Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Aging In Place In Marion: A Community Endeavor, Bernard A. Steinman, Hayley Gleason, Maryam Khaniyan, Ceara Somerville, Jan Mutchler

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report describes collaborative efforts undertaken by the Friends of the Marion Council on Aging (FMCOA) and the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging, within the McCormack Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston). Beginning in Fall 2014, these organizations partnered to conduct a study to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of the Town’s older resident population, and the priorities of other stakeholders in the Town, with respect to living and aging in Marion.

In the earliest phase of the project, we met several times with members of the FMCOA to discuss and …

Self-Reported Memory Complaints: Implications From A Longitudinal Cohort With Autopsies, Richard J. Kryscio, Erin L. Abner, Gregory E. Cooper, David W. Fardo, Greg A. Jicha, Peter T. Nelson, Charles D. Smith, Linda J. Van Eldik, Lijie Wan, Frederick A. Schmitt

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: We assessed salience of subjective memory complaints (SMCs) by older individuals as a predictor of subsequent cognitive impairment while accounting for risk factors and eventual neuropathologies.

METHODS: Subjects (n = 531) enrolled while cognitively intact at the University of Kentucky were asked annually if they perceived changes in memory since their last visit. A multistate model estimated when transition to impairment occurred while adjusting for intervening death. Risk factors affecting the timing and probability of an impairment were identified. The association between SMCs and Alzheimer-type neuropathology was assessed from autopsies (n = 243).

RESULTS: SMCs were …

Living And Aging In Newton: Now And In The Future, Bernard A. Steinman, Hayley Gleason, Ceara Somerville, Jan E. Mutchler, Center For Social And Demographic Research On Aging, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report describes collaborative efforts undertaken by the City of Newton Department of Senior Services, the Newton Council on Aging, The Senior Citizens Fund of Newton, Inc., and the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging, within the McCormack Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Beginning in Fall 2013, these organizations partnered to conduct a needs assessment study to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of the City’s older resident population, with respect to living and aging in Newton. The focus of this report is on two cohorts of Newton residents—those aged 50 to 59 (referred …

Where Are Your Papers?, Rebekah Mccloud

UCF Forum

My friend of 30 years died recently. Her husband called one Sunday in February to say she was gone.

Motor Variability During Sustained Contractions Increases With Cognitive Demand In Older Adults, Marnie Lynn Vanden Noven, Hugo M. Pereira, Tejin Yoon, Alyssa A. Stevens, Kristy A. Nielson, Sandra K. Hunter

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

To expose cortical involvement in age-related changes in motor performance, we compared steadiness (force fluctuations) and fatigability of submaximal isometric contractions with the ankle dorsiflexor muscles in older and young adults and with varying levels of cognitive demand imposed. Sixteen young (20.4 ± 2.1 year: 8 men, 9 women) and 17 older adults (68.8 ± 4.4 years: 9 men, 8 women) attended three sessions and performed a 40 s isometric contraction at 5% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) force followed by an isometric contraction at 30% MVC until task failure. The cognitive demand required during the submaximal contractions in each session …

Openness, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, And Family Health And Aging Concerns Interact In The Prediction Of Health-Related Internet Searches In A Representative U.S. Sample, Tim Bogg, Phuong T. Vo

Psychology Faculty Research Publications

Recent estimates suggest 60 % of the U.S. adult population uses the Internet to find health-related information. The goal of the present study was to model health-related Internet searches as a function of an interdependent system of personality adaptation in the context of recent health and aging-related concerns. Assessments of background factors, Big Five personality traits, past-month health and aging-related concerns, and the frequency of past-month health-related Internet searches (via Google, Yahoo, AOL, Bing, or some other search engine) were obtained from a representative U.S. sample (N = 1,015). Controlling for background factors, regression analyses showed more frequent health-related …

Aging In Boston: Preparing Today For A Growing Tomorrow, Jan E. Mutchler, Bernard A. Steinman, Caitlin Coyle, Hayley Gleason, Jiyoung Lyu, Ceara Somerville

Gerontology Institute Publications

Boston’s population is becoming older than ever before. The oldest Baby Boomer is approaching 70 and reinventing what it means to be a “senior citizen.” Waves of Boomers will forge a new path into later life, creating a population of seniors that is larger and more long-lived than previous cohorts, and diverse in new ways. In 2010, more than 14% of Boston’s residents were 60 years or older, representing 88,000 older people. By 2030, projected increases in the older population will result in as many as 130,000 seniors residing in Boston. How will Boston accommodate its growing older population? What …

You Are The Momma Now, Rebekah Mccloud

UCF Forum

I am a proud member of the sandwich generation. Sociologist Dorothy A. Miller coined the term in 1981 to classify people who care for their aging parent(s) while helping to support their own children

Muscle Tension Induced After Learning Enhances Long-Term Narrative And Visual Memory In Healthy Older Adults, Kristy A. Nielson, Laura L. Wulff, Timothy J. Arentsen

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Arousing events are better remembered than mundane events. Indeed, manipulation of arousal, such as by muscle tension, can influence memory even when it occurs shortly after learning. Indeed, our founding study showed this approach can raise delayed memory performance in older adults to a level comparable to that of unaided young adults. Yet, systematic studies, especially those investigating different modalities or types of memory, have not been done. This study investigated the effects of a brief bout of isometric exercise via handgrip on narrative and visuospatial episodic memory in healthy elders. Forty-seven participants completed the Logical Memory subtest of the …

Security Of Attachment To Spouses In Late Life: Concurrent And Prospective Links With Cognitive And Emotional Wellbeing, Robert J. Waldinger, Shiri Cohen, Marc S. Schulz, Judith A. Crowell

Psychology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Social ties are powerful predictors of late-life health and well-being. Although many adults maintain intimate partnerships into late life, little is known about mental models of attachment to spouses and how they influence aging. A total of 81 elderly heterosexual couples (162 individuals) were interviewed to examine the structure of attachment security to their partners; respondents also completed measures of cognition and well-being concurrently and 2.5 years later. Factor analysis revealed a single factor for security of attachment. Higher security was linked concurrently with greater marital satisfaction, fewer depressive symptoms, better mood, and less frequent marital conflicts. Greater security predicted …

Reducing Depression During The Menopausal Transition: Study Protocol For A Randomised Controlled Trial, Osvaldo P. Almeida, Kylie Marsh, Leon Flicker, Martha Hickey, Andrew Ford, Moira Sim

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: The menopausal transition (MT) is a biological inevitability for all ageing women that can be associated with changes in mood, including depressive symptoms. There is tentative evidence that women who develop depression during the MT have greater risk of subsequent depressive episodes, as well as increased health morbidity and mortality. Thus, preventing depression during the MT could enhance both current and the future health and well-being of women. This study aims to test the efficacy of a client-centred health promotion intervention to decrease the 12-month incidence of clinically significant symptoms of depression among women undergoing the MT.Methods/Design: This randomised …