Promoting Functional Health in Midlife and Old Age: Long-Term Protective Effects of Control Beliefs, Social Support, and Physical Exercise

Previous studies have examined physical risk factors in relation to functional health, but less work has focused on the protective role of psychological and social factors. We examined the individual and joint protective contribution of control beliefs, social support and physical exercise to changes in functional health, beyond the influence of health status and physical risk factors in middle-aged and older adults. Given that functional health typically declines throughout adulthood, it is important to identify modifiable factors that can be implemented to maintain functioning, improve quality of life, and reduce disability.We conducted a national longitudinal study, Midlife in the United States (MIDUS), with assessments in 1995-1996 and 2004-2006, and 3,626 community-residing adults, aged 32 to 84, were included in the analyses. Functional health (Physical Functioning subscale of the SF-36) and protective factors were measured at both occasions. While controlling for socio-demographic, health status, and physical risk factors (large waist circumference, smoking, and alcohol or drug problems), a composite of the three protective variables (control beliefs, social support, and physical exercise) at Time 1 was significantly related to functional health change. The more of these factors at Time 1, the better the health maintenance over 10 years. Among middle-aged and older adults, declines in health were significantly reduced with an increased number of protective factors.Age-related declines in health were reduced among those with more protective factors up to a decade earlier in life. Modifiable psychological, social, and physical protective factors, individually and in the aggregate, are associated with maintenance of functional health, beyond the damaging effects of physical risk factors. The results are encouraging for the prospect of developing interventions to promote functional health and for reducing public health expenditures for physical disability in later life

Childhood Misfortune and Adult Health in a National Study: The Mediational Role of the Quality of Social Relations

This study investigated the relationship between childhood misfortune and 10-year change in health and whether this relationship was mediated by the quality of social relations. We used data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) national lon- gitudinal study, 1995–1996 (Time 1) and 2005–2006 (Time 2). Childhood misfortune was measured at Time 1 using indicators of financial strain, family structure, and abuse. Self-rated physical and mental health indicators were obtained at both occasions. The measure of quality of social relations was based on items relative to social support and social strain from spouse, friends, and family at Time 1. Mediational models showed that a higher level of childhood misfortune was associated with low-quality family relations which in turn tend to account for change in mental health. These findings suggest that childhood misfortune is associated with the quality of social relations, which in turn explain individual changes in mental health in adulthood

Le déclin du sentiment d'auto-efficacité mnésique chez les personnes âgées (Revue théorique et études de ses relations avec le déclin réel, les facteurs affectifs et socio-cognitifs)

L'évaluation de l'efficacité de sa mémoire (le sentiment d'auto efficacité mnésique - SAM) diminue avec l'âge et présente, à cause de ses conséquences sur le plan cognitif, un fort potentiel explicatif du vieillissement mnésique. Cependant, la littérature est marquée par l'absence de recherches ayant comme objectif l'explication de son déclin, considéré généralement comme le simple reflet des performances de mémoire. Afin de combler théoriquement et empiriquement cette lacune, nous avons proposé deux études. La première a consisté en une revue de la littérature se proposant de présenter le concept de SAM et d'analyser les facteurs qui lui sont associés. Cette recension suggère que l'auto évaluation des capacités mnésiques n'est pas uniquement associée au déclin réel et que des facteurs socio-démographiques, affectifs et socio-cognitifs peuvent aussi rendre compte de sa variabilité. Pour tester cette hypothèse, dans le cadre de la deuxième étude nous avons évalué un modèle multifactoriel du déclin du SAM auprès des deux échantillons indépendants de personnes âgées. Les données ont été issues de la première vague d'un projet à vocation longitudinale, le SAM-CC (Sentiment d'Auto-efficacité Mnésique - Causes et Conséquences). Les résultats ont révélé de manière consistante le rôle des variables affectives dans le développement du SAM. L'impact du déclin réel et des facteurs socio-cognitifs sur le SAM apparaît dans un échantillon sur deux. Les implications théoriques et pratiques sont discutées.CHAMBERY-BU Jacob (731372101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Repetitive thinking, executive functioning, and depressive mood in the elderly

Objectives: Previous findings and the depressive-executive dysfunction hypothesis suggest that the established association between executive functioning and depression is accounted for by repetitive thinking. Investigating the association between executive functioning, repetitive thinking, and depressive mood, the present study empirically tested this mediational model in a sample of older adults, while focusing on both concrete and abstract repetitive thinking. This latter distinction is important given the potential protective role of concrete repetitive thinking, in contrast to the depletive effect of abstract repetitive thinking. Method: A sample of 43 elderly volunteers, between 75 and 95 years of age, completed tests of executive functioning (the Stroop test, the Trail Making test, and the Fluency test), and questionnaires of repetitive thinking and depression. Results: Positive correlations were observed between abstract repetitive thinking and depressive mood, and between concrete repetitive thinking and executive functioning; a negative correlation was observed between depressive mood and executive functioning. Further, mediational analysis evidenced that the relation between executive functioning and depressive mood was mediated by abstract repetitive thinking. Conclusion: The present data provide, for the first time, empirical support to the depressive-executive dysfunction hypothesis: the lack of executive resources would favor a mode of abstract repetitive thinking, which in turn would deplete mood. It suggests that clinical intervention targeting depression in the elderly should take into consideration repetitive thinking modes and the executive resources needed to disengage from rumination

Genre et vieillissement

Le monde des personnes âgées est un monde de femmes. Cette idée de la « féminisation du vieillissement » est évidente lorsque nous nous penchons sur les différences de genre ou de sexe1 chez les seniors. L’espérance de vie supérieure des femmes par rapport aux hommes est bien documentée (Ostan et al., 2016; voir également chapitre 8 - Genre et santé). Par ailleurs, plusieurs études ont également relevé des différences entre les deux sexes dans l’incidence et la prévalence des problèmes de santé physique et mentale (voir également chapitre 6 - Genre et psychopathologie), ainsi que par rapport aux comportements de santé chez les adultes vieillissants. Au-delà de ces directions de recherche dominantes, les discussions sur le vieillissement incluent rarement le rôle du genre. Dans ce chapitre, nous nous focalisons sur quelques résultats qui ont émergé de la littérature, notamment grâce à l’utilisation de deux perspectives intégratives, à savoir le modèle biopsychosocial de la santé et l’approche lifespan

Low perceived control as a risk factor for episodic memory : the mediational role of anxiety and task interference

Low perceived control is considered a risk factor for poor cognitive functioning, but the mechanisms are unclear. The goal of the present study was to analyze anxiety and task interference as sequential mediators of the association between control beliefs and episodic memory. Cognitive-specific control beliefs were assessed prior to the lab session. State anxiety was assessed in the lab, followed by a word list recall task. The frequency of intrusive thoughts during the memory task was reported by the participants as a measure of task interference after the completion of the cognitive testing. The results for 152 participants from the ages of 22 to 84 years supported the predicted three-path mediation model. Lower levels of control beliefs were associated with higher state anxiety, which in turn affected episodic memory performance by increasing the likelihood of task interference, with age, sex, and verbal abilities as covariates. The implications of the results for developing interventions to improve memory performance are considered