New research calls attention to this little-remarked-upon resilience as well as significant challenges for older adults as the pandemic stretches on.
It shows that many seniors have changed behaviors — reaching out to family and friends, pursuing hobbies, exercising, participating in faith communities — as they strive to stay safe from the coronavirus.
"There are some older adults who are doing quite well during the pandemic and have actually expanded their social networks and activities," said Brian Carpenter, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. "But you don't hear about them because the pandemic narrative reinforces stereotypes of older adults as frail, disabled and dependent."
Whether those coping strategies will prove effective as the pandemic lingers, however, is an open question.
"In other circumstances — hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, terrorist attacks — older adults have been shown to have a lot of resilience to trauma," said Sarah Lowe, an assistant professor at Yale University School of Public Health, who studies the mental health effects of traumatic events.
"But Covid-19 is distinctive from other disasters because of its constellation of stressors, geographic spread and protracted duration," she continued. "And older adults are now cut off from many of the social and psychological resources that enable resilience because of their heightened risk."
The most salient risk is of severe illness and death: 80% of Covid-19 deaths have occurred in people 65 and older.
Here are notable findings from a new wave of research documenting the early experiences of older adults during the pandemic:
Changing behaviors. Older adults have listened to public health authorities and taken steps to minimize the risk of being infected with Covid-19, according to a new study in The Gerontologist.
Results come from a survey of 1,272 adults age 64 and older administered online between May 4 and May 17. More than 80% of the respondents lived in New Jersey, an early pandemic hot spot. Blacks and Hispanics — as well as seniors with lower incomes and in poor health — were underrepresented.
These seniors reported spending less face-to-face time with family and friends (95%), limiting trips to the grocery store (94%), canceling plans to attend a celebration (88%), saying no to out-of-town trips (88%), not going to funerals (72%), going to public places less often (72%) and canceling doctors' appointments (69%).
Safeguarding well-being. In another new study published in The Gerontologist, Brenda Whitehead, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, addresses how older adults have adjusted to altered routines and physical distancing.
Her data comes from an online survey of 825 adults age 60 and older on March 22 and 23 — another sample weighted toward whites and people with higher incomes.
Instead of inquiring about "coping" — a term that can carry negative connotations — Whitehead asked about sources of joy and comfort during the pandemic. Most com
