Although activity theory proposes a strong relationship between social activity and life satisfaction among older individuals, little research has considered the salience of the activity to the individual. In order to consider the salience of the activity, using volunteer activity as a measure, survey results from the Myths and Realities of Aging…

In the last two decades, problems associated with aging have caused increased public concern. As a result of recent research in the Federal Republic of Germany, the science of gerontology has revealed new information about the living conditions and living standards of the elderly. The image of older people is still a negative one and passing…

Research has demonstrated that perceived health, while related to objective determinants of health, is a separate determination of individuals using different information than others. To investigate the relationship of ego development to perceptions of health, 192 subjects (64 college students, 64 adult community residents, and 64 retired older…

Until recently marriages that endured 20 years or more have been considered long-term. And only in recent years have marriages of 50 or more years duration been plentiful enough to be studied. The course of marital satisfaction across the years was traced in the 17 surviving couples of the Berkeley Older Generation Study, a group that has been…

The theoretical model of Bengtson et al (l976) for the measurement of intergenerational solidarity proposes that dependency needs and residential proximity modify helping behavior, while filial responsibility mediates the effects of residential proximity. To examine the relative importance of the model in predicting parent/child solidarity among a…

An amended form of the Older American's Status and Needs Assessment Questionnaire assessed the prevalence of adjustment, as measured by the Bradburn Affect Scale, in a random stratified sample of 301 female and 140 male elderly rural residents in Allegany County, New York. The relationship between adjustment and biosocial, demographic, social, and…