Perceptions of Social Usefulness/Value as Predictors of Health in Older Adults

对社会有用性/价值作为老年人健康预测因素的看法

• 批准号: 8402193
• 负责人: TARA LYNN GRUENEWALD
• 金额: $ 3.4万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-09-01 至 2013-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8402193
• 关键词: Perceptions; Social; Usefulness; Value; Predictors

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The following application details a program of research and training designed to provide the candidate with the knowledge, experience and skills necessary to meet her long-term goal of becoming an independent aging researcher. The candidate's short-term goal is to pursue the proposed program of training and research which will allow her to apply her training in social/health psychology and psychoneuroimmunology to address questions of how the social environment affects functioning and health in older adults. Proposed research will examine whether older adults' perceptions of usefulness and of making valued contributions to others affects cognitive and physical functioning and health outcomes, and the psychosocial, behavioral and biological mediators that may underlie such relationships. In addition, the psychosocial and sociodemographic factors that affect perceptions of social usefulness/value will be examined. These relationships will be examined over time in a nationally-representative, longitudinal study of adults and in a randomized trial of a volunteer intervention in older adults. Training and research activities will occur at the candidate's home institution (UCLA) and at collaborative research sites (University of Wisconsin-Madison, John Hopkins University). The proposed training program, including coursework and supervised tutorials, will provide the candidate with the theoretical, empirical and methodological knowledge and skills needed to carry out proposed research activities and to become an independent aging researcher. Together, proposed training and research activities will help the candidate develop into an aging researcher who will address how the social environment affects older adults' health, and who will examine the psychosocial, behavioral and biological pathways through which social factors affect functioning, morbidity and mortality outcomes in older adults. A greater understanding of the factors that affect older adults' perceptions of their social usefulness/value and the effects of these perceptions on their functioning and health may provide important knowledge as to factors which can have an impact on the health and healthcare spending of this sizable group in the US population. Knowledge derived from this research will also aid in the development of social interventions designed to capitalize on the wisdom, talent and time that older adults can draw on to serve, others, and the health benefits that older adults can derive from such service in return.

描述（由申请人提供）：以下应用程序详细介绍了研究和培训计划，旨在为候选人提供必要的知识，经验和技能，以满足她成为一个独立的老龄化研究人员的长期目标。候选人的短期目标是追求拟议的培训和研究计划，这将使她能够应用她在社会/健康心理学和心理神经免疫学方面的培训，以解决社会环境如何影响老年人的功能和健康的问题。拟议的研究将审查老年人对有用性和对他人做出有价值贡献的看法是否会影响认知和身体功能以及健康结果，以及可能构成这种关系的社会心理、行为和生物介质。此外，将审查影响社会有用性/价值观念的社会心理和社会人口因素。这些关系将在一项具有全国代表性的成人纵向研究和一项老年人志愿者干预的随机试验中进行研究。培训和研究活动将在候选人的家乡机构（加州大学洛杉矶分校）和合作研究中心（威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校，约翰霍普金斯大学）进行。拟议的培训计划，包括课程和指导教程，将为候选人提供开展拟议的研究活动并成为独立的老龄化研究人员所需的理论，经验和方法知识和技能。拟议的培训和研究活动将帮助候选人发展成为老龄化研究人员，他们将解决社会环境如何影响老年人的健康，并将研究社会心理，行为和生物途径，通过这些途径，社会因素影响老年人的功能，发病率和死亡率。更好地了解影响老年人对他们的社会有用性/价值的看法的因素，以及这些看法对他们的功能和健康的影响，可能会提供重要的知识，这些因素可能会对美国人口中这一相当大的群体的健康和医疗保健支出产生影响。从这项研究中获得的知识也将有助于制定社会干预措施，旨在利用老年人可以利用的智慧，才能和时间来服务他人，以及老年人可以从这种服务中获得的健康益处作为回报。