Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
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Perceived age discrimination in older adults
- Authors:
- RIPPON Isla, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Age and Ageing, 43(3), 2014, pp.379-386.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Objectives: To examine perceived age discrimination in a large representative sample of older adults in England. Methods: This cross-sectional study of over 7,500 individuals used data from the fifth wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), a longitudinal cohort study of men and women aged 52 years and older in England. Wave 5 asked respondents about the frequency of five everyday discriminatory situations. Participants who attributed any experiences of discrimination to their age were treated as cases of perceived age discrimination. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the odds ratios of experiencing perceived age discrimination in relation to selected sociodemographic factors. Results: Approximately a third (33.3%) of all respondents experienced age discrimination, rising to 36.8% in those aged 65 and over. Perceived age discrimination was associated with older age, higher education, lower levels of household wealth and being retired or not in employment. The correlates of age discrimination across the five discriminatory situations were similar. Conclusion: Understanding age discrimination is vital if we are to develop appropriate policies and to target future interventions effectively. These findings highlight the scale of the challenge of age discrimination for older adults in England and illustrate that those groups are particularly vulnerable to this form of discrimination. (Publisher abstract)
Exploring the age-friendliness of purpose-built retirement communities: evidence from England
- Authors:
- LIDDLE Jennifer, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 34(9), 2014, pp.1601-1629.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This article providing empirical evidence concerning the relative age-friendliness of purpose-built retirement communities. Adopting a new definition – ‘underpinned by a commitment to respect and social inclusion, an age-friendly community is engaged in a strategic and ongoing process to facilitate active ageing by optimising the community's physical and social environments and its supporting infrastructure’ – the article analyses the age-friendliness of one retirement community in England. The Longitudinal Study of Ageing in a Retirement Community (LARC) encompassed two waves of a survey with residents, interviews and focus groups with stakeholders involved in staffing, managing and designing the community, and other qualitative data collected from residents. Reviewing the different data sources, the article argues that purpose-built retirement communities have the potential to be age-friendly settings but might better involve residents in a regular cycle of planning, implementation, evaluation and continual improvement if they are to facilitate active ageing. In addition, more clarity is needed on how such developments can better fit with the age-friendly agenda, particularly in terms of their capacity to support ageing in place, the accessibility of the wider neighbourhood, opportunities for intergenerational interactions, and the training of staff to work with older people. (Edited publisher abstract)
Daily crosswords improve verbal fluency: a brief intervention study
- Authors:
- MURPHY Mike, O'SULLIVAN Katie, KELLEHER Kieran G.
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 29(9), 2014, pp.915-919.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: Phonemic verbal fluency (PVF) is a cognitive function that involves serial processes termed clustering and switching and which is impacted in both normal aging and dementia. The cognitive reserve hypothesis suggests that appropriate cognitive stimulation could maintain or improve cognitive performance. This study examines the effect on PVF performance of a brief crossword-based intervention in a cognitively normal, community-based sample. Methods: Thirty-seven members of active retirement groups volunteered to participate and were randomly assigned to a crossword group and a control group. The former attempted a crossword daily for 4 weeks while the latter kept a daily gratitude diary for the same period. Results: 2 × 2 mixed analyses of variance revealed that the crossword group performed significantly better over time than the control group in both total PVF score and in the cluster size component. Conclusion: Daily crosswords may be a simple and effective means of bolstering PVF performance in older people. (Publisher abstract)
Cycles of adaptive strategies over the life course
- Authors:
- COOPER Margaret, BIGBY Christine
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57(5), 2014, pp.421-437.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
An increasing number of Australia’s ageing population are aging with long-term physical impairments. This study explored the life experiences of this group using a qualitative approach. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 disabled Victorians, aged between 51 and 84 years, and an inductive thematic analysis undertaken. A relationship was found between the adaptive strategies that participants developed as they moved through life phases and the impairment stages. The implications of the emergence of a cyclical process of adaptation across the life course. and particularly in respect of aging, delivery of aged-care services and social workers in this sector are discussed. (Publisher abstract)
Late life depression: a historical perspective upon a maturing field of inquiry
- Author:
- BLAZER Dan G.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 18(5), 2014, pp.538-539.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
In this editorial, the author reviews the findings of seven studies on the topic of late life depression and compares these studies with the state of the field in terms of empirical research when he wrote his 1982 book. (Original abstract)
Cumulative exposure to traumatic events in older adults
- Authors:
- OGLE Christin M., RUBIN David C., SIEGLER Ilene C.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 18(3), 2014, pp.316-325.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objectives: The present study examined the impact of cumulative trauma exposure on current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity in a nonclinical sample of adults in their 60s. The predictive utility of cumulative trauma exposure was compared to other known predictors of PTSD, including trauma severity, personality traits, social support, and event centrality. Method: Community-dwelling adults (n = 2515) from the crest of the Baby Boom generation completed the Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire, the PTSD Checklist, the NEO Personality Inventory, the Centrality of Event Scale, and rated their current social support. Results: Cumulative trauma exposure predicted greater PTSD symptom severity in hierarchical regression analyses consistent with a dose–response model. Neuroticism and event centrality also emerged as robust predictors of PTSD symptom severity. In contrast, the severity of individuals’ single most distressing life event, as measured by self-report ratings of the A1 PTSD diagnostic criterion, did not add explanatory variance to the model. Analyses concerning event categories revealed that cumulative exposure to childhood violence and adulthood physical assaults were most strongly associated with PTSD symptom severity in older adulthood. Moreover, cumulative self-oriented events accounted for a larger percentage of variance in symptom severity compared to events directed at others. Conclusion: The authors findings suggest that the cumulative impact of exposure to traumatic events throughout the life course contributes significantly to posttraumatic stress in older adulthood above and beyond other known predictors of PTSD. (Edited publisher abstract)
Ageism and social integration of older ddults in their neighborhoods in Israel
- Authors:
- VITMAN Adi, IECOVICH Esther, ALFASI Nurit
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 54(2), 2014, pp.177-189.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Purpose: The article aims to examine the extent to which ageism is connected with the social integration of older adults in their neighbourhoods and to identify factors that explain social integration. Design and Methods: A convenience sample that included 300 older adults aged 65 and older and 300 younger people under the age of 65 who resided in 3 neighbourhoods in Tel-Aviv with varied socioeconomic status were interviewed. Kogan’s Attitudes toward Old People scale was used to probe ageism. Social integration index included 3 dimensions: frequency of participation in activities in the neighbourhood, familiarity with neighbours, and sense of neighbourhood. Hierarchical regression analyses examined 3 groups of independent variables: older adults’ sociodemographic characteristics, their perceived health and outdoor mobility, and neighbourhoods’ characteristics including level of ageism. Results: Neighbourhoods varied by levels of ageism and social integration. Higher level of social integration of older neighbourhoods’ residents was explained by a combination of factors: younger age, better self-rated health, and fewer limitations of outdoor mobility, lower levels of ageism reported by a sample of younger respondents, and higher socioeconomic status of the neighbourhood. Implications: To enable better social integration, intergeneration programmes should be developed to decrease ageism, and in order to make communities more age-friendly, there is need to facilitate accessibility to services and public spaces. (Publisher abstract)
"Fuller" or "extended" working lives: a critical commentary
- Author:
- PHILLIPSON Chris
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 15(4), 2014, pp.237-240.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: Encouraging people to work longer has become a key objective for public policy. This commentary provides assessment of current government policy towards older workers. It provides background to the treatment of older workers; highlights the distinction between a 'fuller' and an 'extended' working life; notes the importance of separating out different groups within the category 'older worker; and finally, identifies areas for action to suppose those now facing working into their 60s and beyond. Findings: This paper identifies problems implementing policy of extending working and provides various areas of action to support older workers. It suggests extending work is unlikely to be achieved without ensuring greater security for older workers and highlights the importance of developing more support for older workers. (Edited publisher abstract)
On the edge of a new frontier: is gerontological social work in the UK ready to meet twenty-first-century challenges?
- Authors:
- RICHARDS Sally, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 44(8), 2014, pp.2307-2324.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article explores the readiness of gerontological social work in the UK for meeting the challenges of an ageing society by investigating the focus on work with older people in social work education and the scope of gerontological social work research. The discussion draws on findings from two exploratory studies: a survey of qualifying master's programmes in England and a survey of the content relating to older people over a six-year period in four leading UK social work journals. The evidence from master's programmes suggests widespread neglect of ageing in teaching content and practice learning. Social work journals present a more nuanced picture. Older people emerge within coverage of generic policy issues for adults, such as personalisation and safeguarding, and there is good evidence of the complexity of need in late life. However, there is little attention to effective social work interventions, with an increasingly diverse older population, or to the quality of gerontological social work education. The case is made for infusing content on older people throughout the social work curriculum, for extending practice learning opportunities in social work with older people and for increasing the volume and reporting of gerontological social work research. (Publisher abstract)
Attitudes towards seeking mental health services among older adults: personal and contextual correlates
- Authors:
- KESSLER Eva-Marie, AGINES Sabrina, BOWEN Catherine E.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 19(2), 2014, pp.182-191.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This study investigates a wide range of contextual (e.g. physical access, residence) and personal (e.g. perceived social support, life satisfaction, openness to experience) predictors of attitudes towards seeking mental health services (ATSMHS) in a sample of 156 older community-dwelling adults in Germany. It was predicted that representations of old age as well as perceptions of (younger) psychotherapists would be uniquely important for determining ATSMHS. Method: Participants completed questionnaire measures which were analysed using hierarchical linear regression analyses to identify predictors of ATSMHS. Results: In the final saturated model, female gender, urban residence, personal and vicarious experience with psychotherapy, and higher perceived social support were each associated with more positive ATSMHS. In addition, more positive representations of old age and less negative perceptions of (younger) psychotherapists explained unique variance in ATSMHS over and above the other predictors. The overall model was significant and explained 49% of the variance in ATSMHS. Conclusion: The findings can be used to inform interventions to improve older adults’ ATSMHS. Interventions that seek to improve older adults’ representations of their own ageing as well as of psychotherapists may be useful for reducing the treatment gap. (Edited publisher abstract)