Investigated the learning of young and old adults as related to two variables, stimulus concreteness (low vs. high) and presentation method (recall vs. multiple choice vs. associate matching). Main findings were: (a) the elderly did not perform as well as young adults, (b) for both groups, performance was better for the pairs with concrete…

Personal relationships of skid row men have been described in terms of disaffiliation and replacement of friends. Analysis of social relationships of Philadelphia skid row residents upheld the theory of replacement. The loss of relationships, however, was more closely associated with length of residence in skid row than with age. (Author)

A total of 129 male and female ambulatory residents were surveyed in settings of high and low constraint on the following measures: life satisfaction, developmental task resolution, self-acceptance, perceived autonomy, activity level, health and educational level. The results are discussed in terms of the effects of constraints on the individual.…

The social world of the aged SRO tenant is described and analyzed. Characteristic features include an impoverishment of social roles and relationships which result in a "world of strangers." Dominant norms of SRO life which preclude the establishment of intimacy are examined; these include prescriptive norms of privacy, freedom, and…

The purpose of this study was to examine how different ways of measuring interaction may affect its relationship with personal adjustment. The number of persons with whom the subject interacted, and the frequency of this interaction, are of little importance for the adjustment of older people. Quality, rather than quantity, of social interaction…

Investigated the validity of using the Interpersonal Checklist in self-ratings by older individuals and under across generation instructional sets by college students. Effects of sex of target and sex of rater were also investigated. Results indicated significant generational differences and misperceptions of older adults by students. (Author)

This study compared the MMPI profiles of law offenders (N=362) at different ages to examine personality changes associated with aging and to assess certain clinically derived impressions about patterns of personality disturbance in older vs. younger offenders. The greater the age difference between groups, the larger were the personality…

This study investigated the impact of shifts in age identification by older people (N=323) from "middle-aged" to "elderly" within the context of the labeling theory of deviance. Age identification was unrelated to attitudes toward old people and the label "elderly" did not affect self-esteem through any "gate-keeping" process. (Author)

Utilizing flexible community-supporting services integrated with a hospital-based program of planned intermittent relief of the patients' supporters, patients (N=50) were maintained in the community at an average cost of 79.5 hospital bed days per patient per annum. The Continuing Care Program is an alternative to institutionalization. (Author)

The effect of age on foster care outcome was examined for 572 male psychiatric patients referred for foster care from five VA hospitals. Patients in foster care changed significantly compared with hospitalized controls by having less social dysfunction and better adjustment. (Author)

A behavioral program to train elderly nursing home patients (N=25) in interpersonal skills was systematically developed and evaluated. On a behavioral measure of responses to situations that had been included in training, the Skill Training program was superior to the control conditions. However, learning failed to generalize to novel situations.…

Reports on the intra- and interbattery scaling of three morale and depression batteries comprised of self-reported items: PGC, G-H, and ZUNG. Responses to the three scales were sought from a sample of long-term residents of a state mental hospital. (Author)

Spatial egocentrism and its relationships to discrimination ability and communicative egocentrism were investigated in a sample of 80 adult males from a single institutional setting. Significant effects of order of task presentation indicated that the experimental procedure influenced performance on the spatial and communicative egocentrism and…

Vroom's expectancy theory model to predict older worker's choices between employment or retirement hypothesized that a person's preference would be a function of differences between instrumentality of employment and retirement for attainment of outcomes, multiplied by the valence of each outcome, summed over outcomes. Results supported the…

Survey and ethnographic data were used to explore attitudes toward death among members of varying social categories defined by race, age, social class, and sex. Analysis by age resulted in substantial differences, with middle-aged respondents (45-54 years) expressing greatest fears of death and the elderly (65-74) reflecting the least. (Author)