MIND OVER MATTER
Sticks and stones may break your bones and it turns out, words might hurt you too. At least, that is what a study recently published by The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) implies. Researchers Becca R. Levy, PhD; Martin D. Slade, MPH; Terrence E. Murphy, PhD and Thomas M. Gill, MD “hypothesized that older persons with positive age stereotypes would be more likely to recover from disability than those with negative age stereotypes” and defined recovery as four essential activities of daily living, including bathing and dressing.
What does that mean? According to The New York Times summary of the study, when seniors hold negative stereotypes about aging, such as believing “becoming old means becoming useless, helpless or devalued — they are less likely to seek preventive medical care and die earlier, and more likely to suffer memory loss and poor physical functioning.” However, when positive stereotypes are embraced, such as “when older adults view age as a time of wisdom, self-realization and satisfaction — results point in the other direction, toward a higher level of functioning.” In fact, the study Association Between Positive Age Stereotypes and Recovery From Disability in Older Persons, discovered that senior citizens with the positive outlook were “44 percent more likely to fully recover” from a incidence of disability.
In addition to her contributions to the aforementioned study, associate professor of epidemiology and psychology at Yale University, Becca Levy, has been studying the effects of stereotypes on older adults since the 1990s. Despite varying control settings and factors such as gender, race and socioeconomic conditions, Dr. Levy’s research results have found time and time again that senior citizens with positive age stereotypes are more likely to live longer and have healthier lives.
It is not just an individual’s mindset that can effect an older adult’s chances for recovery. How other people interact with them can also be influential. A tone of voice, an attitude and the nature of any physical interactions, especially by family members or care givers, can contribute to a senior’s sense of self-worth; either reinforcing or modifying a senior’s stereotype beliefs about aging.
Treating your elders with respect may be more than a kindness, it might actually help improve their lives.
If the time has come when you or a family member is no longer able to live independently, contact CalRegistry to learn about assisted living services, options and facilities throughout California.