Emotional vitality among disabled older women: the Women's Health and Aging Study.
OBJECTIVE
To examine correlates of high overall level of emotional functioning (emotional vitality) in disabled older women.


METHODS
A community-based study: The Women's Health and Aging Study.


METHODS
A total of 1002 moderately to severely disabled women aged 65 and older living in the community.


METHODS
Emotional vitality was defined as having a high sense of personal mastery, being happy, and having low depressive symptomatology and anxiety. Correlations with demographics, health status, and social context were examined.


RESULTS
Despite their physical disabilities, 35% of the 1002 disabled older women were emotionally vital. The percent of emotionally vital women declined with increasing severity of disability. After adjustment for disability status, a significantly increased likelihood for being emotionally vital was found for black race (OR=1.69) and for having higher income (OR=1.77), better cognition (OR=2.36), no vision problems (OR=1.61), adequate emotional support (OR=2.54), and many face-to-face contacts (OR=1.64). Having more than one negative life event reduced the likelihood of emotional vitality (OR=0.57).


CONCLUSIONS
A substantial proportion of even the most disabled older women can be described as emotionally vital. Findings also suggest that emotional vitality is not solely a function of stable, enduring individual characteristics but that health status, disability, and sociodemographic context also have an influence on emotional vitality.
Epidemiology, Demography and Biometry Program, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-9205, USA.
B W
BW
Penninx
J M
JM
Guralnik
E M
EM
Simonsick
J D
JD
Kasper
L
L
Ferrucci
L P
LP
Fried
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D015142:Baltimore; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D016015:Logistic Models; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011788:Quality of Life; D011897:Random Allocation; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors