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Emerson A, Valleroy E, Knittel A, Ramaswamy M. Sex and aging: Perspectives of older adult women with experience of incarceration. J Women Aging 2023; 35:487-503. [PMID: 36840534 PMCID: PMC10450097 DOI: 10.1080/08952841.2023.2180246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/26/2023]
Abstract
To explore perspectives on sexuality, sexual health, and sexual health care of older adult women with a history of criminal legal system involvement, we conducted phone interviews with women aged 50 years or older who were living in the community but had a history of jail and/or prison incarceration. Interview questions and initial analysis were guided by the sexual health framework for public health and Mitchell's sexual wellness model. Data analysis followed a framework method. Nine women, aged 53-66, participated in phone interviews between December 2020 and December 2021. Slightly over half the participants were Black; none were Hispanic. Most were single. We formulated a sex-in-aging (SAGE) framework comprising three categories and two overarching themes. Women with a history of criminal-legal system involvement have heterogeneous views on sex and sexual health and describe a range of desire and sexual activity as they age, including shifting ideas about what they expect from partners, how they keep themselves safe in sexual and intimate relationships, and how life circumstances that are often associated with criminal legal system involvement (substance use, trauma) impact their interest in sex as they age. The SAGE framework integrates these categories and themes and offers a starting point for further research and intervention development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Emerson
- School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
| | - Ella Valleroy
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
| | - Andrea Knittel
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Megha Ramaswamy
- Department of Population Health, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES We analyzed whether marital status and experiences of marital loss or gain were associated with self-perceptions of aging (SPA), a major psychosocial mechanism of healthy aging. METHOD We used data from 7028 participants of the Health and Retirement Study. Participants reported their marital status and their positive and negative SPA on two occasions 4 years apart. We ran general linear models to analyze differences in SPA between men and women who remained married, became divorced or widowed, or remarried following divorce or widowhood. RESULTS Participants who experienced marital loss had lower positive SPA than participants who remained marred. Participants who experienced marital gain had lower negative SPA than participants who remained married. None of the associations differed between men and women. DISCUSSION Results suggest that it may not be marital status itself, but rather the transition into or out of marriage, that impacts how people appraise their own aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelbie G. Turner
- School of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Dakota D. Witzel
- School of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Robert S. Stawski
- School of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Karen Hooker
- School of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
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Avidor S, Zerach G, Solomon Z. Aging together in the aftermath of war: marital adjustment and subjective age of veterans and their spouses. Aging Ment Health 2022; 26:1479-1486. [PMID: 33896297 DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2021.1916877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Trauma has long-term effects on those directly exposed to it, but it also impacts those closest to them, particularly one's spouse, as the marital relationship is of central importance for late-life development. Furthermore, traumatic experiences have been shown to be involved in an acceleration of aging, whether through physical health, or via psychological pathways, through an older subjective age. The present work seeks to examine the mutual connections between marital adjustment and the psychological accelerated aging of both spouses among military veterans of the Israeli 1973 Yom Kippur War. METHOD Data from two assessments were drawn from a larger longitudinal study. In 2008 (T1) and again in 2015 (T2), 247 veterans and their wives were interviewed on their subjective age, marital adjustment, and PTSD symptoms. RESULTS An actor-partner interdependence model combined with an autoregressive cross-lagged model, controlling for T1 PTSD symptoms revealed that men's subjective age at T1 was associated with women's subjective age at T2, and women's subjective age at T1 was associated with men's subjective age at T2. Women's marital adjustment at T1 was associated with men's marital adjustment at T2 but not the other way around. CONCLUSION Spousal relationships are an important arena in the lives of older adult veterans. The present study contributes new knowledge regarding the paths that predict subjective age by taking account of the subjective age of one's spouse, as well as levels of marital adjustment. Insights regarding secondary traumatization, as well as gender differences, for the aging process are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharon Avidor
- Faculty of Social and Community Sciences, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer, Israel
| | - Gadi Zerach
- Department of Behavioral Sciences and Psychology, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
| | - Zahava Solomon
- I-Core Research Center for Mass Trauma, Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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Barrett AE, Barbee H. The subjective life course framework: Integrating life course sociology with gerontological perspectives on subjective aging. ADVANCES IN LIFE COURSE RESEARCH 2022; 51:100448. [PMID: 36652311 PMCID: PMC10216003 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcr.2021.100448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The expansion of life expectancy has precipitated a cultural transformation of the life course - altering the perceived temporal contours of middle and later life. However, our understanding of these perceptions is limited by the absence of a framework within which to examine them. This paper builds on the life course perspective - which emphasizes the objective patterning of lives - by focusing on the subjective side of the life course. Drawing on theoretically, methodologically, and substantively diverse studies, this paper develops the concept of the subjective life course - a term we use to denote individuals' perceptions of the life course, including its structure and timing and their advancing location in it. We outline two dimensions of the subjective life course - the target of the perception (i.e., generalized other versus self) and the temporal frame of reference (i.e., past, present, or future). Using the resulting framework as an organizational tool, we then discuss key constructs located at each intersection along these dimensions, providing examples, where possible, of empirical studies examining them. We close with a discussion of two broad directions for research: leveraging the framework to yield insight on the subjective life course and exploring links between objective and subjective dimensions of the life course.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne E Barrett
- Department of Sociology, Florida State University, 636W. Call St., Tallahassee, FL 32306-1121, USA.
| | - Harry Barbee
- Center for Medicine, Health, and Society, Vanderbilt University, 300 Calhoun Hall, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235-1665, USA.
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Evidence of Validity and Reliability of the Lasher and Faulkender Anxiety about Aging Scale in Mexican Older Adults. Healthcare (Basel) 2021; 9:healthcare9121612. [PMID: 34946337 PMCID: PMC8701108 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare9121612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Revised: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Anxiety about aging is an important mediating factor in attitudes and behavior toward elderly individuals as well as a mediating factor in the adjustment to one’s own aging processes. The aim of this study was to analyze the factor structure, internal consistency and factorial invariance by sex of the Lasher and Faulkender Anxiety about Aging Scale. The sample consisted of 601 Mexican older adults, 394 women and 207 men, with a mean age of 70.69 ± 8.10 years. The factor structure of the questionnaire was analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. Analyses show that a four-factor structure is feasible and adequate. The four-factor structure (fear of the elderly, psychological concerns, physical appearance and fear of loss), according to statistical and substantive criteria, showed adequate reliability and validity indicators. However, the obtained model does not fully coincide with that proposed by the questionnaire authors, although it continues to support the multi-factor component of anxiety about aging. On the other hand, the factor structure, the factor loadings and the intercepts are considered invariant in the two populations (men and women); however, there are differences between populations on the means of the physical appearance and fear of loss factors.
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Turkish Young-Old Adults’ Self-Perceptions of Aging. AGEING INTERNATIONAL 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12126-020-09381-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Adelirad F, Sabahiazar K, Asghari-Jafarabadi M, Namjoo S, Chattu VK, Allahverdipour H. Gender difference about death anxiety among older adults: Structural Equation Model. Psychogeriatrics 2021; 21:296-303. [PMID: 33576129 DOI: 10.1111/psyg.12663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Revised: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Older adults may be more prone to death anxiety than their younger counterparts. This study explores factors affecting death anxiety based on gender differences. METHODS In this correlational study, 450 older adults referred to the health centres in the city of Bukan, Iran were recruited by using a randomised sampling method. Next, data were collected about the demographic questionnaire, anxiety about ageing, death anxiety, mental well-being, perceived social support, and quality of life questionnaire. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to determine the correlation between variables, and the predictors of death anxiety were evaluated using quintile regression. Relationship between death anxiety and other variables was evaluated by the Structural Equation Model (SEM). The study was approved by the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences Ethics Committee (Ethics Code: IR.TBZMED.REC.1397.304). RESULTS The results showed that death anxiety in men had a significant relationship with the level of literacy (P = 0.047), body self-imaging (P = 0.031), and perceived social activity (P = 0.033). Among women, death anxiety had a significant relationship with physical activity (P = 0.007) and perceived social activity (P = 0.002). Additionally, quintile regression analysis was calculated: among men, anxiety about ageing was related to death anxiety (β = 0.182, P = 0.05), while in women, only perceived social support was associated to death anxiety (β = -0.376, P = 0.05). Finally, according to SEM, a significantly different level of predictability of mental well-being was found for death anxiety among older men and women. CONCLUSION Understanding the gender differences about death anxiety by the healthcare system might be useful in controlling and reducing a variety of concerns among elders who experience high levels of anxiety of death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Adelirad
- Department of Health Education and Promotion, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Khadijeh Sabahiazar
- Department of Health Education & Promotion, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Mohammad Asghari-Jafarabadi
- Road Traffic Injury Research Centre, Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Shamsedin Namjoo
- Department of Gerontology, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Vijay Kumar Chattu
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Hamid Allahverdipour
- Clinical Psychiatry Research Centre & Department of Health Education & Promotion, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
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Newton NJ, Ottley KM, Williams SK, Hill T. Women coming to terms with aging: the importance of psychosocial factors. J Women Aging 2021; 34:123-137. [PMID: 33417514 DOI: 10.1080/08952841.2020.1855049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Studies concerning the process of aging for women tend to focus on age-related physical changes and their correlates, often overlooking the psychosocial aspects of aging. The current study aims to understand women's experiences of aging, while also validating recently developed separate Q-sort scales of ego integrity and despair. Data drawn from a larger study of older college-educated women were used to examine relationships between health, concern about aging, ego integrity, despair, and well-being. Hierarchical linear regression results indicate that despair - but not ego integrity - was related to well-being over and above health status and levels of aging concern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicky J Newton
- Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Samantha K Williams
- Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Taylor Hill
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada
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Washburn AM, Williams S. Becoming and being an older adult: A mixed methods study of the lived experience of aging. J Aging Stud 2020; 54:100871. [PMID: 32972615 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaging.2020.100871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Revised: 08/26/2020] [Accepted: 08/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE This phenomenological inquiry explored what it is like to become and to be old. The principal aims of this study were to first characterize participants' lived experience of becoming and being an older person, then to determine the extent to which they were aging in a conscious way that evidenced aspects of gerotranscendence, and finally, to contextualize participants' responses within existing research on the phenomenon. DESIGN AND METHODS In a concurrent embedded mixed-methods design using an interpretive inquiry strategy, 17 men and women living independently in their communities responded to questions about their experience of aging and completed measures of gerotranscendence and adjustment to aging and their psychosocial correlates. A structural analysis of the verbatim transcripts of the interviews employed a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach. The quantitative measures informed further interpretations of interview data. RESULTS Most participants exemplified aging well with strengths and positive experiences across multiple domains; others evidenced optimal aging as physical challenges began to appear. Seven themes emerged from the structural analysis of the interview transcripts: Accepting/making accommodations for the inexorable physical changes; Being old versus feeling old; Being seen as old; Changing-and growing-psychologically and emotionally; Experiencing time as long and as short; Maintaining meaningful interpersonal relationships; and Speaking and living freely, and authentically. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS Convergences and divergences between the themes identified in this study and prior literature on the phenomenology of aging are discussed. Findings from this and similar studies have implications both for older adults and for those who care for and about them. If an older person is motivated to adapt in positive ways, then the potential to continue developing and growing into very old age is enhanced. On the macro level, an increased understanding of and appreciation for the breadth of older adults' experience of their eighth, ninth, and tenth decades of life should inform the development of policies, programs, and services to enhance their day-to-day lives.
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Zhang K, Zhang W, Wu B, Liu S. Anxiety about aging, resilience and health Status among Chinese older adults: Findings from Honolulu and Wuhan. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 2020; 88:104015. [PMID: 32007644 DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2020.104015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2019] [Revised: 01/15/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
A growing body of literature found that anxiety about aging is related to health and well-being of older adults. However, very few studies have been conducted on Chinese older adults residing in different countries and examined the role of resilience. Using the Pearlin's Stress Process Model, this study aims to fill in this gap by examining the relationship between anxiety about aging as the stressor and health status among Chinese older adults living in Honolulu, the United States (N = 292) and Wuhan, China (N = 532). The survey data were collected through June 2017 to September 2018, using snowball and convenience sampling strategy. The moderating role of resilience on the focal relationship is also explored. Results showed that for both samples, the negative relationship between anxiety about aging and self-rated health was significantly moderated by resilience (18 % and 13 %, respectively), implying the stress-buffering role of resilience. Although both mean levels of resilience and anxiety about aging were lower for the Honolulu sample, the moderating effect appeared to be stronger, implying that older adults in the Honolulu sample might rely more on psychological resources such as resilience in coping with stressors, compared with their counterparts in Wuhan. However, the moderating effect of resilience did not work for the association between anxiety about aging and number of chronic conditions for both samples. Our findings suggest that future research needs to take into account both social and psychological resources when examining anxiety about aging and health status among Chinese older adults residing in different cultural contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keqing Zhang
- Department of Sociology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, 96822, USA.
| | - Wei Zhang
- Department of Sociology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, 96822, USA.
| | - Bei Wu
- Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, Rory Meyers College of Nursing, New York University, New York, USA; NYU Aging Incubator, New York University, New York, USA.
| | - Sizhe Liu
- Department of Economic Sociology, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, 200433, China.
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