Biomedical subjects

Carol S Aneshensel

Publications and source records attributed to Carol S Aneshensel.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Urban neighborhood context, educational attainment, and cognitive function among older adults.

Existing research has not addressed the potential impact of neighborhood context--educational attainment of neighbors in particular--on individual-level cognition among older adults. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the authors analyzed data from the 1993 Study of Assets and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD), a large, nationally representative sample of US adults born before 1924. Data from participants residing in urban neighborhoods (n = 3,442) were linked with 1990 US Census tract data. Findings indicate that 1) average cognitive function varies significantly across US Census tracts; 2) older adults living in low-education areas fare less well cognitively than those living in high-education areas, net of individual characteristics, including their own education; 3) this association is sustained when controlling for contextual-level median household income; and 4) the effect of individual-level educational attainment differs across neighborhoods of varying educational profiles. Promoting educational attainment among the general population living in disadvantaged neighborhoods may prove cognitively beneficial to its aging residents because it may lead to meliorations in stressful life conditions and coping deficiencies.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Perceived HIV stigma in AIDS caregiving dyads.

This study examines perceived HIV stigma in AIDS caregiving dyads in the United States, assessing the measurement of and correlates of personal stigma (among care-recipients living with HIV), courtesy stigma (among caregivers), and dyadic stigma. Survey data from 135 dyads in which the caregiver is a midlife or older mother or wife, and the care-recipient is her HIV-infected adult son or husband, are analyzed with individual-level and multilevel regression models. Results indicate that: (1) perceived stigma can be reliably measured among both persons living with HIV (PLH) and caregivers; (2) personal stigma can be distinguished from courtesy stigma; (3) perceived stigma is relatively low in this sample, and is higher among PLH than caregivers, higher among caregiving wives than mothers, and similar between PLH who are husbands and sons; (4) dyadic stigma is influenced by the caregiver's HIV status, the ethnic composition of the dyad, caregiving duration, and household income; (5) stigma discrepancy within dyads is a function of health discrepancy within dyads; and (6) differences in multivariate correlates of perceived stigma at the individual-level, in comparison to the dyad-level, suggest that dyadic stigma is a unique construct. A recognition that perceived stigma bears its own unique influence on the caregiving dyad is important for understanding how best to allocate resources aimed at alleviating stigma among individuals and families impacted by HIV.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed2005

A multilevel analysis of ethnic variation in depressive symptoms among adolescents in the United States.

This study examines linkages between ethnicity and symptoms of depression among adolescents, with a specific focus on the intersection of individual- and contextual-level risk factors. Data are from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a panel survey of a nationally representative United States sample (analytic N = 18,473) of students in the 7th through 12th grades. Depressive symptoms are measured with a 16-item subscale of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale. Hierarchical linear modeling is used to estimate the simultaneous effects of individual-level ethnicity, sex, age, family structure, and socioeconomic status (SES), and community-level ethnic composition and SES, operationalized by collapsing United States Census tract data to the school sampling area. There is significant variation in depressive symptoms among sampling areas and both individual- and contextual-level characteristics exert effects on depressive symptomatology. The impact of individual-level ethnicity on depressive symptoms depends upon characteristics of the sampling area, in that African American teens living within predominantly Non-Hispanic White areas are at especially high risk for frequent depressive symptoms. The findings demonstrate that the emotional consequences of membership in an ethnic group are in some instances contingent upon social context.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Research in mental health: social etiology versus social consequences.

This article differentiates a social etiology model focused on identifying the social antecedents of one particular mental disorder from a social consequences model concerned with the overall mental health consequences of various social arrangements. In the social etiology model, people with disorders other than the one particular disorder singled out for investigation are implicitly classified as "well." This disorder-specific model is inappropriate for the more general sociological task of identifying the consequences of various social arrangements, such as concentrated poverty, racial segregation, and gender stratification. It is problematic because these consequences are typically nonspecific, not limited to one particular disorder. From this perspective, persons classified as "well" in the disorder-specific model who have a different disorder are misclassified. Consequently, the impact of social arrangements is underestimated, and estimates of causal effects are biased. To address these problems, the full range of theoretically derived mental health outcomes needs to be simultaneously analyzed.

Humans↗

PubMed2004

Depressive symptoms: how do adolescents compare with adults?

PURPOSE: To compare depressive symptoms between U.S. adolescents and adults. METHODS: Data are from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 18,488), the Americans' Changing Lives Project (N = 3,164), and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I (N = 3,023). Depressive symptoms were assessed with items from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) Scale, operationalized as present or persistent. Multivariate regression analyses were used to assess correlates of depressive symptoms within each sample. RESULTS: Older adolescents reported the highest symptom presence, but symptom persistence was similar between adolescents and young to middle aged adults. The oldest adults reported the lowest symptom presence but the highest symptom persistence. For adolescents and for adults, low household income and ethnic minority status were the most consistent multivariate correlates of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Older adolescents experience more depressive symptoms than adults and comparable symptom persistence, suggesting that these adolescents may be at the highest risk for depression. This risk may be especially pronounced among economically disadvantaged ethnic minority adolescents.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

When caregiving ends: the course of depressive symptoms after bereavement.

This study describes depressive symptoms among caregivers following bereavement and connects these trajectories to earlier features of caregiving using life course and stress process theory. Data are from a six-wave longitudinal survey (five years) of spouses and adult children caring for someone with Alzheimer's Disease. The analytic subsample (N = 291) is defined by death of the care-recipient after the baseline interview. A latent class mixture model is used to identify distinctive clusters of depressive symptoms over time. Of the four trajectories identified, three represent stable symptom levels over time, with two-thirds being repeatedly symptomatic (medium symptom levels), compared to two smaller groups of repeatedly asymptomatic (effectively absent of symptoms) and repeatedly distressed (severe symptoms). In contrast, about one in five caregivers experiences improved emotional well-being over time, the temporarily distressed, who progress from severe to moderate symptom levels. Caregivers with few symptoms before bereavement tend to maintain these states afterwards, but emotionally distressed caregivers tend to become more distressed. Role overload before bereavement substantially increases the odds of following an unfavorable trajectory afterwards, whereas self-esteem and socioemotional support play protective roles. These results demonstrate that caregivers are not uniform in their emotional responses to bereavement, but follow several distinct trajectories. These trajectories are linked to their previous experiences as caregivers, in particular exposure to stressors and access to resources. These findings suggest that intervention during caregiving may facilitate adaptation following death of a loved one.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

Inconsistencies in reporting the occurence and timing of first intercourse among adolescents.

Two types of reporting inconsistency for sexual initiation were analyzed--event occurrence and its timing--using data from two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Overall, 11.1% of those who reported they were sexually active at the time of first interview denied this at the subsequent one. Males of each race/ethnic group had higher percentages of inconsistency than their female counterparts. Being older, not living with parents, or having a highly educated mother was negatively associated with rescinding. Among those reporting sexual experience at both interviews, only 22.2% reported the same date of first sex. On average, teens revised their age at first sex to older ages, and boys, especially African American boys, had large variability in reporting dates, as did teens with lower verbal ability. Seven strategies for resolving inconsistent reports are presented and implications for substantive findings are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Patterns of family visiting with institutionalized elders: the case of dementia.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine long-term trajectories of visits to nursing homes by family caregivers to persons suffering from dementia. METHODS: The data were obtained from a 5-year longitudinal study of family caregiving. This analysis used a subsample of caregivers who moved their relatives from home to a nursing home (n = 210). The frequency (times per week) and length (hours per week) of visits for up to 5 years after placement were examined in relation to select caregiver and care-recipient characteristics. A semiparametric, group-based method using a latent class mixture model was used to identify distinctive trajectories over time. RESULTS: The majority of caregivers maintained the frequency and length of their visits for extended periods of time. Five distinct patterns for frequency and three patterns for length were identified. Being a spouse, lower education, a close past relationship, a strong sentiment against placement, and living close to the facility predicted membership in groups visiting frequently and for longer times. Caregiver characteristics were more strongly associated with frequency, whereas care-recipient characteristics were related to length. DISCUSSION: To a large extent, family visits to nursing home residents with dementia become established in the period immediately after relocation, which means that efforts to enhance continued family involvement should commence at the time of admission.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Educational attainment, continued learning experience, and cognitive function among older men.

OBJECTIVES: This article assesses the effects of educational attainment, posteducational training experience, and occupational status on cognitive function among older men, controlling for demographic and health factors. Conditional relationships between educational attainment and factors that importantly influence cognitive function are also investigated. METHODS: Data from a nationally representative sample of 1,839 older men are used to explore life-course effects of occupational and training experiences during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. RESULTS: A positive relationship is found between formal educational attainment and cognitive function, but this association is conditional on subsequent training experience, ethnicity, and symptoms of depression. Training experiences are also positively associated with cognitive function. DISCUSSION: Continued pursuit of education and training may offer opportunities to promote cognitive function throughout the life course, especially among those with low educational attainment early in life.

Cognition↗

PubMed2002

Commentary: answers and questions in the sociology of mental health.

This commentary speaks to several issues that arise from the papers in this special issue. Two articles--Kessler (2002) and Mirowsky and Ross (2002)--focus on a major measurement issue: dimensional versus diagnostic-type assessments. One topic requires greater attention: the correspondence of these measures with the underlying states they supposedly measure--constructs in the psychometric tradition and empirically defined illnesses in the medical or psychiatric tradition. Conclusions about the nature of these unobserved states remain tentative at this time. Three articles--Keyes (2002), Schwartz (2002), and Umberson, Williams, and Anderson (2002)--address the expansion of mental health outcomes. The existing reliance on emotional distress is problematic for sociological research because a single disorder is not a good proxy for estimates of the overall mental health consequences of social arrangements. Although these papers present diverse and sometimes conflicting perspectives, collectively they demonstrate that no one approach to outcomes is best for all research questions.

Emotions↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Late life cognition among men: a life course perspective on psychosocial experience.

This report assesses associations between trajectories of psychosocial experience over the life course and cognitive function in late life men. Survey data from the National Longitudinal Study of Older Men, a community sample of 1835 United States men aged 45-59 years in 1966, are used to explore the cognitive effects of personality (locus of control) and emotion (affect) as these attributes evolve from middle age to late life. Locus of control is very stable over time, whereas negative and positive affect fluctuate. Inverse relationships are found between cognitive function and external locus of control, enduring negative affect, and the absence of positive affect. Levels of education also moderate these effects. Low educational attainment appears to intensify the risk for poor cognitive function associated with mixed internal-external locus of control and poor emotional state over time. The connection between education, usually completed early in the life course, and late life cognitive outcomes emphasizes the importance of promoting educational attainment among young people. Among older men with low educational attainment, the identification of mood disorders and personality attributes that negatively impact cognition may lead to the development of appropriate interventions.

Affect↗