- Title
- Factors associated with personal hopefulness in older rural and urban residents of New South Wales
- Creator
- Inder, Kerry J.; Hussain, Rafat; Allen, Joanne; Brew, Bronwyn; Lewin, Terry J.; Attia, John; Kelly, Brian J.
- Relation
- Advances in Mental Health Vol. 13, Issue 1, p. 43-57
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/18374905.2015.1039186
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2015
- Description
- Background: As research focuses on the concept of resilience, evidence suggests that greater levels of personal hope may have a mitigating effect on the mental health impact of adversity. In view of the adversity affecting rural communities, a better understanding of factors influencing personal hope may help identify foci for mental health promotion and mental illness prevention research and interventions. Aim: To explore the relationship between demographic, socioeconomic and mental health factors and personal hopefulness, including the influence of locality and remoteness. Method: Using data from two community-based longitudinal cohorts from New South Wales – one urban and one rural – we analysed cross-sectional relationships between a range of factors and personal hopefulness using logistic regression techniques, as part of a common follow-up. Personal hopefulness was measured using a 12-item scale and scores were categorised as low (<2.5), medium (2.5–3.4) and high (≥3.5). Results: Of 2774 participants (53% female, mean age 69.1 years [SD 7.3, range 58–91 years], 36% living outside metropolitan areas) 32% had low, 51% had medium and 17% had high personal hopefulness scores. Several factors displayed univariate associations with personal hopefulness. In the multivariate model, five factors were independently associated with lower personal hopefulness: being older, having lower perceived prosperity, less frequent socialisation, experiencing high psychological distress or psychological impairment. Hopefulness was not associated with geographical location. Conclusion: The impact of current psychological distress and aspects of adversity on personal hopefulness over time should be further investigated in longitudinal research. Personal hopefulness did not differ across geographical location.
- Subject
- hope; rural health; mental health; ageing; remoteness; adversity
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1327101
- Identifier
- uon:25572
- Identifier
- ISSN:1838-7357
- Language
- eng
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