Old, female, and rural. Introduction.
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Biomedical subjects
B J McCulloch
Publications and source records attributed to B J McCulloch.
Conjugal support: factor structure for older husbands and wives.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the factor structure of social support among older spouses. The sample consisted of 298 older marital dyads who participated in the Aging Couples Study. Confirmatory factor analysis techniques were used to examine conjugal support in a series of nested measurement models at the couple and individual levels. Two research questions were addressed: (a) the viability of conjugal support as a couple's construct, and (b) the dimensionality of social support within the marital dyad. Results showed that conjugal support was a husband/wife, rather than a couple, construct. Findings also showed that conjugal support was a multidimensional construct consisting of three factors: instrumental support, emotional support, and confiding. Moreover, husbands and wives perceived the dimensions of conjugal support differently.
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Older rural nonsurvivors: their prediction and terminal care.
This research reports on nonsurvivorship by comparing two groups of older rural adults: 138 survivors and 45 nonsurvivors from the third wave of a longitudinal study. They were part of a sample of 418 adults aged 65 and older, first interviewed in 1976. The purposes of these analyses were to examine (a) the predictors of nonsurvivorship to very old age, (b) the final health crises of rural nonsurvivors, and (c) the formal and informal supports addressing their terminal health needs. Average age at death was 83. Results showed that only minimal variance in nonsurvival to very old age could be predicted using standard demographic and psychological variables. The relative importance of predictors varied according to time of measurement (age). Terminal illnesses were similar in type to those of the general aging population. Final illnesses were usually multiple and lengthy, and deaths seldom occurred in the older rural adults' county of residence. Families usually cared for older members without the assistance of formal supports except for a physician, who usually lived out of the county or in the adjoining state. Implications for practitioners are discussed.
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Gender and race: an interaction affecting the replicability of well-being across groups.
The Life Satisfaction Index (LSI) continues to be one of the most frequently used measures of well-being in social gerontology. Discrepancies in the operational use of the LSI, however, have made comparisons across studies difficult. Few studies have incorporated examination of the effect of gender/race interactions on the performance of the LSI. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the hierarchical factor structure of life satisfaction among four gender/race groups using previously reported item pools and coding schemes. Three second-order, three-factor life satisfaction models were examined using confirmatory factor analysis techniques with four groups of older adults: White men (n = 846), White women (n = 1341), Black men (n = 177), and Black women (n = 287). In general, results showed differences in LSI factor structure across gender/race groups. With regard to coding scheme, models using Neugarten et al.'s original coding scheme (1961) and those using Wood et al.'s alternative scoring (1969) were similar. Examination of models using different LSI item pools showed that the factor structure of life satisfaction was affected by the gender/race interaction, underscoring the problem of misspecification resulting from the sum of LSI items and use of the summated score as a unidimensional measure of well-being. Implications for future research are discussed.
Abstracting and Indexing↗
A longitudinal investigation of the factor structure of subjective well-being: the case of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale.
The purpose of this research was twofold: (a) to replicate the hierarchical factor structure of well-being with rural data; and (b) to investigate the longitudinal invariance of this factor structure. Subjective well-being was hypothesized to have a hierarchical factor structure with a second order factor, well-being, explaining variance in first order dimensions labeled agitation, lonely dissatisfaction, and attitude toward one's aging. The latent constructs were measured by items composing the PGC Scale (Lawton, 1975). Maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis techniques were used to test the fit of the model. Subjective well-being was investigated using a panel of older rural adults surviving a ten-year, two-wave investigation. Results of the study provided support for the hierarchical factor structure of well-being in cross-sectional analyses. This factor structure was varied across time, however.
Age Factors↗
Cochlear implant.
Cochlear implantation to restore some of the hearing in the profound or totally cochlear deaf patient has been briefly presented. An approximate two year follow up has not shown any complications. The Nucleus 22 channel cochlear implant, as presently manufactured, is a very useful device to rehabilitate profoundly or totally cochlear deaf patients.
Cochlear Implants↗
The relationship of intergenerational reciprocity of aid to the morale of older parents: equity and exchange theory comparisons.
Information concerning the relationship of intergenerational helping to older adult well-being is ambiguous. Intergenerational reciprocity was investigated using two competing theoretical perspectives, social exchange and equity propositions. Social exchange propositions predict a linear relationship between intergenerational aid and older parent morale, with higher morale positively related to giving or receiving more intergenerational help. Equity propositions predict that the intergenerational aid, morale relationship will be curvilinear, with higher older parent morale related to balanced exchanges of intergenerational aid. Neither theoretical perspective was supported by the data. Intergenerational aid was not useful in explaining variance in older parent morale regardless of the operational definition of intergenerational aid. These results provide support for earlier studies that conclude the amount of help exchanged within families does not affect the well-being of older family members.
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Examination of the factor structure of the Ways of Coping Questionnaire with clinical populations.
The purpose of this study was to examine the construct validity of the Ways of Coping Questionnaire in a clinical population. The questionnaire, designed to measure coping behaviors in a community-residing well population, contained eight empirically constructed factors. Confirmatory factor analysis with LISREL was used to validate this original eight-factor model with 655 community-residing adults with multiple sclerosis or a spinal cord injury. The hypothesized model was not a good fit to the data. Subsequent analyses, using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis procedures, identified three different coping factors: Cognitive Reframing, Emotional Respite, and Direct Assistance. These factors appeared to have greater applicability to people with chronic conditions. The kinds of coping behaviors used to manage stressful situations by individuals who are well may be quite different from those used by community-residing populations with long-term chronic conditions.
Adaptation, Psychological↗