Abstract

LIMA, Lígia Maria Monteiro; SANTOS, Célia Samarina Vilaça de Brito; ALMEIDA, Maria Celeste Bastos Martins de  and  MARTINS, Maria Manuela Ferreira Pereira da Silva. Psychosocial adjustment and health in older people: cluster analysis. Rev. Enf. Ref. [online]. 2018, vol.serIV, n.16, pp.9-18. ISSN 0874-0283.  https://doi.org/10.12707/RIV17070.

Background: Healthy aging has both a physical and a psychosocial dimension, which justifies the need to better understand older people's psychosocial adjustment. Objectives: To study the psychosocial adjustment process in older people and explore its association with sociodemographic and clinical variables. Methodology: A quantitative, cross-sectional, and exploratory study was conducted with 922 community-dwelling older people aged 64 to 99 years. The following sociodemographic and clinical variables were analyzed: perceived health; positive and negative affect; perceived social support; and medication adherence. Results: Three psychosocial adjustment profiles were identified. The profile with the lowest scores in all indicators, called the worst adjustment, was composed of intermediate-age older people (M = 74.7; SD = 7.08), who also reported more symptoms and diseases. Conclusion: This study suggests the existence of a group of particularly vulnerable older people and highlights the need to develop nursing interventions focused on adaptive resources that can improve their health and psychosocial adjustment.

Keywords : aged; social adjustment; health; cluster analysis.

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