| Room 703 Sunday Onsite Presentation Session 3

Aging and Psychology

Session Chair: Amit Shrira

14:40-15:05

67532 | Family Strength and Well–Being During Unemployment

Shofura, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

Diana Setiyawati, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

Unemployment is one of the phenomena that is increasingly happening during the pandemic. Previous studies on job loss and unemployment have found various adverse psychological effects on individuals and their family members. Even so, the role of the family in this phenomenon still needs to be widely known, especially in dealing with negative psychological impacts. This study aims to find out how families can survive in stressful conditions, especially in experiencing layoffs during the pandemic, and its effect on psychological states. We use a mixed method with an explanatory sequential design that starts with a quantitative phase, then a qualitative phase, and ends with the integration process. Our statistical analysis found a significant positive correlation between family strength and psychological well-being, r(42)=0.579, ρ=0.00. The qualitative analysis then found the support provided by the family and their relation to positive changes in the relationship between family members. Finally, the results of the integration process show that there are contradictory roles of the family when experiencing financial problems. On the one hand, the family provides various kinds of support (e.g., being involved in problem-solving, providing emotional support, encouraging spiritual coping, and being united during difficult times). On the other hand, family members also make demands to meet the cost of daily necessities and stimulate negative emotions. The results of this study are essential as the basis of psychological interventions by public or private institutions for families experiencing financial problems such as losing their jobs and unemployment.

15:05-15:30

68686 | An Intergenerational Study of Parental Bonding on Perceptions of Parental and Spousal Criticism

and Marital Relationship Quality

Michelle Jin Yee Neoh, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

An An Lieu, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Enrico Perinelli, University of Trento, Italy

Jan Paolo Macapinlac Balagtas, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Moon-Ho Ringo Ho, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Gianluca Esposito, University of Trento, Italy

Criticism is a destructive conflict behaviour which has been associated with poor relationship outcomes in both parent-child and marital relationships. However, the role of the individual’s perception of parental and spousal criticism in influencing the perceptions of criticism of other members in the family unit have not been examined. This study investigated the associations between parental bonding and perceptions of parental and spousal criticism across generations. 134 married parent-dyads (G2) and one child (G3) of each dyad were recruited. G2 parent participants completed the Perceived Criticism measure for their parents (G1) and spouses, the Parental Bonding Instrument and Quality of Marriage Index. G3 children participants completed the Perceived Criticism measure for their parents (G2). Path analysis found that G2 perceptions of parental bonding were significant predictors of G2’s perceptions of G1 parental criticism, which significantly predicted both G2’s perceptions of spousal criticism and G3’s perceptions of G2 parental criticism. Perceptions of spousal criticism were also found to predict marital relationship quality. Findings highlight the intergenerational transmission of perceptions of criticism across relationships in the family unit, providing support that parenting practices and communication patterns in one generation can predict those in the next generation. Future studies can look to replicate the findings in other cultures and include further investigations into sibling relationships as well.

15:30-15:55

66917 | Rehabilitation Outcomes following Fractures as a Function of Patients’ and Healthcare Personnel’s Subjective Views of Aging

Amit Shrira, Bar-Ilan University, Israel

Subjective views of aging (VoA) refer to individuals’ perceptions, attitudes, or expectations of their own age and aging process (e.g., subjective age - the age individuals feel), as well as of old age and older adults in general (e.g., ageist attitudes). The effect of VoA on health outcomes is well established, yet this effect was rarely examined among older adults undergoing hospitalization or rehabilitation. Moreover, the additive effect of healthcare personnel’s ageist attitudes on treatment outcomes is unknown. Accordingly, these effects were examined within older adults hospitalized for osteoporotic fractures – a frequent late-life condition with cardinal functional implications. Establishing the effect of patients’ and healthcare personnel’s VoA on rehabilitation outcomes following fractures would pave the way to account for VoA when designing rehabilitation protocols and interventions. Study 1 (N=147 patients, mean age=79.3) showed that feeling younger at admission to hospitalization predicted better rehabilitation outcomes at discharge (assessed by the Functional Independence Measure). The reverse effect of functional independence at admission to hospitalization on subjective age at discharge was non-significant. Study 2 (N=52 patients, mean age=81.8, and N=55 hospital staff members, mean age=32.3) replicated these findings with additional VoA indices, and further demonstrated that rehabilitation outcomes were better when occupational and physical therapists reported low levels of ageist attitudes. The findings suggest that patients’ and healthcare personnel’s VoA are relevant to rehabilitation outcomes. Findings suggest that successful rehabilitation may be promoted by reducing negative VoA.

10:30-11:45 | Room 704