In the main body of this study, detailed attention is given to patient management practices and organizational factors that encourage dependent behavior that can be characterized as senile. (Author)

Although the suicide rates of people over 60 continue to be consistently higher than those of younger age groups, relatively little research has scrutinized the phenomenon of geriatric suicide. Recent research is summarized and reviewed. Suggestions are offered for the direction and scope of future research. (Author)

Notes that practice of geriatrics frequently involves interdisciplinary team and that behavior of team members exists on functional continuum, from adaptive to maladaptive. Sees danger of team members with maladaptive behavior, and persons colluding with this behavior, negatively influencing care. Categorizes common maladaptive behavior patterns…

Widows and widowers, grouped by whether their spouse died of short-term or chronic illness, were compared on three criteria of medical adjustment. (Author/EJT)

Explored the life-styles of elderly wanderers and nonwanderers in long-term care. Paired t-tests confirmed hypotheses indicating that wanderers had engaged in a higher level of social and leisure activities and had experienced more stressful events, motoric reactions to stress, and motoric behavioral styles prior to their illness. (Author)

Reports that the elderly appear most influenced in health attitudes and behaviors by various factors within the setting so those who identify a major source of care tend to be higher utilizers, do less "shopping-around," and exhibit less negative behaviors such as needing care without seeking it. Discussion of the article follows. (Author)

This paper describes the observations and experiences of a graduate student employed as a nurse's aide in a home for the aged. The difficulties encountered in attempting to apply traditional psychological methodology are discussed, and detailed anecdotal reports on individual cases are presented. (GO)

Social variables that may be associated with mental health in geriatric severely mentally retarded individuals (N=10, mean age 59) were studied. The results indicated that as the frequency of staff resident noninteractions (while in physical proximity) increases, the amount of constructive behaviors exhibited by the clients decreases. (Author/PHR)

This book, on the nature and problems of inappropriate drug use by older adults, provides researchers and health practitioners with an up-to-date survey and overview of the literature on drug use, misuse, and abuse among the elderly. The volume provides abstracts of 100 selected scientific articles on the major topic areas in the field. The…

This extensive bibliography contains more than 1,800 entries about communication and aging. The citations include journal articles, unpublished papers, speeches, dissertations, research studies, and books that relate aging and the aged to a variety of topics, including the following: physiological deterioration, socialization, political…

The effect of personal belongings on perceptions of the elderly in institutions was tested through color slides in two groups of medical students. The elderly person surrounded by personal belongings was perceived in a less negative way than the same person in bare surroundings. (Author)