Objectives: Resilience, the ability to bounce back after adverse events may be an important factor in active aging. The 10-item version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC10) seems suitable for aging research owing to its low participant burden; however, its psychometric properties have not been comprehensively reported for older people. For example, no estimate exists of the test-retest reliability of the scale when used with older adults. Hence, this study evaluated the psychometric properties of the CD-RISC10 in a large population-based sample of community-dwelling older people. Method: The scale's internal consistency, factor structure, construct validity, test-retest reliability, and user experience were analyzed among 1 018 Finnish older adults (57% women) aged 75 (45%), 80 (33%) and 85 years (22%). Results: The internal consistency of the CD-RISC10 was good (Cronbach's α = 0.85), testretest reliability moderate (ICC = 0.61), and the scale was unidimensional. However, a twofactor solution was found among the 75-year-olds, where the ability to deal positively with change (e.g., using humor) explained an additional part of resilience. While no differences by gender, age, or education were observed in total scores, very good perceived financial situation was associated with higher resilience. The scale showed good construct validity, and user feedback indicated that administering the scale in research is quick and easy. Conclusion: In general, the CD-RISC10 is a valid method to study older adults' psychological resilience. However, the present test-retest reliability values suggest caution in using the scale as an outcome measure in intervention studies.

We thank Jarno Mikkonen for his help in coding MATLAB scripts, and Petri Kinnunen and Lauri Viljanto for assisting in technical issues related to the study design.

Active aging refers to striving for well-being through preferred activity and may be restricted with declining mobility. We investigated whether psychological resilience, i.e., the ability to tolerate hardship, can aid older people in being active despite mobility limitations. Participants were 961 community-dwelling persons aged 75, 80, or 85 years living in Jyväskylä, Central Finland. Mobility limitations were indicated as self-reported difficulty in walking 2 km. Categories were no difficulty (reference), difficulty, and unable to walk. Resilience was assessed with the 10-item Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale and active aging with the University of Jyvaskyla Active Aging scale. Data were analyzed with OLS regression analyses, which were stratified by age. In all age-groups, having difficulties walking or being unable to walk 2 km was associated with lower active aging scores. Resilience moderated this association especially among the 75-year-olds, but not among the 85-year-olds: The higher the resilience score, the higher the active aging score among those reporting no or some walking difficulties. Those unable to walk 2 km had lower active aging scores irrespective of resilience level. Psychological resilience may alleviate the negative effects of early phase walking difficulties on active aging but may be insufficient to compensate for more severe walking limitations that restrict not only function but also autonomy.

Background As people age, functional losses may limit the potential to get outside the home and participate in desired activities and community life. Coping with age-related losses has been reported to be important for psychological well-being. Hitherto is not known whether active use of coping strategies also helps maintain out-of-home mobility. Aims We investigated how two coping strategies, tenacious goal pursuit (TGP; persistency in reaching one’s goals) and flexible goal adjustment (FGA; adjusting one’s goals to changed circumstances), are associated with life-space mobility and perceived autonomy in participation outdoors among community-dwelling older people. Methods Participants ( n = 186) were aged 79–93 years. TGP and FGA were self-reported using separate scales. Perceived autonomy in participation was assessed with the Impact on Participation and Autonomy Outdoors-subscale, and life-space mobility with the Life-Space Assessment. Two-step cluster analysis was used to create data-driven coping profiles of TGP and FGA. Results General linear model analyses showed that the profile including highly tenacious and flexible older people had the highest life-space mobility and perceived autonomy outdoors, whereas the profile including people with low TGP and low FGA showed the lowest scores. Depressive symptoms attenuated the associations. Conclusions Active use of both TGP and FGA is favorable for out-of-home mobility and enables more active participation in society in later life. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s40520-018-1074-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

+358504432361 AcknowledgementsWe thank Petri Kinnunen and Lauri Viljanto for assisting in technical issues related to the study design. Author ContributionsVLK: designed and executed the study, analyzed the data (SRI, measures, integration of the modalities), and wrote the paper. AT: designed and executed the study, analyzed the data (psychophysiological measures), and collaborated in writing of the paper. PNS: analyzed the data (bodily mirroring) and collaborated in writing of the paper. KK: analyzed the data (conversational exchange), and collaborated in writing of the paper. JW: analyzed the data (conversational exchange), and collaborated in writing of the paper. JK: designed the study and collaborated in writing of the final manuscript. MP: designed the study and collaborated in writing of the final manuscript. JS: designed the study and collaborated in writing of the final manuscript.