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Objectives. Models of stress incorporate both the environmental demands experienced by individuals (stressors) and the appraisal of these life events (perceptions). Because little is known about the extent to which experience and perceptions are related, we examine this relationship in a nationally representative population of older Taiwanese adults. Method. Using growth models applied to data from 3 waves (1999, 2003, and 2007) of the Taiwan Longitudinal Study of Aging, we (a) investigate patterns of change in perceived stress in later adulthood and (b) examine how experienced stressors influence perceived stress. Participants were asked to report the presence of, and in some cases the degree of, exposure to stressors including total number of medical conditions, difficulty with activities of daily living, difficulty with mobility functions, being financially worse off compared with the prior wave, experiencing the death of a child, and experiencing a marital disruption. Items reflecting perceived stress included concerns about various domains pertaining to the respondent and his/her family member. Results. Our results indicate that exposure to stressors increases, whereas perceived stress decreases, over time. Change in exposure to stressors is not generally associated with change in perceptions of stress, with the exception of a summary measure of health-related exposure to stressors. An increase in poor health over time is related to an increase in perceived stress in all domains. Discussion. The results underscore the importance of distinguishing between perceptions of stress and exposure to stressors when studying the links between stress and health among older adults. Furthermore, the diminishing linkage between experienced stressors and perceptions of stress suggests that older adults’ appraisal may be an adaptive coping strategy that emerges to buffer some of the difficulties that are inevitable in later life. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examined associations among life satisfaction, perceptions of future happiness, and mobility limitations in a population-based sample of 3,363 older persons from the Survey of Health and Living Status of the Near Elderly and Elderly in Taiwan. We used zero-inflated Poisson regression to determine if current life satisfaction and perceptions of future happiness were independently related to the number of mobility limitations that developed during an approximately 8-year period. We adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, health status, social involvement, and depressive symptoms at baseline. Life satisfaction and perceptions of future happiness were both associated with the development of fewer mobility limitations during follow-up, but only for those participants who had no mobility limitations at baseline. The results suggest a protective relationship between psychological well-being and physical decline in later life. This study examined associations among life satisfaction, perceptions of future happiness, and mobility limitations in a population-based sample of 3,363 older persons from the Survey of Health and Living Status of the Near Elderly and Elderly in Taiwan. We used zero-inflated Poisson regression to determine if current life satisfaction and perceptions of future happiness were independently related to the number of mobility limitations that developed during an approximately 8-year period. We adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, health status, social involvement, and depressive symptoms at baseline. Life satisfaction and perceptions of future happiness were both associated with the development of fewer mobility limitations during follow-up, but only for those participants who had no mobility limitations at baseline. The results suggest a protective relationship between psychological well-being and physical decline in later life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. This study examined socioeconomic differentials in mortality among Hispanics in the United States, focusing on the older ages. We address previous research suggesting that social disparities in health are smaller for Hispanics than for non-Hispanic Whites and examine whether these differentials in survival are related to the mortality advantage that characterizes the older Hispanic population (i.e., the Hispanic paradox). Methods. We used Poisson regression models based on data from the 1989 to 1994 waves of the National Health Interview Survey, with linked mortality through 1997, to estimate death rates for Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites by age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Results. Deaths rates varied significantly (p < .05) by education and income for Whites and Hispanic subgroups defined by nativity (U.S. born and foreign born) and nationality (Mexican, Puerto Rican, and other Hispanic). However, with the exception of Puerto Ricans, the effects of education were significantly smaller for Hispanics than for Whites. The ethnic differences in mortality patterns by income were not statistically significant. Discussion. The findings reveal that the mortality advantage for Hispanics is concentrated at lower levels of socioeconomic status, with little or no advantage at higher levels. We propose several mechanisms related to immigration and assimilation patterns that may underlie these patterns of mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. The purpose of this study is to examine stability and change in Taiwanese elders' perceptions about the availability of social support and the sociodemographic and cultural factors associated with change. Methods. This study uses data from four waves of the Survey of Living Status of the Elderly in Taiwan that spans a 10-year period and employs latent growth curve models to examine trajectories of perceived support and the sociocultrural factors that may explain variability in baseline levels of support and variability in changes in support as respondents age. Results. Perceptions about social support appear to follow a linear trajectory across age, with significant variation in baseline perceptions and in patterns of change in perceived support across the sample. Sociocultural factors primarily explain differences in initial levels of support but also have some effect on changes in support. Discussion. Despite the increasing pressures and demands on adult children's time that are associated with social and economic development, the elderly in Taiwan on average feel supported by their social networks, with the perceived availability of support increasing with age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]