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AIMS Medical Science

2014, Volume 1, Issue 1: 40-56. doi: 10.3934/medsci.2014.1.40
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The Prevalence of Perceived Stress among U.S. Chinese Older Adults

  • 1.
    Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60701, USA;
  • 2.
    Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60701, USA
  • Received: 15 June 2014 Accepted: 12 August 2014 Published: 01 September 2014

  • Background: Perceived stress is an important indicator of well-being. However, we have limited understanding of the experience of stress in minority aging populations. Methods: This study aims to identify the stress level among U.S. Chinese older adults. Results: Our findings indicated that 74% of PINE participants have experienced some level of daily stress. Of the 10-items in the stress scale, the prevalence of individual items ranged from 11.4% to 31.8%. Higher levels of perceived stress were more likely to present among older adults with an older age, female gender, lower education and income level, and poorer health status and quality of life. Participants with zero years of education showed the highest level of perceived stress, with a mean score of 12.2. Conclusions: This study indicates that Chinese older adults in the U.S are experiencing stress in their daily lives. Future longitudinal studies are needed to improve the understanding of risk factors and outcomes associated with perceived stress in Chinese older adults.

    Citation: Manrui Zhang, Melissa A. Simon, Xinqi Dong. The Prevalence of Perceived Stress among U.S. Chinese Older Adults[J]. AIMS Medical Science, 2014, 1(1): 40-56. doi: 10.3934/medsci.2014.1.40

    Related Papers:

  • Background: Perceived stress is an important indicator of well-being. However, we have limited understanding of the experience of stress in minority aging populations. Methods: This study aims to identify the stress level among U.S. Chinese older adults. Results: Our findings indicated that 74% of PINE participants have experienced some level of daily stress. Of the 10-items in the stress scale, the prevalence of individual items ranged from 11.4% to 31.8%. Higher levels of perceived stress were more likely to present among older adults with an older age, female gender, lower education and income level, and poorer health status and quality of life. Participants with zero years of education showed the highest level of perceived stress, with a mean score of 12.2. Conclusions: This study indicates that Chinese older adults in the U.S are experiencing stress in their daily lives. Future longitudinal studies are needed to improve the understanding of risk factors and outcomes associated with perceived stress in Chinese older adults.


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