The most common psychological disorder found in the elderly is depression. To investigate the relationship between numerous age-related stresses and depression in older adults, 68 residents of a retirement center completed a questionnaire assessing depression and a wide range of possible losses or stresses. Depression was related to poorer…

The association of life events and mental health impairment in a community population of older adults (N=986) was investigated. Data, collected in 1972 and analyzed during 1979, examined the relationship between the two variables while controlling for age, sex, race, social resources (a measure of social support), economlc resources, and physical…

Using data from the 1976 Annual Housing Survey, this paper presents information on housing for 1,865,000 households headed by persons under 65 that include one or more dependents aged 65 or over. It also provides data that will aid in the critical evaluation of the merits of federal programs designed to provide financial incentives for families…

The television industry is being dramatically transformed by new communications technology that in the coming decade will offer opportunities and dangers limited only by the imagination and wisdom of those producing television's artistic product and those regulating the proliferation of that product. The most dramatic and profoundly important…

The study looked at the quality of life of 24 retarded adults who had received a training program designed to teach them independent living skills, help them secure independent living settings, and provide them with followup services in these settings. Physical surroundings, financial conditions, social activities, and marital status of clients…

The study examined the changes in the quality of life of country families in four eastern Kentucky counties between 1960 and 1973. Since quality of life is an abstract concept, the changes were assessed with respect to income, occupation, and level of living. The aim was to assess the changes in both objective and subjective terms as the families…

Two years after graduation, a mail survey investigated the quality of life of rural high school graduates who had been placed in special education programs for mild mental retardation or a learning disability. The Quality of Life Questionnaire was completed by 12 such individuals and by 40 graduates who were not mentally retarded or learning…

This paper is intended to assist people who work with persons having mental retardation to better understand what life is like for these individuals. The recommended training program is based on a case study approach, with guided experiences in small study groups led by trained leaders. Principles of training for group leaders are identified,…

This study examined differences in belief systems about friendship employed by two groups of students (total n=24) with mild disabilities in a vocational program. Members of one group had a fair number of reciprocal friendships and high satisfaction, whereas members of the other group had few reciprocal friendships and low satisfaction. Individual…

The aims of the International Education Association's Preprimary Project are to examine developmentally relevant characteristics of the socialization environments of 4-year-olds in participating countries, and to ascertain the relationships between those characteristics and selected developmental outcomes. Phase I of the project consists primarily…

The purpose of this study was to develop a preliminary understanding of the nature of provider-parent relationships in family day care homes, as revealed through interviews with providers and parents and observations of their interactions in a small number of day care homes. The study relied primarily on the theoretical and methodological…

Data from two studies of 30 year olds were compared on the importance ascribed to and satisfaction derived from 15 life components. The relative frequency with which Carter's (1983) research population of graduate students indicated that life components were important or were sources of satisfaction were compared through critical ratios with…

This study examined the effect of chronic illness on the individual's ability to meet his or her need for solitude and for social interaction by exploring how chronically ill individuals used their own ability (self-care agency) to meet these needs. Subjects were 90 chronically ill older persons, 30 of whom were living at home, 30 who lived in a…

Advertising plays on the broad feelings of alienation (defined as an individual's frustrated or estranged responses to economic and sociological phenomena which affect that individual's place in society) which are endemic to the American consumer society and are, in Marxist views, symptomatic of any capitalist system. By generating anxieties and…

The first section of this Technical Committee Report provides a brief summary of the major health problems of the elderly. Problems are categorized under the general headings of health maintenance, chronic illness, mental illness, multiple impairments, demographic characteristics, manpower (geriatric medicine, nursing, and other health…