# Exploring Predictors of Disaster Resilience Among Older Adults: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey

## TL;DR

This study finds that older adults exposed to climate-related disasters have lower disaster resilience, but healthy aging factors can counteract this effect.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific healthy aging indicators that can mitigate the negative impact of disaster exposure on resilience in older adults.

## Key findings

- Disaster exposure is negatively associated with overall disaster resilience and specific resilience subscales.
- Healthy aging factors like place attachment and social activities are strongly linked to higher resilience.
- In the final model, disaster exposure was not directly associated with resilience when healthy aging variables were considered.

## Abstract

Older adults are the fastest-growing age group in the U.S. and desire to age at home. However, many reside in places increasingly exposed to climate change-fueled disasters. The Aging in Risky Environmental Areas (AREA) Study is a nationally representative survey of community-dwelling adults ages 50+ queried in November 2022 on aging, disaster exposure, and climate change. We conducted bivariate analyses and multivariate linear regression to examine the association between disaster exposure in the past 3 years and scores on the Disaster Adaptation and Resilience Scale (DARS), adjusting for sociodemographics and healthy aging indicators. Among 1,504 participants, 40.3% were exposed to ≥ 2 climate-related disasters. Total disaster exposure (p = 0.002), any indirect exposure (p < 0.001), and any direct exposure (p = 0.005) were all negatively associated with total disaster resilience. Total disaster exposure was also negatively associated with DARS subscales of social resources (p = 0.003), distress regulation (p < 0.001), and optimism (p = 0.006). In the final model, disaster exposure was not associated with resilience. Several healthy aging variables were associated, including place attachment (b = 3.28, p < 0.001); time spent on social and leisure activities (b = 1.23, p < 0.001); loneliness (b = -0.47, p < 0.001); cognitive impairment (b = -8.28, p < 0.001); depression (b = -5.47, p = 0.002); and psychological distress (b = -0.88, p < 0.001). Results show that while disaster exposure is associated with worse resilience, healthy aging can supersede this while facing more frequent and intense climate-related disasters.

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12759813