ESPO and Behavioral and Social Sciences Section Symposium: Defying the Odds: How Minoritized Older Adults Use Psychosocial and Environmental Fortitude to Enhance Aging Health

Chair(s)

• 

  E-Shien Chang, PhD (she/her/hers)

  Assistant Professor of Gerontology in Medicine
  Geriatrics and Palliative Care
  Weill Cornell Medical College
  New York City, New York, United States

Co-Chair(s)

• 

  Monica Walters, PhD, MA (she/her/hers)

  Postdoctoral Research Fellow
  Department of Psychology
  University of Michigan
  Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

  Slides

Discussant(s)

• 

  Laura Zahodne, PhD

  Associate Professor
  Department of Psychology
  University of Michigan
  Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

• 

  Alexandra Clark, PhD (she/her/hers)

  Assistant Professor
  Psychology
  The University of Texas Austin
  Austin, Texas, United States
• 

  Ruijia Chen, ScD (she/her/hers)

  Postdoctoral fellow
  Epidemiology
  Boston University
  Lexington , Massachusetts, United States
• 

  Talha Ali, PhD, MS (she/her/hers)

  Assistant Professor
  Community Health
  Tufts University
  Medford, Massachusetts, United States

  Slides
• 

  Kyle Moored, PhD, MS (he/him/his)

  Assistant Research Professor
  Mental Health
  Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Minoritized older adults report worse health outcomes compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts. However, existing research often focuses on the role of risk factors rather than sources of resilience among minoritized older adults. In this symposium, we will highlight ways in which racially and ethnically minoritized older adults use different facets of fortitude to ameliorate disparities and promote resilience. Our first two presentation will examine psychosocial fortitude in relation to cognitive health. Dr. Alexandra Clark will examine how belonging to a resilient psychosocial-behavioral phenotype buffers risk for Alzheimer’s disease and how bilingualism protects cognitive health variably among Latinx older adults. Dr. Ruijia Chen will address racial/ethnic disparities in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias by focusing on the interplay of life course stressors, resilience factors, and sleep health across the life span. Our last two presentations will examine environmental factors in relation to cognitive and physical health. Dr. Talha Ali will provide insights on resilience mechanisms by exploring the moderating role of individual-level race/ethnicity in the relationship between structural racism and increased risk for subjective cognitive decline. Dr. Kyle Moored will explore ways in which neighborhood walkability buffers the negative impact of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage on step activity among Black older persons. Dr. Laura Zahodne, as discussant, will provide summative comments identifying synergies across presentations and promoting strategies for advancing the field of minority aging research.

Presentations:

• 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

  Evidence of Psychosocial Behavioral and Cognitive Fortitude to AD in Racially/Ethnically Minoritized Older Adults
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Alexandra L. Clark, PhD (she/her/hers) – The University of Texas Austin
• 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

  Lifecourse Stress Exposures, Resilience, and Biobehavioral Mechanisms Underlying Disparities in Cognitive Aging
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Ruijia Chen, ScD (she/her/hers) – Boston University
• 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

  Impact of Structural Racism on Cognitive Decline
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Talha Ali, PhD, MS (she/her/hers) – Tufts University
• 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PST

  Neighborhood Walkability and Socioeconomic Correlates of Step Activity for Non-Hispanic Black Older Adults
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Kyle D. Moored, PhD, MS (he/him/his) – Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health