title: Affect and loneliness among centenarians and the oldest old: the role of individual and social resources.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Affect and loneliness are important indicators of mental health and well-being in older adulthood and are linked to significant outcomes including physical health and mortality. Given a large focus on young-old adults within gerontological research, the primary aim of this study was to examine the ability of individual and social resources in predicting affect and loneliness within a sample of oldest-old individuals including centenarians, an understudied population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were assessed during the most recent cross-sectional data collection of the Georgia Centenarian Study. The eligible sample included 55 octogenarians (M = 83.70 years, SD = 2.68; range = 81-90) and 77 centenarians (M = 99.78 years, SD = 1.64; range = 98-109). Subjects scored 17 or greater on the Mini-Mental Status Exam and completed mental health assessments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the relation of affect and loneliness with demographic characteristics, physical and social functioning, cognition, and personality. Within this sample of cognitively intact oldest old, measures of executive control and cognitive functioning demonstrated limited association with mental health. Personality, specifically neuroticism, was strongly related to mental health indicators for both age groups and social relations were particularly important associates of centenarians' mental health.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings indicate the distinctiveness of mental health indicators and the need to distinguish differential roles of individual and social resources in determining these outcomes among octogenarians and centenarians.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development and Family Studies & the Gerontology Program, Iowa State University, Ames, USA. margrett@iastate.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Margrett
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Daugherty
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Maurice
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: MacDonald
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Davey
authors.forename: John L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Woodard
authors.forename: L Stephen
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Ilene C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Siegler
authors.forename: Leonard W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Poon
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D010551:Personality / Q000145:classification; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012919:Social Behavior; D012944:Social Support