An existing large data set, the Health and Retirement Study 2000 (HRS 2000) was used to explore the relationship between cognition and other factors for individuals aged 65 and older, with a final sample of 1,610 males and 3,549 females. Using structural equation modeling, the entire model was tested to determine if there were differences in how…

Given the facilitating conditions and the characteristic qualities of worry, the elderly seem to be particularly susceptible to the experience of worry. The Worry Scale was developed in response to the concerns expressed about life events measures and as an attempt to address the needs of elderly people directly. Older adults (N=94) from 11 senior…

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors which may influence the decision to seek employment after retirement from one's primary occupation, and to determine if these factors are similar for males and females. Data were collected from 540 western land grant university employees from ages 40-65 who were employed in positions ranging…

Family care of elderly parents is increasing. The typical caregiver is a married middle-aged daughter who often has additional employment and family responsibilities. Not surprisingly, female caregivers of the elderly report more stress than male caregivers. This study examined perceptions of the nurturance, professional competence and stresses of…

Many retired persons return to work, to some extent, following their retirement. Data from the 1982 New Beneficiary Survey (NBS) of 4,212 women and 5,307 men were examined to determine the employment of retired-worker beneficiaries who were working 18-30 months after first receiving retired-worker benefits. According to the NBS data, over…

While research on humor in children has increased in the past 20 years, there is less information on adult humor. The Humor Assessment Instrument (HUMA) was developed as part of an ongoing humor intervention project. HUMA was used to interview 398 adults on their perception of humor in the media, humor among acquaintances, humor in parents, most…

Retirement is recognized as a family experience, affecting retirees, their spouses, and their children. This study examined how the retirement transition affects the middle class, healthy, and financially secure male retiree and his wife. In-depth interviews were conducted with 92 couples from the Boston area in which the husband had been retired…

Although some researchers have distinguished the concepts of pain and suffering and despite the recent rise of many centers for pain management in the United States, medical educators and practitioners have given little attention to the topic of suffering. In the studies which have been conducted, patients differed in styles of coping with and…

The gender variable in adult child caregiving has not been clearly examined. Research often uses non-random participants, inappropriate caregiver definitions, non-differentiation of helping tasks, avoidance of daughter/son comparison, and the non-use of the elder's marital status as a control. A study was conducted to examine the gender variable…

Traditional stereotypes and attitudes about the elderly are of interest to both researchers and health care providers. Misconceptions about the elderly and the sources of these misconceptions were examined in undergraduates (N=150) and in elderly subjects (N=50). Subjects completed the Miller-Dodder revision of Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz One…

Given the methodological problems with generating and using normative data with the elderly, the need for age-related norms on neuropsychological tests is clearly important. A study was conducted to examine a normal elderly group's performance on the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery (LNNB) over time. Subjects were 57 elderly volunteers…

Self-assessments of health are important because they appear to be good predictors of future physical health. To examine age differences in self-reports of health, the self-ratings of 149 adults (53.8 percent over 65 years of age; 46.2 percent 64 or younger; average age 57.1) were compared. Subjects were elderly participants in a community…

Criminologists and gerontologists have reported increases in crimes perpetrated by elderly persons, but arrest data do not necessarily reflect this trend, due to failure to prosecute. To explore the influence of age, sex, race, and offense type on arrest and prosecution outcomes, Detroit Police Department arrest and case disposition data (1981),…

While the geriatric population covers an age range of 30 to 40 years people over age 60 are often treated as a homogenous group. To study the possibility of age changes and differences within the older population, data were collected from the charts of 60 patients (randomly selected within each of three age groups: 60-69, 70-79, 80-89) of an…

A study investigated differences between older adult male and female voice patterns. In addition, the study examined whether certain differences between male and female speech characteristics were lifelong and not associated with the aging process. Subjects were 10 young (average age 30) and 10 old (average age 75) males and 10 young (average age…