Needs and Challenges for Volunteering in Rural Areas: Lessons Learned From a Survey of a Service Organization in Rural Michigan.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Volunteers are the foundation of social service agencies in rural communities, yet limited research exists on their needs and challenges. Motivated by the multidimensional older voluntarism sustainability framework, this study aims to understand (1) the characteristics of volunteers, (2) the relationships between volunteers' sense of community and their own aging and volunteer retention, and (3) the unique challenges faced by volunteers and volunteer-based agencies. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study uses a mixed-methods design. Data were gathered via telephone interviews (n = 76) and in-person focus groups (n = 14) from the volunteer pool of a nonprofit organization in rural Michigan. Descriptive and regression analyses were conducted to understand the characteristics of the volunteers. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify unique challenges faced by rural agencies and volunteers. RESULTS: Findings show that most volunteers were over 70, women, married, volunteered weekly or more, and were affiliated with multiple agencies. Volunteers with a stronger attachment to the community and higher self-perceptions of aging were likelier to continue and increase volunteering commitments. Due to the low population density in rural areas, volunteers were concerned about the heavy burden of volunteering, the lack of social connections with fellow volunteers, and the lack of active involvement in shaping the organization. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Results from the study shed light on the urgent need for creative and engaging volunteer recruitment and retention strategies to sustain older adults, service agencies, and communities in rural areas.

Feasibility of a Telephone-Delivered Group Meditation Intervention for Chronically Ill Socially Isolated Older Adults.

OBJECTIVES: This pilot study assessed the feasibility of a group-based telephone-delivered meditation intervention to reduce social isolation in older adults. It included weekly training sessions and daily practices of loving-kindness meditation in small groups via telephone conferences for six weeks and an extended group meditation practice for another six weeks. METHODS: Community-living older adults (age 60+) with multiple chronic conditions and experiencing social isolation were recruited. Each participant was assessed at the pretest, posttest, and follow-up (6 and 12 weeks after pretest). Outcome measures included social interaction, loneliness, and depressive symptoms. Open-ended questions were asked in the posttest and follow-up. RESULTS: Sixteen individuals enrolled, and fourteen completed the program (87.5% retention). Completers showed high levels of adherence (95% attendance to training) and acceptability and a statistically significant increase in social interaction at follow-up. Qualitative data suggest that participants experienced changes in emotion regulation, motivation and confidence, and sense of belonging. CONCLUSIONS: A group-based telephone-delivered meditation intervention targeting chronically ill older adults who experience social isolation is technically feasible, very acceptable, and potentially beneficial to them. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Older adults enjoy learning meditation. Telephone conferencing is a low-cost tool for engaging socially isolated older adults in social interactions and group meditation.

Friendship trajectories and health across the lifespan.

Friends are a vital source of social relations throughout the lifespan and across developmental stages. Our knowledge of how friendships develop over time, especially from childhood through adulthood, is limited. Furthermore, it is now recognized that this specific type of relationship influences health across the life course in unique ways. Using the Convoy Model of Social Relations as a guiding framework, this study charts the multiple and unique trajectories of friendship across adulthood and tests whether these trajectories influence health differentially by age. The sample for the study consisted of 553 adults from the longitudinal Social Relations Study. Respondents ranged in age from 13 to 77 at Wave 1 (1992), and included only those who reported a best friend in each wave, that is, Wave 2 (2005) and Wave 3 (2015). Approximately 65% of the respondents were women, and 24.5% were people of color. Latent growth curve analysis identified three trajectories of the presence of friends in one's network over time, two trajectories of positive friend quality, and three for negative quality. The most consistent findings are associated with positive friend relations over time. Gender was associated with friendship quality where women reported more positive friend relations over time, and increasing positive friend relations predicted better health 23 years later. These findings demonstrate that consistent and increasing positive friendships yield health benefits over time, whereas the presence of friends and negative quality does not have an effect. Overall, findings advance understanding of the long-term effects of social relations across the lifespan and life course. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Impact of Caregiving History on Later-Life Self-Perceptions of Aging.

OBJECTIVES: Theories suggest that self-perceptions of aging (SPA) reflect structural and cultural ageism together with an individual's personal life experiences. We examine the impact of an individual's history of informal caregiving on their SPA. METHODS: Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, N = 8,372, age range 50-102 years), we investigated caregiving history as a determinant of later-life SPA. HRS participants provided reports of up to 5 episodes of caregiving, the life-course timing of each episode (start/end year), and their relationship with the care recipients. SPA was measured by the HRS Attitudes Toward Own Aging Scale. We conducted linear regressions to examine associations between specific caregiving histories and later-life SPA. Models included controls for current sociodemographic and health status. RESULTS: Individuals who were ever a caregiver reported more negative SPA than noncaregivers. Variations in the impact of histories of caregiving were also revealed. Specifically, compared to people who had cared for adult(s) only, HRS participants who cared for both a child with special needs and an adult reported more negative SPA later in life. DISCUSSION: The study provides insight into potential life-course precursors of SPA and highlights the importance of conceptualizing caregiving history as a complex life experience that might affect an individual's SPA later in life.

Effects of risk exposure on emotional distress among Chinese adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: The moderating role of disruption of life and perceived controllability.

Background: COVID-19 affects not only the physical health of individuals but also their mental health and different types of risk exposures are believed to have different effects on individual emotional distress. Objective: This study explores the relationships between risk exposure, disruption of life, perceived controllability, and emotional distress among Chinese adults during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: This study is based on an online survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, from 1 to 10 February 2020, with a total of 2,993 Chinese respondents recruited through convenience and snowball sampling. Multiple linear regression analysis were used to examine the relationships among risk exposure, disruption of life, perceived controllability, and emotional distress. Results: This study found that all types of risk exposures were significantly associated with emotional distress. Individuals with neighborhood infection, family member infection/close contact, and self-infection/close contact had higher levels of emotional distress (B = 0.551, 95% CI: -0.019, 1.121; B = 2.161, 95% CI: 1.067, 3.255; B = 3.240, 95% CI: 2.351, 4.129) than those without exposure. The highest levels of emotional distress occurred among individuals experiencing self-infection/close contact, while the lowest levels of emotional distress occurred among individuals experiencing neighborhood infection and the moderate levels of emotional distress occurred among individuals experiencing family member infection (Beta = 0.137; Beta = 0.073; Beta = 0.036). Notably, the disruption of life aggravated the effect of self-infection/close contact on emotional distress and family member infection/close contact on emotional distress (B = 0.217, 95% CI: 0.036, 0.398; B = 0.205, 95% CI: 0.017, 0.393). More importantly, perceived controllability lowered the strength of the association between self-infection/close contact and emotional distress, as well as family member infection/close contact and emotional distress (B = -0.180, 95% CI: -0.362, 0.002; B = -0.187, 95% CI: -0.404, 0.030). Conclusion: These findings shed light on mental health interventions for people exposed to or infected with COVID-19 near the beginning of the pandemic, particularly those who themselves had COVID or had family members with COVID-19 risk exposure, including being infected/having close contact with an infected person. We call for appropriate measures to screen out individuals or families whose lives were, or remain, more severely affected by COVID-19. We advocate providing individuals with material support and online mindfulness-based interventions to help them cope with the after-effects of COVID-19. It is also essential to enhance the public's perception of controllability with the help of online psychological intervention strategies, such as mindfulness-based stress reduction programs and mindfulness-oriented meditation training programs.

A Systematic Review of the Impact of Select Mindfulness Interventions on Psychological Outcomes among Older Adults with Chronic Health Conditions.

OBJECTIVES: Chronic medical conditions can increase the likelihood of experiencing psychological distress and mental health problems among older adults. Mindfulness interventions (MIs) are evidence-based treatment approaches that can improve psychological outcomes. This systematic literature review examines MI studies that focused on older adults (≥60 years old) with chronic health conditions. METHODS: Five databases were systematically searched for intervention studies that involved older adults with chronic health conditions who received acceptance and commitment therapy, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, or mindfulness-based stress reduction and that included psychological outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 17 studies were identified that met criteria for inclusion. These studies involved interventions for a range of chronic health conditions including chronic pain, stroke, type 2 diabetes, insomnia, cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. CONCLUSIONS: Early evidence for MIs impact on psychological outcomes is promising, though more work involving randomized control trials is needed. Current studies generally lack methodological rigor and have a high risk of bias. Given the high rates of chronic pain in older adults and the emerging evidence for MIs, future work in this area is of particular value. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Practitioners should be guardedly optimistic about the value of MIs and ACT for older adults with chronic health conditions.

Prepandemic Social Integration: Protection or Risk for Older Adults in the Time of COVID-19?

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between prepandemic social integration and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and test whether the association is mediated by social support received and social events missed during the pandemic. We also explored age, race, gender, and socioeconomic differences in the association. METHODS: We adopted a prospective design. Path analysis was conducted using data from the COVID-19 supplement (2020) and the 2019 wave of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS). The sample represents Medicare beneficiaries aged 70 years and older (N = 2,694). Social integration was measured using a six-item index. A standardized scale assessed PTSD symptoms. Both social support received and social events missed were single-item measures. The analysis controlled for sociodemographic characteristics, prepandemic physical and mental health, and coronavirus exposure during the pandemic. RESULTS: Prepandemic social integration was positively associated with PTSD symptoms during the pandemic. The association was primarily mediated by social events missed-high levels of prepandemic social integration were associated with missing more social events during the pandemic resulting in more PTSD symptoms. Social support received was also a mediator-social integration was positively associated with social support received during the pandemic, with more received support associated with greater PTSD symptoms. Prepandemic social integration had no significant direct effect on PTSD symptoms. The direct, indirect, and total effects of social integration on PTSD symptoms did not significantly differ by age, race, gender, education, or poverty status. DISCUSSION: Social integration may carry mental health risks in times of infectious disease outbreaks.

Social Disconnectedness and Loneliness: Do Self-Perceptions of Aging Play a Role?

OBJECTIVES: Research suggests that self-perceptions of aging (SPA) have effects on physical, mental, cognitive, and emotional well-being among older adults. Few studies have examined the effects of SPA on social well-being. This study investigates the association of SPA with trajectories of social disconnectedness and loneliness in older Americans and explores mechanisms linking SPA and the 2 forms of social isolation. METHODS: We conducted Latent Growth Curve Modeling and path analysis using 3-wave data spanning 8 years (2008/2010-2016/2018) from the Health and Retirement Study. The sample included respondents aged 65 and older (N = 3,597) at baseline (2008/2010). SPA was measured by the Attitudes Toward Own Aging Scale. Social disconnectedness was an index including 6 indicators of social networks and social engagement. Loneliness was measured using the 11-item UCLA Loneliness Scale. RESULTS: Older adults with more negative SPA at baseline were more lonely but had slower rates of increase in loneliness during the 8-year study period. More negative SPA also predicted greater social disconnectedness but was not significantly related to the rate of change in social disconnectedness over time. The effects of SPA on social disconnectedness were primarily indirect through loneliness, whereas SPA had direct effects on loneliness. Overall, SPA had a stronger association with loneliness than with social disconnectedness. DISCUSSION: The results suggest that older adults with negative SPA are at risk of loneliness which then leads to social disconnectedness. Asking about SPA during individual assessment with older adults may help to discern issues with loneliness.

Associations of Ageism and Health: A Systematic Review of Quantitative Observational Studies.

This systematic review synthesizes observational studies on the relationship between ageism and health. We searched 10 electronic databases and included 67 articles. The operationalization of ageism in these studies can be classified into three constructs: age stereotype, self-perceptions of aging, and age discrimination. Most ageism measures were used within a single study, and many lacked information about psychometric properties. Seven health domains-disease, mortality, physical/functional health, mental health, cognitive function, quality of life, and health behavior-have been used as outcomes. Evidence supports a significant association between ageism and health, particularly between self-perceptions of aging and health. Nine studies report moderators, which helps to identify those more vulnerable to negative effects of ageism and inform the development of interventions. The review suggests that the literature has examined limited dimensions of ageism, and that developing valid and reliable instruments for ageism-related concepts is a priority.

Self-perceptions of aging and domain-specific health outcomes among midlife and later-life couples.

Objectives: This study places the self-perceptions of aging (SPA)-health link in the couple context and examines how changes in one's own and spouse's SPA influence multiple health domains and how such associations differ by gender. Methods: Fixed-effects regression models were estimated. Data were drawn from the Health and Retirement Survey (N = 5972). Results: For both husbands and wives, almost all health domains declined when their own SPA became more negative. The spouse's SPA were associated with one's self-rated health, regardless of gender. Gender differences existed in some cross-spousal health effects; while the husband's SPA were associated with his wife's depressive symptoms, the wife's SPA were associated with her husband's physical disability, functional limitations, and chronic diseases. Discussion: The SPA-health association extends beyond the individual in married persons, demonstrating intertwined health trajectories in older couples. The detrimental effects of ageism might be underestimated if the spillover effects were not considered.