Modifiable Resources and Resilience in Racially and Ethnically Diverse Older Women: Implications for Health Outcomes and Interventions

Sparkle Springfield, Feifei Qin, Haley Hedlin, Charles B. Eaton, Milagros C. Rosal, Herman Taylor, Ursula M. Staudinger and Marcia L. Stefanick
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Sparkle Springfield: Department of Public Health Sciences, Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL 60153, USA
Feifei Qin: Department of Medicine, Stanford Center for Biomedical Informatics Research, Quantitative Sciences Unit, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
Haley Hedlin: Department of Medicine, Stanford Center for Biomedical Informatics Research, Quantitative Sciences Unit, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
Charles B. Eaton: Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health and Department of Family Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
Milagros C. Rosal: Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Medical School, University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
Herman Taylor: Cardiovascular Research Institute Research, Morehouse School of Medicine, Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA
Ursula M. Staudinger: Technische Universität Dresden (TUD), 01069 Dresden, Germany
Marcia L. Stefanick: Department of Medicine, Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 12, 1-19

Abstract: Introduction : Resilience—which we define as the “ability to bounce back from stress”—can foster successful aging among older, racially and ethnically diverse women. This study investigated the association between psychological resilience in the Women’s Health Initiative Extension Study (WHI-ES) and three constructs defined by Staudinger’s 2015 model of resilience and aging: (1) perceived stress, (2) non-psychological resources, and (3) psychological resources. We further examined whether the relationship between resilience and key resources differed by race/ethnicity. Methods : We conducted a secondary analysis on 77,395 women aged 62+ (4475 Black or African American; 69,448 non-Hispanic White; 1891 Hispanic/Latina; and 1581 Asian or Pacific Islanders) who enrolled in the WHI-ES, which was conducted in the United States. Participants completed a short version of the Brief Resilience Scale one-time in 2011. Guided by Staudinger’s model, we used linear regression analysis to examine the relationships between resilience and resources, adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, and stressful life events. To identify the most significant associations, we applied elastic net regularization to our linear regression models. Findings : On average, women who reported higher resilience were younger, had fewer stressful life events, and reported access to more resources. Black or African American women reported the highest resilience, followed by Hispanic/Latina, non-Hispanic White, and Asian or Pacific Islander women. The most important resilience-related resources were psychological, including control of beliefs, energy, personal growth, mild-to-no forgetfulness, and experiencing a sense of purpose. Race/ethnicity significantly modified the relationship between resilience and energy (overall interaction p = 0.0017). Conclusion : Increasing resilience among older women may require culturally informed stress reduction techniques and resource-building strategies, including empowerment to control the important things in life and exercises to boost energy levels.

Keywords: resilience; race/ethnicity; resources; aging; women’s health; Women’s Health Initiative (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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