Peter Martin

A Molecular View of Coping Behavior in Older Adults

Objectives: The purpose of this studywas to assess age, gender, ethnicity, and education differences in specific (“molecular”) coping behaviors for three older adult age groups. Methods: Thirty-five specific coping reactions were assessed on the item level for 74 sexagenarians, 70 octogenarians, and 116 centenarians of the Georgia Centenarian Study. Results: A multivariate analysis of covariance revealed significant age group, gender, and education differences for 14 coping reactions. Four items were affected exclusively by age; five were affected only by gender; and three were affected only by education. One item showed age group and education differences; another showed gender and education differences. No ethnicity differences were obtained. The largest effect for an age group difference was found for accepting health problems. Discussion: The findings suggest that a molecular viewof specific coping behaviors in reaction to health problems, in addition to global measures of coping, is essential.

Personality, Marital Relationships, and Parenting in Two Generations of Mothers

It has been suggested that early experiences in families may be related to one’s parenting as an adult. Conceptual models were tested that investigated how personality and marital relationships are linked to parenting within and between generations. Eighty mother-grandmother pairs completed questionnaires concerning personality, marital relationships, and parenting. Restrictive and nurturant parenting of grandmothers was positively correlated with restrictive and nurturant parenting of mothers, but these relationships were attenuated in the presence of marital relationship and personality variables when structural equation models were tested. Personality characteristics and marital relationships were linked to parenting within and across generations.

A Drug Database Model as a Central Element for Computer-Supported Dose Adjustment within a CPOE System

The incidence of adverse drug reactions may be decreased by computerized physician order entry (CPOE) with decision support. The authors describe the development of a drug database model for computer-supported dose adjustment within a CPOE system. The following two core elements were included: (1) To allow electronic dose and volume calculation, the relation between strength (e.g., 5 mg/1 mL) and prescribed unit (e.g., 1 ampoule containing 2 mL) must be available in coded form. (2) The site of action along with the parent active ingredient, i.e., the pure drug without salt or ester, is necessary for linkage to knowledge bases. All complex examples of drugs that were examined could be described by the data model. With the ultimate goal of increasing prescribing effectiveness and quality the authors developed a drug database model for inclusion in a CPOE system, which allows dose calculations and may be coupled to decision support systems.

Understanding Well-Being in the Oldest Old: The Impact of Life Events on the Oldest Old

Very old adults have experienced many events in their lives, some many years ago, some more recently. This chapter highlights events perceived as the most important ones in the lives of centenarians. Domain-specific events are also considered in this chapter, including health events, family events, and work events. Finally, the impact of life events on the overall well-being of the oldest-old adults is considered. The evidence suggests that positive cumulative (“lifetime”) events reduce levels of negative affect, whereas cumulative (“lifetime”) negative events promote negative affect. When proximal events (i.e., those experienced in the past 20 years) and distal events (i.e., those experienced more than 20 years ago) are considered, proximal events are more likely to reduce levels of positive affect and enhance levels of negative affect. Distal events, on the other hand, are more likely to enhance overall feelings of positive affect. Disciplines Demography, Population, and Ecology | Educational Sociology | Family, Life Course, and Society | Gender and Sexuality | Gerontology Comments This book chapter is published as Martin, P., da Rosa, G., & Poon, L. W. (2011). The impact of life events on the oldest old. In L. W. Poon & J. Cohen-Mansfield (Eds.), Understanding the well-being of the oldest old (pp. 96-110). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511920974.008. Posted with permission. This book chapter is available at Iowa State University Digital Repository: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/hdfs_pubs/108

Understanding Well-Being in the Oldest Old: The Model of Developmental Adaptation: Implications for Understanding Well-Being in Old-Old Age

This chapter introduces the model of developmental adaptation, an extension of the adaptation model used in the Georgia Centenarian Study. The focus of this model is to combine distal experiences and past achievements as important predictors of well-being and adaptation in later life. Modeling results suggest that distal events have a direct effect on adaptation, proximal events have a direct effect on adaptation, and that the effect of distal variables on adaptation is mediated by proximal resources. Illustrations of the developmental adaptation model will be given. For example, results suggest that education and life-time negative events (as distal variables) predict mental health with competence (a proximal resource) as a mediator. The implications for understanding well-being in old-old age will be discussed. Disciplines Demography, Population, and Ecology | Family, Life Course, and Society | Gender and Sexuality | Gerontology Comments This book chapter is published as Martin, P., Deshpande-Kamat, N., Poon, L. W., & Johnson, M. A. (2011). The model of developmental adaptation: Implications for understanding well-being in old-old age. In L. W. Poon & J. Cohen-Mansfield (Eds.), Understanding the well-being of the oldest old (pp. 65-78). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511920974.006. Posted with permission. This book chapter is available at Iowa State University Digital Repository: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/hdfs_pubs/109

Cognitive and linguistic processes among oldest old persons: Heterogeneity, methodological challenges, and relevance of psychosocial resources

Cognitive and linguistic abilities are synergistic, working together to support functioning and quality of life throughout the lifespan, including very old age. Unfortunately, understanding of cognitive development and change amongst the oldest old is lacking due in part to assessment challenges (e.g., sensory impairment and fatigue, measure equivalence) and study paucity. These limitations hamper attempts to distinguish typical age-related decline from non-normative change and identify factors related to impairment and resilience. For individuals in very late life current psychosocial resources and events, as well as conditions of childhood and early life, impact functioning. These psychosocial influences play a role in adaptation and subsequent developmental outcomes. In this chapter, we focus on three later-life themes as they relate to cognitive and linguistic processes including heterogeneity in advanced age and diversity of outcomes, methodological challenges, and role of psychosocial resources and context.