Hardiness, self‐care practices and perceived health status in older adults

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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among hardiness, self-care practices and perceived health status in older adults A random sample of older adults (n= 72) was selected from the population of a small north-eastern town in the United States Self-report data were obtained on the Health-Related Hardiness Scale as a measure of hardness, the Personal Lifestyle Questionnaire as a measure of self-care practices and the Visual Analogue Scale as a measure of perceived health status It was hypothesized that older adults who had higher levels of hardness and self-care practices would have a higher perceived health status and that hardness and self-care practices combined would explain more of the variance in perceived health status than either variable taken individually Statistical analyses supported the three hypotheses The obtained significant correlation between hardness and perceived health status was –068(PP< 0 001) The illness index, income and living circumstance accounted for 46% of the variance in perceived health status scores Hardness and self-care practices accounted for an additional 10% of the variance in perceived health status once these demographic and illness variables were controlled Implications for nursing practice, education and research are discussed Recommendations included replication of the study with a larger, more heterogeneous population Suggestions for further investigation of the relationship between resistance resources such as hardness and self-care practices and health status are presented

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