title: Resilience and related factors during female Ecuadorian mid-life.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Studies reporting on resilience (capacity to overcome life adversity) and the menopausal transition are scarce.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess resilience and related factors in mid-aged Ecuadorian women.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross sectional study in which 904 women aged 40-59 completed the 14-item Wagnild and Young Resilience Scale (WYRS) and a general socio-demographic questionnaire containing personal and partner data. Lower total WYRS scores indicate less resilience. Internal consistency of the tool was also assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median age of all surveyed women was 49 years. A 51.1% were postmenopausal, 43.8% lived high altitude, 43.5% were abdominally obese, 12.6% used hormone therapy and 80.8% had a partner. Internal consistency was high for the WYRS tool (Cronbach's alpha: 0.94). Multiple linear regression analysis determined that lower total WYRS scores (less resilience) correlated with high altitude residency, more severe hot flushes, sedentarism, higher abdominal circumferences and having a partner with erectile dysfunction. Contrary to this, higher WYRS scores correlated with higher parity and sexual activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As assessed with the WYRS tool, lower resilience of this mid-aged Ecuadorian female sample was related to various female and partner lifestyle and health issues, not necessarily related per se to the ageing process. More research using the tool is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Para Salud de Mujer, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Vélez 616 y García Avilés, PO Box 09-02000-70-A, Guayaquil, Ecuador. institutochedraui@gmail.com
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chedraui
authors.forename: Faustino R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Pérez-López
authors.forename: Gino
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schwager
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: Wellington
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Aguirre
authors.forename: Nalo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: Octavio
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.forename: María S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Plaza
authors.forename: Cesar
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Astudillo
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Narváez
authors.forename: Juan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Quintero
authors.forename: Branly
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zambrano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000531:Altitude; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D004484:Ecuador; D005260:Female; D020249:Hormone Replacement Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008593:Menopause / Q000208:ethnology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012923:Social Class