Chapter Five. Family Change and Cohort Differences in Anxiety

Abstract In recent years many studies have shown that adults with more positive self-perceptions of aging (SPA) increase their likelihood of aging healthily. Other studies have documented historical changes in individual resources and contextual conditions associated with aging. We explored how these historical changes are reflected in birth-cohort differences in aging trajectories of two aspects of SPA – viewing aging as ongoing development or as increasing physical losses. Using large-scale cohort-sequential data assessed across 21 years (N ≈ 19,000), the analyses modeled birth-cohort differences in aging trajectories of SPA from 40 to 85 years of age. The results illustrated differential birth-cohort differences: Later-born cohorts may experience more potential for ongoing development with advancing age than earlier-born cohorts. However, later-born cohorts seem to view their own aging as more negative than earlier-born cohorts during their early forties but may associate their aging less with physical losses after the age of fifty.

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Assessing and Harnessing the Power of Intergenerational Interactions in Mindfulness-Based Treatment Groups

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.3056 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 834-835

Author(s):

Deanna Dragan ◽

Andrea Newman ◽

Calia Torres ◽

Keisha Carden ◽

Sarah Letang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Group Cohesion ◽

Therapist Training ◽

Future Research ◽

Prior Training ◽

Group Interactions ◽

Treatment Groups ◽

Mindfulness Skills ◽

Student Therapists ◽

Cohort Differences

Abstract Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in individual and group formats, have been shown to be effective for a variety of psychological disorders. Due to the promising evidence supporting the wide applicability of mindfulness skills, graduate student therapists were trained to deliver groups that attracted diverse individuals across the lifespan. In these groups, therapists noted how intergenerational dynamics facilitated group cohesion and allowed for increased normalization of common challenges related to practicing mindfulness skills. Therapists’ prior training on cohort differences and treatment recommendations for older adults served as an important foundation to navigating these group interactions. Barriers to simultaneously collecting data and delivering intervention components were noted by the student therapists. Future research and therapist training gaps in knowledge related to effectively facilitating intergenerational groups were identified.

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