Ensuring a smoother transition to and through old age by preserving the cognitive health and psychological wellbeing, and social independence of older adults is one of the most critical challenges of our times.
The global population aged 60 years or over numbered 962 million in 2017, more than twice as large as in 1980 when there were 382 million older persons worldwide. Recent projections indicate that this number will double again by 2050, reaching nearly 2.1 billion (United Nations, 2017)
Traditionally, cognitive decline in older adults has been widely considered to be an accepted consequence of aging, typically involving brain atrophy, loss of neuronal synaptic connections and signs of neuropathology (Greenwood, 2007). However, recent findings suggest that such decline is not inevitable (Rogalski et al., 2013). Higher levels of psychological (and physical) wellbeing have been positively correlated with better cognitive performance in aging adults (Llewellyn et al., 2008). Therefore, preserving and promoting psychological wellbeing in the older population is crucial.
Anxiety is one of the highly prevalent threats to the psychological wellbeing of the older adults, affecting about 10% of the population (Flint, 1994). Often underrecognized and undertreated (Mulsant & Ganguli, 1999; Volkers et al., 2004) it has grave consequences for everyday functioning reduced quality of life, increased disability, and diminished wellbeing (de Beurs et al., 1999; Charney et al., 2003) which was indicated comparable to or even exceeding those of major chronic medical conditions such as diabetes and arthritis (Sherbourne et al., 1996). Anxiety in the increasing population of older adults, therefore, not only threatens psychological wellbeing of individuals but it also puts an extra strain on already limited health care resources.
In clinical research anxiety is measured as ‘intolerance of uncertainty’. Recent evidence indicates that multilinguals tend to tolerate uncertainty better and are, therefore, less likely to develop symptoms of anxiety compared to monolinguals (Vaitonyte et al., 2020).
There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that multilingual older adults experience slower cognitive aging, develop dementia 3–6 years later, and recover better from stroke (Bak, 2016). However, there is not much research about how an advanced knowledge of multiple languages may affect the psychological wellbeing of older multilinguals.
With this research, we aim to compare the psychological wellbeing of healthy, older adults and specifically investigate whether multilinguals are more tolerant of uncertainty and therefore, experience fewer symptoms of anxiety than monolinguals.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Candidates must have a first or upper second class honors degree or significant research experience.
HOW TO APPLY
Prospective candidates will need to apply for postgraduate research here: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/phd/apply/applying where they will also be asked to fill in a google form specifically for the Joint China Scholarship Council scheme.
Please clearly state the prospective main supervisor in the respective box and select Human Communication Sciences as the department.
You must be a national of, and reside in, mainland China (not including Hong Kong or Macau). You must also be intending to return to China once your programme is completed. You will require an unconditional offer from the University of Sheffield including meeting both academic and English language criteria.
Applications close at 5pm on Friday 26th February 2021.
Continue with Facebook
