Social support has a positive impact on quality of life (QoL) in neurotypical older adults and young autistic adults, but the association for older autistic adults is unclear. Autistic adults (n = 388; mean age = 40-83 years) were recruited via Simons Powering Autism Research for Knowledge (SPARK) Research Match. Participants completed…

The aim of this uncontrolled interventional study was to determine the effect of a yearly educational course within the University of the Third Age on quality of life, life satisfaction, sense of coherence, self-esteem, anxiety, depression, attitudes toward old age, and older people's perception of social support. The population included 121…

Older adults' engagement with information communication technology (ICT) can enhance their wellbeing and quality of life. However, older adults continue to lag behind their younger cohorts' ICT use, and many remain unconnected. While policy and strategy has tended to focus on the need to equip older adults with technology skills and improve their…

The reach of art therapy in assisting a hospice patient in confronting existential issues at the end of life is illustrated in this article with a case that took place over the course of 22 semiweekly sessions. Painting with an art therapist allowed the patient to shift from a state of anxiety and existential dread to a more accepting, fluid…

Purpose: Stigma and lack of access to providers create barriers to mental health treatment for older adults living in the community. In order to address these barriers, we developed and evaluated a peer support intervention for older adults receiving Medicaid services. Design and Methods: Reclaiming Joy is a mental health intervention that pairs…

Objective: To provide more insight into subjective attention complaints in a healthy adult and elderly population and how these affect Quality of Life (QoL). Method: A group of 1,550 healthy Dutch participants complete a postal questionnaire including items from the Maastricht Attention and Memory Checklist (MAC). The impact of attention…

Data suggesting that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is efficacious for late-life anxiety are accumulating; however, effectiveness has not been well established. Incorporating CBT for anxiety into home care is needed to facilitate access to evidenced-based treatment for a growing population of community-dwelling, functionally impaired elderly…

Using data from adults age 65 and older in the District of Columbia and two adjoining counties in Maryland, we examine the association between community-level structural disadvantage and individuals' subjective assessments of neighborhood problems. In addition, we test whether or not perceptions of relative financial equality or inequality with…

In order to test Erikson's statements regarding ego integrity vs. despair, 20 men and 20 women from each of three residential settings (general community, public housing and nursing homes) were given life satisfaction, locus of control and death anxiety scales. Erikson's hypothesis was supported only by the public housing data. (Author)

Any attempt to discuss psychotherapy with the elderly must be cognizant of the broad spectrum of personality style, life experience, and health status that exists among older adults. This diversity holds true in the specific realm of time perspective as well. Older clients may bring to psychotherapy an active engagement with the present, a…

Examines the impact of a workshop on death and dying on death anxiety, life satisfaction, and locus of control for a group of middle-aged and older adults. Results revealed a small but significant decrease in death anxiety in the experimental group. (Author)

Elderly men and women shared common dimensions of anxious depression and general dissatisfaction. There might be a third dimension for women--sleep impairment. Implications for diagnosing depressive syndromes in the elderly were discussed. (Author)

Describes the development of a multidimensional attitude instrument, the aging opinion survey. Attitudes toward the aging of peers or known persons, toward personal aspects of aging, and toward the eldelry as general-other groups are factorially separable, and should be distinguished in attitude surveys. (Author)

This manual is designed for mental health center staff members to design effective interventions with elderly clients in short-term groups. Chapter One briefly describes a project which uses the therapy techniques of Cognitive Restructuring Therapy (CRT), Transactional Analysis (TA), and Life Review with groups of elderly persons to determine…