly higher than that of foreign findings. It is concluded that financial security, active par-ticipation in physical and social activities, and social support are necessary for the improvement of the SWB of the el-derly.     

Relationship between 24-Hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure and Cognitive Function in Healthy Elderly People

The idea that activity, both physical and mental, may be a protective factor against cognitive decline in later life has enjoyed currency in both the popular and general medical literature. However, considerable uncertainty remains about the relationship between activity and cognitive performance due to differing definitions of activity and to the use of select samples. The current report analysed data from a probability sample of 887 participants recruited from the community, aged 70-93 years in 1991 and followed up in 1994 and 1998. Activity was assessed using a six-item scale comprising activities that are both commonly undertaken and relevant to old age. Latent growth curves were fitted to longitudinal outcomes including activity, cognitive performance and health measures. Reduction in activity over the course of the study was observed in most participants. Substantial correlations between rates of change in activity and cognitive and health measures were observed. Decline in cognitive performance was also observed in a sub-sample of participants who maintained activity over the three waves of measurement. It was concluded that decline in mental and physical activity in older age is paralleled by decline in cognitive functioning and health. The results do not preclude the possibility that introduced modifications in activity might change the course of cognitive performance later in the life span. Further research is required to establish the causal nature of the relationship between activity and cognition.     

石河子地区老年人骨质疏松性骨折影响因素调查分析

分析石河子地区骨质疏松性骨折老年人的影响因素。采用现场调查的方法,对2010年10月～2011年7月在石河子大学医学院第一附属医院和石河子市人民医院住院的60岁及以上400名骨质疏松性骨折患者进行一对一问卷调查。单因素分析,性别、年龄、父亲髋部骨折史、母亲髋部骨折史、当前是否吸烟、糖尿病史、高血压病史、类风湿性关节炎病史、既往骨折史、是否每日饮用浓茶、是否进行体育锻炼是影响本地区骨质疏松性骨折的因素。多元线性逐步回归分析,性别、父亲髋部骨折史、母亲髋部骨折史、当前是否吸烟、类风湿性关节炎病史是影响本地区骨质疏松性骨折的主要因素。影响石河子地区骨质疏松性骨折的因素是多方面的,其影响因素可为干预本地区未骨折的社区老年高危人群提供科学参考依据。     

社区老年人的生活质量与心理健康:SEM研究

在Lawton理论框架以及先前研究基础上,进一步对上海社区老年人生活质量与心理健康进行研究。采用结构方程建模的方法对老年人健康生活质量(QHL)、客观生活环境质量(QOE)与心理健康(PWB)的理论构念及其相互关系的理论模型予以实证研究。结果表明,该模型与社区老人测评数据(N=262)的拟合度良好,证明QHL对PWB具有显著正面影响,QOE与QHL显著相关且直接或间接地正面影响PWB。研究表明良好身体健康状况、行为调适能力以及家庭一社区养老环境对促进老人心理健康具有重要意义。     

The Effectiveness of Cognitive and Behavioural Treatment of Chronic Pain in the Elderly: A Quantitative Review

This study provides a meta-analytic review of cognitive and behavioural interventions for chronic pain in the elderly, focusing on treatment effectiveness. Included in the analysis are studies in which a comparison was made either to a control condition or to pre-treatment. A total of 12 outcome studies published or reported between January 1975 and March 2008, were identified involving participants 60 years and above and providing 16 separate treatment interventions. The analysis indicated that cognitive and behavioural interventions were effective on self-reported pain experience, yielding an overall effect size of 0.47. However, there were no significant effects of cognitive and behavioural treatment on symptoms of depression, physical functioning and medication use. Methodological issues concerning design, outcome measures and treatment are discussed and recommendations for future studies are outlined.     

Knowledge and Attitudes About Later Life Sexuality: What Clinicians Need To Know About Helping the Elderly

In the family therapy field we have often overlooked the elderly and in particular addressing sexual concerns within the context of couples therapy with the elderly (Van Amburg, Barber, & Zimmerman, 1996). The projected life-span of the elderly has increased due to improvements in medical technology and due to a better quality of life which promotes longevity. Included in this paper are the specific age-related physical, emotional, and sexual changes common in later life as well as a clinical case vignette of an elderly couple presenting with a sexual issue. Current sexuality education programs for the elderly are reviewed as well as clinical implications for therapists who treat the elderly.     

Long-term follow-up of physical activity behavior in older adults.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the contribution of social-cognitive factors (self-efficacy and affect) in predicting long-term physical activity in a sample of older adults (N=174). DESIGN: A prospective design assessed physical activity and psychosocial variables at 2 and 5 years following a 6-month randomized, controlled exercise trial. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome variable was self-reported physical activity, with previous behavior, self-efficacy, and affect assessed as determinants of physical activity. RESULTS: Covariance modeling analyses indicated that physical activity at Year 2 was the strongest predictor of physical activity at 5-year follow-up. Both self-efficacy and affect at Year 2 were also associated with physical activity at Year 5, as was original treatment condition. Variables accounted for 35% of the variance in Year 5 activity. CONCLUSION: Older adults with higher levels of physical activity, more positive affect, and higher self-efficacy at Year 2 were more likely to continue to be active at Year 5. This study is one of the longest follow-ups of exercise behavior in older adults and has implications for structuring environments to maximize the maintenance of physical activity.     

Body mass index and environmental supports for physical activity among active and inactive residents of a U. S. southeastern county.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the associations between body mass index (BMI) and environmental supports for physical activity in active and inactive adults based on national recommendations for physical activity and walking. Residents of a southeastern community (N = 1,111; ages 18-75 years) were contacted using a random-digit-dial method and were asked about neighborhood and community social and environmental supports for physical activity. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Physical activity was measured using the 2001 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) physical activity module. RESULTS: There was a positive association between higher physical activity and walking levels and lower BMI levels. Trusting neighborhoods, having recreational facilities present, and using trails were each associated with twice the odds of being overweight versus obese among those not meeting the national physical activity recommendations. Using trails was also associated with 2.7 times the odds of being overweight as opposed to obese among participants who were not regular walkers. CONCLUSION: Improving environmental supports for access and use of trails and recreational facilities may be important for future environmental interventions aimed at reducing obesity among inactive individuals.