The elderly have generally been portrayed as needy recipients of services; only recently has attention been paid to their contributory role. To explore the nature and characteristics of helping behavior among urban elderly, 117 residents of senior citizens' housing sites in Detroit completed the Altruism Scale for the Elderly and a second measure…

Research with older persons suffering from physical illness presents numerous challenges to gerontologists. Issues of conceptualization pertaining to the definition of illness, its location in the research paradigm, and the context in which illness occurs must be addressed prior to dealing with methodological problems. Access to physically ill…

Findings of this study indicate major service needs of urban aged in areas of housing, health, and financial needs. Similarities in service needs emerged despite cultural and life style differences in the two communities. (Author)

Several dimensions of impulse control (i.e., delay of gratification, reflectivity, and motor control) were related to intelligence, mental status, and adjustment among 91 institutionalized aged women. The findings suggest that impulse control in its various forms has a consistent and significant relationship with indices of adaptation. (Author)

This first section of this paper reviews the literature on the social world of the institutionalized elderly. Social factors contributing to institutionalization are discussed, including the personal and psychological background of residents. Social behavior and the institutional environment are reviewed, focusing on social interactions among…

Tests alternative theoretical models of environment-individual interaction. Findings point to the importance of person-environment fit in the areas of congregation, impulse control, and segregation in explaining morale. (Author)

This review of the literature on prosocial behavior in the elderly provides empirical data on the prevalence of helping behaviors among the elderly and the range of motives underlying their helping. Implications of these data for theories of social behavior in later life are considered, and questions are raised about the validity of the models…

In contrast to the view of the elderly as helpless and handicapped, some older adults may engage in helping activities and place considerable importance on this involvement. This study examined the characteristics which may distinguish those elderly persons engaged in the highest amounts of altruistic activity from those reporting lesser degrees…

Disability carries negative social meaning, and little is known about when (or if), in the process of health decline, persons identify themselves as "disabled." We examine the social and health criteria that older adults use to subjectively rate their own disability status. Using a panel study of older adults (ages 72+), we estimate…

This study explored personal reports of problematic experiences with friends and family, agencies, and neighborhoods encountered by 402 older people living in two urban communities. Older people reported relatively few instances of victimization, with neighborhood problems presenting the greatest concern. Socioeconomic factors were the best…

Research on helping behavior has focused on help to elderly individuals rather than help by elderly individuals. To investigate the determinants and consequences of helping by older adults, 117 adults, from five Detroit senior citizen residences, with a mean age of 75.6 (67 percent female) completed a personal/demographic questionnaire, including…