International Investigations of Mental Health and Psychosocial Well-Being in Later Life

Chair(s)

• 

  Giorgio Di Gessa, PhD (he/him/his)

  Lecturer
  Epidemiology and Public Health
  University College London
  London, England, United Kingdom

Co-Chair(s)

• 

  Brian Beach, DPhil

  Senior Research Fellow
  Epidemiology & Public Health
  University College London
  London, England, United Kingdom

Discussant(s)

• 

  Matthew Prina, BSc (Hons), MPhil (Cantab), PhD (Cantab)

  Professor of Ageing and Epidemiology
  PHSI
  Newcastle University
  Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

• 

  Paola Zaninotto, PhD (she/her/hers)

  Professor of Social and Medical Statistics
  Epidemiology and Public Health
  University College London
  London, England, United Kingdom
• 

  Chao Fang, PhD (he/him/his)

  Lecturer in Sociology
  Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology
  University of Liverpool
  Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
• 

  Aleksiina Martikainen, MMSc, licensed psychologist (she/her/hers)

  PhD student
  Department of Clinical Neuroscience
  Karolinska Institutet
  Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden
• 

  Brian Beach, DPhil

  Senior Research Fellow
  Epidemiology & Public Health
  University College London
  London, England, United Kingdom

Good mental health and psychosocial wellbeing are important factors for older individuals’ fortitude as they move through later life. Attention to mental health and wellbeing has continued to grow in recent years, with the COVID-19 pandemic playing a key role in raising the profile of psychosocial experiences across societies. However, many countries face ongoing challenges to provide support services that meet existing and projected needs. While these issues are not limited to older adults, people in later life may face vulnerabilities that make them more susceptible to negative outcomes in mental health and wellbeing or that introduce additional barriers to accessing adequate supports. This symposium highlights international investigations into mental health and wellbeing that enrich our understanding of these issues and some of the dynamics for identifying potential solutions to enhance support. The first presentation highlights the experience of older people’s psychosocial wellbeing across the pandemic using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), with measures before, during, and in the years after the pandemic. The second presentation explores the concept of resilience in later life drawing on qualitative interviews among older people with long COVID from other longitudinal UK studies. The third presentation examines the role that mental health diagnoses play in shaping labor market exit among adults aged 65+ in paid work, drawing on Swedish register data. The final presentation investigates joint trajectories in depression scores and various blood-based biomarkers using ELSA data, exploring the potential for such measures to be useful in identifying risk for depression.

International Comparisons of Healthy Aging Interest Group Sponsored Symposium

Presentations:

• 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PST

  Bouncing Back: The Temporary Impact of the Pandemic on Older Adults' Psychological Well-Being
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Paola Zaninotto, PhD (she/her/hers) – University College London
• 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PST

  Resilience: A "Cure" for or a "Response" to Aging?
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Chao Fang, PhD (he/him/his) – University of Liverpool
• 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PST

  Working After Age 65: The Importance of Prior Mental Health–Related Sickness Absence and Disability Pension
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Aleksiina M E Martikainen, MMSc, licensed psychologist (she/her/hers) – Karolinska Institutet
• 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PST

  Body and Mind: Exploring Associations Among Parallel Trajectories of Biomarkers and Depression Scores
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Brian Beach, DPhil – University College London