The mental health status of older black Americans: a national study

Did Resilience and Socioeconomic Status Predict Older Adults' Finding a Silver Lining in COVID?

Background and Objectives

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic stretched our limits-physically, mentally, and economically. However, some older adults report that it led to positive changes. This study aims to understand whether prepandemic resilience, education, or income predicted older adults' subsequent likelihood of reporting positive changes in their lives during the pandemic.

Research Design and Methods

We use data from the National Social Life, Heath, and Aging Project, an ongoing panel study with a COVID-19 ancillary supplement (N = 2,650).

Results

The study results aligned with the fundamental cause theory. In demographically adjusted models including resilience, education, and income, as well as the effect of the pandemic on employment and a COVID-disruption score, the odds of reporting any positive change were 2.6 times higher for those with an associate degree (p < .01) and 4.7 times higher for those with a bachelor's or higher (p < .001), compared to those without a high school degree. In contrast, neither resilience nor income was significantly associated with endorsing a positive change. We also categorize specific changes thematically coded from open-ended responses and examine their demographic distributions. Categories include spirituality, home organization, hygiene practices, and increased quality time with others.

Discussion and Implications

These findings show that older adults with more education could navigate COVID-19 challenges in a way that improved their perspectives on at least one aspect of their lives.

Self-Reported Memory Function and Psychological Well-Being Among Elderly African American Persons

This study examinedthe impact of self-reported memory deficits on psychological well-being among a sample of 998 elderly African American persons. Using multiple regression and employing other related variables (that previously have been identified as common predictors of psychological well-being), the findings of this study suggest that the risk of having a lower level of psychological well-being was greater for persons with more memory problems, even after demographic characteristics, functional limitations, health status, and cognition were included in regression equations. Self-reported memory deficits werefound to be the strongest predictor of psychological well-being. The strength of relationship between self-reported memory deficits and psychological well-being was stronger among women than men.

Informal Social Support Networks and Subjective Well-Being among African Americans

This article examines the influence of sociodemographic and family, friendship, fictive kin, church, and neighbor network variables on two measures of subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction and happiness) among a national sample of African Americans. The analyses were conducted on the National Survey of Black Americans, a national cross-section study of the adult (age 18 and older) Black population (N = 2,107). Multivariate analyses revealed that sociodemographic (i.e., age, income, region, health, marital status, urbanicity) and social relations and network factors (i.e., subjective family closeness, support from family, number of friends, presence of fictive kin, church attendance, and frequency of contact with neighbors) were significantly associated with subjective well-being. The findings are discussed in relation to previous work on the sociodemographic, health, and social network correlates of subjective well-being.

The effect of religious coping on caregiving appraisals of mothers of adults with developmental disabilities

PURPOSE

This article explores the association between race and religious coping on caregiving appraisals for mothers who coreside with an adult child with mental retardation.

DESIGN AND METHODS

71 Black and 71 White women (aged 50 or older) were matched on demographic characteristics to control for the association between race and socioeconomic status. Structural equation analysis was used to examine the relationship between race, religious coping, and caregiving appraisals.

RESULTS

Black women were more likely to use religious coping. Religious coping was associated with higher levels of caregiving satisfaction, but not with burden. Blacks experienced higher levels of caregiving satisfaction. Blacks also experienced higher levels of caregiving burden due to their poor health.

IMPLICATIONS

The needs of Blacks should be considered when developing "best practices" in service provision. Culturally sensitive outreach approaches should not ignore the importance of faith and faith-based organizations in the lives of Blacks.