BackgroundSocial support has been widely known as a protective factor for the emotional well-being (EWB) of older adults, but less studies have investigated the roles of different sources of social support (i.e., family and friend support) on different facets of EWB (i.e., positive affect and negative affect) simultaneously.Methodology and FindingsIn this study, the associations between family/friend support and positive/negative affect were investigated in a sample of 700 Chinese elderly. The EWB and social support were measured with a 12-item affective wordlist (Kahneman et al., 2004) and a self-prepared questionnaire. The results showed that (1) the order of contact frequency and mutual support followed a hierarchical order from spouse, children, to friends; (2) zero-order correlations of both family support and friend support were associated with more positive affect and less negative affect; and when compared with the relative role of family and friend support, (3) spouse (children if spouse is not available) support had greater contribution on decreasing negative affect, while friend support had greater influence on increasing positive affect, even after controlling the demographic, self-rated health and life events variables.ConclusionFamily and friend support play different roles on the two facets of EWB of the elderly. These results were better explained in light of the task specificity model rather than the hierarchical compensatory model. Moreover, positive affect may be enhanced by friend support (based on personal interests and selectable) rather than family support (bonded by kinship and not selectable), which added evidences to the socioemotional selectivity theory.
Objectives Embedded in a traditional culture where filial piety was honored, living with adult children once had been the most prevalent living arrangement and the best option for Chinese elderly people. This study examined whether co-residence with adult children would be still beneficial to the psychological well-being (PWB) among the oldest old (aged 80 and above) in China today. Method Using data from the fifth wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey conducted in 2008, the authors examined living arrangements among the total sample (n = 12,213) and the association between living arrangement and PWB among a sub-sample (n = 7,037) of respondents with normal cognition. Results 1) More than half (67.1%) of the unmarried oldest old reported being co-resided with their children; while for the married oldest old, the majority of the respondents (62.4%) lived with a spouse only. 2) For the widowed, co-residence with adult children was associated with better PWB compared to living along; but for the married, co-residence did not bring additional benefits to the PWB. 3) Co-residence of the widowed and children was associated with better life satisfaction compared to living with a spouse only, while it was associated with lower emotional well-being compared to living with a spouse (with or without a child). Conclusion These findings suggest that living arrangements of Chinese oldest old are partially getting westernized, and the majority of them adapt it well. Government programs need to be developed to assist the Chinese oldest old (especially widowed) to live independently.
This study was conducted to investigate the relative roles of working memory updating (updating) and processing speed in mediating age-related differences in fluid intelligence. A sample of 142 normal adults between 18 and 85 years of age performed a set of updating, processing speed, and fluid intelligence tasks. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the proportion of unique age-related variance in updating measures was related to the complexity of speed measures. There was a larger proportion of unique age-related variance in updating measures after controlling for the variance in simpler speed measures. Moreover, structural equation modeling showed that updating mediated almost all the age-related effects on fluid intelligence. These results suggest that updating, but not speed, is the critical mediator between age and fluid intelligence. In addition, the speed mediation of age-related differences in fluid intelligence as indicated by previous studies is at least partially derived from the executive component of speed measures.
Inhibition deficit plays a crucial part in cognitive aging; however, few studies have systematically investigated the plasticity of various inhibitory processes among older adults. We studied the plasticity of 3 inhibitory processes (access, deletion, and restraint) and the extent of far transfer of inhibition training to other general cognitive abilities. Thirty-six participants (aged 60 years and above, M ϭ 70.06, SD ϭ 5.53) were randomly assigned to an adaptive training group that received 12 sessions of training covering 3 inhibitory processes or an active control group that received 4 sessions of mental health lectures. Participants in both groups completed pre-and posttest assessments, in which behavioral and electrophysiological measures were used to evaluate potential transfer effects. Direct training gains were observed for trained tasks of all inhibitory processes, but near-transfer effects were only found within untrained tasks associated with deletion at a composite score level. Furthermore, far-transfer effects were demonstrated for fluid intelligence (Gf) but not for working memory or other general cognitive abilities. Near transfer to deletion and far transfer to Gf persisted at a 3-month follow-up assessment session. We discussed differences in plasticity between the 3 inhibitory processes as well as their possible associations with far transfer to Gf.
These results indicate that motivation can enhance older adults' performance in ToM tasks, however, this beneficial effect cannot be generalized across ToM tasks.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.