Age differences in meaning in life: Exploring the mediating role of social support

ObjectivesThree sets of analyses are performed in our study. First, following Erikson (1959), we hypothesized that the relationship between age and meaning becomes progressively stronger at successively older ages (i.e., the relationship is nonlinear). Second, following Carstensen (1992), we predicted that the relationship between age and social support (received support and satisfaction with support) becomes progressively stronger at successively older ages (i.e., these relationships are nonlinear, as well). Third, we proposed that the nonlinear relationship between age and meaning is mediated by the nonlinear social support constructs (i.e., received support and satisfaction with support).MethodsOur data were obtained from online interviews with a nationwide sample of adults of all ages (N = 2, 245).ResultsOur findings suggest there is a nonlinear relationship between age and meaning in life as well as a nonlinear relationship between age and each social support measure. Our data also indicate that the nonlinear effects of the social support measures mediate the nonlinear relationship between age and meaning in life.DiscussionFinding a sense of meaning may be facilitated by the supportive social networks that older people maintain.     

The role of social support on resilience,posttraumatic growth,hopelessness, and depression among children of HIV-infected parents in mainland China

Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) has a profound impact not only on the infected individuals, but also on their families. Children of the HIV-infected parents are particularly affected. The present study examined the relationship between social support, resilience, posttraumatic growth (PTG), hopelessness, and depression among 195 children of HIV-infected parents in mainland China. Results showed that 35.4% of the sample scored above the cutoff of the Children's Depression Inventory. Results from structural equation modeling reported that social support had a significant positive relationship with resilience and PTG. Higher levels of resilience and PTG were associated with lower level of hopelessness which in turn, was associated with lower level of depression. The overall model achieved satisfactory fit. Interventions are needed to improve social support of the children affected by HIV so as to improve their mental health.     

Social networks and mental health among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Johannesburg,South Africa

People living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) in developing countries can live longer due to improved treatment access, and a deeper understanding of determinants of their quality of life is critical. This study assessed the link between social capital, operationally defined in terms of social networks (group-based and personal social networks) and access to network resources (access to material and non-material resources and social support) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among 554 (55% female) adults on HIV treatment through South Africa's public health system. Female study participants were involved with more group-based social networks but had fewer personal social networks in comparison to males. Access to network resources was higher among females and those from larger households but lower among older study participants. Experience of social support significantly increased with household economic status and duration at current residence. Social capital indicators were unrelated to HIV disease status indicators, including duration since diagnosis, CD4 count and viral load. Only a minority (13%) of study participants took part in groups formed by and for predominantly PLHIV (HIV support groups), and participation in such groups was unrelated to their mental or physical health. Personal rather than group-linked social networks and access to network resources were significantly associated with mental but not physical health, after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. The findings of limited participation in HIV support groups and that the participation in such groups was not significantly associated with physical or mental health may suggest efforts among PLHIV in South Africa to normalise HIV as a chronic illness through broad-based rather than HIV-status bounded social participation, as a strategy for deflecting stigma. Further research is required to examine the effects of HIV treatment on social networking and participation among PLHIV within both rural and other urban settings of South Africa.     

From the Cover: Intergenerational transmission of emotional trauma through amygdala-dependent mother-to-infant transfer of specific fear

Emotional trauma is transmitted across generations. For example, children witnessing their parent expressing fear to specific sounds or images begin to express fear to those cues. Within normal range, this is adaptive, although pathological fear, such as occurs in posttraumatic stress disorder or specific phobias, is also socially transmitted to children and is thus of clinical concern. Here, using a rodent model, we report a mother-to-infant transfer of fear to a novel peppermint odor, which is dependent on the mother expressing fear to that smell in pups’ presence. Examination of pups’ neural activity using c-Fos early gene expression and ¹⁴C 2-deoxyglucose autoradiography during mother-to-infant fear transmission revealed lateral and basal amygdala nuclei activity, with a causal role highlighted by pharmacological inactivation of pups’ amygdala preventing the fear transmission. Maternal presence was not needed for fear transmission, because an elevation of pups’ corticosterone induced by the odor of the frightened mother along with a novel peppermint odor was sufficient to produce pups’ subsequent aversion to that odor. Disruption of axonal tracts from the Grueneberg ganglion, a structure implicated in alarm chemosignaling, or blockade of pups’ alarm odor-induced corticosterone increase prevented transfer of fear. These memories are acquired at younger ages compared with amygdala-dependent odor-shock conditioning and are more enduring following minimal conditioning. Our results provide clues to understanding transmission of specific fears across generations and its dependence upon maternal induction of pups’ stress response paired with the cue to induce amygdala-dependent learning plasticity. Results are discussed within the context of caregiver emotional responses and adaptive vs. pathological fears social transmission.Children, including infants, use their parents’ emotions to guide their behavior and learn about safety and danger (1–4). The infant’s ability to regulate behavior in novel situations using the caregiver’s emotional expression is known as social referencing and occurs in humans and nonhuman primates (1). Although parental physical presence itself or particular cues indicating parental presence, such as voice, touch, or smell typically signal safety for the child, infants are especially responsive to the caregiver’s communication during threats (3–5). This social learning is critical for enhancing survival through an adaptation to the environment but also provides transmission of pathological fears, such as occurs in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or in specific phobias (3–7).Despite existing evidence that children are sensitive to parental fear and anxiety, the neurobiological mechanisms for the transmission of parental specific fear to the offspring have remained elusive (2–7). Animal studies investigating the impact of parental stress on the offspring focused on the history of parental trauma, quality of maternal care, and resultant overall behavioral alterations in the offspring (7, 8). However, to develop efficient survival strategies, progenies must learn about specific environmental threats triggering parental fear (9).Most of what we know about fear learning comes from studies using fear conditioning (FC) (10). In FC, a neutral sensory cue [conditioned stimulus (CS)] is paired with a noxious event [unconditioned stimulus (US)]. Animal studies indicate that the amygdala’s lateral and basal nuclei (LBA) play an important role in FC (10). However, FC in infant rats is naturally attenuated until postnatal day (PND) 10 due to low levels of the stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) during the stress hyporesponsive period (11–15). This fear suppression continues in older pups (until PND 16) in the mother’s presence due to social buffering (attenuation) of the shock-induced CORT increase (15).To study the intergenerational transmission of fear to specific triggers, we developed a mother-to-infant social fear learning paradigm. In social fear learning, an organism learns fear through an exposure to a conspecific expressing fear to a discrete CS. Social fear learning may thus serve as a model explaining how defense responses to specific triggers are transmitted between individuals. Social fear learning has been demonstrated in primates, including humans and in rodents, and involves the amygdala (16–19).