Rusinova, N. (2021). Age inequalities in health and personal psychological resources: key сonceptual constructs and results of empirical analysis in modern studies. Demographic Review, 8(4), 132-155. https: ...

Abstract

One of the key directions in modern sociological health research is the analysis of inequalities – health status is noticeably worse among those in the lower positions of social stratification, and better in strata with a high socioeconomic status. There are also age-related inequalities in health, whose deterioration with age, mainly due to the natural aging of the body, depends on social factors that can accelerate or slow down this process. In recent years, the attention of researchers has been drawn not only to factors of material deprivation associated with socio-economic status, but also to socio-psychological variables indicating an individual’s resistance to the difficulties of life and the stressful influences caused by them. The article presents a review of Western studies on the importance of personal psychological resources for age-related inequalities in health. Two branches in this problem area are discussed; one deals with the impact of psychological resources at different stages of life, and the second analyzes the age-related changes in personal psychological resources themselves. The results of empirical analysis of such psychological constructs as the individual's ability to control his life, self-esteem, self-efficacy, optimism, and resilience to the difficulties of life, are described. It is pointed out that the overall picture, although with a possible discrepancy of some results, quite clearly indicates the important role of personal psychological traits for maintaining health, especially in older ages. Psychological resources change with age, following a non-linear relationship. Promising directions of research, just beginning to unfold, are discussed. The most important of them seems to be the study of psychological moderation and mediation of age-related differences in health and the differences of such effects in various societal contexts determined by economic development, the welfare state, and culture.