FACTORS THAT PREDICT LONELINESS FOR MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER ADULTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract The Protection Motivation Theory (Eberhardt & Ling, 2021; Rogers, 1975) describes factors that influence intention and engagement in preventive health behaviors, including knowledge/experience, threat appraisal, and coping/efficacy appraisal. Public health responses to the covid-19 pandemic were designed to increase knowledge, emphasize potential severity of being infected, and promote preventive health behaviors – all with the goal of reducing infection transmission. However, these efforts may have inadvertently increased loneliness, particularly for older adults. This study used 2020 Health and Retirement Study data (N=1,687 adults over age 50) to examine predictors of loneliness based on the PMT framework, controlling for demographic factors and 2016 loneliness scores. Structural Equation Model results indicate that being at higher risk for covid-19 complications and death was associated with lower feelings of control over health (B=-.09), greater likelihood of knowing someone who died from covid-19 (B = .20), and higher overall concerns about covid-19 (B=.12), all p<.01. Higher concerns about covid-19 and knowing someone who died from covid-19 were associated with more protective behaviors (B=.41, p<.01; B=.05, p<.05; respectively). Not knowing someone who died of COVID-19, and lower perceived control over health and social life were all significantly associated with higher loneliness scores. These results suggest that interventions that promote perceived control over one’s health and social life may be effective in reducing feelings of loneliness in this population, and that feelings of control over health also increases preventive health behaviors that reduce the risk of covid-19 infection.


HEARING LOSS AND ITS CONSEQUENCES FOR SPOUSAL MENTAL HEALTH: EVIDENCE FROM THE HEALTH AND RETIREMENT STUDY
Hearing loss (HL) is an increasingly prevalent chronic stressor among older adults and is associated with numerous adverse health outcomes. The life course perspective and stress process framework highlight that an individual's stressors may have a short and/or long-term impact on the health of others. However, little is known about how HL influences the proliferation of stress within married couples. Drawing on nationally-representative data from 11 waves  of the Health and Retirement Study (n=9,000 individuals, 4,500 couples), we use age-based mixed models to examine how one's own HL, spouse's HL, or both spouses have HL shape the level and changes in depressive symptoms. For men, we find that their wives' HL, their own HL, and both spouses having HL are each associated with an increase in depressive symptoms-and that the associations persist as spouses age. For women, we find that their own HL and both spouses having HL is associated with an increase in depressive symptoms. Furthermore, we find that the differences in women's depressive symptoms between spouses who both have HL and those who do not have HL significantly declines with age. We also find no evidence to suggest that husbands' HL is associated with wives' depressive symptoms. Together, these findings suggest that the connections between spouses' HL and their depressive symptoms are a dynamic process that unfolds differently by gender over time.
Interventions that recognize the proliferation of stress associated with HL may help both individuals with HL and their spouses reduce their depressive symptoms.

LONG-TERM GENDERED PATHWAYS OF RELIGIOUS INVOLVEMENT POST WIDOWHOOD
Frances Hawes 1 , and Jane Tavares 2 , 1. University of Eau Claire,Wisconsin,United States,2. University of Massachusetts Boston,Boston,Massachusetts,United States Widowhood is associated with decreased emotional well-being, particularly increased depression. Prior research suggests that religiosity may help improve mental health among widowed individuals. However, longitudinal studies exploring the role of religiosity on emotional well-being among widowed older adults is lacking, as are studies which examine different dimensions of religiosity. This longitudinal study analyzed data from the 2006-2018 waves of the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between widowhood and depression as well as the role of religiosity as a moderator of this association. Analysis was stratified by gender to further explore these interactions. Results show that men and women show similar levels of depression at widowhood, but men are far less likely to be depressed prior to widowhood. Women also show a better recovery pattern over time post-widowhood. Furthermore, religiosity (particularly attending church) is an effective way of coping with widowhood and mitigating depression for both genders. However, men are significantly less religious than women. This study highlights the long-term effects of widowhood on depressive symptomology among older adults. Practical implications of this study include intervention development around increased screening and treatment for depression for widowed older adults (in particular, for widowers) as well as connecting this vulnerable population with resources. These findings may also inform program outreach (such as hospice bereavement services) that aim to facilitate healthy grieving among widowed older adults.

FACTORS THAT PREDICT LONELINESS FOR MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER ADULTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Angela Curl, and Katie Wolf, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, United States
The Protection Motivation Theory (Eberhardt & Ling, 2021;Rogers, 1975) describes factors that influence intention and engagement in preventive health behaviors, including knowledge/experience, threat appraisal, and coping/efficacy appraisal. Public health responses to the covid-19 pandemic were designed to increase knowledge, emphasize potential severity of being infected, and promote preventive health behaviors -all with the goal of reducing infection transmission. However, these efforts may have inadvertently increased loneliness, particularly for older adults. This study used 2020 Health and Retirement Study data (N=1,687 adults over age 50) to examine predictors of loneliness based on the PMT framework, controlling for demographic factors and 2016 loneliness scores. Structural Equation Model results indicate that being at higher risk for covid-19 complications and death was associated with lower feelings of control over health (B=-.09), greater likelihood of knowing someone who died from covid-19 (B = .20), and higher overall concerns about covid-19 (B=.12), all p<.01. Higher concerns about covid-19 and knowing someone who died from covid-19 were associated with more protective behaviors (B=.41, p<.01; B=.05, p<.05; respectively). Not knowing someone who died of COVID-19, and lower perceived control over health and social life were all significantly associated with higher loneliness scores. These results suggest that interventions that promote perceived control over one's health and social life may be effective in reducing feelings of loneliness in this population, and that feelings of control over health also increases preventive health behaviors that reduce the risk of covid-19 infection. Loneliness is a critical public health problem yet little is known about older Latinx's experiences with loneliness. We conducted narrative interviews (Cultural Formulation Interview), with 17 Spanish-speaking Latinx (60 years+) living with loneliness (based on 3-item Loneliness scale) in New York or Los Angeles. Interviewers were bilingual (English/Spanish) gerontological social workers with training in qualitative methods, culturally-sensitive clinical research and elicitation of "sensitive data". Our thematic analysis was informed by Biopsychosocial and Minority Stress Models, and our gerontological clinical experience with Latinx groups. Most participants immigrated from Mexico, Dominican Republic, Ecuador or Uruguay and lived in the US for more than 20 years. Interviews ranged from 60 to 120 minutes. Most participants described comorbid depression or pain. A substantial majority (82%) had never discussed feelings of loneliness with family or friends. No participant reported seeking professional help to address loneliness. Other identified themes demonstrated how cultural and contextual factors shape loneliness: 1) Descriptions and interpretations rooted in familism and views of aging ("it seems I no longer matter to my children"); 2) perceived causes e.g. discrimination, family conflict, bereavements, immigrant stress, violence; 3) religious and cognitive coping to mitigate loneliness ("I pray that God gives me strength, "I befriend loneliness"); and 4) psychosocial functioning impact ( "there is no reason to live"). Our findings support development of culturally congruent loneliness prevention and treatment practices for older Latinx adults. Future quantitative research should explore the association of cultural and minority stress factors related to loneliness in diverse samples of older Latinx.

NETWORK SIZE, SOCIAL ACCOMPANIMENT, AND GENDER: PROTECTIVE OR RISK FACTOR FOR REAL-TIME LONELINESS, AND FOR WHOM?
Ellen Compernolle 1 , and Alyssa Goldman 2 , 1. NORC at the University of Chicago,Chicago,Illinois,United States,2. Boston College,Chestnut Hill,Massachusetts,United States Large personal networks are a key marker of social integration that protect against loneliness. Yet how such social integration shapes loneliness on a momentary basis remains unclear. This study examines (1) the role of personal network size in shaping older adults' momentary loneliness, (2) how momentary social accompaniment modifies this association (protective or risk factor), and (3) whether this moderation varies by gender. We use three waves of ecological momentary assessments (n = 12,251) and personal network data collected from 333 older adults as part of the Chicago Health and Activity in Real-Time (CHART). Findings from multilevel regression models suggest that older adults with large social networks experience greater intensity loneliness when momentarily alone compared to those with smaller social networks. This association is also more pronounced among men compared to women. Results support our deviationfrom-baseline hypothesis, which is further supported by additional analyses that find a similar association between more frequent interaction with network ties and heightened loneliness when alone. Additional analyses provide insight into observed gender differences as well: women's networks and momentary social company tend to be familial ties characterized by caregiving, compared to men's ties, which are characterized as peers or companions. Here, moments of momentary social isolation may be a welcome reprieve from otherwise demanding social relationships ("tethering"). We conclude that extending the well-documented links between global measures of social integration and loneliness into a real-time framework offers novel insight into existing, high-level trends in loneliness among older adults.

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS AND LONELINESS AMONG OLDER PUERTO RICANS: HOW DOES DISCRIMINATION MATTER?
Kaipeng Wang 1 , Daniel Vélez Ortiz 2 , Lisa Colón 3 , and Fei Sun 2 , 1. University of Denver,Denver,Colorado,United States,2. Michigan State University,East Lansing,Michigan,United States,3. Washington State University,Pullman,Washington,United States Loneliness is associated with worse mental health conditions, more functional limitations, and higher mortality among older adults. Almost one third older Puerto Ricans have experienced loneliness. Research has shown that post-traumatic stress has been associated with higher risk of loneliness among older adults; however, such an association has not been examined among Puerto Ricans despite their high prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, perceived discrimination, a critical risk factor of social isolation, is likely to reduce help-seeking behaviors and aggregate loneliness among individuals who have experienced trauma. Nonetheless, few studies have focused on the moderating