Optimism and Planning for Future Care Needs Among Older Adults

Aging is associated with an increase in need for assistance. Preparation for future care (PFC) is related to improved coping ability as well as better mental and physical health outcomes among older adults. We examined the association of optimism with components of PFC among older adults. We also explored race differences in the relationship between optimism and PFC. In Study 1, multiple regression showed that optimism was positively related to concrete planning. In Study 2, optimism was related to gathering information. An exploratory analysis combining the samples yielded a race interaction: For Whites higher optimism, but for Blacks lower optimism was associated with more planning. High optimism may be a barrier to future planning in certain social and cultural contexts

Functional Impairment, Illness Burden, and Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults: Does Type of Social Relationship Matter?

Objective: The nature of interpersonal relationships, whether supportive or critical, may affect the association between health status and mental health outcomes. We examined the potential moderating effects of social support, as a buffer, and family criticism, as an exacerbating factor, on the association between illness burden, functional impairment and depressive symptoms. Methods: Our sample of 735 older adults, 65 years and older, was recruited from internal and family medicine primary care offices. Trained interviewers administered the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Duke Social Support Inventory, and Family Emotional Involvement and Criticism Scale. Physician-rated assessments of health, including the Karnofsky Performance Status Scale and Cumulative Illness Rating Scale, were also completed. Results: Linear multivariable hierarchical regression results indicate that social interaction was a significant buffer, weakening the association between illness burden and depressive symptoms, whereas perceived social support buffered the relationship between functional impairment and depressive symptoms. Family criticism and instrumental social support were not significant moderators. Conclusions: Type of medical dysfunction, whether illness or impairment, may require different therapeutic and supportive approaches. Enhancement of perceived social support, for those who are impaired, and encouragement of social interactions, for those who are ill, may be important intervention targets for treatment of depressive symptoms in older adult primary care patients

Family Criticism and Depressive Symptoms in Older Adult Primary Care Patients: Optimism and Pessimism as Moderators

Objective: Depression is a significant global public health burden, and older adults may be particularly vulnerable to its effects. Among other risk factors, interpersonal conflicts, such as perceived criticism from family members, can increase risk for depressive symptoms in this population. We examined family criticism as a predictor of depressive symptoms and the potential moderating effect of optimism and pessimism. Methods: One hundred five older adult, primary care patients completed self-report measures of family criticism, optimism and pessimism, and symptoms of depression. We hypothesized that optimism and pessimism would moderate the relationship between family criticism and depressive symptoms. Results: In support of our hypothesis, those with greater optimism and less pessimism reported fewer depressive symptoms associated with family criticism. Conclusion: Therapeutic enhancement of optimism and amelioration of pessimism may buffer against depression in patients experiencing familial criticism

Trait Hope and Preparation for Future Care Needs among Older Adult Primary Care Patients

We examined associations between trait hope and preparation for future care needs (PFCN) among 66 older adult primary care patients in western New York. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing PFCN (awareness, information gathering, decision-making, concrete planning, and avoidance), and the Adult Trait Hope Scale. In multivariate regressions, lower hope, particularly less agency, was associated with more awareness of needing care, whereas higher hopefulness, particularly pathways thinking, was associated with increased decision-making and concrete planning. Greater hopefulness appears to be linked to goal-directed planning behaviors, although those with lower hope may actually be more aware of the need for planning. Evidence-based programming that encourages learned hopefulness may contribute to enhanced health planning and decision-making among older adult primary care patients

Exact diagonalization of the S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on finite bcc lattices to estimate properties on the infinite lattice

Here we generate finite bipartite body-centred cubic lattices up to 32 vertices. We have studied the spin one half Heisenberg antiferromagnet by diagonalizing its Hamiltonian on each of the finite lattices and hence computing its ground state properties. By extrapolation of these data we obtain estimates of the T = 0 properties on the infinite bcc lattice. Our estimate of the T = 0 energy agrees to five parts in ten thousand with third order spin wave and series expansion method estimates, while our estimate of the staggered magnetization agrees with the spin wave estimate to within a quarter of one percent.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, 1 ps figure, to appear in J.Phys.

Spin-1/2 J1-J2 model on the body-centered cubic lattice

Using exact diagonalization (ED) and linear spin wave theory (LSWT) we study the influence of frustration and quantum fluctuations on the magnetic ordering in the ground state of the spin-1/2 J1-J2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet (J1-J2 model) on the body-centered cubic (bcc) lattice. Contrary to the J1-J2 model on the square lattice, we find for the bcc lattice that frustration and quantum fluctuations do not lead to a quantum disordered phase for strong frustration. The results of both approaches (ED, LSWT) suggest a first order transition at J2/J1 $\approx$ 0.7 from the two-sublattice Neel phase at low J2 to a collinear phase at large J2.Comment: 6.1 pages 7 figure

Aspirin for the older person: report of a meeting at the Royal Society of Medicine, London, 3rd November 2011

On November 23rd 2011, the Aspirin Foundation held a meeting at the Royal Society of Medicine in London to review current thinking on the potential role of aspirin in preventing cardiovascular disease and reducing the risk of cancer in older people. The meeting was supported by Bayer Pharma AG and Novacyl

International Psychogeriatrics: page 1 of 8 C International Psychogeriatric Association

ABSTRACT Background: We assessed the association between medical illness burden and anxiety symptoms, hypothesizing that greater illness burden would be associated with symptoms of anxiety, and that optimism would buffer, while pessimism would exacerbate, this relationship

Higher order numerical methods for solving fractional differential equations

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10543-013-0443-3In this paper we introduce higher order numerical methods for solving fractional differential equations. We use two approaches to this problem. The first approach is based on a direct discretisation of the fractional differential operator: we obtain a numerical method for solving a linear fractional differential equation with order 0 0. The order of convergence of the numerical method is O(h^3) for α ≥ 1 and O(h^(1+2α)) for 0 < α ≤ 1 for sufficiently smooth solutions. Numerical examples are given to show that the numerical results are consistent with the theoretical results