Projections, based on current rates, are that 40% of recent marriages will end in divorce. To investigate the factors associated with long term marriage stability and satisfaction among elderly persons, 60 California older adults (30 married, 30 divorced) were interviewed about their perceptions of the role of companionship, alternatives to…

This paper reviews psychological literature concerned with aging, and includes brief reviews of (a) motor skill work, (b) the phenomena of "slowing," (c) social psychological findings, (d) sensation and perception, and (e) selected learning characteristics. The following teaching and learning strategies were elicited from this study: (a)…

The Older Person's Counseling Needs (OPCN) Survey is used as an instrument to assess counseling needs of older persons in relation to their major life concerns. Four key areas of concern have been identified. These include personal, interpersonal, activity, and environmental concerns. These four areas have been subdivided to achieve 27 basic…

A common assumption, reflective of data obtained from older males, often in institutional or outpatient settings, is that being old and alone is a severely negative condition. A sample of 300 older men and women in community settings provides an alternative perspective. For a number of daily living activities as well as personal and interpersonal…

Fifty retired teachers were interviewed in an effort to acquire information about how their attitudes and outlooks changed throughout the course of careers in secondary schools spanning an average period of 38 years each. Of particular interest in the study was the emergence of changes in personal attitudes and changes in attitudes toward others.…

In response to a request from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Council on Aging, structured interviews were conducted with a random sample of 388 older persons in Charlotte, North Carolina, to assess their needs in the areas of health, transportation, housing, nutrition, information referral, and social participation. A substantial proportion of those…

Many previous studies have found that daily life events influence community residents' perceived quality of life, which refers to the relative goodness of life as evaluated subjectively. A subsample population of 539 older residents, aged 55 and over, were interviewed in their homes. A 60-item scale was devised to measure the effects of…

In order to identify important clinical questions in long-term care settings for older adults, it may be helpful to examine the psychological consultant's role in these settings. A consultant is often faced with some staff members who think he has all the answers and by others who think he has none. The consultant may also encounter a strong…

Sibling relationships are not only maintained throughout life in most cases, but assume considerable importance in old age. Siblings provide psychological support for each other as well as more tangible forms of helping and caregiving. In order to investigate variables leading to sibling help in the area of psychological support, a path model…

This study reports the initial results from a study designed to assess the perceived needs for mental health services and other types of services in a group of elderly black women who participated in an urban, federally subsidized luncheon program. The two hypotheses tested were: (l) that the majority of elderly persons participating in this…

While published recommendations for housing design and neighborhood planning for older people continue to proliferate, these standards and criteria are rarely subjected to empirical testing. In this study, objective field assessments, using objective measures of residential quality, measured residential resources for meeting life maintenance and…

A confiding spousal relationship and/or a confidant outside the marital relationship may affect an individual's ability to cope with various stressful events occurring during the adult years. Initial interviews of adults (N=2299) were conducted in 1972; a follow-up study was conducted in 1976 with 1106 adults. The findings confirmed the…

A prevailing myth holds that modern families, characterized by high mobility and individualistic life styles, do not care for their aging members. To assess the quantity and characteristics of the care of noninstitutionalized elderly parents by their adult children, parents and adult child pairs (N=50) responded to interviews. Specific research…

Educators, administrators, and service personnel who work with the developmentally disabled must define the aged developmentally disabled population. The term "developmental disability" refers to an individual with substantial developmental problems manifested during the first 22 years of life. Those who became disabled after age 22 are classified…

Literature on sexuality and aging and Maslow's hierarchy of needs (which include physiological needs, safety and security needs, belongingness needs, esteem needs, and the need for self-actualization) are used in this paper to identify at each level the needs of the aging individual as they derive from his sexuality in order to provide a…