Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Previous research has shown that chronic disease has detrimental effects on emotional well-being (e.g., loneliness). Furthermore, increased loneliness associated with chronic disease may trigger a dysregulation of older adults’ endocrine and immune systems resulting in subsequent physical health problems. To prevent older adults from entering such a downward spiral, the “Motivational Theory of Life-Span Development” predicts that the use of self-protective secondary control strategies (e.g., positive reappraisals or self-protective attributions) can counteract the negative impact of chronic illness on psychological well-being. Consequently, self-protective control strategies may also contribute to adaptive long-term patterns of biological and physical functioning among older individuals with chronic illness. My preliminary analyses demonstrate that baseline levels of chronic illness predict an increase in loneliness over time. Of importance, this association was obtained only among older adults who did not engage in self-protective strategies to manage their health threats, and not among their counterparts who engaged in self-protective strategies. In a next step, I will examine whether the observed individual differences in increases of loneliness will predict a subsequent dysregulation of older adults’ endocrine and immune function as well as declines in their physical health. The main research objective is to identify a psychobiological mechanism of healthy aging. This mechanism is expected to reveal that self-protective control strategies can counteract the adverse effects of chronic illness on patterns of immune and endocrine function and physical health by preventing increases in older adults’ loneliness. This research question will be examined in the Montreal Aging and Health Study (MAHS), which is an ongoing 14-year longitudinal project of a normative sample of 215 community-dwelling older adults. The CIHR grant supporting the MAHS was renewed in 2013. Measures of control strategies, chronic illness, loneliness, and sociodemographic variables (age, sex, socioeconomic status) are assessed by participants’ self-reports. Measures of endocrine and immune function are measured by collecting saliva samples and blood drops through finger prick technology. Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to participation. The Concordia University Research Ethics Board approved all procedures and methods. All analysis will control for sociodemographic (age, sex, socioeconomic status) and health relevant (BMI, smoking, cortisol-related medication) covariates. The identification of a modifiable psychological construct (i.e. self-protective control strategies) that can prevent the adverse consequences of chronic illness on older adults’ psychological, biological, and physical health will contribute to current theories of successful aging. In addition, the use of effective control strategies can be targeted in psychological interventions, which is likely to improve quality of life among older adults and contribute to a significant reduction of public health-care costs.