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Biomedical subjects

N Krause

Publications and source records attributed to N Krause.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Positive life events and depressive symptoms in older adults.

The goal of this study was to examine whether positive life changes can help restore a sense of psychological well-being among older adults who are already suffering from psychological distress. Data from a longitudinal survey of elderly people confirmed this hypothesis and suggested that events associated with the expansion of family roles tended to reduce depressive symptoms through time. The analyses further revealed that family expansion events affected changes in well-being by reducing external locus of control beliefs.

Affect↗
PubMed1988

Stressful life events and physician utilization.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if the literature on stress and coping could be useful for studying patterns of physician utilization among older adults. It was hypothesized that elderly people with strong social support systems would be less likely to visit a physician in times of high stress than would older adults who receive less social support. This hypothesis was partially confirmed by the data. The second goal of this study was to determine whether or not locus of control beliefs buffer the effects of stress on physician use. The data suggest that elderly persons with internal locus of control beliefs make fewer visits to the doctor's office in times of high stress than do those individuals with an external locus of control orientation. It should be noted that this study did not assess changes in physician use through time and that information on stress was gathered 18 months prior to the gathering of information on physician utilization.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Acculturation and alcohol consumption among Mexican Americans: a three-generation study.

Data from a three-generation study of Mexican Americans conducted in the San Antonio, Texas area are utilized to examine the influence of acculturation into the larger society on alcohol consumption. Acculturation was not related to alcohol consumption in the older generation. In the middle generation, it was related to lower alcohol consumption among men, as well as among women. In the younger generation, acculturation was related to more drinking among women, but not among men. Within-family analysis showed that the alcohol consumption of members of the younger generation was associated with the consumption of their parents, particularly in the case of younger women.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Gender and ethnicity differences in psychological well-being.

Are there significant gender and racial differences in disorder among older adults? This chapter has shown that the answer to this question is not straightforward. There are at least two reasons why a definitive answer cannot be provided at this time. First, researchers confront formidable problems in the measurement of psychological and psychiatric disorder. Measures must be developed that are appropriate for use with older women and minority group members. Moreover, investigators must make an effort to assess a complete range of specific types of disorder in the same study. As such studies are conducted, it is likely that no one group will emerge with consistently higher rates of disorder. Instead, we may find that disorder is simply manifest in different ways across the various social-status groups. Researchers must also adopt a conceptual framework that is capable of directing our thinking beyond simple models that merely assess the direct effects of race and gender on disorder. Variables such as gender and race must be recognized as relatively crude proxy measures for the experiences confronting elderly women and nonwhites. The life-stress perspective represents a useful conceptual scheme that can focus attention on those specific experiences in lower-status life that create psychological and psychiatric disorder.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Chronic financial strain, social support, and depressive symptoms among older adults.

The purpose of this study is twofold: one, to determine whether chronic financial strain is related to depressive symptoms among a random community sample of older adults, and two, to assess whether social support counterbalances or buffers the deleterious effects of financial strain. The findings suggest that elderly people suffering from financial strain are more likely to be depressed than are older adults with fewer financial problems. In addition, the data support the stress-buffering hypothesis, that is, that older people who have more informational support and who provide support to others, more often report fewer symptoms of depression as a result of financial strain than do elderly respondents who have less informational support and who do not provide support to others. Tangible and emotional support are found to be less effective coping resources when financial strain is present.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1987

Life stress, social support, and self-esteem in an elderly population.

Findings in previous studies of the stress-buffering properties of social support have been erratic. This study suggests that at least part of the reason for those inconclusive findings may be that researchers are using oversimplified models of the stress process and limited statistical approaches to assess the effects. The findings in this study indicate that social support (a) helps to reduce the deleterious effects of stress on emotional disorder primarily by bolstering the self-esteem of older adults and (b) affects psychological well-being only indirectly through self-esteem. Two distinct approaches to the statistical estimation of stress-buffering effects are also examined.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1987

Chronic strain, locus of control, and distress in older adults.

In this study, I examined whether locus of control beliefs buffer or mediate the impact of chronic financial strain on psychological well-being. Data are from a longitudinal survey of a random community sample of older adults. Findings suggest that elderly people with internal locus of control beliefs are less likely to suffer from the deleterious effects of chronic financial strain than are older adults with external locus of control orientations.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1987

Exploring the impact of a natural disaster on the health and psychological well-being of older adults.

The failure of researchers to consider the temporal dimensions of the stress process may be at least partially responsible for the disappointing empirical findings from research on stress and health. We argue that careful consideration must be given to the time lag between the occurrence of a stressor and initial symptom development, as well as the length of time that is required for symptoms to abate. Using a synthetic cohort design, we examine the length of time needed for symptoms to dissipate following a natural disaster (Hurricane Alicia). Findings from a random community survey of older adults suggest that the major effects of the storm diminish in about 16 months. Significant gender differences were found in this adjustment process. The implications of these findings for stress research are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1987

Understanding the stress process: linking social support with locus of control beliefs.

Although researchers generally agree that social support reduces the impact of stress on psychological well-being, little is known about how this stress-buffering effect actually takes place. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that social support operates by bolstering internal locus of control beliefs. Data from a longitudinal study of older adults suggest that the relationship between support and perceived control is nonlinear. Increases in social support tend to increase feelings of control, but only up to a certain threshold. Beyond this point, additional support tends to decrease feelings of personal control. This nonlinear relationship was observed with emotional support and integration (i.e., support provided to others) but not with informational or tangible support.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Surface coil with variable geometry: a new tool for MR imaging of the spine.

A switchable-array surface coil for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the spine has been built that enables the user to change the working size of the coil depending on the volume of interest. The prototype has achieved similar image quality to that obtained with conventional coils of equal size. This type of antenna may reduce the number of individual coils necessary for a high-quality MR imaging study.

Humans↗
PubMed1987

Illness of spouse and psychological well-being in older adults.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether illness of a spouse is a source of significant psychological distress for older adults. In addition, we also examine whether two intervening variables (chronic financial strain and chronic marital strain) might explain why this relationship exists. A final goal of this study was to determine whether gender differences exist in the relationships among these indicators. Findings from a random community survey of elderly people suggest that while illness of spouse exerts significant direct effects on depression for both older men and older women, the indirect effects through financial and martial strain are largely restricted to elderly women.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Life stress as a correlate of depression among older adults.

Although there is some evidence that stressful life events are related to depression in the general population, there has been less research on this relationship with random community samples of older adults. The purpose of this study was to examine whether life stress (both stressful life events and chronic life strains) is correlated with depressive symptoms among a representative sample of noninstitutionalized elderly people. The findings indicate that chronic life strains (strains associated with financial and physical health problems) as well as bereavement are highly significant correlates of depression. Issues in the statistical estimation of these effects are also addressed.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Social support, stress, and well-being among older adults.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether social support buffers the deleterious effects of stressful life events on depressive symptoms among a random community sample of older adults. Previous research has provided contradictory conclusions regarding the stress buffering capacity of supportive social relations. The reason for these inconclusive findings may be traced in part to the failure of researchers to disaggregate their social support and stressful life event inventories. The findings from the present study reveal that, although social support fails to modify the effects of a global stressful life events indicator, specific types of social support buffer the impact of specific types of stressors (bereavement, crime, and social network crises).

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1986

Stress and coping: reconceptualizing the role of locus of control beliefs.

The purpose of this study was to present a re-conceptualization of the role played by locus of control beliefs in mediating the effects of stressful life events on the psychological well-being of older adults. We hypothesized that elderly persons with extreme internal and extreme external locus of control beliefs are especially vulnerable to the deleterious effects of life stress. Findings from a random community survey of 351 older adults confirmed this hypothesis. We further proposed that extreme internal control beliefs are not entirely detrimental and that these beliefs could lead to the avoidance of certain stressors. This hypothesis also was supported by the data. Based on these findings, researchers are urged to consider more complex models of the coping process.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1986

Stress and sex differences in depressive symptoms among older adults.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether elderly women experience more symptoms associated with depression than elderly men and, if such sex differences exist, to examine several factors that might account for the greater preponderance of psychological distress among women. Unlike previous studies of elderly adults, this study attempted to explain sex differences in depression in terms of differential-exposure and differential-vulnerability to the effects of life stress. The results from a random community survey of 351 older adults indicate that women are more depressed than men. Moreover, a series of demographic-mean decomposition analyses suggest that greater vulnerability among women to the effects of chronic life strains explains a substantial portion of the observed sex differences in distress. Stressful life events were found to be a less important factor in this process.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Social functioning in chronic pain patients.

Although investigators have explored the effects of chronic illnesses on social functioning during the course of treatment, much less is known about the impact of treatment outcome on social functioning. In this study we examine whether the outcome of treatment for chronic pain in a pain clinic exerts a significant effect on the eventual social functioning. The findings indicate that a more favorable outcome is associated with increased marital satisfaction, a heightened desire for sex, and an increased desire and ability for recreational activities. These findings have implications for family practitioners as they assess social functioning after treatment for chronic pain.

Chronic Disease↗