The role of Hope in subsequent health and well-being for older adults: An outcome-wide longitudinal approach

By K. Long, Eric S. Kim, Ying Chen, Matthew Wilson, Everett L. Worthington Jr., Tyler J. VanderWeele. 2020

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Abstract Hope is a topic widely discussed in the humanities and researched in the field of psychology. To explore the potential public health implications of hope for subsequent health and well-being outcomes, we prospectively examined the relation between baseline hope and a wide range of outcomes that included indicators of: physical health, health behaviors, and psychosocial well-being in older adults using an outcome-wide approach. Data from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 12,998, mean age = 66 years) were analyzed. Bonferroni correction was used to account for multiple testing. All models controlled for a wide array of factors including: sociodemographic characteristics, personality factors, and prior values of the exposure (hope) and all outcomes. A greater sense of hope was associated with: better physical health and health behavior outcomes on some indicators (e.g., reduced risk of all cause-mortality, fewer number of chronic conditions, lower risk of cancer, and fewer sleep problems), higher psychological well-being (e.g., increased positive affect, life satisfaction, and purpose in life), lower psychological distress, and better social well-being. A secondary analysis explored antecedents of hope. We identified several potentially modifiable factors that may lead to increased hope. These results may have important population-level implications for increasing hope and improving the physical, psychological, and social well-being of our growing older adult population.

Subfields: Applied Psychology, Health, Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/3b62bb32bbe0b13d66b1bf50892ec490e56eaee5