The relations among spatial memory, Stroop-like colour-word subtests, and errors on antisaccade and memory-guided saccadic eye-movement trials for older and younger adults were tested. Two types of errors in the antisaccade task were identified: short latency prosaccade errors that were immediately corrected and longer latency uncorrected prosaccade errors. The age groups did not differ on percentages of either corrected or uncorrected errors, but the latency and time to correct prosaccade errors were shorter for younger than older adults. Uncorrected prosaccade errors correlated significantly with spatial memory accuracy and errors on the colour-word subtests, but neither of these neuropsychological indices correlated with corrected prosaccade errors. These findings suggest that uncorrected prosaccade errors may be a result of cognitive factors involving a failure to maintain the goal of the antisaccade task in working memory. In contrast, corrected errors may be a consequence of a fixation system involving an initial failure to inhibit a reflexive prosaccade but with active goal maintenance enabling correction to take place.

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Objectives: Aboriginal Australians experience higher rates of non-communicable chronic disease, injury, dementia, and mortality than non-Aboriginal Australians. Self-reported health is a holistic measure and may fit well with Aboriginal views of health and well-being. This study aimed to identify predictors of self-reported health in older Aboriginal Australians and determine acceptable research methodologies for future aging research. Design: Longitudinal, population-based study. Setting: Five communities across New South Wales, Australia (two urban and three regional sites). Participants: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (n = 227; 60–88 years, M = 66.06, SD = 5.85; 145 female). Measurements: Participants completed baseline (demographic, medical, cognitive, mental health, and social factors) and follow-up assessments (self-reported health quantified with 5-point scale; sharing thoughts on areas important for future research). Predictors of self-reported health were examined using logistic regression analyses. Results: Self-reported health was associated with sex, activities of daily living, social activity participation, resilience, alcohol use, kidney problems, arthritis, falls, and recent hospitalization. Arthritis, kidney problems, and resilience remained significant in multiple logistic regression models. Conclusions: Perceived resilience and the absence of certain chronic age-related conditions predict older Aboriginal peoples’ self-reported health. Understanding these factors could inform interventions to improve well-being. Findings on acceptable research methodologies suggest that many older Aboriginal people would embrace a range of methodologies within long-standing research partnerships, which is an important consideration for Indigenous population research internationally.

Objectives: Indigenous Australians experience higher levels of psychological distress compared to the general population. Physical activity is a culturally acceptable approach, associated with reduction of depressive symptoms. The protective properties of physical activity for depressive symptoms are yet to be evaluated in older Indigenous Australians. Design: A two-phase study design comprised of a qualitative thematic analysis following a quantitative regression and moderation analysis. Participants: Firstly, a total of 336 Indigenous Australians aged 60 years and over from five NSW areas participated in assessments on mental health, physical activity participation, and childhood trauma. Secondly, a focus group of seven Indigenous Australians was conducted to evaluate barriers and facilitators to physical activity. Measurements: Regression and moderation analyses examined links between depression, childhood trauma, and physical activity. Thematic analysis was conducted exploring facilitators and barriers to physical activity following the focus group. Results: Childhood trauma severity and intensity of physical activity predicted depressive symptoms. Physical activity did not affect the strength of the relationship between childhood trauma and depression. Family support and low impact activities facilitated commitment to physical activity. In contrast, poor mental health, trauma, and illness acted as barriers. Conclusion: Physical activity is an appropriate approach for reducing depressive symptoms and integral in maintaining health and quality of life. While situational factors, health problems and trauma impact physical activity, accessing low-impact group activities with social support was identified to help navigate these barriers.

Emotion regulation is an essential component of prosocial behaviour and later life mental health outcomes. Group mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been shown to be effective at enhancing attention regulation and bodily awareness, skills necessary for efficient emotion regulation in children. We aimed to review the literature to determine whether MIB improved emotion regulation in children. Nine databases were systematically searched, yielding 502 papers. After removing duplicates and screening titles and abstracts, the inclusion criterium was applied to 68 full-text papers, leaving 15 eligible for inclusion. MBIs, including participants aged between 6 and 12 years old, and a quantitative post-intervention measure of emotion regulation were included. Data were extracted and synthesised following methodological quality assessment using PICO and Cochrane risk of bias tool. Data revealed mixed results regarding the efficacy of child-focused MBIs in improving emotion regulation. Results should be interpreted with caution due to disparate outcome measures of emotion regulation, mixed MBIs and poor methodological quality in many of the included studies. MBIs can be effective in improving ER in children. Further research is required to examine the effects in clinical samples with diverse baseline ER scores, determine the long-term effects of the MBIs, and explore moderators of treatment.