Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-ph5wq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T15:04:52.728Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Stressful life events and subjectively rated sleep quality among older adults in China: the roles of positive and negative attitudes towards ageing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 November 2022

Dan Zhang*
Affiliation:
Institute for Population and Development Studies, School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
Hangqing Ruan
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Maryland Population Research Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
Melody Ge Gao
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Maryland Population Research Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
Feinian Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Shuzhuo Li
Affiliation:
Institute for Population and Development Studies, School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
*
*Corresponding author. Email: danzhang@stu.xjtu.edu.cn; zhangdanshanxi@126.com

Abstract

Sleep is an integral part of individuals' health and wellbeing. Despite evidence showing that social stressors are important contributors to older adults' sleep problems, how the accumulative stressful life events (SLEs) and ageing attitudes independently and jointly affect sleep quality among older adults in developing countries remains unclear. This study examined the effects of SLEs on subjectively rated sleep quality among older adults in China, and explored the potential mediating and moderating roles of positive and negative ageing attitudes on the above association. Using data from the 2014 China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey, we had complete data for 7,780 older adults aged 60 and older. We employed logistic regression models and the Karlson–Holm–Breen decomposition method. Our findings indicated that SLEs significantly increased the risk of poor sleep quality, especially for those who had experienced two or more SLEs during the past year. Positive ageing attitudes were associated with lower odds of poor sleep quality, whereas negative ageing attitudes were related to higher odds of poor sleep quality. Moreover, the mediation analyses suggested that SLEs were associated with poor sleep quality via negative ageing attitudes. The moderating effects further documented that higher levels of positive ageing attitudes can significantly attenuate the deleterious impact of SLEs on sleep quality. The findings highlight the significance of SLEs for older adults' sleep quality and shed light on the importance of ageing attitudes to improve older adults' sleep in China as well as other low- and middle-income countries, where the social safety nets are still underdeveloped.

Type
Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bellingtier, JA and Neupert, SD (2018) Negative aging attitudes predict greater reactivity to daily stressors in older adults. Journals of Gerontology: Series B 73, 11551159.Google ScholarPubMed
Bierman, A (2021) Why have sleep problems in later-midlife grown following the Great Recession? A comparative cohort analysis. Journals of Gerontology: Series B 76, 10051014.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bierman, A, Lee, Y and Schieman, S (2018) Chronic discrimination and sleep problems in late life: religious involvement as buffer. Research on Aging 40, 933955.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bordone, V, Arpino, B and Rosina, A (2020) Forever young? An analysis of the factors influencing perceptions of ageing. Ageing & Society 40, 16691693.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breen, R, Karlson, KB and Holm, A (2013) Total, direct, and indirect effects in logit and probit models. Sociological Methods & Research 42, 164191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryant, C, Bei, B, Gilson, K, Komiti, A, Jackson, H and Judd, F (2012) The relationship between attitudes to aging and physical and mental health in older adults. International Psychogeriatrics 24, 16741683.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buysse, DJ (2014) Sleep health: can we define it? Does it matter? Sleep 37, 917.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, F and Liu, G (2009) Population aging in China. In Uhlenberg, P (ed). International Handbook of Population Aging. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer, pp. 157172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, L, Guo, W and Perez, C (2021) The effect of aging attitudes on the quality of life of older adults in China. Research on Aging 43, 96106.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chu, L, Lay, JC, Tsang, VHL and Fung, HH (2020) Attitudes toward aging: a glance back at research developments over the past 75 years. Journals of Gerontology: Series B 75, 11251129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chukwuorji, JBC, Nwoke, MB and Ebere, MO (2017) Stressful life events, family support and successful ageing in the Biafran War generation. Aging & Mental Health 21, 95103.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crowley, K (2011) Sleep and sleep disorders in older adults. Neuropsychology Review 21, 4153.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Diehl, M, Wahl, HW, Barrett, AE, Brothers, AF, Miche, M, Montepare, JM, Westerhof, GJ and Wurm, S (2014) Awareness of aging: theoretical considerations on an emerging concept. Developmental Review 34, 93113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Du, P (2013) Intergenerational solidarity and old-age support for the social inclusion of elders in Mainland China: the changing roles of family and government. Ageing & Society 33, 4463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gu, D, Sautter, J, Pipkin, R and Zeng, Y (2010) Sociodemographic and health correlates of sleep quality and duration among very old Chinese. Sleep 33, 601610.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hall, MH, Casement, MD, Troxel, WM, Matthews, KA, Bromberger, JT, Kravitz, HM, Krafty, RT and Buysse, DJ (2015) Chronic stress is prospectively associated with sleep in midlife women: the SWAN sleep study. Sleep 38, 16451654.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Han, J (2018) Chronic illnesses and depressive symptoms among older people: functional limitations as a mediator and self-perceptions of aging as a moderator. Journal of Aging and Health 30, 11881204.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Han, J and Richardson, VE (2015) The relationships among perceived discrimination, self-perceptions of aging, and depressive symptoms: a longitudinal examination of age discrimination. Aging & Mental Health 19, 747755.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hooker, K, Mejía, ST, Phibbs, S, Tan, EJ and Stevens, J (2019) Effects of age discrimination on self-perceptions of aging and cancer risk behaviors. The Gerontologist 59, S28S37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Irish, LA, Kline, CE, Gunn, HE, Buysse, DJ and Hall, MH (2015) The role of sleep hygiene in promoting public health: a review of empirical evidence. Sleep Medicine Reviews 22, 2336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kahn, M, Sheppes, G and Sadeh, A (2013) Sleep and emotions: bidirectional links and underlying mechanisms. International Journal of Psychophysiology 89, 218228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Karlson, KB, Holm, A and Breen, R (2012) Comparing regression coefficients between same-sample nested models using logit and probit: a new method. Sociological Methodology 42, 286313.Google Scholar
Katz, S, Ford, AB, Moskowitz, RW, Jackson, BA and Jaffe, MW (1963) Studies of illness in the aged the index of ADL: a standardized measure of biological and psychosocial function. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association 185, 914919.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kornadt, AE and Rothermund, K (2011) Contexts of aging: assessing evaluative age stereotypes in different life domains. Journals of Gerontology: Series B 66, 547556.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kutner, NG, Bliwise, DL and Zhang, R (2004) Linking race and well-being within a biopsychosocial framework: variation in subjective sleep quality in two racially diverse older adult samples. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 45, 99113.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lai, DWL (2009) Older Chinese’ attitudes toward aging and the relationship to mental health: an international comparison. Social Work in Health Care 48, 243259.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Laidlaw, K, Power, MJ and Schmidt, STW-O (2007) The attitudes to ageing questionnaire (AAQ): development and psychometric properties. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 22, 367379.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lancel, M, Stroebe, M and Eisma, MC (2020) Sleep disturbances in bereavement: a systematic review. Sleep Medicine Reviews 53, 101331.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawton, MP and Brody, EM (1969) Assessment of older people: self-maintaining and instrumental activities of daily living. The Gerontologist 9, 179186.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leggett, A, Burgard, S and Zivin, K (2016) The impact of sleep disturbance on the association between stressful life events and depressive symptoms. Journals of Gerontology: Series B 71, 118128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levenson, JC, Nusslock, R and Frank, E (2013) Life events, sleep disturbance, and mania: an integrated model. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 20, 195210.Google Scholar
Levy, BR (2003) Mind matters: cognitive and physical effects of aging self-stereotypes. Journals of Gerontology: Series B 58, 203211.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levy, BR (2009) Stereotype embodiment: a psychosocial approach to aging. Current Directions in Psychological Science 18, 332336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levy, BR and Myers, LM (2004) Preventive health behaviors influenced by self-perceptions of aging. Preventive Medicine 39, 625629.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levy, BR, Slade, MD and Kasl, SV (2002) Longitudinal benefit of positive self-perceptions of aging on functional health. Journals of Gerontology: Series B 57, 409417.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Li, Y, Chan, WCH, Chen, H and Ran, M (2022) Widowhood and depression among Chinese older adults: examining coping styles and perceptions of aging as mediators and moderators. Aging & Mental Health 26, 11611169.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liang, J, Aranda, MP and Lloyd, DA (2020) Association between role overload and sleep disturbance among dementia caregivers: the impact of social support and social engagement. Journal of Aging and Health 32, 13451354.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lin, JN (2016) Gender differences in self-perceptions about aging and sleep among elderly Chinese residents in Taiwan. Journal of Nursing Research 24, 347356.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liu, H, Guo, L and Feng, Z (in press) Social participation, attitudes towards ageing and depressive symptoms among Chinese older adults. Ageing & Society. Available online doi:10.1017/S0144686X22000071.Google Scholar
Lu, L, Wang, SB, Rao, W, Zhang, Q, Ungvari, GS, Ng, CH, Kou, C, Jia, FJ and Xiang, YT (2019) The prevalence of sleep disturbances and sleep quality in older Chinese adults: a comprehensive meta-analysis. Behavioral Sleep Medicine 17, 683697.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miner, B and Kryger, MH (2020) Sleep in the aging population. Sleep Medicine Clinics 15, 311318.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mood, C (2010) Logistic regression: why we cannot do what we think we can do, and what we can do about it. European Sociological Review 26, 6782.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Brien, EL, Torres, GE and Neupert, SD (2021) Cognitive interference in the context of daily stressors, daily awareness of age-related change, and general aging attitudes. Journals of Gerontology: Series B 76, 920929.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pearlin, LI and Bierman, A (2013) Current issues and future directions in research into the stress process. In Aneshensel, CS, Phelan, JC and Bierman, A (eds). Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer, pp. 325340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Radloff, LS (1977) The CES-D scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement 1, 385401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwarzer, R and Schulz, U (2002) The role of stressful life events. In Nezu, AM, Nezu, CM and Geller, PA (eds), Comprehensive Handbook of Psychology, Vol. 9, Health Psychology. New York, NY: Wiley, pp. 2749.Google Scholar
Smagula, SF, Stone, KL, Fabio, A and Cauley, JA (2016) Risk factors for sleep disturbances in older adults: evidence from prospective studies. Sleep Medicine Reviews 25, 2130.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stephan, Y, Sutin, AR, Bayard, S and Terracciano, A (2017) Subjective age and sleep in middle-aged and older adults. Psychology and Health 32, 11401151.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thoits, PA (2010) Stress and health: major findings and policy implications. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 51, S41S53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Turner, SG, Hooker, K and Geldhof, GJ (2021) Self-perceptions of aging: factorial structure and invariance by gender. The Gerontologist 61, 425429.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vahtera, J, Kivimäki, M, Hublin, C, Korkeila, K, Suominen, S, Paunio, T and Koskenvuo, M (2007) Liability to anxiety and severe life events as predictors of new-onset sleep disturbances. Sleep 30, 15371546.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wang, Z, Yang, H, Zheng, P, Liu, B, Guo, Z, Geng, S and Hong, S (2020) Life negative events and depressive symptoms: the China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey. BMC Public Health 20, 968.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wang, H, Kim, K, Burr, JA and Wu, B (2020) Parent–child relationships and aging parents’ sleep quality: a comparison of one-child and multiple-children families in China. Journal of Aging and Health 32, 16021613.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Westerhof, GJ, Miche, M, Brothers, AF, Barrett, AE, Diehl, M, Montepare, JM, Wahl, HW and Wurm, S (2014) The influence of subjective aging on health and longevity: a meta-analysis of longitudinal data. Psychology and Aging 29, 793802.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wurm, S, Tesch-Römer, C and Tomasik, MJ (2007) Longitudinal findings on aging-related cognitions, control beliefs, and health in later life. Journals of Gerontology: Series B 62, 156164.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wurm, S, Diehl, M, Kornadt, AE, Westerhof, GJ and Wahl, HW (2017) How do views on aging affect health outcomes in adulthood and late life? Explanations for an established connection. Developmental Review 46, 2743.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhang, D, Lin, Z, Chen, F and Li, S (2022) What could interfere with a good night's sleep? The risks of social isolation, poor physical and psychological health among older adults in China. Research on Aging 44, 519530.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed