Using a social antecedent model of psychopathology, three samples (African Americans, African Caribbeans, Caucasians) were compared. Symptoms of depression, psychoses, and agitation among nursing home patients were studied. Although there were appreciable interracial differences in sociodemographics, there were minimal clinical differences and no…

Discusses the concept of "horrendous death" (those caused by other people) and its application in the Adult Health and Development Program at the University of Maryland, a multi-ethnic, interracial, intergenerational health promotion and rehabilitation program. This service-learning program applies gerontological health theory and…

Factor analytic and construct validity studies were conducted to explore the validity of Cicirelli's 13-item Filial Anxiety Scale (FAS). The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale were a part of the investigation. Results offer support for the validity of the FAS subscales and the FAS' usefulness as an…

Addresses the issues of cross-cultural and subcultural diversity, heterogeneity, and nonlinear change, and explains how these topics relate to social gerontology. Discusses misconceptions in the field of life course development as well as new conceptual innovations. (SNR)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention works with public health agencies and other organizations to address chronic disease prevention and risk reduction in older adults. Efforts in the areas of physical activity, osteoarthritis, and chronic illness self-management are described. Other activities include older adult immunization programs…

Examines successful aging among Hong Kong Chinese old people (N=1,106) in three different cohorts (young-old, old-old, oldest-old). Modest associations were found between four dimensions of successful aging (physical, emotional, cognitive, productive involvement). Characteristics associated with successful aging include age, gender, education,…

Service-learning is a pedagogical innovation in higher education that offers experiential learning to students while providing benefits to communities. Recognizing the importance of this innovation, the Corporation for National and Community Service has promoted the development of intergenerational service-learning components in gerontology…

The paper describes the development and testing of a Web-based educational resource for usability and acceptability by health care providers who care for ethnic older adults. The work was undertaken as a dissertation project. The purpose of the Website is to provide on-demand ethnogeriatric information to enhance provider-patient interaction.…

Purpose: In response to concerns among policymakers and others that increases in the availability of publicly funded formal services will lead to reductions in self- and informal care, this study examines the relationship between the extent of formal in-home care received and levels of self- and informal care. Design and Methods: Two-stage least…

Purpose: This study investigated the use of private prayer among middle-aged and older patients as a way of coping with cardiac surgery and prayer's relationship to optimism. Design and Methods: The measure of prayer included three aspects: (a) belief in the importance of private prayer, (b) faith in the efficacy of prayer on the basis of previous…

Purpose: Decisions concerning end-of-life care depend on information contained in advance directives that are documented in residents' charts in the nursing home. The availability of that information depends on the quality of the chart and on the location of the information in the chart. No research was found that compared directives by the manner…

This collection reports on the Gerontology in Theological Education (GITE) project developed at the Gerontology Center of Georgia State University, which was designed to introduce curriculum on aging into theological education. Part 1 presents an introduction to the project and the results of a survey of 113 seminaries designed to find out what…

As the numbers of Korean immigrants, particularly Korean elders continues to increase, their adjustment problems and service needs are beginning to receive attention in communities with a large influx of Asian immigrants. To examine Korean elders' use of filial and formal support systems in dealing with their problems, 151 older Koreans living in…

This instructional module on stereotypes of aging is one in a block of 10 modules designed to provide the human services worker who works with older adults with basic information regarding the aging process. An introduction provides an overview of the module content. A listing of general objectives follows. Three sections present informative…

Alienation has been a key concept and major area of empirical studies in sociology and psychology; however, most alienation studies have not dealt with the elderly. In an attempt to explore the effects of the aging process and the major events of later life on the aging person's vulnerability to alienation, older residents (50 years or more) in a…