Tested Erikson's theory of an ego integrity versus despair crisis in old age using interviews with 40 older adults. Four integrity statuses were defined: integrity achieving, dissonant, foreclosed, despairing. Results supported the validity of the integrity status construct and the interview designed to measure it. (JAC)

Efficacy in working with recollection can be increased by understanding reminiscence. Informative reminiscence involves recollection for the pleasure of reliving and retelling. Evaluative reminiscence has a more favorable resolution when it ranges over the lifetime and is shared. Obsessive reminiscence may result from guilt, stress or grief.…

Compared 21 older clients of drug treatment facilities, 30 older abusers not in treatment, and 155 elderly nonabusers. Analyses suggested that age and gender affect the likelihood of receiving treatment more than the likelihood of being an abuser. Substance abuse appeared more prevalent among single elderly who lived alone. (JAC)

Volunteer workers over sixty-five were compared to retired elderly who did not engage in work activity. Volunteers had significantly higher degree of life satisfaction, stronger will to live, and fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety, and somatization. No differences were found on demographics or background. (Author)

Assessed the relationships between a life satisfaction index and social/demographic/psychological factors in older adults. Results showed marital status, occupational prestige, years of formal education, race, annual income, and a variety of specific satisfaction with life measures were related to successful aging. (Author)

The mythicizing of significant figures, evidenced in reminiscence among the elderly, can be interpreted as an adaptational response that is different from making sense out of one's life. Later in life the past becomes unique, and in the myth becoming the reality, one's life becomes justified. (Author)

Socioemotional selectivity and gerotranscendence, newer theories with roots in the disengagement theory of aging, provided the theoretical framework for a new measure of perceived change in investment in a variety of pursuits. The 30-item Change in Activity and Interest Index (CAII) was given to a sample of 327 outpatients aged 65-94. Items with…

Suggests modern age stratification contributes to greater differentiation of old age and lowered status. Proposes discontinuity in the transition to old age makes time a central issue. Concludes the psychological constriction of older people results from failure to facilitate creative personal expression through the life cycle. (Author)

Discusses the nature and importance of social skills for the elderly, including social skills deficits and psychological disorders related to aging, in five papers presented as part of a Symposium on Social Skills at the XII International Congress of Gerontology, Hamburg, July 1981. (JAC)