Journal
AGING & MENTAL HEALTH
Volume 23, Issue 5, Pages 608-617Publisher
ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2018.1433635
Keywords
Early-life adversity; individual quality of life; steeling; successful aging; mental health
Categories
Funding
- Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship [2016.0109]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Objectives: The steeling effect suggests that early-life adversity can have a beneficial impact later in life. However, little is known about its underlying mechanisms and long-term outcomes . The study aimed to examine the role of early-life adversity (ELA) on successful aging, and whether this relationship can be explained by mental and physical health.Method: Socio-demographics, early-life adversity (ELA), individual quality of life (iQoL), and mental and physical health of 270 individuals (M-age = 66.82 years, 71.5% female) were assessed. Polynomial regressions and mediation analyses were conducted.Results: Significant inverse U-shaped associations were found between ELA and iQoL ( = -.59, p = .005) and between ELA and mental health ( = -.64, p = .002), but not between ELA and physical health. Furthermore, mental health significantly mediated the relationship between ELA and iQoL (b = -.84, BCa CI [-1.66, -.27]).Conclusion: Highest level of individual quality of life (i.e. successful aging) was related to a moderate amount of ELA. Additionally, mental health significantly mediated this relationship. These findings suggest that some amount of ELA could be beneficial for successful aging. Resource-focused interventions are needed to improve health and promote successful aging for an underdetected, at-risk subgroup with low early-life adversity.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available