The relationships between siblings in old age have not received much attention in social science literature. However, some researchers suggest that a reawakening of interest in and contact with siblings occurs for many people during the last part of life. Different kinds of sibling relationships that exist between older people and the ways in…

This study sought to determine whether a short form of the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery could discriminate between senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type and depression in a sample of elderly neuropsychiatric patients. The short form Luria-Nebraska includes 141 of the 269 items contained in the original version, with the Rhythm scale…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among health status, personal definition of health, and health behavior choice in the elderly. Self-assessed health status was measured using a modified Cantril Ladder, personal definition of health was measured using the Laffrey Health Conception Scale (LHCS), and health behavior…

Two companion studies addressing the information needs of the aging are discussed. Participants in the first study were 93 specialists in aging in four groups--library/information specialists who had achieved a reputation of working with the aging, educators/researchers in gerontology, policy-level administrators who were part of the governmental…

In recent years there has been an increased awareness about the growing number of the oldest old. A structural model for the study of the oldest old was introduced by Lehr (1987) and was built on experience with data from the Bonn Longitudinal Study of Aging. In the Lehr model, genetic, environmental, and ecological factors affect longevity…

The Gerontology Alcohol Project, a treatment/research program investigating the characteristics of the late-life onset elderly alcohol abuser, was used as a model for a new program which emphasized teaching the elderly abusers how to break down their personal drinking behavior chain and deal with the antecedents of drinking behavior, to use…

Increasing numbers of aging developmentally disabled individuals have led to a recent emphasis being placed on service provision for this population, the education of professionals working with them, and the assessment of current conditions and needs of these individuals. Through the University Affiliated Program, a project of national…

Considered are the needs of the aged mentally retarded as related to trends toward the deinstitutionalization of retarded persons into the community. (DB)

Considered are service needs of the aged mentally retarded. Needs are discussed in terms of the historical emphasis on the retarded child, current needs (such as health and housing needs), impediments to service provision (such as lack of trained personnel), the lack of research on gerontological aspects of mental retardation, and innovative…

The role of beliefs in expected unchangeability of life stress (EU) was studied in a sample of 194 elderly persons with economic and/or health problems and a control group. The research model integrated different approaches to cognitive theories of adjustment to aging. (Author/CM)

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…

A major focus in the literature on rural aging has been the dearth of formal services available in rural areas and the unique features of service delivery in rural communities. It has not generally been recognized that rural older adults are not passive recipients of services and care but rather, active manipulators of social support systems…

Parents and children are faced with a variety of challenges over the course of their lives together, yet most research centers only on the early stages of the family life cycle. One major change occurs as parents grow older and need increasing amounts of help from their children. Kelley has developed a general theory of personal relationships…

People in the counseling profession make some profound assumptions about the freedom that all people have (or seem to have). From the moment that each counselor began counselor training, the notion that people are able to generally choose and make decisions for themselves has been associated with the dominant process models of the profession. As a…

Based on Beisecker's earlier finding that patients over age 60 brought companions to their medical appointments more often than did patients aged 25-59, a study was conducted to examine the role of the companion. Eleven of 21 patients aged 60-85 brought companions. Companions were either spouses or adult children of the patients. Within this…