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Exposure to stressors and trajectories of perceived stress among older adults.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Vasunilashorn, S; Lynch, SM; Glei, DA; Weinstein, M; Goldman, N
Published in: The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences
March 2015

Models of stress incorporate both the environmental demands experienced by individuals (stressors) and the appraisal of these life events (perceptions). Because little is known about the extent to which experience and perceptions are related, we examine this relationship in a nationally representative population of older Taiwanese adults.Using growth models applied to data from 3 waves (1999, 2003, and 2007) of the Taiwan Longitudinal Study of Aging, we (a) investigate patterns of change in perceived stress in later adulthood and (b) examine how experienced stressors influence perceived stress. Participants were asked to report the presence of, and in some cases the degree of, exposure to stressors including total number of medical conditions, difficulty with activities of daily living, difficulty with mobility functions, being financially worse off compared with the prior wave, experiencing the death of a child, and experiencing a marital disruption. Items reflecting perceived stress included concerns about various domains pertaining to the respondent and his/her family member.Our results indicate that exposure to stressors increases, whereas perceived stress decreases, over time. Change in exposure to stressors is not generally associated with change in perceptions of stress, with the exception of a summary measure of health-related exposure to stressors. An increase in poor health over time is related to an increase in perceived stress in all domains.The results underscore the importance of distinguishing between perceptions of stress and exposure to stressors when studying the links between stress and health among older adults. Furthermore, the diminishing linkage between experienced stressors and perceptions of stress suggests that older adults' appraisal may be an adaptive coping strategy that emerges to buffer some of the difficulties that are inevitable in later life.

Duke Scholars

Published In

The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences

DOI

EISSN

1758-5368

ISSN

1079-5014

Publication Date

March 2015

Volume

70

Issue

2

Start / End Page

329 / 337

Related Subject Headings

  • Taiwan
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Mobility Limitation
  • Male
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Life Change Events
  • Humans
  • Health Status
  • Gerontology
  • Female
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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Vasunilashorn, S., Lynch, S. M., Glei, D. A., Weinstein, M., & Goldman, N. (2015). Exposure to stressors and trajectories of perceived stress among older adults. The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 70(2), 329–337. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbu065
Vasunilashorn, Sarinnapha, Scott M. Lynch, Dana A. Glei, Maxine Weinstein, and Noreen Goldman. “Exposure to stressors and trajectories of perceived stress among older adults.The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 70, no. 2 (March 2015): 329–37. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbu065.
Vasunilashorn S, Lynch SM, Glei DA, Weinstein M, Goldman N. Exposure to stressors and trajectories of perceived stress among older adults. The journals of gerontology Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences. 2015 Mar;70(2):329–37.
Vasunilashorn, Sarinnapha, et al. “Exposure to stressors and trajectories of perceived stress among older adults.The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol. 70, no. 2, Mar. 2015, pp. 329–37. Epmc, doi:10.1093/geronb/gbu065.
Vasunilashorn S, Lynch SM, Glei DA, Weinstein M, Goldman N. Exposure to stressors and trajectories of perceived stress among older adults. The journals of gerontology Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences. 2015 Mar;70(2):329–337.
Journal cover image

Published In

The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences

DOI

EISSN

1758-5368

ISSN

1079-5014

Publication Date

March 2015

Volume

70

Issue

2

Start / End Page

329 / 337

Related Subject Headings

  • Taiwan
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Mobility Limitation
  • Male
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Life Change Events
  • Humans
  • Health Status
  • Gerontology
  • Female