This volume presents comprehensive discussions dealing with the importance to older people of communication. Chapters, written by professionals and educators representing numerous viewpoints and disciplines, cover such topics as basic considerations in communicating with older people, the retiree's perspective on communication, generation gaps,…

Young and middle-aged adults contrast with aged adults in their reactions to sudden economic expansion in a small town favored by many as their retirement community. During anthropological research in this community, conflicts between various age strata were noted to be more intense when persons are strangers. (Author)

Describes a Channel One food co-op operated by senior citizens and high school students which involves the entire Rochester, Minnesota, community in growing produce, collecting food, and fundraising. (Author/BB)

Studied interactions between 40 elderly nursing home residents and their social partners. Results showed discrepant social contingencies for different resident behaviors, i.e., dependent self-care behaviors received continuous supportive responses, where independent self-care behaviors, obstructively engaged and nonengaged behaviors received no…

Compared neighborhood perceptions and use and social network involvement in urban and suburban older people. Urban older people reported more frequent interactions with friends, greater dissatisfaction with friendships and greater organizational participation. Informal social relationships were related to elderly urbanites' morale but had…

Studied feelings of loneliness in relation to disease, handicaps, social network and social background in (N=1,007) 70-year-old people in Sweden. Loneliness was a problem to 24% of women and 12% of men. Most important factors related to loneliness were loss of spouse, depression of mood, and lack of friends. (Author)

Investigated the relationship between age-related stresses and depression among residents of a retirement center. Found depression related to poorer financial status, fewer and less satisfying interpersonal relationships, poorer physical health and greater concerns about death for women, and to poorer physical health and lack of involvement for…

Discusses the benefits, recruitment and training possibilities, as well as teacher adjustments of involving the elderly as volunteers and regular participants in a school program. (BF/JH)

White, Mexican-American, and Black preadolescents (N=157) completed Tuckman-Lorge Old People Scale and contact questionnaire to examine preadolescent attitudes toward elderly through analysis of race, gender, and contact variables. Found only one variable studied, race, was significantly related to attitudes toward elderly. White preadolescents…

The study examined frequency of contact with family members of 474 mentally retarded persons in Norwegian residential placements. Age trends in family contact were noted with decreasing contacts as the individual aged. Results have implications for the increasing numbers of older adults in such placements. (DB)

Examined long-term relationship of 31 older couples and looked at second half of life cycle of marriage. Findings suggest that developmental relationship tasks are important to the changes and adjustment which couples must work through during successive stages of old age. (NB)

Although the importance of religion in the lives of older African Americans is well documented, this is the 1st study to examine the relations between religious involvement and psychological well-being among a sample comprised exclusively of older African Americans. Eighty six participants completed multidimensional measures of religious…

Despite evidence that levels of social support can affect health, there has been little work isolating the factors which actually mediate the relationship between social support and health. In an attempt to analyze the role of nutrition as a mediating factor of health and social support among the elderly, female older adults (N=43) responded to an…

Much of the literature on widowhood has focused on coping and adjustment following the death of a spouse; only recently have social/psychological relationships among the widowed become the subject of investigation. To examine the activity patterns and well-being of elderly widows living in a Florida retirement community, 48 widows were contrasted…

If it can be shown that social workers work differently with the elderly than with younger clients, then students who wish to work with the elderly should be taught some special principles regarding treatment of the elderly. To explore this issue, seven clinicians who had extensive experience in treating the elderly were interviewed regarding how…