A Review on Role of Education and Learning in Enhancing Psychological Resilience in Later Years of Life

Background: The increasing aging population has drawn attention to factors affecting mental health and their adaptation. Therefore, the appropriate strategies should be provided for this population so that they can adapt to the challenges of old age. Education and learning in older adults contribute to enhancing psychological resilience and facilitate such adaptation. This review examines the role of educational participation in enhancing psychological resilience in older adults.
Methods: This study was conducted by searching PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases to identify the studies related to aging, psychological resilience resources, education, and learning. The available studies were analyzed and synthesized to investigate the association between educational participation and psychological resilience in the elderly.
Results: Findings showed that educational participation may help older adults adapt to the challenges through multiple pathways. The most reported mechanisms were social relationships, problem-solving, a sense of purpose and meaning in life, coping strategies for problems, self-efficacy and a sense of control, and self-confidence and a sense of competence. Overall, education and learning may help increase psychological resilience and ultimately promote healthy aging and psychological well-being by strengthening these psychological and social resources.
Conclusion: Education may help older adults to enhance resilience by boosting self-efficacy, sense of control, coping skills, social connections, and sense of purpose. Therefore, educational participation can support healthy aging and increase psychological resilience through potential pathways.