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[Resilience as a protective personality characteristic in the elderly]
Karena Leppert1, Thomas Gunzelmann, Jörg Schumacher
1Klinikum der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Institut für Medizinische Psychologie.
Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik, Medizinische Psychologie
|July 29, 2005
Summary
Higher resilience in older adults is linked to fewer physical health complaints. This personality factor significantly predicts physical well-being, though women reported lower resilience than men.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Psychology
- Health Sciences
Context:
- Investigating factors influencing physical well-being in the elderly population.
- Assessing the role of personality traits in health outcomes among older adults.
Purpose:
- To examine resilience as a protective factor for physical well-being in individuals aged 60 and older.
- To determine if resilience predicts subjective body complaints and overall physical health.
Summary:
- Resilience, measured by the Resilience Scale (RS), was assessed in 599 elderly individuals (mean age 69.6 years). Higher resilience correlated with fewer subjective body complaints.
- Regression analysis confirmed resilience as a significant predictor of physical well-being, independent of age and sex. Women reported lower resilience than men; no age-related effect was observed.
Impact:
- Highlights resilience as a key modifiable factor for enhancing physical well-being in older adults.
- Suggests potential interventions to bolster resilience in elderly women to improve health outcomes.
- Provides evidence for the psychological underpinnings of physical health in aging populations.