Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences

OBJECTIVES: 'SuperAgers' are generally defined as people 80+ years old with episodic memory performance comparable to those 20 years younger. Limited knowledge exists to describe characteristics of SuperAgers, with even less known about Hispanic SuperAgers. METHODS: We examined indicators of cognitive, physical, and psychological resilience in relation to the likelihood of being a SuperAger using data from two population-based studies of Hispanic older adults [Puerto Rican Elder: Health Conditions (PREHCO) study; Health and Retirement Study (HRS)]...

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many aspects of social life, especially among older adults who may face cognitive impairments. Concerning this combination of circumstances, the study evaluates the degree to which data collection on social connectedness among older adults might be affected by the social complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: We use data from the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP), a nationally representative study of community-dwelling older adults in the U...

OBJECTIVES: Hispanic adults display a higher likelihood of early-stage cognitive decline than their White counterparts yet receive fewer clinical diagnoses. This troubling trend highlights the significance of longitudinal surveys like the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) in monitoring cognitive changes in aging Hispanics. Using NSHAP's Rounds 2 and 3, we observed notable cognitive score differences between English and Spanish speakers, as assessed by the survey-adapted version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-SA)...

OBJECTIVES: Scholarly, clinical, and policy interest in cognitive function has grown over the last several decades in part due to large increases in Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias as populations age. However, adequate measures of cognitive function have not been available in many research data sets. We argue that a wealth of previously unexploited survey data exists to model cognition and cognitive decline. METHODS: We use metadata of the time it takes older respondents in the National Social Life, Health and Aging Survey, which we label response times (RT), to answer questions in a standard cognitive assessment...

OBJECTIVES: This research explores how the representations and meanings of living with dementia are constructed by older adults. METHODS: Focus groups (N = 19) and in-depth interviews (N = 29) were conducted with older adults aged 65+ living in the Czech Republic, representing different levels of personal familiarity with care for an individual experiencing dementia. RESULTS: We identified two different discourses: 1) Tragedy discourse with two distinctive repertoires "dementia as a thief of personality" and "dementia as a thief of humanity"...

OBJECTIVE: The present research examined associations between stroke and long-term trajectories of loneliness. METHODS: We conducted secondary analyses in three large representative panel studies of adults 50 years and older in the U.S., Europe, and Israel: the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA; analytic N=14,992); the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE; analytic N=103,782); and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; analytic N=22,179) ...

OBJECTIVES: This study examines gender-specific associations between a wide range of social activities and dementia risk. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted involving community-dwelling older Australians (≥70 years) without significant cognitive impairment at enrolment. During the first year of enrolment, we assessed 25 self-reported social activities covering various aspects, including support from relatives and friends, community participation, social interactions with surroundings, and loneliness...

OBJECTIVES: It is well-known that low educational attainment is associated with cognitive function decline in older age. Childhood book availability may help to preserve cognitive function in older adults with low education. The study objective was to examine the association between childhood book availability and cognitive function among older adults with low educational attainment, and to investigate the mediating effect of the volume of reading-related brain regions (e.g., superior temporal cortex)...

OBJECTIVES: Despite the rising prevalence of individuals reaching advanced age without children, little is known about the diversity in support networks within childless populations. We examine the network profiles of childless adults aged 50+ in Singapore, which observes high childlessness rates despite societal emphasis on familism. METHODS: We employ latent class analysis to derive network typology based on a 2022 nationwide survey in Singapore. Additionally, we use logistic regression analyses to investigate the sociodemographic correlates of childless individuals' network types and the associations between these network types and subjective well-being...

OBJECTIVES: Companions (i.e., friends who spend time together) are important for the well-being of older adults. Senior centers in the United States are places for older adults to participate in group activities and form and maintain companionships. However, differences in mobility and transportation may affect the ability of older adults to leverage senior center activities into actual companionships. METHODS: This social network analysis was conducted to characterize the companionship network among members of a senior center in relation to their life-space mobility and transportation resources...

OBJECTIVES: To characterize the effect of the actual and potential ability to get rides from others on older adults' driving reduction at three-year follow up in the United States. METHODS: We analyzed National Health and Aging Trends Study data from community-dwelling drivers in 2015 (unweighted n = 5,102). We used weighted logistic regression models to estimate whether getting rides from others in 2015 was associated with older adults increasing the number of driving behaviors they avoided, decreasing the frequency with which they drove, or not driving at three-year follow up after adjusting for biopsychosocial variables...

OBJECTIVES: While research has shown that the replay of encoding-specific gaze patterns during retrieval, known as gaze reinstatement, facilitates memory retrieval, little is known about whether it differentially associates with the negativity preference in memory (defined as enhanced memory for negative stimuli relative to neutral stimuli in this study) among younger and older adults. The present study aims to address this research gap. METHODS: Thirty-three older adults (16 female; aged 58-69 years, M = 63...

OBJECTIVES: Although higher activity diversity is associated with higher well-being at the between-person level, it is unknown whether a day with higher activity diversity is related to higher well-being within persons. Within 24 hours per day, there is a limited number of activities on which individuals could spend their time and energy. Personal resources could influence the expenditure of energy and thus the experience with daily activities. This study examined daily associations between activity diversity and well-being and whether age and self-related health moderated the associations...

OBJECTIVES: Personality traits are broadly related to medical conditions, but there is limited research on the association with the risk of arthritis. This multi-cohort study examines the concurrent and prospective associations between personality traits and arthritis risk. METHOD: Participants (N > 45,000) were mostly middle-aged and older adults from six established longitudinal cohorts. Baseline assessments of personality traits, covariates (age, sex, education, race, ethnicity, depressive symptoms, body mass index, and smoking), and arthritis diagnosis were obtained in each sample...

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the association between negative aging stereotypes and goal pursuit in daily life among older adults. We also explored the roles of stereotype threat and stereotype challenge reactions in mediating this association. Additionally, this study investigated whether variations in these associations exist among older adults based on their self-integrity levels. METHODS: Participants were 100 older adults who completed daily measures assessing negative aging stereotype experiences, threat and challenge reactions, goal pursuit activities, and self-integrity over a week...

OBJECTIVES: The fourth age is considered a life stage with a high likelihood of age-related losses. However, very old age extends over decades, and little is known about how transitions that may happen during this age period (e.g., developing support needs or adopting caregiving roles) or lack thereof might change perceptions of age-related gains or losses. Many subjective age scales assume implicitly that they work across advanced old age, but data to support this assumption are scarce...

OBJECTIVE: Drawing on the intergenerational solidarity framework and life course perspective, the authors assessed how mother-child closeness across different life stages is associated with adult children's time and financial assistance to mothers in later life. METHOD: Using children's reports of their perceived closeness to mothers from waves 1 to 4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) and mothers' reports about adult children's time and financial assistance from wave 2 of the Add Health Parent Study (AHPS) in the United States, the authors investigated how mother-child closeness during adolescence, emerging adulthood, and young adulthood is related to midlife adult children's support with a focus on difference between mother-daughter (N = 934) and mother-son (N = 899) dyads...

OBJECTIVE: An increasing proportion of older Canadians are pursuing sport. The objective of this study was to examine the experiences of older Canadian women in curling. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 participants. Interviews were transcribed and coded using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Participants simultaneously resisted, accepted, and ultimately redefined conceptualizations of personal aging in the context of curling...

OBJECTIVES: Household consumption significantly impacts the quality of life and successful aging of older adults. However, prior research has often overlooked the connection between household consumption and long-term care insurance (LTCI). This study aims to investigate the influence of LTCI on consumption patterns within older Chinese households. METHODS: We used harmonized data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and merged it with data from cities that implemented LTCI in China...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the cognitive functioning of formerly incarcerated older adults compared to their never-incarcerated counterparts, focusing on immediate and delayed verbal recall. METHODS: Data are from 2,003 respondents who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health - Parent Study (AHPS) (ages 47-82; mean age 62). AHPS participants were administered word recall memory exercises to the parent respondent from the Rey Auditory-Verbal administered Learning Test, including (a) 90-second (immediate or short-term verbal memory), (b) 60-second recall tests (delayed or long-term verbal memory), and (c) combined word recall on the 90- and 60-second tests...