Given the growth in the number of older adults and the ageist attitudes many in the health care profession hold, interventions aimed at improving health professionals' attitudes toward older adults are imperative. Vital Visionaries is an intergenerational art program designed to improve medical students' attitudes toward older adults. Participants…

Socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) has been used successfully to explain age differences in interpersonal conflict behavior: older adults are generally less likely to engage in destructive responses, and more likely to employ nonconfrontational ones. However, this research has focused almost exclusively on conflict with intimates (spouses,…

The attachment patterns of younger and older adults were studied using two-dimensional self-report measures of adult attachment. Community-dwelling younger (n = 144, M = 22.5 years, SD = 3.6) and older (n = 106, M = 68.6 years, SD = 8.3) adults completed the Measure of Attachment Qualities (MAQ; Carver, 1997) and the Relationship Style…

Results of this qualitative study suggest that membership in the Rochester New Horizons Band programme provides an important vehicle for identity construction and revision in later life. Identities emerge from and are shaped by the social interactions among members in the ensemble setting. Players form new musical identities, reclaim identities…

This study examined the self-reported likelihood of working with older adults in a future career among 237 college undergraduates at a midsized Midwestern university. Although aging anxiety was not significantly related to likelihood of working with older adults, those students who had a greater level of death anxiety were less likely than other…

Purpose: Almost half of people age 85 and older who die annually in the United States die as nursing home residents, yet because it is not always clear who is close to death, not all residents who might benefit from end-of-life care receive it. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for organizing social interactions related to…

Purpose: The purpose of this article was to explore staff-family relationships in assisted living facilities (ALFs) as they are experienced by care staff and perceived by administrators. We identify factors that influence relationships and explore how interactions with residents' families affect care staff's caregiving experiences. Design and…

This article presents the results of a study of differences in orientation toward disability over the lifecourse. The study was based on an instrument developed by the authors, the Questionnaire on Disability Identity and Opportunity (QDIO). This instrument measures two dimensions of disability: participation and orientation. Orientation, in turn,…

Introduction: This study examines the interplay between online and offline social relationships by focusing on an understudied social group: older Chinese Internet users. Method: Thirty-three semi-structured open-ended interviews were conducted with members of a senior-oriented Chinese Internet community in 2004. Analysis: Interview data were…

The Experience Corps[R], a community-based intergenerational program, was developed to promote the health of older adults while simultaneously addressing unmet social and academic needs in public elementary schools. The model was designed to draw on, and potentially activate, the wisdom of older adults. This paper explores the nature of…

Purpose: This study evaluates the changes in social networks of older and younger breast cancer patients over a 6-month period following their first diagnosis and how such modifications are associated with changes in the patients' mood state. Design and Methods: Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients were interviewed shortly after their diagnosis…

Nine independent women over age 55 who traveled internationally were investigated through a qualitative case study. The purpose of the study was to explore the women's attitudes, actions, and motivations during and after their international travel experiences. The adult, aging, experiential, and transformational theories of researchers such as…

Purpose: This study evaluated the social facilitation of elderly patients' food intake beyond the presence of mealtime companions by assessing various relationships. The study examined the relationships between patients' intake and (a) the number of interpersonal exchanges with mealtime fellows, (b) the nature of behaviors expressed by the…

The authors examined regulation of the discrete emotions anger and sadness in adolescents through older adults in the context of describing everyday problem situations. The results support previous work; in comparison to younger age groups, older adults reported that they experienced less anger and reported that they used more passive and fewer…

Purpose: This study explored the quality and functioning of terminally ill elders' social relationships and their impact on elders' consideration to hasten death. Design and Methods: In-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 96 terminally ill elders. Logistic regression was used to determine whether aspects of social relationships…