%0 Journal Article %J Psychology and Aging %D 2020 %T Concurrent and enduring associations between married partners' shared beliefs and markers of aging %A Shannon T. Mejia %A Hannah L. Giasson %A Jacqui Smith %A Gonzalez, Richard %K Couples %K markers of aging %X Beliefs about aging are grounded in social experience. This study considered the extent to which married older adults' shared beliefs about aging and markers of aging maintain a concurrent and enduring association with their partners' beliefs about and markers of aging. Data from the 2010/2012 and 2014/2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study provided measures of husbands' and wives' (3,779 couples) positive and negative beliefs about aging and internal (Cystatin C) and external (grip strength) markers of aging at 2 time points. Latent dyadic models parsed beliefs and markers into partners' individual and shared variances, which were connected both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Longitudinal analysis showed that the cross-sectional associations between shared beliefs and markers of aging were stable over 4 years. Partners' shared beliefs and markers of aging were found to have enduring associations with each other over time. The enduring association between grip strength and future negative beliefs remained significant after accounting for partner selection and similarity in health. Model comparisons across marriage duration and emotional closeness showed partners' beliefs to be more similar in marriages that were either long established or emotionally close. In all groups, shared beliefs and markers of aging were associated with each other over time. The association between positive beliefs and future grip strength was stronger in long-established than in recent marriages. In summary, this study provides evidence that, within older couples, beliefs about aging are shaped in part through experiences of aging together. %B Psychology and Aging %V 35 %P 925-936 %@ 0882-7974 %G eng %U https://europepmc.org/article/med/32525338 %N 7 %! Psychology and agingPsychol Aging %R 10.1037/pag0000515 %0 Journal Article %J Gerontologist %D 2019 %T Effects of age discrimination on self-perceptions of aging and cancer risk behaviors. %A Hooker, Karen %A Shannon T. Mejia %A Sandi Phibbs %A Erwin J Tan %A Stevens, Jonathan %K Ageism %K Cancer %K Discrimination %K Racial/ethnic differences %X

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Almost one-third of older adults report experiencing age discrimination. We hypothesized sequential links between older adults' everyday experiences of age discrimination and future health behaviors related to cancer risk through self-perceptions of aging (SPA).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Participants were community-dwelling respondents (age: 51-96 years) from the 2008, 2012, and 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 4,467). Generalized path models estimated the immediate and enduring effects of age discrimination in 2008 on proximal SPA in 2012 and distal health behaviors in 2014.

RESULTS: Age discrimination was associated with lower positive SPA and higher negative SPA in 2012. The effect of age discrimination on physical activity, smoking, and drinking in 2014 was mediated by positive and negative SPA in 2012. Through subsequent SPA, those who experienced age discrimination in 2008 were less likely to engage in regular moderate physical activity, more likely to smoke, and less likely to drink more than 3 times per week in 2014. Analysis of change in positive and negative SPA showed the effect of age discrimination on physical activity to be mediated by change in positive, but not negative, SPA.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: The enduring effects of age discrimination were found through a reduction in positive SPA. Elevating positive SPA could be as important as reducing negative SPA for future health behaviors related to cancer risk.

%B Gerontologist %V 59 %P S28-S37 %G eng %N Suppl 1 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31100138?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1093/geront/gny183 %0 Journal Article %J Gerontologist %D 2017 %T Couples' Shared Beliefs About Aging and Implications for Future Functional Limitations. %A Shannon T. Mejia %A Gonzalez, Richard %K Marriage %K Self-perception %X

Purpose of the Study: Individual beliefs are known to be predictive of health. This study examines the co-construction of couple norms and links couples' shared beliefs about aging to future individuals' and couples' functional limitations.

Design and Methods: Data from the 2008 and 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (1,231 couples; age range = 51-90) were analyzed using latent variables that estimated shared and individual variance in beliefs about aging in 2008 and functional limitations at follow-up in 2014. Spouses' individual processes of physical activity and disease burden were modeled to contribute to couples' shared beliefs about aging and subsequent functional limitations. Models progressively controlled for indicators of partner selection, couples' shared health experiences, and similarities and differences in age.

Results: Couples' beliefs about aging predicted future functional limitations. The effect magnitude decreased but remained significant in all models. Physical activity predicted couples' future functional limitations but was largely explained by shared health experiences and similarities and differences in age for wives and husbands, respectively. Disease burden contributed to couples' shared beliefs about aging. Husbands' contributions were explained by partner selection, but wives' contributions remained significant in all models. The effect of couples' shared beliefs on change in couples' functional limitations was explained by couples' shared health experiences.

Implications: Beliefs about aging and health occur within the context of close relationships and shared experiences. Knowledge of couples' beliefs and health is necessary to support their individual and collective efforts to age successfully together.

%B Gerontologist %V 57 %P S149-S159 %8 2017 Aug 01 %G eng %N suppl_2 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28854612?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1093/geront/gnx071 %0 Journal Article %J J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci %D 2017 %T Successful Aging as the Intersection of Individual Resources, Age, Environment, and Experiences of Well-being in Daily Activities. %A Shannon T. Mejia %A Lindsay H Ryan %A Gonzalez, Richard %A Jacqui Smith %K Activities of Daily Living %K Adult %K Aged %K Aged, 80 and over %K Aging %K environment %K Female %K Follow-Up Studies %K Health Status %K Humans %K Male %K Middle Aged %K Personal Satisfaction %K Social Support %K United States %X

Objective: We conceptualize successful aging as a cumulative index of individual resources (the absence of disease and disability, high cognitive and physical functioning, social embeddedness) in the service of successful aging outcomes (global well-being, experienced well-being, and vital status), and conditioned by age, social structure, and environment.

Method: The study used baseline and follow-up data from the 2008-2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 17,230; age = 51-101). Linear, multilevel, and logistic models compared individual resources at baseline as independent, cumulative, and binary predictors of outcomes 4 years later.

Results: Individual resources were unequally distributed across age group and social structures (education, wealth, race, gender) and had a cumulative effect on all successful aging outcomes. For experienced well-being, individual resources were most important at midlife and for groups with lower education. Person-environment congruence (social cohesion, city satisfaction) was associated with all successful aging outcomes and conditioned the effect of individual resources on experienced well-being.

Discussion: A cumulative index allows for gradations in resources that can be compensated for by external factors such as person-environment congruence. This index could guide policy and interventions to enhance resources in vulnerable subgroups and diminish inequalities in successful aging outcomes.

%B J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci %V 72 %P 279-289 %8 2017 Mar 01 %G eng %U http://psychsocgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=28077430 %N 2 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28077430?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1093/geronb/gbw148 %0 Journal Article %J The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences %D 2016 %T Responses to Financial Loss During the Great Recession: An Examination of Sense of Control in Late Midlife %A Shannon T. Mejia %A Richard A. Settersten Jr. %A Michelle C Odden %A Hooker, Karen %K Adult children %K Demographics %K Healthcare %K Net Worth and Assets %K Other %K Public Policy %X Objectives. The Great Recession shocked the primary institutions that help individuals and families meet their needs and plan for the future. This study examines middle-aged adults experiences of financial loss and considers how socioeconomic and interpersonal resources facilitate or hinder maintaining a sense of control in the face of economic uncertainty.Method. Using the 2006 and 2010 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, change in income and wealth, giving help to and receiving help from others, household complexity, and sense of control were measured among middle-aged adults (n = 3,850; age = 51 60 years).Results. Socioeconomic resources predicted both the level of and change in the engagement of interpersonal resources prior to and during the Great Recession. Experiences of financial loss were associated with increased engagement of interpersonal resources and decreased sense of control. The effect of financial loss was dampened by education. Sense of control increased with giving help and decreased with household complexity.Discussion. Findings suggest that, across socioeconomic strata, proportional loss in financial resources resulted in a loss in sense of control. However, responses to financial loss differed by socioeconomic status, which differentiated the ability to maintain a sense of control following financial loss. %B The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences %V 71 %P 734-744 %G eng %U http://psychsocgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/08/21/geronb.gbv054.abstract %N 4 %4 Agency/Financial loss/Great recession/Household complexity/Intergenerational transfers/Interpersonal resources/Sense of control/Structure %$ 999999 %& 734 %R 10.1093/geronb/gbv054 %0 Thesis %D 2014 %T Social regulatory processes in adulthood : responding to change and variability in proximal and distal social forces %A Shannon T. Mejia %K Health Conditions and Status %K Net Worth and Assets %K Public Policy %X Adult development and social experiences are intertwined, which has implications for social policy, health, and well-being across the lifespan. This dissertation explores the benefit and risk that close social partners bring to adults' lives, and the efficacy and consequences of engaging social resources to maintain well-being in the face of variability and change in their proximal and distal social environments. The first study, using a life course perspective and a macro analytic lens, traced experiences of financial loss in middle adulthood during the 2008 recession. Using the 2006 and 2010 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (n = 1,881; age range = 51 - 60 years), this study used conditional change models and path analysis to examine the extent to which increasing household complexity, giving help, receiving help, and relationship quality promoted or hindered the capacity to maintain a sense of control in the face of financial loss. Experiencing financial loss was directly associated with decreased control and giving help, and increased household complexity and receiving help. Experiences of financial loss indirectly decreased control through increased household complexity and decreased giving help. Although the experience of financial loss was distributed across differences in income and education, social resources patterned the engagement of interpersonal resources, which translated to engagement patterns that could compromise the sense of control. However, change in relationship quality, which did not systematically differ across experiences of financial loss, created pathways to support or hinder maintaining a sense of control while engaging interpersonal resources. The second study, informed by lifespan developmental theory and developmental systems theory, applied a micro analytic lens to closely examine the within-person processes that connect daily interactions within the social convoy to emotional well-being in older adulthood. Using data from the Personal Understanding of Life and Social Experiences Project, this study linked older adults' (N = 99; age mean = 63.29, SD = 7.93) satisfaction with their five closest social partners to daily experiences of positive and negative affect across 100 days. Multivariate multilevel models suggest that older adults' daily affect is more sensitive to the quality of daily interactions with closest compared to other social partners. The relative strength of positive and negative affect sensitivity also varied within levels of closeness. Negative affect was relatively more sensitive to interactions with the closest social partner, and positive affect was relatively more sensitive to interactions with other close social partners. This study also found emotional sensitivity to vary within individuals. Satisfying contact with other social partners dampened emotional sensitivity to the closest social partner on that day. These patterns differed across overall levels of contact satisfaction. Those with lower overall satisfaction had higher emotional sensitivity, and were less able to regulate the sensitivity of positive affect. Together, the findings from these studies suggest that: (a) how individuals engage their interpersonal resources in response to loss can facilitate or hinder the maintenance of control and well-being; (b) the strategies that individuals engage vary by the presence or absence of socioeconomic and socioemotional resources; and (c) social partners contribute to both emotional reaction and recovery, but this sensitivity can be up and down regulated by reaching out to other close social partners. Relationships with others therefore contribute to well-being by supporting (or hindering) the regulation of self, actions, and emotions. Regulation through close interpersonal ties illustrates a process that links developmental and life course trajectories. %I Oregon State University %C Corvallis, OR %G eng %4 household finance %$ 999999 %! Social regulatory processes in adulthood : responding to change and variability in proximal and distal social forces