Resilience in Aging

by Resnick, Barbara, Ph.D.; Gwyther, Lisa P.; Roberto, Karen A.

• ISBN13: 9781441902313
• ISBN10: 1441902317
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-10-28
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

The many significant technological and medical advances of the 21st century cannot overcome the escalating risk posed to older adults by such stressors as pain, weakness, fatigue, depression, anxiety, memory and other cognitive deficits, hearing loss, visual impairment, isolation, marginalization, and physical and mental illness. In order to overcome these and other challenges, and to maintain as high a quality of life as possible, older adults and the professionals who treat them need to promote and develop the capacity for resilience, which is innate in all of us to some degree. The purpose of this book is to provide the current scientific theory, clinical guidelines, and real-world interventions with regard to resilience as a clinical tool. To that end, the book addresses such issues as concepts and operationalization of resilience; relevance of resilience to successful aging; impact of personality and genetics on resilience; relationship between resilience and motivation; relationship between resilience and survival; promoting resilience in long-term care; and the lifespan approach to resilience.By addressing ways in which the hypothetical and theoretical concepts of resilience can be applied in geriatric practice, Resilience in Aging provides inroads to the current knowledge and practice of resilience from the perspectives of physiology, psychology, culture, creativity, and economics. In addition, the book considers the impact of resilience on critical aspects of life for older adults such as policy issues (e.g., nursing home policies, Medicare guidelines), health and wellness, motivation, spirituality, and survival. Following these discussions, the book focuses on interventions that increase resilience. The intervention chapters include case studies and are intended to be useful at the clinical level. The book concludes with a discussion of future directions in optimizing resilience in the elderly and the importance of a lifespan approach to aging.

Table of Contents

Resilience: Definitions, Ambiguities, and Applications	p. 1
Successful Aging and Resilience: Applications for Public Health and Health Care	p. 15
Resilience and Personality Disorders in Older Age	p. 31
What Do We Know About Resilience in Older Adults? An Exploration of Some Facts, Factors, and Facets	p. 51
Psychological Resilience	p. 67
Physiological Resilience	p. 89
Using the Arts to Promote Resiliency Among Persons with Dementia and Their Caregivers	p. 105
Promoting Worker Resilience Over the Lifecourse	p. 121
Resilience in Aging: Cultural and Ethnic Perspectives	p. 133
Civic Engagement: Policies and Programs to Support a Resilient Aging Society	p. 147
Strengthened by the Spirit: Religion, Spirituality, and Resilience Through Adulthood and Aging	p. 163
Resilience in Chronic Illness	p. 181
The Relationship Between Resilience and Motivation	p. 199
The Association Between Resilience and Survival Among Chinese Elderly	p. 217
Fostering Resilience in Dementia Through Narratives: Contributions of Multimedia Technologies	p. 231
Building Resilience in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Early-Stage Dementia: Innovative Approaches to Intervention and Outcome Evaluation	p. 245
African American Caregivers Finding Resilience Through Faith	p. 261
The Age-Friendly New York City Project: An Environmental Intervention to Increase Aging Resilience	p. 273
Promoting Resilience in Small-Scale, Homelike Residential Care Settings for Older People with Dementia: Experiences from the Netherlands and the United States	p. 289
A Geriatric Mobile Crisis Response Team: A Resilience-Promoting Program to Meet the Mental Health Needs of Community-Residing Older People	p. 305
Optimizing Resilience in the 21st Century	p. 317
Resilience in the Workplace: Job Conditions that Buffer Negative Attitudes Toward Older Workers	p. 331
Conclusion	p. 351
Index	p. 357
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.