Mather LifeWays

Abstract Wearable technologies may enhance wellness by supporting diagnostics, self-monitoring, and behavior change. Although middle-aged to older adults may particularly benefit from wearable devices, their usage remains underexplored and may be impacted by privacy concerns, technological barriers, and affordability. This study aimed to evaluate how and why different age cohorts (adults in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s) use various wearable devices and to assess their potential concerns. A total of 5,037 adults, ages 44 to 78, were recruited via an online research panel (mean age = 59.9 years, 51.7% female, 65.5% White). Participants completed a survey assessing their health monitoring using wearable technologies. Those who used wearables reported the metrics they tracked, while non-users provided reasons for their non-use. Chi-square analyses revealed that adults in their 40s used smartwatches, smart rings, and other wearables to monitor their health more than any other group. Among wearable technology users, similar proportions across age cohorts tracked blood pressure, heart rate, physical activity, sleep, and weight. However, age differences emerged in the tracking of habits, mood, screen time, and food/water intake. Common reasons for non-use across age groups included data privacy concerns, usage difficulties, cost, and lack of interest. Generally, older cohorts were more likely to report tracking their health without using wellness technologies. These results indicate that age cohorts may use wearables for different purposes, but non-users share similar concerns regardless of age. Further research is needed to explore alternative health tracking methods among older adults, and to address concerns about wearable devices.

Abstract Engagement in the arts has been shown to improve health and well-being in older adults. However, previous research suggests that some older adults may experience barriers to arts engagement, such as health concerns, cost, and lack of transport. One method to address these potential barriers for older adults is virtual arts programming. The purpose of this study was to determine older adults’ satisfaction with a six-week virtual art kit pilot program, as well as to examine how participation in the program affected participants’ health and well-being. The program involved participants receiving an art kit via mail with the supplies and instructions needed for each weekly project (e.g., scarf dying, affirmation weaving). Participation in weekly classes delivered via video conferencing and a social media group was encouraged. A total of 285 community-dwelling older adults completed both the pre- and post- surveys (96.1% female; 91.9% between the ages of 55 to 74). Analyses revealed high satisfaction with the program. Participants significantly improved from before to after the program on creativity, sense of community, purpose, stress, life satisfaction, and attitudes toward aging. There was no significant change in sense of mindfulness, loneliness, nor self-reported mental and physical health. This study provides evidence for the positive impact of a virtual art kit program on multiple aspects of well-being for older adults. Given the importance of accessibility in arts engagement, future research should continue to examine virtual arts programs as a method to enhance well-being.

Feelings of affection (i.e., fondness and intense positive regard) are a hallmark of close relationships. Existing studies have often examined affection as a trait or behavior, but rarely as an emotional experience in social interactions. In two dyadic observational interaction studies (total N = 314 individuals), 49 US-based married couples (age range: 21–65) and 108 friendship dyads (age range: 15–26) engaged in two naturalistic 10-min conversations about (a) a topic of disagreement (conflict conversation) and (b) something they enjoyed doing together (pleasant conversation) and reported on their subjective emotional experiences (e.g., affection, using an emotion checklist following each conversation) and relationship satisfaction. Conversation transcripts were analyzed using natural language analysis. Results showed that experiences of affection were most strongly associated with experiences of compassion, amusement, and excitement, as well as with less anger, and were unrelated to most other negative emotions. Natural language analysis further showed that greater positive (but not negative) emotional tone was associated with greater affection (especially among friends in the pleasant conversations). Levels of affection were consistently higher in pleasant versus conflict conversations and similar across marital versus friendship interactions. Finally, experiences of affection were associated with greater relationship satisfaction for friends across conversations and for spouses (women) in the pleasant conversation. These findings contribute to our understanding of affection as a foundational emotional experience in close relationships and highlight avenues for future research.

Abstract Chinese Americans comprise the largest Asian origin group aged 65 years and older (26%), yet little is known about how aging, particularly in the context of acculturation, is experienced within this group. Further, although immigration scholarship underscores a robust, positive relationship between successful aging and acculturation, how major lifecourse events shape perceptions of aging well in Chinese Americans is not well-understood. Using an intersectional lifecourse perspective, this convergent parallel mixed methods study presents integrated findings from a cross-sectional survey (N=98; 58.2% female; mean age=64.4 years) and qualitative interviews (N=32; 53% female; mean age=59.4 years) with community-dwelling Chinese Americans 50+, about 80% of whom were foreign-born. Survey measures included the Short Acculturation Scale, the Successful Aging Scale, self-reported health, and demographic variables. Quantitative data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. No significant association was found between acculturation and successful aging, even after controlling for length of stay and sociodemographic variables. Thematic analysis of qualitative data revealed feelings of ambivalence and alienation. Several participants shared that despite having lived in the US for decades, they felt like they “no longer belonged”, feared for their safety, and felt a “sense of betrayal” after the recent increase in Anti-Asian hate crimes. Many were planning to return to their home country, where they believed it would be easier to age successfully. These findings suggest that important turning points in the lifecourse trajectory, such as experiences of racism, can negatively influence perceptions of aging in Chinese Americans, regardless of degree of acculturation and length of stay.

Abstract Equitable access to care is critical to support healthy aging in underserved groups. Recent global demographic trends such as the rapid aging of the population in developing and developed countries, the growing proportion of migrants from the Global South to the Global North over the past 50 years, and increasing health inequalities between and within countries reflect a continued need to address the underlying pathways and causal mechanisms that determine access to and usage of care among migrants. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge on the micro-, meso-, and macro-level determinants that intersect and shape access to and usage of care services and programs among older migrants. It makes the case that foreign-born older adults are more likely to experience challenges accessing services and programs due to cultural and language barriers and factors related to their socio-economic status, race/ethnicity, gender, and time since immigration. Next, the paper provides a deeper exploration of the interface of structure and agency and an interrogation of how access and usage of care among older migrants may be conditioned, not simply by individual socio-economic circumstances and life course events, but also by macro-level factors like the distribution of power relationships and neoliberal public policies. The paper concludes with a call for sustained efforts to acquire a more profound understanding of individual-level, socio-economic and socio-political forces that influence access and usage of care. Finally, it provides directions for future research with the ultimate goal of supporting healthy aging among older migrants.

Abstract Mindful Sustainable Aging (MSA) is a multidimensional concept incorporating elements from four prominent gerontological theories – activity theory, disengagement theory, successful aging theory, and gerotranscendence theory (Nilsson et al., 2015). Informed by mindfulness practices, MSA is a holistic approach to supporting healthy aging in the social, physical, mental, and spiritual dimensions of life (ibid.). Using MSA as a theoretical framework, this qualitative study explores mindful aging in community-dwelling South Asian American older adults – one of the fastest-growing yet relatively understudied racial/ethnic minority groups in the US. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 South Asian Americans aged 50+ (18 male, 14 female; mean age=63.5 years). Thematic analysis of the interview data showed that aging was accompanied by significant modifications such as adjusting to everyday life after the death of a spouse, perceived loss of role and status in the family, reduced finances, and limited mobility due to emergent health concerns. Yet, participants expressed an overall sense of peace and gratitude, embracing aging as an “inevitable” and “natural” process of discovery and acquiring wisdom. Participants tried to remain connected to their social networks through messaging and video calling apps like WhatsApp, volunteered at local places of worship like temples and mosques, and helped their adult children with childcare and household chores. Limited availability of culturally-appropriate opportunities for active aging was a key barrier to participants’ sense of well-being. These findings suggest that culturally-sensitive, mindfulness-based interventions like gentle yoga or bilingual guided meditations may enhance subjective well-being in this population sub-group.

Abstract Many wellness programs for older adults focus on physical health or specific conditions, such as heart disease prevention or diabetes management. To supplement these efforts, there is a need for holistic wellness programming to enhance well-being in later life. We developed and piloted a novel wellness coaching program for residents of senior living communities to address this need. The theoretical framework of the program is based on a holistic, multidimensional wellness model and self-determination theory. Staff members from eight residential communities were trained on wellness coaching techniques, such as motivational interviewing, active listening, and group facilitation skills, before they led the 9-week resident wellness coaching program. A total of 79 residents, ages 71 to 97 (M = 84.3, SD = 6.5), completed the pilot program. The resident wellness coaching program included a mixture of individual and group coaching sessions. The coaching sessions provided wellness education, social support, and space to share progress on wellness goals. Participants completed surveys at three time points: pre-program, post-program, and 1-month follow-up. Residents reported high satisfaction with the overall program and its components. Repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted to examine changes in wellness over time. Comparison of pre- and post-test scores revealed significant improvements in health satisfaction, physical and psychological quality of life, purpose, loneliness, relatedness, and competence. Some of these changes, such as increases in psychological quality of life and decreases in loneliness, persisted at the one-month follow-up. These findings have implications for the development and implementation of wellness coaching programs with older adults.

Although resident wellness is increasingly a priority in senior living communities, there are few programs that promote holistic wellness in later life. A total of 79 residents (ages 71 to 97; M = 84.27, SD = 6.46) from eight senior living communities completed a pilot study of a novel, staff-led wellness coaching program consisting of resident-driven goals and individual and group coaching sessions. Participants completed surveys at three time points (pre-program, post-program, and 1-month follow-up). Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed positive changes in resident health satisfaction, physical quality of life (QOL), psychological QOL, loneliness, relatedness, competence, and sense of purpose. Some of these results (i.e., psychological QOL, loneliness) persisted at follow-up. Residents reported high satisfaction with the program. These findings have implications for the application of holistic wellness frameworks in later life, as well as the development and implementation of wellness coaching programs with older adults.

As Villages proliferate, many approaches have been tested to enhance Village sustainability, diversity and better meet the needs of the community being served. One such innovation is the formation of regional coalitions. Interviews with Village coalition leaders (n=18) revealed different approaches to regional coalitions being taken and envisioned. Surveys with 115 operational Villages examined how those part of coalitions differed from non-coalition Villages. Another innovation designed to expand diversity are “no- and low-dues” Villages. Interviews with no- and low-dues Villages (n=21) examined the motivations behind choosing this model as well as the variety of ways such models are sustained without membership dues as a major source of revenue. Interviews also examine these Villages’ perspectives on the advantages, disadvantages and challenges of this model. Using survey data (n=115), this presentation will also report quantitative results about how the organizational structure of no- and low- dues Villages differ from other Villages.

Abstract Raising retirement age warrants better understanding of the role of occupation in brain aging. Although occupational stress has been linked to decreased brain volumes in younger workers (Savic, 2015), the role of occupational stress in brain aging remains unknown. In order to address this relationship, we conducted two studies relating past occupational characteristics to MRI data from older adults. First, we assess occupational stress using the Work Design Questionnaire (Morgeson & Humphrey, 2006) combined with interpersonal conflict and workload questionnaires in 101 healthy adults (Mage=70, a subsample of NCT01472744 trial). We measured hippocampal volume with Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Greater physical demands of participants’ most recent job were related to smaller left (F(4,93)=10.5, p=.006, sr=-.260) and right hippocampi (F(4,93)=7.18, p=.024, sr=-.231, both corrected for age, education, total brain volume). Greater physical demand was also associated with lower episodic memory scores (F(3,97)=2.8, p=.006, sr=-.272, corrected for age and education). Next, we tested this finding in 83 cognitively healthy older adults (Mage=69), a subsample of an Acting Out trial (5R01AG036682-03). Here, we used these participants’ primary midlife job titles and descriptions (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017) to categorize the participants into those with high (n=31) and low (n=52) occupational physical demands. Older adults whose midlife jobs were characterized by greater physical demands had smaller left (p=.019) and right (p=.035) hippocampi. Together, we identified occupational physical demands as stressful factor that may negatively impact brain aging. Future analyses should contrast the opposing effects of leisure physical activity and work physical demands on brain aging.