Lindsay H. Ryan

Cohort Differences in the Availability of Informal Caregivers: Are the Boomers at Risk?

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY We compare the close family resources of Baby Boomers (BBs) to previous cohorts of older adults at population level and then examine individual-level cohort comparisons of age-related trajectories of informal care availability from midlife into old age. DESIGN AND METHODS Population data from the U.S. Census and from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) are used to identify a cohort similar to the BBs on marital status and fertility rates. Using generalized linear mixed models and 10-year longitudinal data from Depression and WWII parents (DWP; n = 1,052) and the parents of BBs (PBB; n = 3,573) in the HRS, we examine cohort differences in the time-varying likelihoods of being married and of having an adult child living within 10 miles. RESULTS The DWP had similar informal care resources at entry to old age as is expected in the BB. Longitudinal analyses of the DWP and PBB cohorts in HRS reveal that the availability of family changes over time and that the DWP cohort was significantly less likely to have a spouse or a grown child living nearby. IMPLICATIONS These findings, and future projections based on them, have significant implications for institutions and public policy concerned with the informal caregiving needs of the Boomer cohort as they age.

Dynamic Links between Memory and Functional Limitations in Old Age: Longitudinal Evidence for Age-Based Structural Dynamics from the AHEAD Study

This study examined competing substantive hypotheses about dynamic (i.e., time-ordered) links between memory and functional limitations in old age. We applied the Bivariate Dual Change Score Model to 13-year longitudinal data from the Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old Study (AHEAD; N = 6,990; ages 70 - 95). Results revealed that better memory predicted shallower increases in functional limitations. Little evidence was found for the opposite direction that functional limitations predict ensuing changes in memory. Spline models indicated that dynamic associations between memory and functional limitations were substantively similar between participants aged 70-79 and those aged 80-95. Potential covariates (gender, education, health conditions, and depressive symptoms) did not account for these differential lead-lag associations. Applying a multivariate approach, our results suggest that late-life developments in two key components of successful aging are intrinsically interrelated. Our discussion focuses on possible mechanisms why cognitive functioning may serve as a source of age-related changes in health both among the young-old and the old-old.

Stress and Negative Relationship Quality among Older Couples: Implications for Blood Pressure

OBJECTIVES The cardiovascular system may represent a significant pathway by which marriage and stress influence health, but research has focused on married individuals cross-sectionally. This study examined associations among chronic stress, negative spousal relationship quality, and systolic blood pressure over time among middle-aged and older husbands and wives. METHOD Participants were from the nationally representative longitudinal Health and Retirement Study. A total of 1,356 (N = 2,712) married and cohabitating couples completed psychosocial and biomeasure assessments in waves 2006 and 2010. Analyses examined whether Wave 1 (2006) relationship quality and stress were associated with changes in blood pressure over time. RESULTS The effects of stress and negative relationship quality were dyadic and varied by gender. Husbands had increased blood pressure when wives reported greater stress, and this link was exacerbated by negative spousal relationship quality. Negative relationship quality predicted increased blood pressure when both members of the couple reported negative quality relations. DISCUSSION Findings support the dyadic biopsychosocial model of marriage and health indicating: (a) stress and relationship quality directly effect the cardiovascular system, (b) relationship quality moderates the effect of stress, and (c) the dyad rather than only the individual should be considered when examining marriage and health.

Factors associated with cognition in adults: The Seattle Longitudinal Study

A better understanding of factors that affect cognition could lead to improved health and greater independence for older adults. We examined the association of four modifiable factors (leisure-time physical activity, leisure-time cognitive activity, self-directed work, and hypertension) with changes in two aspects of fluid intelligence (verbal memory and inductive reasoning). Data for 626 adults collected over 14 years (three time points) were analyzed by multi-level modeling. A component of self-directed work, higher work control, was associated with better verbal memory (p < .05) and inductive reasoning (p < .01). There were no significant interactions among these factors. The findings suggest that a strong sense of control at work may be protective for fluid intelligence in adults.

Prolonged Working Years: Consequences and Directions for Interventions

There are many economic, social, and psychological reasons why individuals are working longer or until later ages than in decades past. This chapter considers the potential impact—both good and bad—of working longer and proposes interventions aimed at maximizing positive outcomes and mitigating negative ones. We begin with a theoretical framework for understanding consequences of prolonged work. Second, we discuss some reasons for working longer. Third, we describe results from a nationally representative study of older adults in the U.S. Fourth, we review some of the consequences of prolonged work based on empirical research findings. Finally, we describe interventions that should be considered to promote longer work lives and to ameliorate potentially negative consequences of working longer. We conclude with a summary and recommendations for future research.

Loneliness in a day: Activity engagement, time alone, and experienced emotions

The experience of chronic loneliness has been associated with poorer physical health and well-being, including declines in cardiovascular health and higher levels of distressed affect. Given the long-term effects of loneliness on health and well-being, much research has focused on loneliness in older age. The purpose of the current study was to obtain a more detailed picture of the experience of loneliness in midlife and older adulthood by incorporating the context of a days activities. We use a modified day reconstruction task to examine the activities in which middle-age and older adults engaged, the amount of time they spent alone, and the emotions experienced while engaging in a days activities. Lonely individuals did not participate in different daily activities or spend more time alone during the day; however, loneliness was associated with engaging in more activities alone than with others. In regards to emotional experiences, daily activities yield a different profile of positive emotional experiences for lonelier individuals. The social context of daily activities was an important factor in understanding the effects of loneliness on experienced negative emotions. The results of this study provide insight into the influence of loneliness on the structure of a day and context for understanding the emotional experiences of lonely older adults.

Positive and negative social exchanges and cognitive aging in young-old adults: differential associations across family, friend, and spouse domains.

We examined how positive and negative social exchanges with friends, family, and spouses were related to cognitive aging in episodic and working memory, and perceptual speed. To do so, we used a large sample of cognitively intact young-old participants from the PATH Through Life Study (PATH; aged 60 to 64 years at baseline, n = 1,618) who were assessed on 3 occasions over 8 years. Additional replication analyses were conducted using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which provided data on episodic memory. The main analysis of PATH Through Life showed that positive exchanges with friends and family were associated with less decline in perceptual speed, with these associations attenuated by adjustment for physical functioning and depressive symptoms. Negative exchanges with spouses were associated with poorer working memory performance. Positive exchanges with friends were associated with better initial episodic memory in both PATH and HRS. More frequent negative exchanges with friends and family were associated with better episodic memory in the PATH sample. However, these findings were not replicated in HRS. Our findings provide indirect support for the role of social exchange quality in contributing to cognitive enrichment. However, the inconsistent pattern of results across cognitive and social exchange domains points to possibilities of reverse causality, and may also indicate that social exchange quality plays a less important role for cognitive enrichment than other psychosocial characteristics.

Successful Aging as the Intersection of Individual Resources, Age, Environment, and Experiences of Well-being in Daily Activities

Objective We conceptualize successful aging as a cumulative index of individual resources (the absence of disease and disability, high cognitive and physical functioning, social embeddedness) in the service of successful aging outcomes (global well-being, experienced well-being, and vital status), and conditioned by age, social structure, and environment. Method The study used baseline and follow-up data from the 2008-2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 17,230; age = 51-101). Linear, multilevel, and logistic models compared individual resources at baseline as independent, cumulative, and binary predictors of outcomes 4 years later. Results Individual resources were unequally distributed across age group and social structures (education, wealth, race, gender) and had a cumulative effect on all successful aging outcomes. For experienced well-being, individual resources were most important at midlife and for groups with lower education. Person-environment congruence (social cohesion, city satisfaction) was associated with all successful aging outcomes and conditioned the effect of individual resources on experienced well-being. Discussion A cumulative index allows for gradations in resources that can be compensated for by external factors such as person-environment congruence. This index could guide policy and interventions to enhance resources in vulnerable subgroups and diminish inequalities in successful aging outcomes.

Psychological Vitality in the Oldest Old

Population demographers categorize those women and men who survive beyond the average life expectancy for their age cohort as the oldest old. Entry to this age category begins between age 80 and 85. Much research on this age-category focuses on the challenges and declines associated with advanced age and fails to characterize the heterogeneity of psychological functioning in individuals who do not meet clinical thresholds. To shift this focus, we review research from the last 10 years about psychological vitality after age 80 in five domains: non-pathological cognition, personality, self-related functioning, social connections, and subjective well-being. We consider factors associated with positive profiles of psychological vitality, outline critical knowledge gaps, and discuss challenges associated with research on this population.

The Day-to-Day Effects of Conscientiousness on Well-Being

Young and older adults reported their daily perceived control and subjective well-being over nine weeks. Trait conscientiousness (C) was positively associated with mean daily life satisfaction and positive affect, greater fluctuation in perceived control (state-level C), and also modified the daily associations between control and negative affect. The negative covariation between perceived control and negative affect was stronger for people lower in trait C. Age cohort predicted daily affective well-being but did not interact with C. Findings are discussed in the context of proposals for a multilevel structural and process approach to personality and its application to different life phases.