How Resilient Are Older Adults?

The stereotype says one thing; the reality is strikingly different.

Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer

Key points

• The stereotype of older adults as "set in their ways" is widespread.
• However, research done during the pandemic shows older adults surpassed younger people in resilience.
• Some studies show that older adults responded to the pandemic crisis by becoming more creative and empathic.

How resilient are older people? According to the stereotype, older people are "too set in their ways" to adapt to changing circumstances. Is that true or just a myth? Recent research has some answers to this question.

“Resilience” is often defined as the ability to bounce back after hardship, failure, or even tragedy. Some people are able to return to a previous level of functioning after setbacks or even achieve a higher level of functioning. When someone can survive and thrive after extraordinary setbacks, such as trauma, we often say they have achieved “post-traumatic growth.”

The artist Henri Matisse might be the ultimate poster child of an older person with resilience. After surgery for abdominal cancer in 1941 at the age of 72, Matisse was bedbound and no longer able to paint or sculpt in his usual ways. Undaunted, he began to create colorful paper collages with the help of his assistants. But he did not consider his new creations an inferior sort of art, nor did he consider his life as an artist over. In fact, he called the last fourteen years of his life “une second vie,” a second life. His late-in-life collages are now considered iconic works of art.

But that’s Matisse! He was a genius. What does the research say about “ordinary people” who encounter obstacles in their lives? Two studies explored how older adults dealt with the challenges of the 2020-2021 pandemic and offer some unexpected answers.

Research: Pandemic Resilience Among Older Adults

During and after the pandemic, "Age Wave," a think-tank specializing in issues of aging, retirement, and longevity issues, partnered with Edward Jones and the Harris Poll, to conduct multiple in-depth surveys involving more than 10,000 respondents across five generations in the US and Canada.

Maddy Dychtwald of Age Wave summarized the results in her book, Ageless Aging: “We were quite surprised to see that it was not younger people but older ones who displayed the most emotional and mental resilience and even well-being throughout the tumultuous times of 2020 and 2021.”

Retirees, for example, "reported greater optimism than others, with a majority (61%) indicating that the pandemic has given them 'more appreciation for what makes life meaningful' (vs. only 46% of all other Americans). Additionally, over half of retirees (53%) say that they now have 'greater empathy and compassion for people who are struggling in ways that they are not.'" (PRNewswire)

These results correspond with other research indicating that people tend to get happier and more mentally stable as they get older, summarized here. For example, researcher Laura Carstensen, in A Long Bright Future, reported that people over 65 “had the most stable and optimistic outlook” of all adults.

In another study, Dr. Lenny Chiang-Hanisko et al, surveyed 98 older adults, with an average age of 86, living through the COVID-19 pandemic in a continuing care retirement community. Residents in the independent living section were surveyed. Although those surveyed were mostly white, college-educated females, the results offer insight into the mentality of "the oldest old" in crisis.

The survey addressed whether residents experienced any of the dimensions of "post-traumatic growth." "PTG" was defined by the researchers along five dimensions—openness to new possibilities, stronger relationships, an enhanced sense of personal strength, spiritual growth, and appreciation of life.

Despite the frustrations of pandemic-related restrictions—closure of dining rooms and the requirement to wear masks, for example—the researchers discovered that a surprising number of residents experienced “post-traumatic growth." Many residents explored their creative sides, taking up long-neglected musical instruments, learning painting skills, or writing. Some took online classes or learned practical tech skills such as ordering online. Others found new ways to have fun, such as playing online games, or participating in online card games with others. Some residents deepened family relationships with video calls or participated in friendship groups such as book clubs via Zoom. Most found themselves appreciative of and grateful for the small pleasures of life.

These results are especially remarkable given the various challenges of aging, worries over health issues, and confinement.

My Pandemic Experience

I was 75-76 during the pandemic. At this point, I had developed a "second life" as a freelance writer, after retiring 10 years previously from my primary career as a community college counselor. As a blogger here on psychologytoday.com, I had swerved from my original interests in motivation and healthy habits and developed a passion for learning about healthy aging. In fact, I had been yearning to write a book incorporating my personal experiences with researched-based blogs.

When the pandemic struck, I took the opportunity to write that book. (It eventually was published as Silver Sparks: Thoughts on Growing Older, Wiser, and Happier.) I must admit that the pandemic was a joyous time for me. Not only did I relish my newfound time to write undisturbed; I could hardly wait to hit the computer each day. I was fortunate to be living with my long-time boyfriend, so I did not have the challenge of loneliness issues.

The research above shows that I was not unusual in my response to the pandemic—numerous older adults took advantage of the pandemic to fulfill new and old dreams and to explore new hobbies, pleasures, education, and skills. They, too, experienced a second life, despite isolation, losses, and confinement. While Matisse was a genius, the longer I live, the more I realize that within each “ordinary” person is an extraordinary person. Older adults have an exceptional talent for using their creativity and perspective to build a more resilient life.

(c) Meg Selig, (c) 2024. All rights reserved.