<p>  </p> <p>Interpersonal relationships play a central role in well-being in adulthood. Built upon the life course and within-family perspectives, this dissertation investigates the generational origin of interpersonal relationships via socialization (i.e., intergenerational transmission of interpersonal relationship quality) and its consequences on well-being across generations in later-life families. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Despite a large body of literature on parents’ socialization of children leading to similar social development generationally, this literature has been criticized for lacking attention to socialization effects after childhood and issues of heterogeneity and selectivity. To advance knowledge in these aspects, drawing from theories of socialization and the life course, I examined the transmission of older mothers’ relationship quality with their mothers and fathers to their relationship quality with their own adult children in midlife in Chapter 2. I further studied how intergenerational transmission varies by relational dimension (closeness, tension) and adult children’s gender (sons, daughters). The evidence for intergenerational transmission of parent-child relationship quality found in this study complements family socialization literature by revealing the cumulative socialization influences in later-life families. The differential patterns of intergenerational transmission highlight social learning as a selective process based on the positivity or negativity of the relational dimension and the moderating role of social structural position (i.e., gender) in shaping the patterns of intergenerational transmission.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Built upon the core idea of intergenerational transmission, the aim of Chapter 3 is to broaden the study of social relationships and well-being from the family network lens by examining how intergenerational transmission of mother-child and friendship quality facilitates older generation’s interpersonal relationship quality to affect offspring’s psychological well-being. Although the implication of interpersonal relationship quality for well-being has been well-documented, prior literature has largely focused on the effect of one’s own relationship quality on psychological well-being. To advance knowledge on this issue, I examined the effects of older mothers transmitting the quality of their relationships with their own mothers and friends to adult children’s relationships with their friends and with the mothers themselves on adult children’s depressive symptoms. I further investigated how adult children’s gender shaped the ways in which mothers’ relationship quality affected adult children’s well-being. My findings support intergenerational transmission of interpersonal relationship quality as a mechanism by which mothers’ interpersonal relationship quality affects adult children’s well-being. The differential effect by adult children’s gender highlights the critical role gender plays in shaping the consequences of intergenerational transmission of interpersonal relationship quality on offspring’s well-being. </p> <p><br></p> <p>In summary, this dissertation applies the life course and within-family perspectives to studying intergenerational transmission of interpersonal relationship quality as a way by which the lives of family members are linked in aging families and the consequences of this interconnectedness for well-being across generations. Furthermore, it highlights the important role social structural position (i.e., gender) plays in shaping patterns and consequences of intergenerational transmission. </p>

Thesis advisor: Sara M. Moorman / This dissertation explores the complex relationship between social capital and depressive symptoms across the life course, focusing particularly on the increasing prevalence of depression from mid-to-late life. Using a life course perspective, this research investigates how social determinants, such as social capital, shape the emergence, increase, and decrease of depressive symptoms as individuals age. Drawing from both the tangible and psychological dimensions of social capital, this dissertation examines how changes in social connections and networks influence depressive symptom outcomes, including the biosocial consequences of depression on cognitive function in later life. The research is divided into three analytical papers. The first paper analyzes longitudinal data to assess the association between social capital and depressive symptoms, distinguishing between within- and between-person effects. The second paper explores how depressive symptom subtypes evolve from midlife to later life, identifying distinct subtypes and examining the stability and transitions between them over time. The third paper investigates the relationship between depressive symptom subtypes, social capital, and cognitive function, exploring how depressive symptom subtypes may mediate this association. Findings across these studies emphasize the pivotal role of social capital in shaping depression outcomes, highlighting how social isolation and disconnection may exacerbate depressive symptoms in later life. This dissertation contributes to the sociology of mental health and aging by offering new insights into the social mechanisms underlying depression and its long-term impacts on cognitive function. Through this work, policymakers and health professionals may gain a deeper understanding of how targeted interventions aimed at enhancing social capital could mitigate the global burden of depression in aging populations. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2024. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

The demographic time bomb means that older people will become a major part of tomorrow's society. This has become an increasingly pressing issue for older people and government policy alike. ONS (2009) statistics suggest that past retirement age, the sense of quality of life (QoL) experienced by older people begins to decrease, with the fastest decline occurring after the age of 70. This research therefore began by investigating how ICT could be implicated in the social life of the older person and thus improve their QoL. Literature reviews of the field of older people's involvement with ICT indicated that there was very little research between the more general studies of ICT involvement (which include far more than the purely social aspects) and the very specific (which involve examining the social impact of just one piece of technology). This study therefore aimed to fill the gap between the two extremes. It also aimed to generate theory in an under-theorised area. The study began with a focus group and interviews asking questions around how people thought social life had changed with the advent of new technologies, how they experienced the technology, and how things could be improved in the future. The study was qualitative in nature and adopted a grounded theory approach in order to inductively generate theory. The study of the lived experience of ICT also contributed to a phenomenological approach. Comparative analysis of transcripts obtained in Phase One (Year One) enabled a set of Grounded Theory Categories to be created which accounted for what was happening in the data. A core category of identity was identified which influenced subsequent data collection in Phase Two (Year Two). Phase Two participants were then involved in more focused interviews around identity concepts. Further analysis in Year Two enabled a Schema of Subject Positions to be created concerning (digital) identities which accounted for all of the participants in the study and the ways in which they viewed and interacted with technology. The Categories were also subsumed within a Grounded Theory Model involving a tripartite identity schema aligned with Giddens theory of the reflexive project of the self. Findings suggest that participants are implicated in methods of identity involvement which can be playful or pragmatic; can be viewed in moral, immoral and amoral ways (leading to ideas of the authentic and the inauthentic); and can represent the individual or explore new identities. Identity construction can ultimately be implicated positively with the use of ICT, and may lead to a virtuous cycle of ICT usage which can improve quality of life by affirming better self-views or enabling the testing of new views of selfhood. Positive technology identities can be offered as identity role models for other older people to follow.

A fundamental question in language research is the extent to which linguistic and cognitive systems interact. The aim of this thesis is to explore that relationship across new contexts and over the entire adult lifespan. This work centers on two branches of empirical research: the first is an investigation into the impact of later-life language learning on cognitive ageing (chapters 2-4), and the second examines the cognitive mechanisms underlying communicative perspective-taking from young adulthood into old age (chapter 5). The results of these chapters demonstrate that changes to one's linguistic environment can affect cognitive functions at any age, and similarly age-related changes to cognition can affect linguistic abilities, shedding light on the extent to which language and the brain are intricately connected over the lifespan. In the discussion (chapter 6), I consider how this work contributes new insights to the field, opening the door for future research to explore methods of improving cognitive abilities and linguistic behavior in old age.

Background: Links between later life depression (LLD) and adverse health outcomes are well-documented, with mental ill-health in rural older adults highlighted as a priority area for health care policy. In working age adults, models of depression show that specific psychological factors (e.g. hopelessness, neuroticism, extraversion and insecure attachment) interact with life stress to increase risk of depression. In older adults, however, the direct relationship between depression and hopelessness is inconsistently replicated. In addition, there is little evidence regarding how psychological factors interact with vulnerability to depression in older adults; and whether these factors act in the same manner as they do in working age adults. Objectives: A systematic review was carried out in order to determine the strength of the depression-hopelessness relationship, and the influence of personality traits (neuroticism/ extraversion) and insecure attachment (anxious/ avoidant) on this relationship. Next, an exploratory study was carried out to determine whether there was a direct relationship between depression and hopelessness in rural older adults living in the community and, secondly, whether this relationship was indirectly influenced by specific psychological factors (e.g. neuroticism, extraversion, and attachment styles). Methods: The systematic review was carried out using several databases (Psychinfo, Science Direct, EBCOS, Cohrane Library, PROSPERO, WEBCAT and Google Scholar). Studies relating to the variables of interest, meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria, were reviewed and evaluated for methodological biases. The pilot study asked older adults (N = 58) living in a remote and rural region to complete and return a packet of self-report questionnaires (Big Factor Inventory-10, Experiences in Close Relationships, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, and the Beck Hopelessness Scale). Results: The systematic review identified twenty-one studies; four examining the depression-hopelessness relationship and seventeen investigating the effects of neuroticism, extraversion and insecure attachment styles on wellbeing, depression and/ or hopelessness. Findings from the pilot showed a direct relationship between depression and hopelessness in rural community dwelling older adults, with only neuroticism indirectly influencing this relationship. Conclusions: The systematic review suggests that it is not possible, as yet, to draw robust conclusions from the existing evidence base regarding the influence of psychological variables on depression and hopelessness in older adults. The findings were particularly sensitive to methodological limitations (e.g. variability between sampling methods and small effect sizes). Despite this, studies suggest some evidence for attachment and personality influencing on the depression-hopelessness relationship. Likewise, findings from the pilot study are limited by the small sample size and cross-sectional nature of the data. Preliminary findings, however, suggest that neuroticism, and not beliefs about insecure attachment, strengthens the relationship between depression and hopelessness in non-clinical, rural older adults. These findings are consistent with research on working age adults and could, potentially, represent an emerging relationship in non-clinical older adults. Further research, however, is required as to whether the same patterns are observed in clinical populations.

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Yes / A growing literature shows that exposure to civil conflict could have long-term effects on psychological well-being in adulthood. This paper examines the long-term effects of exposure to the Nigerian civil war on the psychological well-being of heads of household using a difference-in-differences approach. We find that exposure to the civil war is associated with an increase in depressive score or symptoms in later life. We also find gender and locational differences in the effects of the civil war on depressive symptoms. The findings of this paper reveal that illness, household income, ownership of formal accounts, access to electricity, and unemployment, are some of the potential mechanisms through which exposure to conflict could affect depressive symptoms in later life. The findings of this paper support the hypothesis that exposure to shocks such as conflict could have deleterious consequences on well-being in later life.

This thesis examines how patterns of time use change in later life and how the way in which older people use their time is related to well-being. Arguing that maintaining balance in time use concerns not only people of working age but matters for people of all ages, we propose an alternative theoretical framework of life balance. This consists of two conceptual models: The Life Balance Triangle and Multidimensional Life Balance (MLB). Using UK time use data, the thesis demonstrates the empirical applicability of these two models in enhancing our understanding of older people's daily lives. The life balance model, which we built by modifying the theoretical categorisation of time use by &Aring;s (1978) and the work-leisure triangle of Gershuny (2003), identifies and presents alteration in time use across the life course as changes in balance between constraints (committed time) and freedom of choice (discretionary time), controlling for time spent on biological/physiological maintenance (regenerative time). We find the balance shifts towards greater discretionary, and less committed, time in later life, with a significant gender gap. Life stage, which reflects social structure and expectations, rather than biological ageing, was found to be the most influential factor for life balance dynamics. Findings suggest that men may find it more difficult to adjust to life beyond work because of abrupt and greater changes in life balance, which may disrupt their daily time structure. The multidimensional life balance model challenges the assumption of a linear relationship between the level of activity and well-being of older people. Adapting the Alkire-Foster method (Alkire and Foster, 2011), we propose a threshold-based approach that takes the heterogeneity of older people and multidimensionality of daily life into account, and emphasises overall balance in the level of activities across various activity domains. Results show MLB is associated positively with better self-assessed health, suggesting a threshold effect. We also identify the demographic/socio-economic groups more likely to lack MLB, as well as domains in which most people are deficient. The thesis contributes to work-life balance research by moving beyond paid-work centrality, and to ageing research by providing a multidimensional approach to activities and well-being in later life.

This study examined the lived experiences of adult children of mid-later life parental divorce. It was designed and conducted to address the gap in the current literature regarding this phenomenon. The experiences of 5 Adult Children of Divorce (ACD) ages 25 to 45, who experienced mid-later life parental divorce, were examined using in-depth semi-structured interviews. The researcher employed an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) of which the findings illustrated various outcomes for adults experiencing their parents’ mid-later life divorce. The results of this study showed that parents’ waiting until the children are “grown” does not mitigate potentially detrimental outcomes for these “adult children.” Some of these concerns shared by the ACDs interviewed included: dealing with the shock of the divorce, the acrimonious parental relationships post divorce, feeling the need to choose sides, effects of the divorce on the ACDs' children, among others. Future studies and implications for the field of marriage and family therapy were offered.

Thesis (M.G.S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Sociology and Gerontology, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-68).