1. "Stronger Than I Thought I Was": Older Adults' Coping Across Two Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
- Author
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Fuller, Heather R, Huseth-Zosel, Andrea, Kinkade, Emily, Vleet, Bryce Van, and Hajdar, Melisa
- Subjects
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PSYCHOLOGICAL resilience , *REPEATED measures design , *BEHAVIOR modification , *RESEARCH funding , *INTERVIEWING , *PSYCHOLOGICAL adaptation , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *ATTITUDE (Psychology) , *LONGITUDINAL method , *EXPERIENCE , *THEMATIC analysis , *RESEARCH methodology , *HEALTH behavior , *ANALYSIS of variance , *COVID-19 pandemic , *SOCIAL distancing , *OLD age - Abstract
Background and Objectives Throughout the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, older adults developed coping strategies to adapt to the necessary social distancing precautions; however, over time, especially as vaccines became available, their need and ability to adapt and cope shifted. This longitudinal, mixed-methods study investigates changes in older adults' perceptions of coping across the first 2 years of the pandemic. Research Design and Methods Between April 2020 and June 2022, 5 waves of interviews were conducted with 76 Midwestern older adults aged 70–97. At each timepoint, participants rated their level of perceived coping. They also answered a series of open-ended questions about their current daily life, experiences, and perceptions during the pandemic. Results Repeated-measure ANOVA indicated participants' perceived coping significantly increased over 2 years and qualitative explanations contextualized these shifts. Thematic coding of interview transcripts identified themes of: (1) taking problem-focused approaches and (2) cultivating emotional resiliency, with multiple subthemes nested within each. Subtheme meanings shifted once vaccines were available, as participants adapted to a "new normal" lifestyle and appreciated their own resilience. Discussion and Implications Findings suggest older adults had nuanced and shifting coping experiences throughout the initial 2 years of the pandemic, but overall coped by drawing on life experiences. Our discussion highlights variability in older adults' coping over time and directions for future study and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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