THE UNIQUE IMPORTANCE OF RELATIONSHIP QUALITY FOR COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS

Abstract Social networks can directly influence the health and well-being of older adults. Some work has suggested that network growth is associated with increased well-being. However, little is known about how the quality of relationships with confidants may be associated with better psychological well-being over and above the number of confidants. We aimed to test the hypothesis that feeling closer to confidants would be associated with lower anxiety and fewer depressive symptoms above and beyond the influence of the number of confidants as well as the number of children and grandchildren. To test this hypothesis, we collected data during face-to-face interviews with 131 community-dwelling adults who were between the ages of 58 and 94. Participants’ gender, age, marital status, self-rated health, and cognitive function were included as covariates in the models. In line with predictions, regression analyses showed that average closeness with confidants predicted significantly lower reports of anxiety (p < .05) and depressive symptoms (p < .001). Additionally, the number of confidants was not significantly associated with anxiety or depressive symptoms. Interestingly, having a greater number of children and grandchildren was associated with increased anxiety symptoms. These results extend previous work by suggesting that the quality of the relationship with confidants is more important for psychological well-being than the number of confidants. Future work should test these associations longitudinally so that directionality can be inferred.


United States
In spite of expert recommendations that written material should be provided at a level of health literacy that matches that of the person receiving it, there have been few studies of matching. In this study we evaluated the utility of a new strategy to assess patients' preference for information at different difficulties and assessed the relation of their preference to measured health literacy and health locus of control (LOC). We measured health literacy in participants then asked them to choose between pairs of texts with the same content but at the 3rd, 6th, or 8th-grade levels. Statistical analyses assessed the relation of participants' health literacy to their preference as well as personal characteristics. Participants (n = 155) were 84 women and 71 men aged from 40 to 82 years (mean=57; 136 African Americans and 19 whites). Participants had clear preferences: those with lower levels of health literacy preferred texts at the 3rd grade level and those with higher levels preferred more difficult texts. Preference was not related to age, gender or race but was to education and health literacy (p < 0.05). Persons who chose more difficult texts reported higher levels of internal health locus of control (t [144] = 2.68, p = 0.01). A predictive analytic model using education and preference resulted in 80% correct classification of participants. Using this model may be a simple way to match information presentation to patients' level of health literacy. Further research on this strategy is needed.

BENEFICENCE, COMPANIONSHIP AND FINANCES AS MOTIVATORS FOR PARTICIPATION IN INTERGENERATIONAL HOME SHARING
Cary Sweeney, 1 and Rachel K. Bell 1 , 1. University of California, Berkeley Retirement Center, Berkeley, California, United States In January 2019, the UC Berkeley Retirement Center began piloting Berkeley Home Match (BHM), a program that matches graduate students who need affordable housing with retirees who live near campus and have an extra room. BHM seeks to address affordable housing challenges for retirees and students while creating meaningful relationships. While some data exists for home sharing programs, less is known about the motivators and outcomes of retirees and students participating in these programs. In addition to decreasing the financial burden of housing, Social Exchange Theory suggests the built-in reciprocity of intergenerational home sharing may facilitate meaningful relationships. The purpose of this program evaluation was to understand the motivating factors for participation in a University-based home sharing program. Applicants (N=35) rated factors that influenced their decision to participate using a 7-point scale (1="Not Influential", 7="Very Influential"). On average, homeowners (N=6) rated "helping a student" 5.2, "income" 5.2, and "companionship" 3.6, while home seekers (N=29) rated "helping an older adult" 5.03, "rent price" 6.1, and "companionship" 4.76. Surprisingly, ratings for "helping a student" and "helping a senior" were the same or close to ratings for "income" and "rent prices," suggesting beneficence could be a key motivator and interdependence a mechanism for relationship development. Additionally, students' rating for "companionship" was higher than expected, indicating an openness to the relationship. These findings as well as other factors impacting home matching will be discussed, including participant demographics, reduced housing cost, housing characteristics, and long-term program feasibility. Social networks can directly influence the health and well-being of older adults. Some work has suggested that network growth is associated with increased well-being. However, little is known about how the quality of relationships with confidants may be associated with better psychological well-being over and above the number of confidants. We aimed to test the hypothesis that feeling closer to confidants would be associated with lower anxiety and fewer depressive symptoms above and beyond the influence of the number of confidants as well as the number of children and grandchildren. To test this hypothesis, we collected data during face-to-face interviews with 131 community-dwelling adults who were between the ages of 58 and 94. Participants' gender, age, marital status, self-rated health, and cognitive function were included as covariates in the models. In line with predictions, regression analyses showed that average closeness with confidants predicted significantly lower reports of anxiety (p < .05) and depressive symptoms (p < .001). Additionally, the number of confidants was not significantly associated with anxiety or depressive symptoms. Interestingly, having a greater number of children and grandchildren was associated with increased anxiety symptoms. These results extend previous work by suggesting that the quality of the relationship with confidants is more important for psychological well-being than the number of confidants. Future work should test these associations longitudinally so that directionality can be inferred. Negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA) vary from moment-to-moment and these variations are associated with cognitive health. Past work has primarily focused on valence (negative/positive), however, largely ignoring the potential import of arousal (high/low). We address this gap by assessing the impact of high and low arousal NA and PA on daily cognition. A sample of 238 older adults (Mage=77.30 years, SD=5.14, Range=70-90) completed mobile surveys up to four times daily for 14 days. Participants reported current levels of high and low arousal NA and PA and performed processing speed and working memory tasks. For processing speed, there were significant within-person affect by age interactions. Moments when low arousal NA was higher than usual were associated with slower processing speed (Est.=0.87, SE=0.44, p<.05), and this effect was amplified in older participants (Est.=1.69, SE=0.60, p<.01). Moments when high arousal PA was higher than usual were associated with faster processing speed (Est.=-0.81, SE=0.40, p<.05), and this effect was amplified in younger participants (Est.=-1.81, SE=0.56, p<.01). For working memory, a significant within-person high arousal PA by age interaction emerged (Est.=0.001, SE=0.00, p=.046) such that moments when high arousal PA was higher than usual were marginally associated with worse working memory performance only among older participants (Est.=0.004, SE=0.002, p=.06). Results suggest momentary increases in low arousal NA and high arousal PA may confer greatest risk to daily cognitive health among older adults with more limited capacity and/or cognitive resources, whereas affective influences may be more facilitative among comparatively younger adults.

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 2. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Physical activity and fruit/vegetable consumption are recommended to help prevent and manage cardiovascular disease. Yet, most people struggle to meet physical activity and nutrition guidelines. This study examined the role of age and future time perspective for these two health behaviors using repeated daily life assessments as well as accelerometry-based step counts from 70 persons living with the effects of stroke and their partners (50% female, M age=69 years). Consistent with previous research, older age and living with stroke were associated with taking fewer steps in everyday life but also with consuming more fruit and vegetables. Furthermore, participants who viewed their future as being filled with many opportunities took more daily steps and ate more fruit and vegetables than participants low in future opportunities. Further analyses will examine dyadic associations in these two health behaviors as well as partner factors that may facilitate or hamper the engagement of the behaviors. It is important to analyze these relationships to gain further insight into the effects partners have on each other.

CRYPTIC TRANSCRIPTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH AGE IN MAMMALIAN STEM CELLS
Brenna McCauley, 1 Luyang Sun, 1 and Weiwei Dang 1 ,

Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States
Aging is a multifaceted process that challenges organisms with stresses resulting from the dysregulation of cellular processes. Unsurprisingly, given how tightly regulated it is under normal conditions, transcription is one of the key pathways disrupted during aging. Indeed, dysregulation of transcription contributes to the activation of transposable elements, the loss of cellular identity, and decreased stem cell potency with age. Our previous work identified intragenic cryptic transcription (CT) as a novel type of age-associated transcriptional dysregulation that limits the lifespan of yeast and worms. Continuing this work, we show for the first time that CT increases with age in mammalian stem cells. Increased CT is associated with disrupted chromatin structure, particularly with the reduction of H3K36me3, a histone modification known to inhibit CT throughout eukaryotes. We propose that an age-associated reduction in H3K36me3 in actively transcribed gene bodies drives disruption of chromatin structure in these regions, resulting in an open chromatin state. This open chromatin state is permissive for the entry of RNA Pol II, which can then initiate transcription from within the gene body. These aberrant cryptic transcripts may contribute to the pathological load of mammalian aging.

VALUE AND INFORMATION NEEDS FOR DEMENTIA FAMILY CAREGIVERS: CONSIDERATIONS DURING END-OF-LIFE DECISION MAKING
Karen E. Schlag, 1 Lorie Kmetz, 1 David Burrows, 1 and Jung Kwak 1 , 1. The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States Family caregivers often make key end-of-life care decisions for their relatives. For those caring for persons with dementia (PWDs), a third of older decedents, making