Objectives-The aims of this study were to explore the effects of relocation stress on depression and anxiety in long-term care residents and to investigate the moderating effect of cognitive status.Methods-The study used an existing dataset collected from nursing home and congregate apartment residents. Self-reported measures of relocation stress, cognitive status, depression, and anxiety were examined. Exploratory analyses examined group differences in depression and anxiety within the full sample (n = 568) and the sample of first-year residents (n = 347). Main analyses were conducted in a subsample of 107 first-year residents who completed the measure of relocation stress.Results-Residents who had moved in the past year reported more anxiety but not depression than longer-term residents, controlling for location and functional status. Within first-year residents, those who endorsed having moved to a less desirable residence reported more depression and anxiety than those who did not. Relocation stress significantly predicted depression but not anxiety in first-year residents. There was no significant effect of cognitive status or the interaction of cognitive status and relocation stress on depression and anxiety. Conclusion-Findingssuggest that cognitively impaired older adults are no more vulnerable to the negative effects of relocation stress than cognitively unimpaired older adults. Relocating within the past year, moving to a less desirable residence, and relocation stress affected depression and anxiety complexly across samples. Relocation stress should be regarded as a risk factor for depression in long-term care residents, regardless of cognitive status, in the first year after relocation.

The literature on health locus of control (HLC) suggests that individuals who believe that their health is internally determined are more likely to use active coping strategies than those who believe their health is determined by chance or powerful others (Brosschot, Gebhardt, & Godaert, 1994; Gibson & Helme, 2000). Coping strategies (Klapow et al., 1995) and HLC (Campbell, Hope, & Dunn, 2017) have been found to influence the relation between chronic pain and depression. We hypothesized that the relation between osteoarthritis pain and depression would be serially mediated by HLC and coping. Self-report measures of osteoarthritis pain (Meenan, Mason, Anderson, Guccione, & Kazis, 1992; Parmelee, Katz, & Lawton), HLC (Wallston, Wallston, & DeVellis, 1978), coping strategies (Felton & Revenson, 1984; Rosenstiel & Keefe, 1983), and depression (Radloff, 1977) were examined in 367 older adults with osteoarthritis of the knee. Hayes’ (2013) PROCESS macro was used to test the hypothesized serial multiple mediation for three subscales of HLC: internality (IHLC), chance (CHLC), and powerful others (PHLC). After controlling for age, the hypothesized serial mediation was statistically significant for IHLC and CHLC but not PHLC. More specifically, osteoarthritis pain significantly increased CHLC, which increased negative coping and depression in turn. Osteoarthritis pain significantly decreased IHLC, which was associated with both positive and negative coping strategies in a complex serial mediation. These findings suggest that interventions targeting HLC and/or coping strategies may be able to alter the pain-depression pathway for older adults with chronic osteoarthritis pain. (Supported by R01-MH51800, P. Parmelee, PI).

The present study aimed to investigate the decision-making process and outcomes associated with downsizing to a smaller home in late life. Older adults who had downsized in the past year (n = 68) completed self-report measures of push-pull factors driving the decision to move, relocation controllability, sense of place (SOP), move satisfaction, and psychological well-being. It was hypothesized that the relation between push-pull factors and relocation outcomes (i.e., move satisfaction and psychological well-being) would be serially mediated by control and SOP. Haye’s PROCESS macro was used to test serial multiple mediator models for each of the relocation outcomes. Placing greater importance on push relative to pull factors was associated with lower levels of well-being in three domains: environmental mastery (b = -5.52, p = .002), purpose in life (b = -3.94, p = .01), and self-acceptance (b = -3.61, p = .007). Results of serial mediation analyses suggested that older adults whose downsizing decisions were more strongly influenced by push factors felt less control over relocation, found it more difficult to develop SOP in the new home, and, in turn, experienced lower levels of psychological well-being and move satisfaction. These findings can be used to inform older adults’ downsizing decisions and develop supports for relocating older adults.

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