COVID-19 health worries and anxiety symptoms among older adults: the moderating role of ageism

Abstract

<jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title> <jats:p>A prominent feature of anxiety in late life is concerns regarding physical health. Anxiety symptoms among older adults have been connected with various psychological outcomes, including social isolation and loneliness. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many societies have demonstrated increased ageist attitudes, encouraging older adults to distance themselves from society. Accordingly, the current study examined the moderating role of COVID-19-related ageism in the connection between COVID-19 health worries and anxiety symptoms among older adults. Data were collected from 243 older adults (age range 60–92; <jats:italic>M</jats:italic> = 69.75, <jats:italic>SD</jats:italic> = 6.69), who completed scales assessing COVID-19-related health worries and ageism, as well as anxiety symptoms. The results demonstrated that both health worries and ageism were positively associated with anxiety symptoms. Moreover, the connection between health worries and anxiety symptoms was more pronounced among older adults with high ageism levels. The study highlights the vulnerability of older adults in general, and ageist older adults in particular, to the negative consequences of COVID-19-related health worries, and emphasizes the role of the increased ageist stance of society during the pandemic in this regard.</jats:p>

COVID-19 worry, mental health indicators, and preparedness for future care needs across the adult lifespan

“…Examining ambivalent ageism was important given the well-intentioned, yet patronizing messages that all older adults must be cared for and protected during the pandemic, without recognition of the diversity of older adults. Ageism during COVID-19 is reflected in studies reporting that older adults with more negative perceptions of aging report greater loneliness and distress during lockdown (Losada-Baltar et al, 2020), and older adults' ageist attitudes moderate the relationship between health anxiety and general anxiety (Bergman et al, 2020). That benevolent, not hostile, ageism was associated with greater worry about COVID-19 is a unique addition to the growing literature on ageism in the pandemic.…”

“…Indicators of mental health (depression, anxiety, and health anxiety) were included, as those with higher levels of psychological symptoms report more negative responses to the pandemic (e.g. Bergman, Cohen-Fridel, Shrira, Bodner, & Palgi, 2020;Huang & Zhao, 2020;Losada-Baltar et al, 2020). Therefore, in this study, we expected individuals who report greater anxiety, depression, and health anxiety to also indicate greater COVID-19 worry.…”

Age-related differences in the perception of COVID-19 emergency during the Italian outbreak

“…Our results are in line with recently published studies on COVID-19, indicating that older people demonstrated less negative emotions and anxiety/depression symptoms than younger cohorts (Bruine de Bruin, 2020), and that well-being in the older cohorts is not compromised by COVID-19 (L opez et al, 2020). Negative emotional responses to the pandemic are likely to be moderated by factors others than age, such as personality, ageism, and family functioning (Bacon & Corr, 2020;Bergman et al, 2020;L opez et al, 2020).…”

“…Results indicated that old-old adults showed a level of well-being comparable to the one of young-old adults, suggesting that people in late adulthood have personal resources and effective regulation strategies to cope with the situation. Also, Bergman, Cohen-Fridel, Shrira, Bodner, and Palgi (2020) investigated COVID-related ageism, which is the prejudicial view that the pandemic is an "older adults' problem", and consequently they have to be isolated from the society. The authors found that COVID-related ageism moderated the link between worries about the pandemic and anxiety symptoms, revealing that older adults with higher levels of ageism were more at risk of anxiety symptomatology.…”

Suffering from infectious diseases during the Holocaust relates to amplified psychological reactions during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Using a 5-point scale (0 = not at all to 4 = extremely ), survivors completed the severity of symptoms during the last few weeks while referring to the Holocaust while comparisons referred to the most traumatic event they have experienced (α = 0.73). Respondents also completed five items regarding COVID-19 worries ( Bergman et al, 2020 ), and the three items from the UCLA Loneliness Scale ( Hughes et al, 2004 ), using a 5-point scale in both scales (0 = not at all to 4 = almost always ) (α = 0.86 and 0.91 for COVID-19 worries and loneliness, respectively).…”