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How we survived: older adults’ adjustment to the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Jarego, M. and Tasker, Fiona and Costa, PA. and Pais-Ribeiro, J. and Ferreira-Valente, A. (2024) How we survived: older adults’ adjustment to the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Current Psychology , ISSN 1046-1310.

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Abstract

Objective: Older adults were found to be the most susceptible group to suffer the physical health consequences of a COVID-19 infection and were considered vulnerable to the negative effects of the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, yet unlike many young adults did not generally experience an increased rate of mental health problems. Our study explored the strategies older adults in Portugal deployed during the mandatory lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. Methods and Measures: Qualitative interview data were collected with 22 older adults in relatively good health (aged between 66 and 92 years old; 36% women). Results: Three main themes were identified via thematic analysis: 1) Finding things to do and activities that can protect me; 2) Identifying how my thoughts can protect me; and 3) Counting myself lucky – me and my home advantages. Conclusion: Some of the thematic strategies identified by older adults to manage pandemic and lockdown-related stresses related to meaning-centered coping could be further developed via cognitive behavioral therapies of the third wave.

Metadata

Item Type: Article
Keyword(s) / Subject(s): COVID-19, Lockdown, Older adults, Coping, Psychological well-being
School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences
Research Centres and Institutes: Gender and Sexuality, Birkbeck (BiGS)
Depositing User: Fiona Tasker
Date Deposited: 24 Apr 2024 12:55
Last Modified: 25 Feb 2025 08:15
URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/53441

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