The labor force is aging globally. It is projected that the number of older workers will increase in the workforce in the near future. At the same time, it is estimated that workplaces will grow more age-diverse, where younger and older workers will work side-by-side more often than they used to. These demographic shifts in the workforce necessitate a further understanding of the differences between the values, needs and motivation, and work outcomes of employees of different ages. To this end, few studies to date have investigated whether job-related resources are differentially useful for the work and non-work outcomes of younger and older workers. Guided by Conservation of Resources (COR) theory and two lifespan development theories (Selection-Optimization-Compensation, SOC; Socio-emotional Selectivity Theory, SST), this dissertation suggests that the utility of resources is age-dependent. Specifically, this dissertation includes three studies that expand our knowledge of age-based differences in the usefulness of job-specific, social, and personal resources, and how they relate to various job attitudes, different forms of job performance, and employee well-being. Study 1, which was published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior, examines the moderating role of age in the relationship between baseline resources (skill discretion, leader-member exchange, and procedural fairness) and perceived stress after one year in a sample of U.S. construction workers (N = 243). As hypothesized, the findings of this study showed that these autonomy and support resources were more important for older workers: When resources were high in the workplace, all employees reported lower levels of stress. However, when resources were low, older workers experienced greater stress compared to their younger colleagues. In Study 2, multi-source data from Turkish manufacturing employees (N = 156) are utilized to investigate the age-based differences in the link between social support resources (leader-member exchange, perceived organizational support) and supervisory ratings of in-role performance and organizational citizenship behaviors in a cultural context other than the U.S. It was hypothesized that these social support resources would be more important for older workers' performance. However, the findings showed that both leader-member exchange and perceived organizational support were considered as equally important by older and younger workers to perform well at work. Finally, Study 3 explores whether resource from job (decision-making autonomy) and personal resources (optimism, perceived work ability) differentially relate to work attitudes (job satisfaction, work engagement) and well-being (perceived stress, emotional exhaustion) of older and younger nurses (N = 111) working in the Pacific Northwest, U.S. The findings of this study supported that the usefulness of decision-making autonomy and optimism were more pronounced for older workers. Overall, the results suggested that, when these resources were low, all employees had lower job satisfaction and work engagement, and greater emotional exhaustion and perceived stress independent of their ages. However, under high resource conditions, older employees shined at work and in life: When resourceful, they enjoyed their job more and felt strong and vigorous at work, and they perceived an overall sense of control over life as well as had an ease of mind at and outside of their work environments. Taken together, the findings of these three studies suggest several implications for theory and practice, particularly those pertaining to the key role that age may play in understanding different workers' needs for job-related resources and how this may affect their work attitudes, behavior, and well-being. Theoretical implications suggest that COR theory can be integrated with lifespan development theories to address the age-related differences in the resource utility. In addition, the findings of this dissertation highlight the need to examine employee age as a main study variable to explore the boundary conditions of various resources -- work and non-work outcomes. Implications for practice include recommendations such as facilitating job crafting and job redesigns for older workers, developing managerial trainings on relationship building with subordinates, creating a fair work environment through transparent organizational policies and practices, and improving personal capacities through stress management interventions. Avenues for future research are discussed as well, including identifying additional resources (e.g., overqualification, support from coworkers and family), and work and well-being outcomes (e.g., objective health measures such as sleep, sick days, and injuries) that may show age-based differences based on lifespan development theories. Finally, this dissertation highlights the need to replicate these study findings across industries, job types, gender, and culture as the usefulness of resources may be context-specific.

To investigate the impact of helplessness-induction on cognitive performance in the aged, 66 community-residing elderly persons (X=72.5 years) were administered a word association task, disguised as a test of onterpersonal empathy, under a) response independent (RI), b) response dependent (RD) reinforcement, o c) control conditions. The subjects were categorized as either depressed or non-depressed. Three (treatments) by two (levels of depression) by two measurements (pre- vs. post-treatment) ANOVA's were performed on scores from both short term memory and intelligence measures. These suggested that the more depressed elderly demonstrated greater helplessness-induced short term memory deficits, and to a lesser extent, fluid intellectual deficits.

The major purpose of this study was to test a hypothesized structural model that included many of the variables that have been found to influence people's attitudes toward seeking psychological help and investigate if these variables and their inter-relationships are different for young versus older adults. This study offers a more comprehensive investigation than previous research by testing and modifying two structural models of help-seeking attitudes, one for young adults and one for older adults. This makes it possible to examine how these variables differ for the two age groups.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between green environments and resilience in older adults. It had two aims: 1) to explore the effect of a reflective garden walking program on resilience and three of its related concepts - erceived stress, personal growth initiative, and quality of life - in older adults, and 2) to explore the resilience patterns of older adults engaging in the reflective garden walking intervention. A parallel mixed method design using a quasi-experimental quantitative and a descriptive exploratory qualitative approach was used. Participants engaged in a six week reflective garden walking program. By the end of the program, resilience levels exhibited a slight increase and perceived stress levels a decrease. The qualitative data supported some beneficial effects of the reflective garden walking program, but also indicated that much of the participants' experience of resilience may have been related to the rich social and nature-filled environment in which already they lived. Patterns of resilience that appeared in the data were maintaining a positive attitude, belief in one's self in the face of one's vulnerabilities, woven into the social fabric, purpose and meaning, personal strength, and communities for growing older. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The purpose of this randomized control trial (RCT) was to investigate the effects of a story-sharing intervention on older adults transitioning to long-term care (LTC). The specific aims were (1) to determine the effects of story sharing on the health transition outcomes of depression and well-being of adults transitioning to LTC; and (2) to determine if the sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, level of education (LOE), months living at LTC facility, choice to move, and health problem(s) that may have resulted in the move) predict depression and/or well-being. Story sharing was defined as the respectful space where one tells and listens to stories of others (Heliker, 2009) while being guided by another (the investigator). Meleis’ middlerange theory of transitions (MMRTT) (Meleis et al., 2000) was used as a guide to understand the transitioning process. A convenience sampling design was used to recruit 100 participants from 11 LTC facilities in Broward County, located in Southeast Florida. The sample included adults, age 65 years and older, who were transitioning to a LTC facility within the past two years. Participants were randomly assigned to the control group (n = 52), who received standard care, or to the intervention group (n = 41), who received story-sharing and standard care. The results indicated there was no significant greater improvement to suggest an Intervention and Time effect for depression and/or well-being. Overall, predictive ability of the sociodemographic variables for depression and well-being were not statistically significant. However, LOE (junior college) did account for a significant portion of unique variance for increased depression, and time, marital status, ethnicity, LOE, and choice to move did account for a significant proportion of unique variance for well-being. Months living in LTC (more months) and marital status (all but divorced) were significant for improved well-being while ethnicity (Hispanic), LOE (high school and junior college), and choice to move (no choice) were significant for reduced well-being. Similar studies using a larger sample size, including non-English speaking participants; lengthier storysharing sessions; and measuring for pain, health, and bereavement may offer additional insights to healthy transition outcomes for this population. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

The researcher had two objectives: first, explore how social involvement changes by age among Greek elderly, and second, examine the relationship between social involvement and depression by age among study participants, controlled for education, marital status, and gender. The researcher used data from the 2004 Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) database subjecting a sample of 2,898 elderly aged 50 or older to analysis in terms of the study questions. Approximately 43% of the participants (n = 1,244) were males and 57% were females (n = 1,654). Study results showed Greek elderly participated more in religious activities and less in non-religious activities with increasing age. The study results showed the level of education did not have an effect on the level of religious or non-religious participation. Marital status could influence Greeks’ tendency to participate in religious activities, however, it did not have an effect on non-religious participation. Women are more likely to participate in religious activities than the men. The gender of the participants did not have an effect on non-religious participation. Older Greek elderly were more likely to be depressed than the younger elderly. Participation in religious activities was not shown to relate to decreasing the risk of depressive symptoms; while participation in non-religious activities increased it. Further elaboration showed that caring for family increased the risk of depressive symptoms. Participation in other non-religious activities did not show significant relationships to depressive symptoms. The study findings imply those caring for others are in need of social and mental health support services; and the quality of available social activities need significant improvement.

M.A. (Psychology) / The main objective of this study was to determine the influence of career involvement on the psycho-social well-being of the aged. An attempt was made to establish whether there would be any significant differences in life satisfaction, depression and self-concept, between economically active and non-active elderly persons. The research design was of an ex post facto nature. The sample consisted of 128 subjects between the ages of 60 and 80 years and was drawn from a middle to upper socio-economic population in the Witwatersrand area. Fifty of the respondents were still employed full-time, 16 were employed part-time and 62 were retired. Persons who reported poor physical health were excluded from the study. The Life Satisfaction in the Elderly Scale of Salamon and Conte and the Affect Balance Scale of Bradburn were used as measures of life satisfaction; the Centre for Epidemiological StudiesDepression Scale was used to measure depression and Vrey's Selfconcept Scale was used to measure self-concept. One way and two way analysis of variance were used to test the hypotheses...

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