The importance of the grandparent-grandchild relationship can be used effectively in group work with the aged by using pictures of grandchildren to stimulate personal interaction. Participants are asked to bring pictures of their grandchildren, great-grandchildren, or surrogate grandchildren to a two-hour training session on grandparenting. During…

Close relationships have been identified as moderators of stress and as enhancing well-being. A model of friendship based on a conception of self (Wright, 1974) which delineates several relationship dimensions was used to study the qualitative components and sex differences in close relationships. Elderly widows and widowers (N=50) were…

The perceptions of burden in providing care to the disabled elderly by a family member may be affected by the caregiver's personal and social resources and by the differences in involvement and familial roles between the caregiver and the care receiver. To test this relationship, 41 spouse and adult daughter caregivers involved in a home-based…

Sibling relationships are not only maintained throughout life in most cases, but assume considerable importance in old age. Siblings provide psychological support for each other as well as more tangible forms of helping and caregiving. In order to investigate variables leading to sibling help in the area of psychological support, a path model…

Since 1972 ,when the city of Miami Beach, Florida initiated redevelopment plans for South Miami Beach, the elderly residents have been besieged by a series of events beyond their control that have left them at risk emotionally and physically. To examine the relative impact of health, personal control, and social support as predictors of affect and…

This paper examines some problems of aging individuals and of the families of the aged and suggests ways in which the family counselor can facilitate the adjustment of both to the aging process. The causes of an increased aged population are presented in an introductory section. Problems associated with aging such as physical changes and the…

Decreasing numbers of peers in the lives of older adults give a special meaning to closeness in their sibling relationships. Interviews elicited perceptions of closeness from 30 adults. Content analyses revealed several patterns, i.e., participants perceived themselves as always having been close, as having grown more or less close over time, or…

The most common psychological disorder found in the elderly is depression. To investigate the relationship between numerous age-related stresses and depression in older adults, 68 residents of a retirement center completed a questionnaire assessing depression and a wide range of possible losses or stresses. Depression was related to poorer…

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…

Frequently, the principle reason for institutionalizing cognitively impaired older persons is the caregivers' inability to continue providing help, and not the severity of deficits. Factors related to the caregivers' feelings of burden in a sample of 29 community-living older persons with senile dementia were investigated. Caregivers were spouses…

Previous writers have presumed that widowhood is more stressful for one sex or the other. Hypotheses derived from demographic considerations and sex role developmental theory compared the needs and resources of 147 widows and 42 widowers, relative to 190 married persons. All subjects were non-institutionalized urban residents aged 62 or over. The…

By surveying 529 fifth grade students in eleven Minneapolis schools and 260 senior citizens in nine senior citizens' clubs, this study attempted to answer three questions: (1) How do children feel about senior citizens? (2) How do older people feel about children? and (3) Do they have accurate perceptions of each other? This group of senior…

There are four different types of love possible between men and women in the middle years. The type they feel for each other depends not upon their ages but upon whether they are married, whether they have children, and what is happening in their occupational careers. The intense feelings of romantic love are dampened by long association. Conjugal…

This article explores the kinds of relationships that are related to happiness and fulfillment at any age. Special attention is given to the subjects of intimacy, communication, and sexuality in later life. (Author/MLF)

There are many ways in which long-term care facilities attempt to cope with the mental health problems of the elderly. The author reviews five factors crucial to effective care for the aged in these facilities. (Author/RK)