Work

Do Higher Levels of Resilience Buffer the Deleterious Impact of Chronic Illness on Disability in Later Life?

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: In examining the ability of resilience, or the ability to navigate adversity in a manner that protects well-being, to buffer the impact of chronic disease onset on disability in later life, the authors tested 2 hypotheses: (a) People with greater levels of resilience will have lower levels of disability and (b) resilience will moderate the association between the onset of a new chronic condition and subsequent disability. DESIGN AND METHODS: This study used a sample of 10,753 Americans between the ages of 51 and 98, derived from 3 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2010). Ordinary least squares regression was used to estimate the impact of resilience on changes in disability (measured as difficulty with activities of daily living [ADLs] and instrumental activities of daily living [IADLs]) over a 2-year period using a simplified resilience score. RESULTS: Resilience protects against increases in ADL and IADL limitations that are often associated with aging. Resilience mitigates a considerable amount of the deleterious consequences related to the onset of chronic illness and subsequent disability. IMPLICATIONS: Our results support our hypotheses and are consistent with claims that high levels of resilience can protect against the negative impact of disability in later life.

Source: The Gerontologist

DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnu068

Authors: Lydia K. Manning, Dawn C. Carr, Ben Lennox Kail

Institutions: Concordia University Chicago, Stanford Medicine, Stanford University, Georgia State University

Language: English

Topic: Aging, Health, and Disability

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging