Perceived self-efficacy domains as predictors of fear of the unknown and fear of dying among older adults.

Using a sample of 167 women and 121 men, aged 65-87, this study tested the hypothesis that self-efficacy beliefs of older persons are significantly stronger predictors of death fears than are demographics, social support, and physical health variables used in earlier predictor models. Standard self-report measures were used to assess all predictor variables, including perceived self-efficacy in 8 different domains. Findings from a series of hierarchical regression analyses that were conducted separately for men and women supported the hypothesis concerning the superiority of self-efficacy variables as predictors of fear of the unknown after death and fear of dying, with spiritual health efficacy and instrumental efficacy being the most potent predictors of death fears for women and men, respectively.

Quality of relationships and structural properties of social support networks of female survivors of abuse.

The purposes of this study were to examine the structural properties of the social support networks of female survivors of violence and abuse and to investigate the quality of the relationship, and specific level of satisfaction, survivors have with their social support networks. Participants averaged 5.8 persons in their social support networks. Their levels of satisfaction with the emotional, practical, financial, guidance, and socializing support they received from members of their social support networks were higher with respect to close friends and coworkers than with respect to family members and professionals (e.g., attorneys and social workers). The most common type of support provided by close friends who were themselves victims of abuse was emotional, guidance, and socializing support, and the most satisfying support was the financial and practical help that came from parents or family. An interesting finding was the significant presence of men in the survivors' social support networks. Overall satisfaction with the quality of support from the social support networks was high, and satisfaction with support from men was comparable, if not higher, than support from women. Multiple regression models revealed that satisfaction with support networks was a potent predictor of self-esteem, emotional health, and loneliness. Intimacy, especially in terms of exclusiveness and trust or loyalty, with at least a few members of the support network contributed significantly to the variance in self-esteem, emotional health, and loneliness among the abused women. The size of the support network also emerged as a limited contributor to well-being. Implications and applications are discussed for professionals working with female survivors of abuse.

Predictors of health-related quality of life perspectives, self-esteem, and life satisfactions of older adults following spousal loss: an 18-month follow-up study of widows and widowers.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The overall purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between widowed persons' baseline assessments of self-efficacy beliefs and their ratings of perceived health-related quality of life, life satisfactions, and self-esteem obtained in an 18-month follow-up. DESIGN AND METHOD: At Time 1, a survey of sociodemographics, a multidimensional measure of global self-efficacy, and a domain-specific measure of self-efficacy, having eight subscales of self-efficacy (interpersonal, instrumental, emotional, social support, nutritional, physical, financial, and spiritual) were administered to a group of 231 widows and widowers to obtain baseline assessments of their self-efficacy beliefs. At Time 2, a follow-up of 211 widows and widowers was conducted to obtain their perceptions of health-related quality of life, life satisfactions, and levels of self-esteem 24 months following spousal loss and to assess whether self-efficacy beliefs play a predictive role in widowed individuals' perceptions of their health-related quality of life, life satisfactions, and self-esteem. RESULTS: A series of gender-specific multiple regression analyses models revealed that widows and widowers differ significantly with respect to the relationship between specific domains of self-efficacy and their perceived quality of life in the longer term following spousal loss. IMPLICATIONS: Implications of the findings are discussed for clinicians and health professionals working with bereaved spouses in terms of intervention programs for retraining of self-efficacy.

The unique contribution of key existential factors to the prediction of psychological well-being of older adults following spousal loss.

PURPOSE: This study examined the unique contribution of key existential factors to the prediction of psychological well-being of older adults following spousal loss. DESIGN AND METHOD: A number of measures to assess psychological well-being, sociodemographic standing, social resources, and religious and spiritual resources were administered to a volunteer sample of widows and widowers to test the hypothesis that existential factors such as personal meaning, religiosity, and spirituality are more potent predictors of psychological well-being than are previously hypothesized variables of sociodemographic, social support, and physical factors. RESULTS: A hierarchical regression analysis of the data supported the hypothesis that existential factors are major contributors to psychological well-being of older adults following spousal loss. Findings showed that widowers, compared to widows, scored lower on the measure of psychological well-being. IMPLICATIONS: Implications of the findings are discussed for practitioners working with bereaved spouses; suggestions for further research concerning bereavement and psychological well-being are made.

Whose quality of life is it anyway? Why not ask seniors to tell us about it?

Three hundred and thirty-one older adults participated in a study designed to examine their perceptions of what constitutes a reasonable quality of life. Participants responded to an open-ended questionnaire in which they were asked to state their priorities, preferences, aspirations, and concerns about their present and future quality of life. Responses were subjected to a principal components factor analysis which yielded four factors: 1) respondents' demands for specific guarantees; 2) respondents' aspirations and expectations for future quality of life; 3) fears and anxieties; and 4) external factors presenting a threat to quality of life. These factors accounted for 15 percent, 12 percent, 9.2 percent, and 7.1 percent, respectively, of the total variance. Additionally, data obtained from in-depth interviews with thirty-seven older adults were analyzed using a qualitative approach. Contrary to stereotypic notions that elderly persons are frail, vulnerable, and resigned to deteriorating conditions of well-being in late life, the results of both the qualitative and quantitative components of the study showed the majority of respondents as having clear demands for autonomy, control, and independence in making decisions, including the decision to terminate life. Implications are discussed in terms of future research on quality of life of older adults.

Memory enhancement program for community-based older adults: development and evaluation.

The purpose of the study was to develop a multifactorial memory enhancement program for community-dwelling older adults aimed at encouraging positive beliefs and behaviors about memory function and abilities in later life. The study evaluated the effectiveness of cognitive restructuring techniques (56 subjects) as compared to traditional memory training techniques (61 subjects) for purposes of enhancing memory performance. Posttest assessments were conducted after 10 weeks of memory training. Follow-up assessments were conducted 9 weeks later to assess maintenance of memory performance and memory beliefs. Three 2 x 3 (Treatment x Time) repeated measures multivariate analyses of variance were conducted to evaluate the effects of two types of intervention on memory performance, memory perception, and affective symptomatology over time. Results suggest that cognitive restructuring techniques may help community-dwelling older adults gain control over their beliefs about memory and thereby enhance their memory performance.

Perfectionism, humor, and optimism as moderators of health outcomes and determinants of coping styles of women executives.

Previous research has indicated that humor, optimism, and perfectionism are ubiquitous human tendencies and traits affecting the performance and coping styles of women in the work place. The purpose of the present series of studies was to provide a more rigorous test of the hypothesis that certain personality attributes buffer the impact of daily hassles on health outcomes among female executives. Three studies were conducted to examine how perfectionism, humor, and optimism moderate the deleterious effects of daily hassles on self-esteem, burnout, and physical health. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that all attributes significantly moderated the relationship between daily hassles and self-esteem maintenance, emotional exhaustion, and physical illness. A fourth study examined the correlations between high levels of perfectionism, humor, and optimism and female executives' use of different coping strategies and orientations. The results provide implications for the early socialization and management training of female executives working in stressful environments.

Individual differences in reminiscence among older adults: predictors of frequency and pleasantness ratings of reminiscence activity.

Although reminiscence has been recognized as an adaptive coping mechanism and its beneficial value is stressed in later life transitions, few studies have examined the frequency of self-reported reminiscence in relation to the personality traits, psychological well-being, purpose in life, and background characteristics of elderly individuals. Nor has there been any previous attempt to study the independent contributions of these factors as predictors of the frequency of reminiscence activity or the pleasantness ratings of the reminiscence activity. A sample of seventy individuals between the ages of sixty-seven and eighty-two years was selected from community settings, and an equivalent age sample of seventy individuals was selected from nursing home settings. A structured interview procedure and questionnaire assessed the frequency of reminiscence activity and ratings of pleasantness associated with it. The independent contributions of various personality measures, psychological well-being measures, and meaning of life measures as predictors of the frequency and pleasantness of reminiscence activity were analyzed via multiple regression analyses. The results showed that despite wide variability in the use of reminiscence, certain specific factors of personality, psychological well-being, will to meaning, and negative life events are strong predictors of the frequency and pleasantness of reminiscence activity. These results are discussed in terms of mental health implications for the identification of individuals with greatest potential for engaging frequently in reminiscence as a therapeutic tool and finding it a pleasant pursuit.

A factor analytic investigation of home-bound elderly individuals' concerns about death and dying, and their coping responses.

One hundred and seventy-eight home-bound elderly men and women participated in an investigation of death and dying concerns and coping responses used to deal with these anxieties. A semi-structured interview procedure was used to obtain responses from the subjects. The data subsequently were subjected to two factor analyses. The resulting factors from the interview and checklist responses of the elderly showed three major categories of elderly subjects' fears, which consisted of factors of (1) physical pain and suffering; (2) risk to personal safety; and (3) threat to self-esteem and the uncertainty of life beyond death. The four major categories of their coping responses consisted of factors related to internal self-control, social support, prayer, and preoccupation with objects of attachment.

Mediators of perceptions of stress among community-based elders.

Research focusing on the relationship between the frequency of stressful life events and perceptions of stress among the aged has increased considerably over the past few decades. The present research focused on expanding the simple life-events/stress-perceptions paradigm by including several other variables that have previously been assumed to be associated with an increase in perceptions of stress among elderly persons. More specifically, the present investigation concerned evaluation of mediating effects of levels of social support, problem-solving, and frequency of daily hassles on the perceptions of stress by elderly individuals. A prospective design evaluated over a 24-mo. period was used to assess the mediating effects. A conceptual model of mediating effects was tested using path analysis statistical techniques on data from a sample of 80 community-based elderly volunteers. The postulated model accounted for 53% of the variance associated with the prediction of perceptions of stress among the elderly subjects. Implications for current theory and research in the study of mediating variables in the stress symptomatology of older adults are discussed.

Success, failure, and self-other orientations.

The experiment investigated the effects of success and failure experiences on Ss' subsequent ratings in a symbols task measure designed to examine perceptions of self-other orientations. Sixty male and female adolescents were assigned to success, failure, or control experiences on three achievement tasks ostensibly testing intellectual ability. Posttest minus pretest changes were assessed on variables of self-esteem, social interest, egocentricity, power, and individuation as measured in the symbols tasks, and analyses of variance results were examined for differences among Ss in the success, failure, and control conditions. As hypothesized, Ss in the success condition made significantly more positive changes in self-perceptions of esteem, social interest, and power relative to failure and control Ss. Implications of the findings were discussed for social psychologists and clinicians interested in personality assessment and social functioning.

Moral judgment and parental identification among children.

The relationship of moral judgment and parental identification was studied in 50 boys and 50 girls, all of whom were white, lower-middle-class children, aged 9 1/2 to 11 1/2 years. Two hypotheses were proposed: (1) that within each sex group, children with a higher-level parental identification attain a higher stage of moral judgment than children with a lower level of parental identification; and (2) that there are no sex differences in the stage of moral judgment attained by Ss from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. Ss were screened for socioeconomic status and age. Moral judgment was defined in terms of Piaget's "two moralities" of the child and measured by a structured interview that consisted of five subtests taken from Piaget. Parental identification was measured by means of a semantic space and differential technique, and Ss were grouped on the basis of low, medium and high levels of paternal and maternal identification. Results indicate that there are no significant sex differences in moral judgment. Within each sex group there is a clear positive relationship between high-level identification and a higher stage of moral judgment.