Development and validation of the caregiver needs and resources assessment.

Introduction: Existing caregiver assessment tools were long criticized for focusing on the needs and burden while neglecting the importance of the resources. The current study aimed to develop a multidimensional and time-effective assessment tool that measures both needs and resources of non-paid family caregivers of older adults for screening and service-matching purposes. Methods: Items of the Caregiver Needs and Resources Assessment (CNRA) were developed from extensive literature reviews and focus group interviews of family caregivers and social workers in the field. In addition, we collected 317 valid responses from family caregivers of older adults from local non-government organizations in examining the psychometric properties of the CNRA. Results: The results revealed a 12-factor structure that fitted nicely into the conceptual frame of needs and resources domains. Need factors were positively associated with mental health symptoms, while resource factors were positively associated with peace in mind, meaning-making, and personal gain measures. The 36-item CNRA revealed good internal reliability and convergent validity. Discussion: The CNRA has the potential to be used as a compact yet balanced assessment tool for understanding both the needs and resources of caregivers for human service professionals.

Effects of subjective successful aging on emotional and coping responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Middle-aged and older adults are more vulnerable to hospitalization and mortality if they are infected with the COVID-19 virus. The present study investigates the longitudinal effects of subjective successful aging on middle-aged and older adults' emotional and coping responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and explores an underlying mechanism through perceived time limitation during the pandemic. METHODS: A sample of 311 Hong Kong Chinese middle-aged and older adults (Mage = 64.58, SD = 10.14, Range = 45-90 years) were recruited from an Adult Development and Aging Project and participated in a questionnaire study via an online platform or phone interview. Their levels of subjective successful aging, perceived time limitation, and emotional and coping responses to the pandemic were measured. RESULTS: The respondents who perceived themselves as more successful in aging process reported more positive and fewer negative emotions compared with their counterparts with lower levels of subjective successful aging. The mediation analysis showed that perceived time limitation could partially account for the effects of subjective successful aging on emotional and coping responses. CONCLUSIONS: Findings of this study unveil the beneficial effects of subjective views of successful aging on emotional and coping responses to the pandemic through alleviating their perception of time limitation.

Attitudes Toward Retirement Drive the Effects of Retirement Preparation on Psychological and Physical Well-Being of Hong Kong Chinese Retirees Over Time.

Recent findings on retirement preparation found a positive impact on the psychological and physical well-being of retirees. However, the types of mental resources that are driving the relationship, such as attitudes toward retirement, only received limited attention. Reasoning from previous findings, we posit that attitudes toward retirement would explain the relationship between retirement preparation and well-being over time after retirement. A three-wave study was conducted in a sample of 130 Hong Kong Chinese retirees over a period of 1.5 years. Data were collected 6 months prior to retirement (T1) and 6 and 12 months after retirement (T2 and T3, respectively), in which preretirement preparation, attitudes toward retirement, and psychological and physical well-being were measured. The positive effect of T1 retirement planning on T3 physical and psychological well-being was partially mediated by T2 attitudes toward retirement. These results remain significant even after controlling for gender, education level, preretirement occupation, and well-being at T1. These findings reveal the role of attitudes toward retirement in driving postretirement adjustment over time.