The Resilience Divide Among Older Adults Under Uncertainty: A Positive Sociological Study of Life Satisfaction During the COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract

While recent research has detected older adults’ resilience during the global pandemic, its unequal distribution is inadequately examined. Using the panel survey data in Japan ( N = 3,725), this positive sociological study investigated who were more/less resilient under COVID-19, with attention to the heterogeneity in life satisfaction (LS). It was first confirmed that older adults’ LS had substantially improved during the pandemic, indicating their resilience on average. However, the multinomial logistic regression and the fixed effects model revealed that the shift in LS was associated with age, gender, income, family/social relationships, and heath in a nuanced way. This suggests, while older adults who have access to economic, social, and health-related resources can maintain/enhance their LS under the global crisis, those without such assets face the risk of being penalized. In these uncertain times, it is therefore imperative to shed light on the resilience divide among older adults alongside their average strength.

Did Resilience and Socioeconomic Status Predict Older Adults’ Finding a Silver Lining in COVID?

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The Societal Determinants of Happiness and Unhappiness: Evidence From 152 Countries Over 15 Years

“…Nonetheless, evidence is divided when it comes to who actually feels negatively in such societal changes. Whereas older adults could face the unfavorable dimensions of longevity more frequently (Teachman, 2006), research also shows their resilience even under the unprecedented circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic (Araki, 2022b; Lind et al, 2021; Minahan et al, 2021). In either case, given the demographic trend toward longer life expectancy, it is essential to support a growing number of older adults lest they suffer from day-to-day shocks including the reduction of ageism (Burnes et al, 2019; Levy et al, 2022).…”

Health Behaviors and Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging

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