PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH AMONG THE ELDERLY

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The project aims to extend current understanding about the interplay between physical and emotional health among the elderly. Specifically, the proposed research focuses on the relationships among self-reported measures of health (physical and emotional) and activities (social and physical), as well as their role in the structure and meaning of global self-ratings of health. Nine existing data sets will be drawn upon to systematically evaluate measurement specifications of: two critical dimensions of physical health (current physical health conditions an functional status); three dimensions of emotional health (somatic symptoms, depressed affect, and positive affect); two types of activities (social and physical); and global self-ratings of health. Other objectives also include the development and examination of a casual model which attempts to (a) integrate the dimensions of physical health, emotional functioning, and social and physical activities; and (b) delineate their roles in understanding indices of global self-rated health. The research will use two national and seven local surveys. Four of the local surveys are longitudinal, permitting cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluation of measurement specifications and causal linkages. A structural equation modeling approach will be used to conduct the analyses. Furthermore, the proposed measurement models and causal linkages will be examined with regard to the following subgroups: age (young-old and old- old) gender, and ethnicity (Blacks, Anglos, and Mexican Americans). Thus, the design permits the opportunity to summarize similarities and differences about the definition and measurement of the individual constructs across data sets, across time, and across subgroups. Similarly, it will be possible to summarize findings about the magnitude and robustness of linkages in a causal model depicting and explaining the interplay among the dimensions of physical and emotional health. By systematically examining measurement specifications and testing causal models, it will be possible to fill in some of the gaps and provide direction for future research concerning the relationship between physical and emotional health among the elderly.