Can countries shape the association between cumulative adversity and old-age health?

Introduction: The present study examined the relationships of Lifetime Cumulative Adversity (LCA) and country inequalities, as well as the interactions between them, with the self-rated health (SRH) in old age. Methods: Using data from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the study regressed self-rated health on Lifetime Cumulative Adversity and country-level inequality indices across European countries in two points in time. The analysis also considered adversity-inequality interactions, controlling for confounders. The sample was comprised of 28,789 adults, aged 50 to 80, from 25 European countries and Israel. Results: The findings pointed out that LCA is negatively associated with SRH, but democracy and welfare regimes modify the ill effects of LCA on health. These effects are reduced as the LCA level increases. The effects remained significant over two measurement time-points over three years, showing that life-course trajectories may be shaped by individual accumulated risk exposure to stress, along with inequalities at the society level. Discussion: The study provides constructive and important guidance for decreasing the harmful effect of lifetime adversity in old age, by the modification of the country's welfare policies.

The Interplay of Personality Traits and Social Network Characteristics in the Subjective Well-Being of Older Adults.

Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, we regressed three well-being measures (CASP, life satisfaction and Euro-D depressive symptoms) on indicators of personality and social network. Personality was indicated by the Big-Five personality traits, while social network was measured in terms of size, contact frequency and emotional closeness. The analysis also considered personality-network interactions, controlling for confounders. The sample was comprised of 35,145 adults, aged 50 and older, from 24 European countries and Israel. The results revealed that the personality traits explained more variance in the well-being outcomes than the social network characteristics did. However, the interactions showed that the social network characteristics, particularly size and mean emotional closeness, offset the effects of dysfunctional personality attributes on subjective well-being in late life. Hence, social network characteristics were shown to modify the potentially ill effects of personality on key well-being indicators.

Emotional distress and posttraumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish society in Israel.

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with a range of negative responses, including emotional distress, as well as with positive changes, such as posttraumatic growth (PTG). Among the vulnerability factors the literature lists SES and being part of a minority group. The aim of this study is to identify patterns of responses among the ultra-Orthodox Jewish society in Israel, in terms of both emotional distress (anxiety and depression) and multiple dimensions of PTG. METHOD: The data were collected during the second wave of COVID-19 in Israel, between May and November 2020. The sample included 369 participants, all belonging to the ultra-Orthodox society. Latent class analysis was used to establish heterogeneous classes of participants displaying similar response patterns, using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depression, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 index (JAD-7), and the 10-item version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI-10). Multinomial regression examined which of the predictors best distinguished between the classes. RESULTS: Three classes were identified, termed here Resilience, Growth, and Distress. As differential predictors of class membership, the study identified age; gender; self-rated health; and COVID-19-related potential negative experiences: economic decline, concerns, and microaggression. The Resilience and Growth patterns were the most prominent. A small number of participants formed a class characterized by high levels of distress. CONCLUSIONS: The findings contribute to understanding the psychological response patterns of a minority group to COVID-19. The characteristics of the three classes highlight the important role of potentially negative experiences related to COVID-19 in the response patterns. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Does personality shape the personal social networks of older Europeans?

The aim of the study was to clarify whether personality traits predict the structure, function and quality of egocentric confidant networks in later life. Data were drawn from Waves 7 and 8 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) (N = 39,172). We regressed network size, contact frequency and network satisfaction on the Big-5 personality traits, using a single path analysis structure, controlling for country, sociodemographic background and health status. The findings showed that the personality traits were related to the social network outcomes, but their effect was modest and less predictive than the contextual factors. The country predictors explained the most variance, generally, with some surprising results. For example, confidant networks were the largest in Scandinavia and Central Europe, and smallest in the Mediterranean region and Eastern Europe. Among the personality traits, extraversion was the most consistent positive predictor, but conscientiousness was also predictive. Neuroticism was a negative predictor, but not of network size. The sociodemographic variables, particularly partner status, explained more variance than the personality traits did. In sum, the SHARE database offers a comprehensive and differentiated view of the complex interpersonal milieus in which older Europeans are embedded. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10433-021-00678-8.

Social networks and mental health change in older adults after the Covid-19 outbreak.

OBJECTIVES: This article examines the influence of social networks on selected aspects of mental health following the outbreak of the coronavirus. METHOD: We linked data from a post outbreak telephone survey in 2020 by the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, with baseline data from SHARE Wave 6 (2016) (n = 33,485). Two mental health measures (depression and anxiety) were regressed on social network variables relevant to the Covid-19 crisis (frequency of face-to-face contact and frequency of contact through electronic means), controlling for confounders. Interactions of age group and social networks were considered. Baseline mental health was controlled, focusing the analysis on post-outbreak mental health change. RESULTS: Face-to-face network contact significantly reduced negative mental health changes while electronic contact significantly increased them. The age interactions were insignificant. Country differences were observed. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that face-to-face social networks can moderate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on important aspects of mental health.

Lifetime cumulative adversity and physical health deterioration in old age: Evidence from a fourteen-year longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Although several studies have demonstrated the associations between lifetime cumulative adversity and late-life physical health, many of them were conducted at a single time point and examined events that occurred in childhood only. Less is known about the effect of lifelong adversity on the aging process over time. This study aimed to investigate the impact of cumulative adversity on the accelerated deterioration in health over time - mobility limitation and self-rated state of health in old age. METHODS: This study provides a 14-year, 6-time-point follow-up on a representative sample of Europeans using the SHARE Project - longitudinal survey panel. The sample included a total of 7195 respondents aged 65 and older from nine countries in Europe. The outcome measurements were the number of mobility limitations and self-rated health - trajectories along 6 measurements. The independent variable was Lifetime Cumulative Adversity, and the analyses included also control variables - age, gender, socioeconomic status, depression, and country. RESULTS: Time-based Latent Growth Curve Modeling has demonstrated that the effects of Lifetime Cumulative Adversity were significant on both health measures, by means of the intercepts and the slopes: Greater experience of adversities correlated with a higher physical health impairment at baseline and a higher decline along time. The effects of self-rated health were weaker than the effects of mobility limitations. CONCLUSIONS: Given that the populations of numerous countries are rapidly aging, understanding the risk factors associated with health deterioration is important, especially for policymakers and medical health care experts, to raise awareness of the relationship between lifelong adversity and health decline and to build preventive interventions to deal with these consequences.

COVID-Related Concerns, the Need for Help, and Perceived Microaggression among Young Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Respondents in Israel.

Minority groups are especially vulnerable to the negative psychological and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study focused on one prominent minority group in Israel: ultra-Orthodox Jews. It examined the rate of exposure to COVID-19, adherence to COVID-19 mitigation guidelines, difficulties with adherence to COVID-19 guidelines, COVID-related concerns, financial hardships, the need for help, and microaggression during the first wave of the pandemic (April-May 2020). It then examined multivariate prediction of COVID-related concerns, the need for help, and microaggression. The sample comprised 252 respondents, with 67% female and a mean age of 32.85 (SD = 10.63). Results showed that 78.8% of the participants knew at least one person who had tested positive for COVID-19, and 31.4% knew at least one person who had passed away from COVID-19. Only 59.7% of the participants reported high adherence to social distancing guidelines. Perceived microaggression was predicted by the difficulties with adherence to COVID-19 guidelines, the level of stress associated with exposure to the media, and financial hardships. The study's implications point to the centrality of perceived microaggression and the necessity of adopting culturally sensitive approaches to engage minorities in public efforts to fight the spread of viruses.

Network-Exposure Severity and Self-Protective Behaviors: The Case of COVID-19.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To clarify whether awareness of the extent and severity of exposure to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the social networks of older adults is related to the engagement by the latter in self-protective behaviors. The inquiry is guided by the Health Belief Model and by concepts from the domain of social networks. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were used, including the SHARE COVID-19 Survey executed in the summer of 2020. The study sample numbered 33,053 persons aged 50 and older in 26 countries. We regressed a logged count of self-protective behaviors on network-exposure severity, controlling for sociodemographic background, country, personality traits, and self-exposure severity. Age and network-exposure interaction terms were examined, as were "close family" and "other" network ties. RESULTS: Network-exposure severity was positively associated with the extent of engagement in self-protective behaviors among older adults, but mainly among the oldest group, aged 70 and older. Awareness of exposure severity in "close family" and "other" networks were similarly associated with self-protection. Respondents from countries with the lowest rates of COVID-19 infection at the time (Latvia, Finland, and Denmark) engaged in fewer self-protective behaviors, while those from countries with high infection rates (Spain, Italy, and Portugal) self-protected to a greater degree. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: The study findings point to the role of the social network, even if indirect, in promoting self-protective behaviors among the oldest segment of society. Policymakers should collaborate with the social networks of older adults in order to promote the adoption of self-protective behaviors. Such intervention might help to reduce the threat of infection among the most vulnerable age group.

Social network type and subsequent cognitive health among older Europeans.

OBJECTIVES: One's personal social network constitutes a contextual framing factor for late-life cognitive function. This study examined the association between network type at baseline and changes in three cognitive measures: immediate recall, delayed recall, and fluency, two years hence, among Europeans aged 50 and older. PARTICIPANTS: Data were taken from Waves four and five of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe of adults aged 50 and above (N = 50,071). MEASUREMENTS: The latent class analysis was applied to a set of criterion variables. The procedure yielded five distinct network types: multi-tie (6%), family-rich (23%), close-family (49%), family-poor (12%), and friend-enhanced (10%). The network types were then regressed on the cognition measures at follow-up, controlling for the respective baseline cognition scores, as well as for age, gender, education, self-rated health, mobility difficulty, and country. RESULTS: Respondents in family-poor network types had poorer cognition scores at follow-up, compared to those in the modal close-family network, while those in multi-tie networks had consistently better scores. The family-rich network and the friend-enhanced network also had a somewhat better cognitive function. CONCLUSIONS: Having varied sources of network ties, e.g. friendship ties and/or several types of family relationships, is beneficial to the cognitive health of older adults over time. Networks based mainly on ties with relatives other than spouse and children, on the other hand, have poorer cognitive outcomes. Older people in this latter group face an increased risk for cognitive decline and should receive assistance in enhancing their interpersonal environments.

Network type, transition patterns and well-being among older Europeans.

Using SHARE data, this study was based on an earlier analysis that derived social network types among adults aged 65 and over in Europe. The current effort investigated the transitions that occurred across these network types after 4 years (N = 13,767). Four general network transition patterns were identified according to network type (close-family networks and other networks) and whether a network transition occurred. The associations between network type, network transitions and well-being (depression and life satisfaction) were examined. We regressed depressive symptoms and a life satisfaction measure on the network transition patterns, controlling for socio-demographic background, health and country. The results revealed that a majority of older Europeans experienced a range of network transition, while close-family-based networks tended to prevail over time. Moreover, respondents who remained in or transitioned to close-family networks had fewer depressive symptoms and better life satisfaction than those in other network types. The study, thus, underscores the varied effects of network types and network changes on emotional well-being in late life. It also demonstrates that beneficial changes can be made in one's social network in old age, especially with regard to greater family closeness.