Perceptions of Social Usefulness/Value as Predictors of Health in Older Adults

University Of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The following application details a program of research and training designed to provide the candidate with the knowledge, experience and skills necessary to meet her long-term goal of becoming an independent aging researcher. The candidate's short-term goal is to pursue the proposed program of training and research which will allow her to apply her training in social/health psychology and psychoneuroimmunology to address questions of how the social environment affects functioning and health in older adults. Proposed research will examine whether older adults'perceptions of usefulness and of making valued contributions to others affects cognitive and physical functioning and health outcomes, and the psychosocial, behavioral and biological mediators that may underlie such relationships. In addition, the psychosocial and sociodemographic factors that affect perceptions of social usefulness/value will be examined. These relationships will be examined over time in a nationally-representative, longitudinal study of adults and in a randomized trial of a volunteer intervention in older adults. Training and research activities will occur at the candidate's home institution (UCLA) and at collaborative research sites (University of Wisconsin-Madison, John Hopkins University). The proposed training program, including coursework and supervised tutorials, will provide the candidate with the theoretical, empirical and methodological knowledge and skills needed to carry out proposed research activities and to become an independent aging researcher. Together, proposed training and research activities will help the candidate develop into an aging researcher who will address how the social environment affects older adults'health, and who will examine the psychosocial, behavioral and biological pathways through which social factors affect functioning, morbidity and mortality outcomes in older adults. A greater understanding of the factors that affect older adults'perceptions of their social usefulness/value and the effects of these perceptions on their functioning and health may provide important knowledge as to factors which can have an impact on the health and healthcare spending of this sizable group in the US population. Knowledge derived from this research will also aid in the development of social interventions designed to capitalize on the wisdom, talent and time that older adults can draw on to serve, others, and the health benefits that older adults can derive from such service in return.