The Association Between Personality Traits and Depressive Symptoms in U.S. Chinese Older Adults

Abstract Depressive symptoms are prevalent in the aging population and can negatively impact the health and well-being of older adults. Personality traits may interact with depressive symptoms, but there is currently limited knowledge regarding this relationship in minority aging research. This study aims to explore the associations between two personality traits, neuroticism and conscientiousness, and depressive symptoms in 3,157 U.S. Chinese older adults. Data were obtained from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE) collected between 2011 and 2013. Neuroticism and conscientiousness were measured by the NEO Five-factor Inventory. Depressive symptoms were measured by the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). 45.3% of the participants reported at least one depressive symptom. Controlling for potential confounders, logistic regression analyses showed that both traits were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. One unit increase in neuroticism was associated with 19% increased odds of having any depressive symptoms (odds ratio [OR]=1.19, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.17-1.22). One unit increase in conscientiousness was associated with 5% decreased odds of having any depressive symptoms (OR=0.95, 95% [CI]=0.94-0.96). Results validate the significant association between both traits and depressive symptoms among U.S. Chinese older adults, adding to the psychological and cultural profiles of those who have experienced mental distress. More in-depth examination using culturally-tailored measurements for personality traits is encouraged in minority aging studies. The NEO inventory was developed from Western populations and hence might not adequately represent personality traits valued by non-Western cultures.

suicidal behavior.The combined model of social functioning and depression displayed a trend toward significance, but neither variable was robust enough to emerge as an independent predictor of suicidal behavior.However, bivariate analyses found moderate effect sizes between depression or social functioning and suicidal behavior.Risk for suicidal behavior likely involves dynamic, complex, and interrelated relationships with clinical implications regarding assessment within this population.

SELF-EFFICACY PROXY PREDICTS PHYSICAL FRAILTY INCIDENCE OVER 8 YEARS IN NON-INSTITUTIONALIZED OLDER ADULTS
Melissa Hladek, 1 Jiafeng Zhu, 2 Brian Buta, 1 Sarah Szanton, 1 Karen Bandeen-Roche, 3 Jeremy Walston, 1 and Qian-Li Xue, 4 1.Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore,Maryland,United States,2. School of Public Health,Johns Hopkins University,Baltimore,Maryland,United States,3. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,Baltimore,Maryland,United States,4. Johns Hopkins School of Medicine,Baltimore,Maryland,United States Physical frailty is defined as a syndrome of decreased physiologic reserve conferring vulnerability to functional decline, mortality and other adverse outcomes in response to a stressor.One potential modifiable risk factor of frailty is self-efficacy, which is confidence in one's ability to perform well at a task or domain in life.Self-efficacy is associated with improved health behavior and decreased chronic disease burden but has not been studied extensively in frailty research.Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate a general self-efficacy proxy measure's ability to predict frailty in a nationally representative sample of older adults using data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) collected from 2011-2018.4,835 older adults (65+) were dichotomized into low and high self-efficacy groups using the one-item self-efficacy proxy measure in NHATS.The Physical Frailty Phenotype was used to assess frailty.A discrete time hazard model was used to obtain incident hazard ratios of frailty in two models.Model 1 was adjusted for age, race, sex, education and income.Model 2 contained Model 1 covariates and activities of daily living and co-morbidities.We found that low self-efficacy predicted a 41% increased risk of developing frailty over 8 years after adjustment for socio-demographics (P<0.0001) and a 27% risk of incident frailty after further adjustment for activities of daily living and co-morbidities (P=0.004).This study provides preliminary evidence that self-efficacy may be a key modifiable element to incorporate into multi-modal frailty interventions.

THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PERSONALITY TRAITS AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN U.S. CHINESE OLDER ADULTS
Maggie Li, 1 XinQi Dong, 2 and Dexia Kong, 2 1. Rutgers University, Chicago, Illinois, United States, 2. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States Depressive symptoms are prevalent in the aging population and can negatively impact the health and well-being of older adults.Personality traits may interact with depressive symptoms, but there is currently limited knowledge regarding this relationship in minority aging research.This study aims to explore the associations between two personality traits, neuroticism and conscientiousness, and depressive symptoms in 3,157 U.S. Chinese older adults.Data were obtained from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE) collected between 2011 and 2013.Neuroticism and conscientiousness were measured by the NEO Five-factor Inventory.Depressive symptoms were measured by the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9).45.3% of the participants reported at least one depressive symptom.Controlling for potential confounders, logistic regression analyses showed that both traits were significantly associated with depressive symptoms.One unit increase in neuroticism was associated with 19% increased odds of having any depressive symptoms (odds ratio [OR]=1.19,95% confidence interval [CI]=1.17-1.22).One unit increase in conscientiousness was associated with 5% decreased odds of having any depressive symptoms (OR=0.95,95% [CI]=0.94-0.96).Results validate the significant association between both traits and depressive symptoms among U.S. Chinese older adults, adding to the psychological and cultural profiles of those who have experienced mental distress.More in-depth examination using culturally-tailored measurements for personality traits is encouraged in minority aging studies.The NEO inventory was developed from populations and hence might not adequately represent personality traits valued by non-Western cultures.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIFESPAN VOLUNTEERISM AND PERSONALITY AMONG OLDEST OLD ADULTS Gina Lee, and Peter Martin, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, United States
There has been a lack of studies exploring volunteerism from the life span perspective.This study aims to examine the relationship between personality and volunteerism among the oldest old population, using three types of volunteerism: "ever volunteered," "last volunteered," and "currently volunteering.""Ever volunteered" assesses whether individuals ever volunteered in their life."Last volunteered" examines when an individual last volunteered."Currently volunteering" explores whether an individual is currently volunteering.By comparing the three volunteerism measures, this study took a life span view of volunteerism.Data of 208 oldest old adults, octogenarians (34.1%) and centenarians (65.9%), from the Georgia Centenarian Study were included in this study.The majority of the sample had volunteered sometime during their lifetime (88.9%), many of them still volunteered when they were in their 80s and 90s (40.4%), and the majority of the sample indicated that they were not currently volunteering (78.8%).Multiple regression analyses indicated that competence (a facet of conscientiousness) significantly predicted "ever volunteered," and extraversion significantly predicted "last volunteered."In other words, oldest old adults with high competence levels were more likely to have volunteering experiences in their life.Also, those with high levels of extraversion were likely to have more recent volunteering experiences.None of five personality traits significantly predicted "currently volunteering."This study sheds light on the importance of different types of volunteerism which enables us to better understand the relationship between volunteerism and personality.We recommend future research to test the link between different types of volunteerism and well-being outcomes.

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
A CITY TOO BUSY TO REMEMBER?AGING, STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE, AND THE POLITICS OF FORGETTING IN ATLANTA'S GENTRIFICATION John Pothen, Keland Yip, and Ellen Idler, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States Can forgotten stories from the past inform a city's future?As older adults continue to live longer and comprise more of the population than ever before, the suitability of gentrifying spaces for older adults aging in place is increasingly important.Critical theories of gentrification argue that remembering the experiences of older adults in this context -experiences of suffering, resilience, and structural violence -is essential to promote changes in support aging in place.In this study, we tell a story of individual experiences, structural violence, and aging in the ongoing gentrification of one neighborhood in southwest Atlanta.We construct this narrative through a qualitative analysis of 1,500 local newspaper articles from 1950 to the present day and 10 in-depth interviews with ex-residents of the neighborhood aged 65-87.Drawing on the theory of planetary rent gaps, we frame gentrification as a class struggle between property-owners and working class residents.We highlight the city government's role as a facilitator for property-owners through projects including the Model City initiative, preparation for the 1996 Olympics, and ongoing development surrounding the Atlanta BeltLine.We show how these projects have affected the prospects for aging in place in general and, specifically, by affecting access to healthcare services.We share this story in an effort to combat the politics of forgetting and to inform a richer, more inclusive, and more equitable future for gentrifying spaces.

ACUTE LIFE INTERVENTIONS, GOALS, AND NEEDS PROGRAM: SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH AMONG THE MOST VULNERABLE
Lizette Munoz, 1 Blair MacKenzie, 1 Audrey Chun, 2 Shamsi Fani, 3 Susana Lavayen, 1 and Stephanie Chow, 4 1.Mount Sinai Hospital,New York,New York,United States,2. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai,New york,New York,United States,3. Mount Sinai Medical Center,New York,New York,United States,4. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai,New York,New York,United States The Acute Life interventions Goals and Needs program(ALIGN) at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, is an inter-professional team dedicated to offering temporary intensive ambulatory care services to the most complex older patient population.This allows us to care for the most vulnerable population which often incur multiple hospitalizations, emergency room visits.Mr.C is a 81 yo male