Goal instability and adjustment to physical disability.

Few studies have examined psychoanalytic constructs in the adjustment of individuals who incur physical disability. According to H. Kohut (1977), optimal adjustment during life transitions is contingent on the individual's capacity for maintaining and pursuing meaningful goals, which reflects a stable sense of self. A series of studies was conducted to determine if goal instability would predict adjustment and health following disability. Goal instability was predictive at depressive behavior and acceptance of disability among individuals with recent-onset disability. Goal instability predicted subjective well-being 1 year later. Among community residents with a disability, goal instability was associated with life satisfaction; this relationship was not mediated by perceived stigma or community mobility. These findings indicate that a flexible yet durable goal orientation is associated with optimal psychological adjustment among individuals with a physical disability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supportive relationships in later life.

Adopted a multidimensional approach to the study of the social support convoys of older adults. We distinguished between age and gender differences in 4 specific dimensions of the social support convoy: (a) existence vs functioning of relationships in the convoy, (b) kinds of relationships (i.e., those with children, siblings, friends), (c) types of social support (i.e., emotional support, respect, health support), and (d) receipt vs provision of support. Ss were 718 adults. We found that older people received less support (i.e., emotional and health support) in the absence of sibling relationships. Otherwise, the effects of aging had more to do with what the older person contributed to the convoy than with what he or she received. Women had better social support resources than men, particularly within friendships. We found no evidence, however, that women's social support advantage counterbalanced the effects of aging on the convoy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's Rorschach scores as predictors of later adjustment.

Tested the hypothesis that Rorschach measures of object relations and thought organization could help predict later adjustment. Ss were 70 former patients at a child residential treatment center who were followed-up as adults as part of an earlier investigation (age at initial assessment 6–11 yrs; age at follow-up 17–30 yrs). One-half of the Ss were reported at follow-up to have been rehospitalized for at least 6 mo, the other half had no further psychiatric services. The 2 groups were compared on a wide variety of preadmission and treatment variables. The Mann-Whitney test and Goodman-Kruskal's index of predictive association measure were employed to test whether J. Urist's (see record 1977-27679-001) object relations scale and W. Becker's (see record 1958-03143-001) thought organization scale could discriminate between the 2 groups. Object relations measures were found to be effective discriminators and predictors of later rehospitalization for the 58 boys in the study, particularly when used in conjunction with one another. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Foreword: Psychotherapy in later life.

This special topic issue (psychotherapy in later life) is an outcome of our increasing interest and involvement in recent years with gerontology, particularly with psychotherapy for the elderly. It reflects the new and current social, economic and political significance of this population in our society and within the helping professions. This issue encompasses a broad sampling of the present state of the art represented by contributions from recognized authorities and dedicated workers in gerontology at academic, clinical, private and government centers serving the elderly throughout the United States. The currently broad spectrum of psychotherapeutic theory, research, and practice focusing on the elderly is demonstrated in our contributors' articles. Included are works concerned with historical, psychosocial aspects, individual and group therapy, sexism and sex differences, possibilities and limitations of applying various psychotherapeutic approaches such as behavioral, environmental, psychoanalytic and cognitive. Attention is paid to special needs of the frail and dependent elderly as well as to the more vigorous and autonomous older person coping, with varying degrees of independence, in non-institutional settings. No single publication can deal effectively with the enormity of issues confronting the elderly and the range of gerotherapies. If we have opened new doors for continued progress, and stimulated more reflection and action on behalf of this population, we shall feel rewarded by having laid the seeds for a new special topic issue in the approaching decade by future investigators. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neighborhood deterioration and self-rated health in later life.

This study examined the relationship between the physical living environment and self-rated health in later life. It is hypothesized that older adults who reside in deteriorated neighborhoods will report more physical health problems than elderly people who live in better physical environments. However, it is further predicted that these effects will only emerge in the most dilapidated living conditions. Data from a nationwide survey of older adults provide support for this complex nonlinear relationship. Further analyses reveal that part of the effect can be attributed to friendship strains that arise in deteriorated neighborhood environments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived conflict and violence in childhood sibling relationships and later emotional adjustment.

Two studies investigating young adults' recollections of high levels of conflict and violence with a sibling during childhood and adolescence compared the experiences of 4 groups: those who were violence perpetrators, violence victims, those with reciprocal violence, and a control group. Of college students in the 1st study, 28% reported high levels of conflict or violence with a sibling. Female Ss and those who were the younger sibling experienced more conflict and violence than did male Ss and older siblings. In the 2nd study, associations of conflict and violence with emotional adjustment revealed that female Ss had more negative emotional outcomes than did male Ss. A positive association was also found among severe violence in the parental and the sibling dyad. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivation in later life: Personal projects and well-being.

"Personal projects," as defined by B. R. Little (1983), were elicited from 600 community residents aged 70+, representing a broad range of health and illness. Factor analysis revealed 6 types of personal projects: activities of daily living, active recreation, other-oriented activities, intellectual activities, home planning, and spiritual/moral activities. Background factors and health were shown to affect the number and type of projects reported. Most indices of personal projects were associated with positive affect and valuation of life. Only 1 was associated with depression. This confirms the differential association of personal projects to positive but not negative affect. Personal projects are seen as part of an open motivational system in which social position, cognitive ability, health, and positive mental health are mutually interacting members. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Happiness and activities in later life: A propensity formulation.

Although traditional models have considered the happiness/activities relationship from a reactivity perspective, evidence from recent longitudinal and structural studies indicates that separate propensities contribute to later life levels of happiness and activities. The stabilities obtained with reliable measures of both constructs appear to reflect stable individual differences rather than the effects of levels on environmentally correlated precursors. A review of the evidence suggests that happiness affects the perceived quality of life, and that activity affects functional competence and the remaining lifespan duration. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Feelings of attachment to siblings and well-being in later life.

On the basis of an adult model of sibling attachment, I hypothesized that the well-being of older persons depends on their perception of the closeness of the sibling bond, on their perception of any disruption of that bond, and on the sex combination of the siblings being considered. In all, 83 persons, aged 61 to 91 years, were interviewed about their relationships with each of their living siblings. They rated their feelings of closeness, conflict or rivalry, and indifference to the sibling. A measure of depression was used as the indicator of well-being. Separate correlational analyses were carried out for the four sex combinations of siblings. Closeness of the bond to a sister (by both men and women) was related to less depression. Also, women's perceptions of conflict and indifference in their relationships with sisters were related to increased depression. Findings are interpreted in terms of attachment theory and sex role expectations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression in later life: Cross-sequential patterns and possible determinants.

Research on the relationship between age and depression has not yielded a consistent picture. Approaches emphasizing resilience compete with assumptions of an increased incidence of depressive problems in later life. This study investigated these issues within a research format combining cross-sectional and 8-year longitudinal assessments of depressive tendencies (690 participants, aged 54-77 years). The developmental patterns suggest 2 phases: Relative stability extending to about 70 years and a subsequent increase of depressive tendencies. Antecedent and mediating factors were explored within a broader context of variables (health status, social and economic resources, coping competences, and future perspectives). Differences in time perspective and a disposition of accommodative flexibility predicted subsequent changes in depression and mediated age effects in depressive tendencies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early conduct problems and later life opportunities

Associations between the extent of conduct problems at age 8 years and later life opportunity outcomes at age 18 years were examined in a birth cohort of New Zealand children studied prospectively to age 18 years. Conduct problems at age 8 were assessed using a combination of parent and teacher reports of conduct disordered and oppositional behaviours. Two measures of life opportunities were assessed at age 18: (a) whether the young person had left school by age 18 without educational qualifications; (b) whether the young person had experienced a period of unemployment of 3 months or longer following school leaving. The analysis suggested the following conclusions: (1) There were clear and significant (p < .0001) tendencies for increasing levels of conduct problems at age 8 to be associated with increasing risks of leaving school without qualifications and of unemployment by age 18. (2) A substantial component of these associations was explained by a series of confounding social, family, and individual factors (notably child intelligence, early attentional problems, and family sociodemographic disadvantage) that were associated with both early conduct problems and later life opportunities. (3) Further analysis suggested that linkages between early conduct problems and later educational underattainment and unemployment (after adjustment for confounders) were mediated by a series of adolescent behavioural processes including patterns of peer affiliations, substance use, truancy, and problems with school authority.     

Short-term longitudinal change in cognitive performance in later life.

Changes in mean performance on memory, information processing, and intellectual ability tasks over a 3-yr period were examined. The sample consisted of 328 community-dwelling men and women (from an original sample of 484 individuals) aged 55–86 yrs. Ss completed tasks yielding measures of verbal processing time, working memory, implicit memory, vocabulary, verbal fluency, world knowledge, reading comprehension, word recall, and text recall. The results showed significant average decline on working memory, verbal fluency, and world knowledge. There were also interactions for 2 processing time measures and working memory, showing greater decline in the earlier-born cohort group than in the later-born cohort group. A step-down analysis revealed that covarying declines in other variables, including processing time, did not eliminate significant declines in working memory, verbal fluency, and world knowledge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial outcomes in later life: A multivariate model.

A conceptual model was developed to identify developmental self-regulatory pathways to optimal psychosocial outcomes in adulthood. The model delineates influences among age, possible selves, developmental processes (i.e., coping, control), and well-being. Results showed age effects on all constructs except selective control. Three consistently common predictors of well-being (i.e., goal pursuit, goal adjustment, and optimization) emerged. The effects of age on well-being were differentially mediated by developmental processes. Specifically, negative age-related changes in offensive processes (i.e., goal attainment) were offset by positive influences of defensive processes (i.e., goal adjustment), which had the net effect of preserving well-being. The model demonstrates a more optimistic pattern of aging in which gains offset losses leading to positive outcomes and highlights the importance of examining both independent and combined influences of age, self, and developmental processes on psychosocial outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-term patterns and predictors of successful stressor resolution in later life.

At 1 year, 4 years, and 10 years after baseline, late-middle-aged adults reported whether they had successfully resolved their most important stressor of the past year. Compared to individuals who never resolved focal stressors over the 10-year interval, those who always did consistently showed less negative stressor appraisal, less reliance on avoidance coping, and less use of exploratory relative to directed coping responses, independent of type and severity of focal stressor. Less use of exploratory relative to directed coping and having more social resources, fewer health problems, and fewer depressive symptoms at baseline predicted more stressor resolution over the next 10 years. These predictors are promising foci for prospective efforts to optimize ways in which aging adults manage late-life stressors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality, social support, and psychological distress in later life.

A conceptual model was developed to address 2 issues that have received relatively little attention in the social support literature. First, an attempt was made to assess the interrelationships among 3 types or dimensions of supportive social relations. In addition, the impact of selected psychological and social factors on social support use was examined. Findings from a nationwide survey of older adults in the United Kingdom suggest that social contact tends to increase the amount of received support, and received support in turn tends to bolster perceptions of support availability in the future (i.e., anticipated support). With regard to the second issue, social roles (especially marital status) and social extraversion emerged as potentially important correlates of social support use in later life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Binge drinking in later life: Comparing young-old and old-old social drinkers.

Although widespread binge drinking has been documented in younger groups, few studies have examined this behavior among older individuals. We assessed differences in bingeing between young-old (n = 189) and old-old (n = 137) social drinkers. Of those who reported drinking, no significant age or gender differences were uncovered in alcohol consumption (M = 6.6. SD = 9.4) or degree of alcohol-related problems (M = 12.2, SD = 3. 1). Logistic regression analysis showed that old-old adults were 15.7 times less likely to binge drink than the young-old-, older women overall were 19.7 times less likely to binge relative to older men. Also, correlations were more diverse among old-old adults. The need for better understanding of bingeing among elders is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transitional object attachments in early childhood and personality characteristics in later life.

37 undergraduates were assigned to transitional-object (TO) or no-TO groups on the basis of self and parental reports on a questionnaire on early object attachments. Responses on the 16PF revealed significant between-group differences on 2 dimensions: Affectothymia vs Sizothymia and High Ergic Tension vs Low Ergic Tension. No-TO Ss tended toward the Sizothymic (reserved) direction, whereas TO Ss deviated from the norm in the High Ergic Tension (tense) direction. Findings support the hypothesis that TO attachments as markers of intrapsychic developmental functioning reveal generalizable characteristics about personality development and style. Possible explanations of the observed relationships between TOs and personality characteristics are presented. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)