Adaptation to stroke using a model of successful aging

ABSTRACT

The process of adaptation to the physical and psychosocial consequences after stroke is a major challenge for many individuals affected. The aim of this study was to examine if stroke patients within 1 month of admission (n?=?153) and followed up at 1 year (n?=?107) engage in selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) adaptive strategies and the relationship of these strategies with functional ability, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and depression 1 year later. Adaptive strategies were measured using a 15-item SOC questionnaire. Internal and external resources were assessed including recovery locus of control, stroke severity, and socio-demographics. Outcome measures were the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (SS-QoL), the Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living Scale and the Depression Subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Findings indicated that stroke patients engaged in the use of SOC strategies but the use of these strategies were not predictive of HRQOL, functional ability or depression 1 year after stroke. The use of SOC strategies were not age specific and were consistent over time, with the exception of the compensation subscale. Results indicate that SOC strategies may potentially be used in response to loss regulation after stroke and that an individual's initial HRQOL functional ability, levels of depression and socio-economic status that are important factors in determining outcome 1 year after stroke. A stroke-specific measure of SOC may be warranted in order to detect significant differences in determining outcomes for a stroke population.     

What Does Successful Aging Sound Like? Profiling Communication About Aging

We draw on the recently developed communicative ecology model of successful aging (CEMSA) to examine how adults communicate about aging and how these communication patterns relate to experiences of successful aging. Using latent class analysis across 2 datasets collected in New Zealand and the United States, we identify 3 distinct classes of agers (disengaged, engaged, and bantering) defined by different profiles of communication behavior. Across samples, an engaged profile was generally associated with the most positive experiences of aging, whereas a disengaged profile was associated with the least positive experiences, although these differences were surprisingly small. Our results highlight the diverse ways in which individuals communicatively engage with the process of aging and experience aging as positive and successful.     

成败反馈对大学生核心自我评价的影响：任务重要性、外向性的调节作用

该研究以247名大学生为被试,采用2（反馈类型：成功、失败）×2（任务重要性：重要任务、不重要任务）×2（外向性：内向、外向）组间设计探讨成败反馈对大学生核心自我评价的影响,以及任务重要性和外向性在其中的调节作用。结果表明：（1）反馈类型、任务重要性和外向性对核心自我评价变化的主效应及三者的交互作用效应均显著。（2）成败反馈与任务重要性对核心自我评价变化存在显著的交互作用;简单效应分析表明,在失败反馈条件下,执行重要任务被试核心自我评价的下降幅度显著大于执行不重要任务被试核心自我评价的下降幅度。（3）成败反馈与外向性对核心自我评价变化存在显著的交互作用;简单效应分析显示,在失败反馈条件下,外向被试核心自我评价的下降幅度显著小于内向被试。（4）在失败反馈条件下,任务重要性和外向性对核心自我评价的变化存在交互作用。     

Spiritual and Religious Implications of Aging with HIV: A Conceptual and Methodological Review

ABSTRACT

Spirituality and religious practices can buffer people from stressful life circumstances and promote positive biopsychosocial outcomes. The beneficial effects of spirituality and religious practices have been documented in aging and HIV. Unfortunately, little is known about spirituality and religious practices in older adults with HIV. As the number of older adults with HIV increases, with an estimated 91,000 adults over 50 being diagnosed with this disease in the United States, spirituality and religious practices may help HIV-positive people to age successfully. Crisis competence and spiritual trajectories are ways of conceptualizing spiritual development when confronting aging with a life-changing event such as a being diagnosed with HIV. Methodological issues in studying spirituality in adults aging with HIV are identified including defining spirituality and religiosity, heterogeneity of the population, timing of diagnosis, mode of transmission, sexual orientation, religious and cultural stigma, and hardiness. Implications for possible interventions are also posited.     

The association of environmental,individual factors,and dopamine pathway gene variation with smoking cessation

This study aimed to examine whether dopamine (DA) pathway gene variation were associated with smoking cessation, and compare the relative importance of infulence factors on smoking cessation. Participants were recruited from 17 villages of Shandong Province, China. Twenty-five single nucleotide polymorphisms in 8 DA pathway genes were genotyped. Weighted gene score of each gene was used to analyze the whole gene effect. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) of the total gene score for smoking cessation. Dominance analysis was employed to compare the relative importance of individual, heaviness of smoking, psychological and genetic factors on smoking cessation. 415 successful spontaneous smoking quitters served as the cases, and 404 unsuccessful quitters served as the controls. A significant negative association of total DA pathway gene score and smoking cessation was observed (p < 0.001, OR: 0.25, 95% CI 0.16–0.38). Dominance analysis showed that the most important predictor for smoking cessation was heaviness of smoking score (42%), following by individual (40%), genetic (10%) and psychological score (8%). In conclusion, although the DA pathway gene variation was significantly associated with successful smoking cessation, heaviness of smoking and individual factors had bigger effect than genetic factors on smoking cessation.     

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: How is it Different with Older People?

This paper discusses the treatment of depression in older adults (over age 65) using cognitive therapy techniques first developed by Beck and colleagues. The focus of this paper concerns whether modifications of CBT are required in order to ensure maximal efficacy and discusses what modifications may be suitable by advocating conceptual and theoretical reasons for their adoption. Some important contextual factors may need to be taken account of when working with older people such as dealing with expectancies about lifespan, the likelihood of chronic physical illness and longevity and chronicity of the personal history of problems. It is our contention that much more has been written about outcome in CBT with older people than has been written about psychotherapy process issues. This paper aims to address this perceived gap in the literature.     

Age and Flexible Thinking: An Experimental Demonstration of the Beneficial Effects of Increased Cognitively Stimulating Activity on Fluid Intelligence in Healthy Older Adults

ABSTRACT

The disuse hypothesis of cognitive aging attributes decrements in fluid intelligence in older adults to reduced cognitively stimulating activity. This study experimentally tested the hypothesis that a period of increased mentally stimulating activities thus would enhance older adults' fluid intelligence performance. Participants (N?=?44, mean age 67.82) were administered pre- and post-test measures, including the fluid intelligence measure, Cattell's Culture Fair (CCF) test. Experimental participants engaged in diverse, novel, mentally stimulating activities for 10–12 weeks and were compared to a control condition. Results supported the hypothesis; the experimental group showed greater pre- to post-CCF gain than did controls (effect size d?=?0.56), with a similar gain on a spatial-perceptual task (WAIS-R Blocks). Even brief periods of increased cognitive stimulation can improve older adults' problem solving and flexible thinking.     

Psychopathy,charisma, and success: A moderation modeling approach to successful psychopathy

Psychopathic traits are associated with negative outcomes; however, they have also been associated with adaptive outcomes (e.g., corporate success, etc.). We tested the Moderated-Expression Model of psychopathy in a sample of community adults (N = 315; 50.8% female; 22–65 years) utilizing a battery of self-report measures (Self-Report Psychopathy Scale; Triarchic Psychopathy Measure; Conger & Kanungo Scale of Charismatic Leadership; General Charisma Inventory; Evading Detection/Punishment; and Occupational Success). The effect of psychopathic traits on evading detection and punishment (not occupational success) was moderated by leadership (and to a lesser extent, general) charisma, net of the effects of pathological narcissism and several other covariates. These results support the Moderated-Expression Model and warrant further research on the associations among psychopathy, charisma, and success.     

Religiously Affiliated Continuum of Care Retirement Communities

SUMMARY

The paper introduces an action research initiative called Spirited Scotland, an embryonic movement seeking to restore spirituality to an appropriate place in health and social care. It locates the initiative in the changing social and spiritual circumstances of post-industrial Scotland and identifies some challenges it faces associated with the prevailing understandings of health, becoming ill, and successful ageing. The paper also considers some policy and practice challenges raised by Spirited Scotland, in terms both of content and process.     

P3 event-related potentials and childhood maltreatment in successful and unsuccessful psychopaths

Although P3 event-related potential abnormalities have been found in psychopathic individuals, it is unknown whether successful (uncaught) psychopaths and unsuccessful (caught) psychopaths show similar deficits. In this study, P3 amplitude and latency were assessed from a community sample of 121 male adults using an auditory three-stimulus oddball task. Psychopathy was assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (Hare, 2003) while childhood physical maltreatment was assessed using the Conflict Tactic Scale (Straus, 1979). Results revealed that compared to normal controls, unsuccessful psychopaths showed reduced parietal P3 amplitudes to target stimuli and reported experienced more physical abuse in childhood. In contrast, successful psychopaths exhibited larger parietal P3 amplitude and shorter frontal P3 latency to irrelevant nontarget stimuli than unsuccessful psychopaths. This is the first report of electrophysiological processing differences between successful and unsuccessful psychopaths, possibly indicating neurocognitive and psychosocial distinctions between these two subtypes of psychopathy.