Remotely-administered resilience and self-compassion intervention targeting loneliness and stress in older adults: a single-case experimental design.

OBJECTIVES: Loneliness and chronic stress are prevalent issues for older adults that have been linked to adverse health outcomes. We conducted a remote resilience and self-compassion intervention targeting loneliness and chronic stress. METHODS: This study utilized a multiple-phase-change single-case experimental design with three consecutive 6-week phases: control, intervention, follow-up. Assessments and biomarker collection (blood pressure, inflammation, sleep actigraphy) were conducted at each phase. Participants completed a 6-week remotely-administered resilience and self-compassion intervention using techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy and resilience training. Repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted over the 12-week period from control (week 0) to intervention completion (week 12) and over the 18-week period from control (week 0) to follow-up (week 18) in supplemental analyses. RESULTS: Participants reported a reduction in stress (p < 0.001; ηp2 = 0.15), depression (p = 0.02; ηp2 = 0.08), and loneliness (p = 0.003; ηp2 = 0.18), and an increase in self-compassion (p = 0.01; ηp2 = 0.13) from control to intervention completion (weeks 0-12). Post-hoc tests revealed that stress reduced significantly during the intervention phase (weeks 6-12) and loneliness reduced significantly during the control phase (weeks 0-6). Some improvements in blood pressure, inflammation, and sleep quality were noted in a subsample of participants. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that our remote resilience and self-compassion intervention for older adults targeting loneliness and chronic stress was efficacious.

The absence of formal work experience may affect the rate of cognitive decline in older adult women: findings from the health and retirement study.

Objective: This study investigated the relationship between years of employment and cognitive health among older non-Latinx Black, Latinx, and non-Latinx White women. We hypothesized that women who had never been formally employed (i.e., zero years of formal work experience) would exhibit a pronounced cognitive decline. Methods: Our study included 5,664 older adult women from the Health and Retirement Study (2010-2016) aged 65-101 (M = 75.41). Out of 5,664 participants, 850 identified as non-Latinx Black, 475 identified as Latinx, and 4,339 identified as non-Latinx White. Furthermore, 5,292 women indicated having a professional employment history of at least one year, whereas 372 women reported no formal work experience. The Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status-27 (TICS-27) was used to assess cognitive performance. Linear mixed effects models were conducted to assess whether employment history was associated with the rate of cognitive decline. Results: In all three racial and ethnic groups, lower age, higher education, greater number of years worked, fewer chronic conditions, and greater household income were associated with better cognitive performance at baseline (p < .05). Additionally, women who had not worked in any formal capacity had a lower baseline cognitive performance (p < .001) and a more extreme decline in cognitive performance over time (p = .04). Conclusion: In conclusion, we found that women without any formal work experience performed lower at baseline and experienced a steeper cognitive decline over time. These findings underscore the need to further explore the complex interrelationships between employment duration and cognitive trajectories, especially among older women and those from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Development of loneliness and social isolation after spousal loss: A systematic review of longitudinal studies on widowhood.

BACKGROUND: Spousal loss is a stressful life event that is associated with loneliness and social isolation, both of which affect mental and physical health. The primary objective of this paper was to synthesize longitudinal studies that investigated loneliness and social isolation in widowhood. METHODS: A systematic search of the literature was conducted using three electronic databases. 26 longitudinal studies published through June 2024 were included for further analysis. Participant characteristics, study design, and key findings were extracted. RESULTS: Most studies were from the United States or Europe, included more widows than widowers, and assessed loneliness in older adults aged >60 years. Loneliness peaked directly following spousal death, but findings were inconsistent regarding the lasting effects of widowhood. Heterogeneity in the longitudinal trajectories of loneliness was noted, with studies showing linear increases, decreases, or curvilinear relationships over time. Several factors modified the relationship between widowhood and loneliness, including volunteerism, military experience, income, and age. Widowers consistently reported greater loneliness and worse social isolation when compared with widows. Few studies investigated social isolation specifically, but those that did found that social isolation may decrease in widowhood. CONCLUSIONS: As the world grapples with a social pandemic of loneliness and social isolation, widowed adults may be uniquely affected. Few studies investigated the longitudinal trajectory of loneliness and especially social isolation in widowhood, and those that did found heterogenous results. Future work is needed to understand why some widowed adults are uniquely affected by feelings of loneliness and social isolation while others are not, and whether potentially modifiable factors that moderate or mediate this relationship could be leveraged by psychosocial interventions.