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Background: Although a large body of research has focused on social isolation and loneliness, few studies have examined social isolation and loneliness together. The objectives of this study were to examine: 1) the relationship between four groups derived from combining social isolation and loneliness (socially isolated and lonely; only socially isolated; only lonely; neither socially isolated nor lonely) and the desire for more social participation, and social support; and 2) the relationship between the four groups and psychological distress., Methods: The study was based on the Comprehensive Cohort of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Using CLSA baseline data (unweighted N = 30,079), ordinary and logistic regression analysis was used to examine the cross-sectional relationship between the four social isolation/loneliness groups and desire for more social participation and four types of social support (tangible, positive interaction, affection, and emotional support). Prospective logistic regression analysis was possible for psychological distress, which was derived from the Maintaining Contact Questionnaire administered about 18 months after the baseline questionnaire (unweighted N = 28,789)., Results: Findings indicate that being socially isolated and lonely was associated with the most social support gaps; this group also had an increased likelihood of psychological distress, relative to those who were neither socially isolated nor lonely. Participants who were only socially isolated, and those only lonely also perceived some social support gaps. In addition, the only lonely group was more likely to be psychologically distressed than the only socially isolated group and the neither isolated nor lonely group., Conclusion: Examining the four social isolation/loneliness was useful, as it provided more nuanced risk profiles than would have been possible had we examined social isolation and loneliness separately. Findings may suggest avenues for interventions tailored to the unique needs of at-risk individuals., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Background: A large body of research shows that social isolation and loneliness have detrimental health consequences. Identifying individuals at risk of social isolation or loneliness is, therefore, important. The objective of this study was to examine personal (e.g., sex, income) and geographic (rural/urban and sociodemographic) factors and their association with social isolation and loneliness in a national sample of Canadians aged 45 to 85 years., Methods: The study involved cross-sectional analyses of baseline data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging that were linked to 2016 census data at the Forward Sortation Area (FSA) level. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between personal factors and geographic factors and social isolation and loneliness for the total sample, and women and men, respectively., Results: The prevalence of social isolation and loneliness was 5.1% and 10.2%, respectively, but varied substantially across personal characteristics. Personal characteristics (age, sex, education, income, functional impairment, chronic diseases) were significantly related to both social isolation and loneliness, although some differences emerged in the direction of the relationships for the two measures. Associations also differed somewhat for women versus men. Associations between some geographic factors emerged for social isolation, but not loneliness. Living in an urban core was related to increased odds of social isolation, an effect that was no longer significant when FSA-level factors were controlled for. FSAs with a higher percentage of 65+ year old residents with low income were consistently associated with higher odds of social isolation., Conclusion: The findings indicate that socially isolated individuals are, to some extent, clustered into areas with a high proportion of low-income older adults, suggesting that support and resources could be targeted at these areas. For loneliness, the focus may be less on where people live, but rather on personal characteristics that place individuals at risk., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

The present study examined what older people regret, and the relationships between regret, health and life satisfaction. The study also explored the role of secondary interpretive control beliefs in relation to regret. Participants (N= 228; 79-98 years old) were asked to report on the content and frequency of their regret, secondary interpretive control beliefs (e.g., beliefs in finding the "silver lining" in a dark cloud), health, and life satisfaction. A content analysis revealed that participants most commonly reported feeling regret due to things they had not done, the death of a loved one, and their own or others' health problems. Regression analyses indicated that experiencing regret more frequently was associated with poorer health and life satisfaction. Moreover, evidence for an emotion-modifying role of secondary interpretive control beliefs was shown through its negative association with regret. Results suggest that older adults may be experiencing age-related regrets that differ in content from those experienced at younger ages and that certain control beliefs may serve to lessen regret.

Valuable insights about emotional well-being can be learned from studying older adults who have wrestled with differentiating and regulating their emotions while they navigate through the many joys and traumas of a lifetime. Our objective was to document the underlying reasons for older adults' (n = 353, ages 72 -99) emotional experiences. Using a phenomenological approach, we identified participants' reported reasons (i.e., antecedents) for a broad variety of positive and negative emotions, classifying them into thematic categories through a content analysis. The array of thematic categories that emerged for some emotions was more differentiated than for others. For example, 14 antecedent categories were required to account for the emotion of happiness; whereas, only 4 categories were needed to capture all antecedents for anger. Our analysis provided a rich description of what older adults report as the causes of their emotions, showing that later life is characterized as a time when the loss of love ones elicits sadness, self-limitations elicit frustration, and others' transgressions elicit anger. Yet, our data show that old age can be portrayed even more so as a time when a variety of positive emotions are elicited by social factors (interactions and relationships), achievements, and personal attributes. Finally, in an analysis of the most common antecedents for pride (accomplishments) and anger (other's transgression), we suggest that pride over accomplishments is most likely elicited by internal attributions to skill and effort; whereas, anger over others' transgressions is most likely elicited by controllable attributions to the transgressor's inconsiderate or offensive behavior. Overall, this shows the utility of applying Weiner's attributional framework (Weiner, 1985) to an analysis of emotion antecedents in late life.

Objectives: The present study of a representative sample of older adults quantified everyday physical activity (EPA) by having participants wear actigraphs. Our objectives were to examine whether poor health may partly explain why older adults become less physically active with advancing age and whether gender might moderate the extent to which health status predicts EPA., Methods: We performed multiple regression analyses on a sample of older, community-dwelling adults (aged 80-98 years, N = 198; women = 63.1%)., Results: The results imply that age-related declines in EPA may be partially accounted for by health (in men) and by living arrangements (in women)., Discussion: We consider reasons why poorer health might erode EPA for men (but not women) and why living alone might erode EPA for women (but not men).

As older adults become more susceptible to certain health crises, their preoccupation with their risk of suffering such events increases. Understanding the implications of risk perceptions is critical because they may have consequences for psychological and physical well-being in later life. In the present study of older adults living in the community, the authors examined participants' comparative risk estimates (CREs)—their perceptions of their own risk relative to a similar other's risk—of suffering a hip fracture. Using multiple regression analyses, the authors examined the role of CREs on psychological well-being (negative emotions, life satisfaction) and self-rated physical well-being (general physical health, recent physical health). The authors expected perceived control (PC) to moderate the relationship between CREs and well-being. The predicted interaction did occur: Among individuals with high PC, comparative optimism (perceiving a comparatively low risk) was associated with better psychological well-being (fewer negative emotions and greater life satisfaction) and better physical well-being (general and recent physical health) relative to comparative pessimism (perceiving a comparatively high risk). Among individuals with low PC, there were no differences in well-being between comparative optimists and comparative pessimists. These findings suggest that the protective effect of comparative optimism on well-being is limited to older adults who have a strong sense of control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Falling is common among older adults, often resulting in decreased functional ability and quality of life. To understand processes underlying the fall/health and well-being relationship, it is important to identify psychosocial mediators. The current study examined the impact of falling on subsequent physical health, negative emotions and physical activity among 231 young-old (<85) and old-old (85+) community-dwelling adults, and the mediating effects of global perceived control (PC) and optimism. Regression results indicated that falling predicted poorer physical health, greater negative emotions and less physical activity among old-old but not young-old adults. Falling negatively predicted PC and optimism, which mediated the effects of falling on health and well-being among the old-old group. Findings have implications for enhancing recovery from falling via bolstering PC and optimism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]