Experiences of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its implications for psychological well-being may vary widely across the adult life span. The present study examined age ...differences in pandemic-related stress and social ties, and links with psychological well-being.
Participants included 645 adults (43% women) aged 18-97 (M = 50.8; SD = 17.7) from the May 2020 nationally representative Survey of Consumers. Participants reported the extent to which they felt stress related to the pandemic in the last month, the extent to which their lives had changed due to the pandemic, as well as social isolation, negative relationship quality, positive relationship quality, and frequency of depression, anxiety, and rumination in the past week.
Results showed that older people reported less pandemic-related stress, less life change, less social isolation, and lower negative relationship quality than younger people. Greater pandemic-related stress, life change, social isolation, and negative relationship quality were associated with poorer psychological well-being. Poorer social ties (i.e., greater social isolation and negative quality) exacerbated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (stress, life change) on psychological well-being.
Researchers have indicated that older adults may be more vulnerable to COVID-19 pandemic-related stress and social isolation, but this study indicates that young adults may be relatively more vulnerable. Because isolation and negative relationship quality appear to exacerbate the deleterious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychological well-being, reducing social isolation and negative relations are potential targets for intervention.
Due to extended transitions to adulthood and declining marital rates, bonds between adults and parents have grown increasingly salient in individuals' lives. This review organizes research around ...these topics to address ties between parents and grown children in the context of broader societal changes over the past decade. Literature searches included tables of contents of premier journals (e.g., Journal of Marriage and Family), Psychological Info, and Google Scholar. The literature review revealed patterns of social and intergenerational changes. Technological advances (e.g., introduction of the smart phone) co‐occurred with more frequent contact and interdependence between generations. The Great Recession and financial strains altered the nature of many parent/child ties, including increased rates of intergenerational coresidence. Individual life problems such as divorce, addiction, and physical health problems were reflected in complex changes in positive and negative relationship qualities, ambivalence, and intergenerational support. Government policies reflect societal values and in turn, affected the distribution of parents' and grown children's resources. Political disruptions instigated migration, separating generations across large geographic regions. Political disruptions instigated migration, separating generations across large geographic regions. Demographic changes (e.g., constellation of family members, delayed marriage, same sex marriage) were also manifest in ties between adults and parents. Findings were consistent with the Intergenerational Systems in Context Model, which posits that societal transformations co‐occur with changes in intergenerational relationships via reciprocal influences.
The COVID-19 outbreak and associated physical distancing measures altered the social world for most older adults, but people who live alone may have been disproportionately affected. The current ...study examined how living alone was associated with daily social contact and emotional well-being among older adults during the pandemic.
Adults (N = 226) aged 69+ completed a brief survey assessing their living situation, social contact with different social partners (in person, by phone, electronically), and emotions during the morning, afternoon, and evening the prior day.
Older adults who live alone were less likely to see others in person or to receive or provide help. Living alone was associated with more positive emotions concurrent with in-person contact. In contrast, phone contact was associated with higher levels of negative affect among those living alone, but not among those who live with others. Older adults who live alone were more likely to have contact with friends (rather than family).
Findings suggest older adults who live alone may be more reactive to social contact during the COVID-19 outbreak than older adults who reside with others. In-person contact may confer distinct benefits not available via telephone contact, suggesting that possible interventions during the pandemic may work best with safe forms of in-person contact, possibly with nonfamily members.
Abstract
Objectives
Social integration (involvement with a diverse array of social ties) has been linked to positive outcomes including better physical health. Research has not investigated whether ...encounters with diverse social ties enhance individuals’ daily behaviors. The objectives of this study were to assess whether social ties connect individuals to more diverse daily behaviors, physical activity, and nonsedentary time as well as more positive mood.
Method
Older adults (aged 65+, n = 313) provided information about their 10 closest social ties. Then they completed ecological momentary assessment (EMA) surveys every 3 hr for 5–6 days where they reported on social encounters and behaviors. They also wore Actical accelerometers to objectively measure physical activity.
Results
Multilevel models revealed that encounters with a greater variety of social ties was associated with engaging in a greater variety of behaviors, more objectively measured physical activity, and a smaller proportion of time spent sedentary. Encounters with weak ties/peripheral social ties accounted for this increased activity (compared to being alone or with close friends or family). Moreover, involvement with diverse ties or diverse behaviors was associated with better mood.
Discussion
Findings are discussed in terms of social engagement theory, network diversity, and the benefits of weak ties.
Abstract
Background and Objectives
Television viewing is the most common leisure activity in late life and may ease loneliness but encourage sedentary behavior. These associations may be particularly ...evident among older adults who live alone and who may lack other forms of companionship throughout the day.
Research Design and Methods
Adults aged 65+ (N = 257) participated, of whom 34% lived alone. Participants completed an initial interview followed by a 5- to 6-day data collection involving multimethods: (a) Electronically Activated Recorders (30 s every 7 min) provided audio recordings of television viewing, (b) Actical accelerometers objectively measured physical activity, and (c) ecological momentary assessments every 3 hr assessed social interactions.
Results
On average, older adults spent approximately 37% of their waking time (6.4 hr a day) watching television. Multilevel models revealed that television viewing occurred when participants were alone or with a spouse and was associated with a greater proportion of time sedentary, lower activity, and higher ratings of loneliness compared to when not watching television. Older adults who lived alone reported greater loneliness during 3-hr intervals when viewing television, but older adults who lived with others spent a greater proportion of time sedentary when viewing television.
Discussion and Implications
Findings are discussed with regard to different rationales and ways of watching television—as compensation for social isolation or as a passive leisure activity with a social partner. We discuss ideas for research on additional aspects of television viewing and screen time in late life.
Participating in a broad and balanced range of daily activities (i.e., activity diversity) has been associated with better cognitive functioning in later life. One possible explanation for this ...finding is that high levels of activity diversity are merely a proxy for being more physically active, a factor robustly linked to cognitive health. The present study examined whether activity diversity has a unique association with cognitive functioning beyond physical movement. Community-dwelling older adults (N = 252, Mage = 73.55 years, SD = 6.39) completed a cognitive battery and then responded to ecological momentary assessments of their participation in 10 common activity types (e.g., reading, chores, social visits) every 3 hr for 5-6 days. They also wore accelerometers to track daily physical movement. Multiple regression models revealed that greater diversity in daily activities was related to higher cognitive functioning even after adjusting for physical movement and other covariates such as education level. This study further clarifies the unique relationship of activity diversity, beyond physical movement, with cognition.
Public Significance Statement
Researchers emphasize the importance of "staying active" in later life. Our findings indicate that greater diversity in daily activities is related to older adults' cognitive functioning, and this link is not attributable to underlying physical movement. More research is needed to determine causal effects, but this study adds to the growing literature on activity diversity as a promising avenue for accessible, customizable interventions for brain health.
Abstract
Background and Objectives
Research suggests that friendships are associated with better emotional outcomes. Still, little is known about the implications of daily friend encounters on ...emotional well-being in the context of race and age. Guided by the integrative conceptual framework for friendship research, this study considers racism and cultural beliefs associated with racial groups and different social and emotional goals associated with age and investigates whether the frequency of friend encounters and the link between friend encounters and emotional well-being in everyday life would vary by race and age.
Research Design and Methods
Black (n = 80; Mage = 53.62) and White American adults (n = 89, Mage = 52.01) from the Stress and Well-being in Everyday Life study provided background and social network information, followed by ecological momentary assessment surveys in which they reported their social encounters and mood every 3 hours for 4 consecutive days.
Results
Multilevel linear models revealed no significant differences by race or age in the frequency of friend encounters. At times when individuals were with friends, their positive mood was elevated compared to when they were not (within-person association). Yet, this association was observed only among White adults and among Black individuals who were aged 41 or younger.
Discussion and Implications
This work contributes to the conceptual framework for friendship research by considering how individuals’ race and age are linked to friendship patterns. Findings highlight the importance of everyday contact with friends for enhancing momentary emotional well-being, particularly among White individuals and younger Black adults.
Women are more involved in family ties than men, but these differences may vary across generations as gender roles have shifted. We know little about gender patterns across generations in the same ...family, however. To address this gap, midlife men and women aged 40–60 (n = 633) from the Family Exchanges Study reported on relationships with each aging parent and each grown child. Mothers were more involved (e.g., more frequent contact, greater positive and negative relationship qualities, and more frequent support exchanges) than fathers in both generations, with parental gender differences stronger in the older generation. Offspring gender differences were generally consistent across generations, with daughters more involved by phone in emotional forms of support, and in negative relationship quality; these gender differences were stronger in the younger generation than the older ones. We discuss pervasive gender differences that favor mothers, as well as shifts in gender differences across generations.
Support of family members has been a long-standing interest of social scientists. Contemporary American families must provide support to members in a historical context wherein family inequality ...continues to rise. Based on the life course perspective, and utilizing qualitative, in-depth interviews with 50 multi-generational participants from the Family Exchanges Study, this article explores the mechanisms through which families across the socioeconomic spectrum engage in and perceive family support. We discuss both direct and indirect requests by family members for help and identify differences by family socioeconomic status. We also discuss how issues of reciprocity, views toward request propriety, and perceptions of appreciation guide family member responses to need. We argue that this cross-class comparison is particularly essential to further scholarly understands of family functioning and support amidst growing inequality in the United States.
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