Older adult inmates have grown both in proportion and in number due to the confluence of a number of factors. This aging of the prison population has created a host of policy and practice issues that encompass justice considerations, cost containment issues, and biopsychosocial care needs. The older prisoner's physical, social, and psychological…

The findings of this study provide insight into possible methods and techniques for changing attitudes of ninth graders toward older persons. The same principles could be applied in an infinite number of situations in which attitude change is desirable. (Author)

Federal support for adult day care centers began in the United States approximately 10 years ago. To examine the counseling practices in the adult day care centers across the country and to explore how the services are affected by the staffing patterns at these centers, 135 centers completed a questionnaire. The questionnaire addressed…

Describes The Road of Life, a board game developed to increase understanding of the experiences of the elderly by simulating the gains and losses of old age. The game, followed by a group discussion, is an effective way to facilitate an increased understanding of old age. (JAC)

This description of the volunteer program at the Andrus Gerontology Center at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, suggests that older adults can improve the quality of life for themselves and others by building bridges of understanding between: generations within an organization, paid and unpaid workers, parts of an organization,…

Research has shown that the majority of Americans believe in the concept of life after death in some form. To investigate the effects of afterlife anxiety on wellness in the elderly, 293 Los Angeles elderly were interviewed. An afterlife anxiety measure and measures of physical and psychologial health were administered. Pearson correlations failed…

Provides a brief overview of the gerontology movement and looks at health, physical education, recreation, and dance (HPERD) curriculum development and professional preparation focusing on the implications for serving the growing older population, educating younger people for successful aging, and improving HPERD status within the field of…

This manual, the first of a three-volume series on counseling older adults, is designed to assist teams of counselor educators, aging network staff, continuing education professionals, and service providers to plan, develop, implement, and institutionalize basic helping skills programs for older adults. The first unit provides background…

A widespread bias exists among legal, medical, and social service professionals that the appropriate placement for elderly individuals with cognitive impairment (dementia) is a nursing home. Two major reasons for institutionalization are to remove the patient from a potentially harmful situation and to relieve the family of the burden of care.…

The population of older black Americans is a growing, underutilized resource. Research on the status of older black Americans suggests that race is among the major factors influencing economic status and social mobility. Recent census data and projections confirm that to be old and black is a liability rather than an asset. As this population…

Offers proposed definitions of "frail elderly" and "range of institutional care", and argues that an active problem-solving, treatment-oriented approach can reduce unnecessary institutionalization and that the movement to deinstitutionalize the elderly can learn from the history of the deinstitutionalization of other groups.…

Purpose: An increasingly important task for all disciplines involved in aging research is to identify and prioritize areas for investigation. This article reports the results of a national Delphi study on setting research priorities for gerontological social work. Design and Methods: Delphi methodology, a structured process for eliciting and…

Gerontological counseling as a counseling specialty spans only 20 years. This text incorporates into its framework the 16 Minimum Essential Competencies of gerontological counseling that have been developed over the past two decades. These competencies focus on the knowledge and skills required to be an effective counselor for older persons and…

The reduction of lifetime working hours in Western industrialized countries is increasing the need for research, particularly qualitative, on the leisure of the elderly. This approach has been taken in planning a new empirical study. (MSE)

Discusses the concept of quality of life as it relates to aging and as it is addressed in research studies. Describes counseling intervention strategies that are designed to help middle-aged older adults manage their lives. Focuses specifically on prevention, self-management and education, and life enrichment and renewal strategies. (ML)