Background
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has changed the way we function in daily life. Although all age groups in the United States face social distancing, quarantines, and face mask wearing, older adults are more susceptible to the negative health impacts of COVID-19 including higher death rates.
Hypotheses/Research Questions
Due to the disproportionate effects of COVID-19 on older adults, there may be different pathways to wellbeing when comparing younger adults to older adults, especially when considering how they may be interacting with different spheres in their environments. The present research identifies how psychological factors within various bioecological systems (i.e., self, micro, macro) makeup pathways to wellbeing across two developmental stages.
Sample Characteristics and Sample Size
Data was collected from 426 adults (284 young adults, 142 older adults) in the United States.
Design
Using Structural Equation Modeling, we found differences in how people’s own capacities and vulnerabilities (self) and their closeness to their immediate (micro) and extended environments (macro) led to differences in state-level wellbeing and resiliency and in-turn to better overall adaptation and quality of life across young and old adults.
Results
Presence of meaning in life, connectedness to family and close friends, led to higher positive state-wellbeing in both age groups while searching for meaning and feeling connected to one’s community and country was associated to negative state-wellbeing. On the other hand, resiliency was meaningfully related to subjective distress only in older adults whereas resiliency in young adults was related to life satisfaction.
Scientific Contribution
Results from the study contribute to a greater understanding regarding the individual differences that lead to differential pathways to wellbeing in younger adults compared to older adults in the United States.