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                Auburn University - University Relations
                            (334) 844-9999
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8/11/95                 Mitch Emmons (emmonmb@mail.auburn.edu)

ADAPTING WITH THE AGING PROCESS FOCUS OF AU NURSING STUDY

      AUBURN -- Why some people seem to age better than others is among 
several questions an Auburn University School of Nursing researcher hopes 
to answer through a study of how individuals adjust with the aging process.
      "There's got to be a reason why some people age better than 
others," said Barbara Wilder, a nursing instructor. "What accounts for a 
70-year-old who doesn't seem his or her age? How can some people much 
younger seem so old?"
      Using a battery of questionnaires, Wilder has just completed a 
year-long data gathering mission involving the voluntary participation of 
nearly 100 people between the ages of 65 and 94.
      Participants in the study are part of the Nutrition Program for 
the Aging  in Lee and Russell Counties, Wilder said. 
      "Two of the (survey) instruments were designed to measure the 
different components of quality of life," she said. "Another was designed 
to measure a person's hardiness."
      Wilder describes hardiness as a personality characteristic found 
among the elderly who seem to cope with and adjust best to aging. Hardy 
individuals display generally a positive outlook.
      "Hardiness really consists of three components: Challenge . . . 
that change is good; control . . . a sense that one is in control of his 
or her own destiny . . . and commitment . . . having and striving for 
short- and long-term goals," she said.
      While Wilder says a person's assessment of quality of life 
varies, her research stressed quality of life as being defined by one's 
functional ability and satisfaction with life.
      "I really hope to learn if hardiness is learned or inherited," 
she said. "Does it affect a person's assessment of quality of life? Can 
you measure one's hardiness at a young age and intervene if they show 
signs of being 'low hardy'? And if you can, can skills be taught that 
would improve one's hardiness and ability to better adapt with aging?"
      Wilder said her work has led her to conclude that positive 
attitude is an important aspect of hardiness. Factors such as education 
and income also play a role.
      "But many of these things combine to create a hardy person," she 
said. "Individually, they really don't appear to have a significant 
impact. No two people are alike, but if we can learn what are common 
factors that make one person age differently than another...if we can 
learn this quality and if it is teachable, then we can improve someone's 
quality of life."
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aug95:AU-aging                CONTACT: Wilder, 334/844-6766.