@article {11602, title = {Neighborhood Characteristics and Inflammation among Older Black Americans: The Moderating Effects of Hopelessness and Pessimism.}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology: Series A}, volume = {77}, year = {2022}, pages = {e82-e88}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Research documents the adverse health effects of systemic inflammation. Overall, older Black Americans tend to have higher inflammation than older non-Hispanic white adults. Given that inflammation is related to a range of chronic health problems that disproportionately affect Blacks compared to whites, this racial disparity in inflammation may contribute to racial disparities in particular chronic health problems. Thus, a better understanding of its determinants in the older Black population is of critical importance. This analysis examined the association between neighborhood characteristics and inflammation in a national sample of older non-Hispanic Black Americans. An additional aim of this study was to determine whether hopelessness and pessimism moderates the association between neighborhood characteristics and inflammation.

METHODS: A sample of older non-Hispanic Black Americans aged 60+ were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (N=1,004). Neighborhood characteristics included neighborhood physical disadvantage and neighborhood social cohesion. Inflammation was assessed by C-reactive protein (CRP).

RESULTS: The analyses indicated that neighborhood physical disadvantage and social cohesion were not associated with CRP. Hopelessness and pessimism moderated the association between neighborhood physical disadvantage and CRP.

CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge regarding the role of hopelessness and pessimism as moderator in the neighborhood-inflammation association can inform cognitive-behavioral interventions targeted at changes in cognition patterns.

}, keywords = {C-reactive protein, cognitive disposition, neighborhood physical disadvantage, neighborhood social cohesion}, issn = {1758-535X}, doi = {10.1093/gerona/glab121}, author = {Ann W Nguyen and Harry Owen Taylor and Karen D Lincoln and Qin, Weidi and Tyrone C Hamler and Wang, Fei and Uchechi A Mitchell} } @article {2019-80770-00120191223, title = {Social isolation{\textquoteright}s influence on loneliness among older adults.}, journal = {Clinical Social Work Journal}, volume = {48}, year = {2020}, pages = {140-151}, abstract = {Social isolation and loneliness are significant risks to health among older adults. Previous studies have found a significant association between social isolation and loneliness; however, few studies examined the association between social isolation and loneliness in a multivariate context and how specific types of social isolation influence loneliness. This study fills this gap by examining social isolation{\textquoteright}s overall influence on loneliness and how specific social isolation indicators influence loneliness. Data comes from 2014 Wave of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative study of adults aged 50 and older. Social isolation was operationalized using seven indicators as social isolation from: (1) adult{\textendash}children, (2) other family members, (3) friends, (4) living alone, (5) being unmarried, and (6) not participating in social groups or (7) religious activities. Loneliness was operationalized by the Hughes 3-item loneliness scale. Loneliness was regressed on social isolation and key socio-demographic factors. Results found when social isolation indicators were combined into an index, every unit increase in overall social isolation was associated with an increase in loneliness. Furthermore older adults who were isolated from other family members and from friends, lived alone, were single, and did not participate in social groups or religious activities reported greater loneliness. Study findings demonstrate that greater overall social isolation and specific social isolation indicators are associated with greater loneliness. Clinical practice with older adults can be enhanced by understanding the connections between social isolation and loneliness and which forms of social isolation are more meaningful for perceived loneliness.}, keywords = {Loneliness, No terms assigned, Older Adults, social isolation, Social networks}, issn = {0091-1674}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-019-00737-9}, author = {Harry Owen Taylor} } @mastersthesis {10295, title = {Risk Factors for Loneliness and Social Isolation among Black Older Adults}, volume = {PhD}, year = {2019}, note = {Copyright - Database copyright ProQuest LLC; ProQuest does not claim copyright in the individual underlying works; Last updated - 2019-09-20}, pages = {153}, school = {Washington University in St. Louis}, type = {phd}, abstract = {There are limited empirical research studies examining loneliness and social isolation among Black older adults. Studying loneliness and social isolation among older Black populations is important given the projected growth of the Black older adult population in coming years, Black older adults disproportionately experience life situations associated with greater loneliness and social isolation compared to White older adults, Black older adults are significantly less likely to use health and social services compared to older Whites, and Black Americans are more likely to live in environments that lack economic and social resources, and have severe hazards in terms of the built environment. Given the limited knowledge in this area and significance of this topic, the purpose of my dissertation is to determine risk factors for loneliness and social isolation among Black older adults and whether risk factors for loneliness and social isolation among Black older adults vary by sex, age, and environmental context. I utilize the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to address my study aims. The HRS is a nationally representative longitudinal panel survey of adults 50 and older living in the United States of America. Loneliness was operationalized using the Hughes 3-item loneliness scale. Social isolation was operationalized using a social network index. Risk factors for loneliness and social isolation included demographic factors (e.g., age, education), health factors (e.g., self-rated health, depressive symptoms), and environmental factors (e.g., neighborhood social cohesion, neighborhood physical disorder). In addition to main effect regression models, I tested the moderating effects of sex (women and men), age, and environmental context (living in an urban, suburban, or rural environment) to determine if these factors moderated the relationships between the risk factors and loneliness/social isolation. A variety of demographic, health, and environmental factors were associated with loneliness and social isolation among Black older adults. Risk factors for loneliness were younger age, greater years of education, lower total household income, worse self-rated health, greater depressive symptoms, less neighborhood social cohesion, and greater social isolation. Risk factors for social isolation were lower total household income, worse self-rated health, living in an urban community (compared to living in a suburban community), and greater loneliness. Additionally, several of these risk factors varied according to sex, age, and environmental context. This is one of the first studies to examine risk factors for loneliness and social isolation among a nationally representative sample of Black older adults. I found that there was little overlap in risk factors for loneliness and social isolation among Black older adults, further indicating these are distinct conditions. Study implications include the need to raise awareness of loneliness and social isolation among Black older adults and to further explore and intervene upon risk factors for these conditions. Finally, evidence that several risk factors vary by sex, age, and environmental context underscores the heterogeneity with the older Black population. Strengths, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.}, keywords = {0325:Black studies, 0351:Gerontology, 0452:Social work, Black older adults, Black studies, Gerontology, Loneliness, social isolation, Social work}, author = {Harry Owen Taylor} }