ASI

Maria Brown was a guest panelist on Live with Greg Olson: Alzheimer’s: New Science/Early Detection presented by the New York State Office for Aging. The panelists discussed ways to detect Alzheimer’s earlier thanks to recently developed technology. Check it out here.

In China, companies and services are adapting to serve what demographers call the silver economy—hundreds of millions of people over the age of 60.

For the first time in modern China, 60-plus people comprise more than a fifth of its population, putting it on track to be a super-age society by the next decade, according to the World Bank.

Merril Silverstein, Marjorie Cantor Endowed Professor in Aging, says, “Better health, you know, is a function of greater economic well-being, for one thing.” He is studying how infrastructure development is increasingly geared towards an older society in China and has observed market improvements in China as people’s purchasing power shot up.

“Those in more developed villages have less aging anxiety about whether their needs will be met, whether they’ll be, you know, happy or not as they get older,” says Silverstein.

Listen to the full interview here.

Gerontological Society of America (GSA) Annual Scientific Meeting – November 13-16, 2024 in Seattle, WA

GSA the premier annual scientific meeting for cutting-edge scholarship, research, and networking relating to the fields of aging and gerontology. This years theme is “The Fortitude Factor.”

ASI faculty and students presented their work at the 2024 Gerontological Society of America Conference.

List of Presentations

• Catherine Garcia, Maria P. Aranda, and Michael Crowe
  Race, Neighborhood Dynamics, and Mortality Patterns in Older Puerto Ricans
  Wednesday, November 13
  12:00 – 1:00 PM PST
  Location: Room 205
• Joonsik Yoon
  Transnational Parent-Care and Filial Piety: The Paradox of Idealized Traditional Immigrant Values
  Wednesday, November 13
  6:00 – 7:15 PM PST
  Location: Exhibit Hall 4AB – Poster Board 429
• Peiyuan Zhang, Sarah Clem, Ting Guan, Todd D. Becker, and Paul Sacco
  Validation of Modified Sense of Control Scale Among Older Cancer Patients
  Wednesday, November 13
  6:00 – 7:15 PM PST
  Location: Exhibit Hall 4AB – Poster Board 164
• Amanda N. Leggett, Yulya Truskinovsky, Vicki Freedman, Emily Wiemers, Jennifer Corman, and Geoffrey Hoffman
  Changes in Care Trajectories During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Older Adults with Care Needs
  Wednesday, November 13
  6:00 – 7:15 PM PST
  Location: Exhibit Hall 4AB – Poster Board 227
• Maria T. Brown and Jane A. McElroy
  Disparities in Health Outcomes Among Middle-Aged and Older Sexual Minority Cancer Survivors
  Wednesday, November 13
  6:00 – 7:15 PM PST
  Location: Exhibit Hall 4AB – Poster Board 5
• Shu Xu and Haowei Wang
  Visual Difficulty and Valued Activity Among Older Adults: Findings From the National Health and Aging Trends Study
  Wednesday, November 13
  6:00 – 7:15 PM PST
  Location: Exhibit Hall 4AB – Poster Board 48
• Heather L. Menne, Jason W. Osborne, and Claire Pendergrast
  Geography and Living Arrangement as Loneliness Factors for OAA Nutrition Clients During COVID-19
  Wednesday, November 13
  6:00 – 7:15 PM PST
  Location: Exhibit Hall 4AB – Poster Board 329
• Marc A. Garcia, Blakelee Kemp, and Wassim Tarraf
  State Policy and Political Landscapes: Implications for Cognitive and Functional Health
  Thursday, November 14
  8:00 – 9:30 AM PST
  Location: Room 603
• Andrew London (Chair)
  Life-Course Perspectives on Military Service Experiences, Stress Exposure, and Later-and End-of-Life Outcomes
  Thursday, November 14
  12:00 – 1:30 PM PST
  Location: Room 614
• Ying Xu, Xiaoyu Fu, and Merril Silverstein
  Exploring the Impact of Childhood Trauma, Social Network, and Gender Moderation on Depression Among Older Adults
  Thursday, November 14
  2:00 – 3:15 PM PST
  Location: Exhibit Hall 4AB – Poster Board 463
• Jeung Hyun Kim and Merril Silverstein
  Cultural Resources and Psychological Well-Being Influences on Cognitive Function in Mexican American Immigrants
  Friday, November 15
  8:00 – 9:30 AM PST
  Location: Room 604
• Merril Silverstein, Seonhwa Lee, and Martin Lakomy
  Do Stepchildren Provide Dementia Care to Aging Biological Parents Commensurate with their Level of Need?
  Friday, November 15
  10:00 – 11:30 AM PST
  Location: Room 3B
• Catherine Garcia, Morgan Parella, De’Lisia Adorno, Eniola Z. Festus, and Londi Rowell
  Life Histories and Trajectories of Physiological Functioning Among Older Racialized Groups in the US
  Friday, November 15
  10:00 – 11:30 AM PST
  Location: Room 613
• Tianqi Zhou, Martin Lakomy, and Merril Silverstein
  Individualistic Values and Support Provided to Grandchildren
  Friday, November 15
  12:00 – 1:30 PM PST
  Location: Room 606
• Catherine Garcia (Chair)
  Cultivating Resilience Across Diverse Aging Communities
  Saturday, November 16
  8:00 – 9:30 AM PST
  Location: Room 201
• I-Fen Lin, Judith A. Seltzer, Janecca Chin, Emily Wiemers, Anna Wiersma Strauss, V. J. Hotz
  Time Help From Adult Children: Differences Among Biological and Step-Children in Non-Stepfamilies and Stepfamilies
  Saturday, November 16
  8:00 – 9:30 AM PST
  Location: Room 617
• Claire Pendergrast
  Socio-Spatial Determinants of Community-Based Long-Term Care Availability in Rural Counties
  Saturday, November 16
  8:00 – 9:30 AM PST
  Location: Room 604
• Woo Jang, Drew A. Krull, Seonhwa Lee, and Merril Silverstein
  Investigating Healthcare Access Disparities in Minnesota through GIS Analysis
  Saturday, November 16
  8:00 – 9:30 AM PST
  Location: Room 608
• Xiaoyu Fu, Ying Xu, and Merril Silverstein
  Aging Attitudes: The Effects of Intergenerational Relationships and Village Economic Context in Rural China
  Saturday, November 16
  2:00 – 3:15 PM PST
  Location: Exhibit Hall 4AB
• Haowei Wang, Shu Xu, and Yalian Pei
  Childhood Speech Impairment and Dementia Risks among US Older Adults
  Saturday, November 16
  2:00 – 3:15 PM PST
  Location: Exhibit Hall 4AB
• Hyeonji Cho, Meejung Chin, and Catherine Garcia
  Four Types of Financial Support among “Sandwiched” Middle-Aged Adults: Life and Family Relationship Satisfaction
  Saturday, November 16
  2:00 – 3:15 PM PST
  Location: Exhibit Hall 4AB

Religious Change and Continuity Across Generations: Passing on Faith in Families of Six European and North American Nations

Edited by Merril Silverstein; Christel Gärtner and Maria T. Brown, Lexington Press

This volume brings together scholars of religious studies, secularism, and family science to examine how religion is passed down the generations in six European and North American nations. Taking a social change perspective within the context of family socialization theory, the authors treat intergenerational change and continuity in religion and spirituality as occurring under specific national and historical conditions.

Residents over the age of 60 in seven Central New York counties­—Cayuga, Herkimer, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Oswego and Tompkins—can receive free memory screenings from their local Office for the Aging (OFA) as part of a collaborative project between SUNY Upstate Medical University and Syracuse University to assess the benefits of this type of screening in this setting.

The project is the first step in a plan that could possibly make such screenings available at OFAs across New York.

Early recognition of memory changes that could indicate an early stage dementia is important in order to help older adults gets the medical attention they need to avoid a crisis.

“If we are aware of early signs of memory issues, we are able to connect the individual to health care professionals who can begin appropriate treatment, while taking steps to educate and support families to improve the individual’s quality of life,” says Sharon Brangman, MD, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and chair of the Geriatrics and director of the Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease. “The ability to easily screen this segment of the population has the potential to significantly benefit both the individual and their families.”

Changes that might be caused by early dementia can include changes in memory, depression, anxiety, aggression or lack of interest, Brangman says.

Here’s how the program works: OFA case managers in the selected counties have been trained by Upstate staff to administer what is called the “Mini-Cog,” a three-minute screening tool to assess potential memory loss. The screening can be administered in an individual’s home during a routine visit by OFA staff or at the county office. OFA case managers will not make any diagnoses based on the screening results; they will only administer the screening.

If the Mini-Cog shows any sign of memory change, the individual will be referred to Upstate University Geriatricians for a comprehensive geriatric assessment.

To evaluate the merits of this screening approach in community settings, Maria Brown, Ph.D., associate research professor in Syracuse University’s David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics and Aging Studies Institute, will analyze screening information over the yearlong project to identify the number of clients screened, number of clients with scores indicating memory changes, number of clients who receive follow-up comprehensive assessments and their diagnostic results.

“We are excited about improving the ability of OFAs to identify older adults across the Central New York region who could benefit from geriatric evaluations and connection to services to address their changing needs,” Brown says. Read more here.

Jason DeFreitas, Professor of Exercise Science, is recruiting participants for a research project – “Modulation of Sensory Function with Aging.” The purpose of the study is to examine on how our brain adjusts incoming sensory information, and how that may change with aging. For more information go to https://asi.syr.edu/modulation-of-sensory-function-with-aging/.

Filial piety—the belief that children should provide care, support, respect, and obedience to their older parents—is a fundamental normative expectation in East Asian societies. This study investigates the relationship between the geographic proximity of children and the support received from them, and their parents’ perceptions of filial piety in rural China. We used the 2021 wave of the Longitudinal Study of Older Adults in Anhui Province to predict parental assessments of filial piety for each of their children. Random-effects linear probability models using an internal moderator approach were employed to compare coresident children with non-coresident children based on their proximity and support provided. Findings indicate that parents tend to perceive their coresident children as being more filial compared to non-coresident children, particularly when parents are in worse functional health. However, non-coresident children can compensate for their deficiency in being perceived as filial by providing more financial support and maintaining frequent telephone communication with their parents. The study’s results suggest that filial piety norms in rural China have adapted to the diminished emphasis on intergenerational coresidence resulting from the trends of urbanization and significant rural–urban migration in modern China, requiring that children find alternative ways to fulfill their filial obligations.

Zhang, W., Silverstein, M., & Xu, Y. (2024). Older parents’ perceptions of children’s filial piety in rural China: The roles of coresidence, geographic proximity, and intergenerational support. Chinese Journal of Sociology, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/2057150X241269265