Karen Hooker

Mental and physical health of spouse caregivers : the role of personality

Although personal resources of caregivers, such as coping skills and social support, have been shown to be important in understanding caregiver stress and health outcomes, personality traits have not previously been considered. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between the personality traits of neuroticism and dispositional optimism and mental and physical health outcomes. It was predicted that personality would have direct effects, and indirect effects through perceived stress, on health outcomes. Participants were spouse caregivers of patients diagnosed with Alzheimers disease. Results showed that neuroticism and optimism were significantly related to mental and physical health. Furthermore, neuroticism had significant direct effects on all of the health outcomes, and substantial indirect effects, through perceived stress, on mental health outcomes. Optimism showed stronger indirect than direct effects on all health outcomes. These findings demonstrate the importance of including personality of the caregiver in theoretical and empirical models of the caregiving process.

Health-related possible selves in young and middle adulthood.

The construct of possible selves was used to examine when, in the adult life span, health-related goals become dominant. It was predicted that by middle age most adults would have health-related possible selves and that the strength of self-regulatory variables associated with health-related possible selves would be related to reported health behaviors. Data collected from 171 young and middle-aged adults showed that health-related possible selves become predominant in midlife. In addition, both young and middle-aged adults reported more feared than hoped-for selves in the realm of health. Perceived self-efficacy and number of goal-oriented activities to avoid feared health-relevant selves were significant predictors of health behaviors. Results are discussed in relation to theoretical perspectives on self and health processes over the life span.

Trust, Health, and Longevity

Scores on the Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale were evaluated as predictors of psychological well-being, functional health, and longevity in a sample of 100 men and women who were between 55 and 80 years old at baseline (mean age 66.8). Cross-sectionally, high levels of trust were associated with better self-rated health and more life satisfaction. Follow-up over approximately 8 years found baseline levels of trust to be positively related to subsequent functional health, but not to subsequent life satisfaction. Mortality follow-up after 14 years demonstrated that those with high levels of trust had longer survival (p = .03), a finding that was somewhat weakened by controlling for baseline health ratings. These findings illustrate the health protective effects of high levels of trust and suggest the potential usefulness of the trust concept for understanding successful aging.

Possible selves and health behaviors in later life.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether self-regulatory processes were related to health behaviors in a sample of older adults. We hypothesized that individuals with a possible self in the domain of health would be motivated to engage in health-protective behaviors and thus score more highly on a health behaviors inventory. We also predicted that self-regulatory variables rated in relationship to health-related possible selves would explain a significant amount of variance in health behavior scores. Analyses largely supported these predictions and showed that these self-system variables were more predictive of health behaviors than were global health values. There were differential findings for positive health motivations as opposed to disease avoidance motivations. Results are discussed in reference to the literature on health behavior and aging.

Perceived Changes in Life Meaning following Bereavement

Much research has documented the negative sequelae associated with death of a loved one. The goal of the present study was to investigate the possibility, alluded to by existential and humanistic theorists, that positive aspects of bereavement exist. College students who recently experienced the death of a close family member completed measures of grief-related distress, existential meaning, and answered open-ended questions regarding perceived changes in belief in God and life goals occurring as a result of their experience. A significant inverse relationship was found between grief and existential meaning. The majority of the sample reported a positive change in life goals, and these individuals had significantly higher existential meaning than those who reported a negative change in goals. Those who experienced change (positive or negative) in belief in God had higher levels of grief than those who reported no change. These results suggest that positive changes are associated with bereavement and that grief itself may serve as an impetus for personal growth.

Possible selves of individuals with Alzheimer's disease.

This study is one of the first to examine self-goals and their relationship to affect among individuals with Alzheimers disease (AD). Using the construct of possible selves, the authors collected data from 50 participants with mild to moderate AD and 50 demographically similar cognitively intact older adults. Findings suggest a resourcefulness and flexibility of the self-system in response to the presence of dementia-related concerns. Positive affect was associated with family-related self-goals of AD participants, indicating particular importance of this domain. Some of these responses may represent goal modifications that result in a more satisfactory adjustment to the illness; further inquiry may lead to a better understanding of resiliency and quality of life in persons with AD.

A Longitudinal Study of Negative Emotional States and Adjustment from Early Childhood through Adolescence.

The relations among various negative emotional and behavioral characteristics (e.g., aggression, anxiety, undercompliance, depressive mood) and adjustment were examined through use of data from the 31-year-old New York Longitudinal Study. 75 white, middle-class children were rated on these negative characteristics from infancy to adolescence. Measures of family, peer, and personal adjustment were also obtained. Because of the longitudinal nature of the data, we were able to use structural equation models to address the following questions: (1) How stable are these negative behaviors from early life through adolescence? (2) What is the degree of relation between these emotional characteristics and adjustment in childhood and adolescence? and (3) To what degree do these emotional characteristics differentially predict multiple adjustment dimensions in adolescence? 2 factors of negative emotional behavior, labeled as Aggression and Affect, respectively, were identified in early and late childhood and were found to have relatively high stability of individual differences. Aggression significantly predicted adolescent maladjustment, whereas Affect had no independent prediction of maladjustment. Moreover, emotional problems provided better prediction of adolescent adjustment problems than did earlier childhood adjustment ratings.

The MBTI and Social Information Processing: An Incremental Validity Study

The ability of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI; Myers & McCaulley, 1985) to predict performance on social cognitive tasks tapping information processing effort was assessed. Judgment and intuition interacted to predict amount of attributional adjustment on a dispositional attribution task. The MBTI scales predicted processing above and beyond measures of the five factors, rational-experiential preferences, and causal uncertainty. The relevance of these results for interpretation of the MBTI indexes is discussed.

Life goals, satisfaction, and self-rated health: Preliminary findings

Several recent studies have suggested that a better understanding of health and psychological well-being in later life requires insights into the life goals and motivations of research participants. However, goal importance has not been examined separately from goal achievement. This distinction is important for a more fine-grained analysis of how goals may relate to adaptive outcomes among older adults. Data from surviving respondents of the Duke Second Longitudinal Study were analyzed in order to replicate and extend results from previous studies. Interestingly, a differential pattern of predictors was found for health and satisfaction. The rated importance of goals accounted for a significant portion of the variance in health, but was not predictive of satisfaction, whereas rated achievement of goals was predictive of health and satisfaction. Results are discussed in relation to theories of motivation in later life.

Change and Stability in Self during the Transition to Retirement: An Intraindividual Study using P-technique Factor Analysis

This study determined the extent to which there was intraindividual change and stability in the self during the retirement transition, and examined the extent to which dimensions of variability were replicable across older adults. This study employed a single-subject design with multiple replications in order to examine interindividual similarities and differences in intraindividual change patterns. Data were collected from four people daily, beginning approximately one month prior to the retirement event and continuing until three months after the event. For each individual P-technique factor analyses showed three to four dimensions of variability. Stability in the self was also manifested, although there were large individual differences in the amount of stability exhibited. Although similar factors could be identified across individuals, the factors did not appear to be identical. The discussion focuses on the nature of change and stability in self when conceptualised and measured from an intraindividual perspective.