Purpose: This study evaluates the changes in social networks of older and younger breast cancer patients over a 6-month period following their first diagnosis and how such modifications are associated with changes in the patients' mood state. Design and Methods: Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients were interviewed shortly after their diagnosis…

This study assesses aging stereotypes to provide a foundation for the development of gerontology curricula and an inter-disciplinary program in gerontology at Los Angeles City College. A sample of 147 students (60 males and 87 females, 71 aged 18-29, 39 aged 30-59, and 37 aged 60-84), enrolled in five anthropology courses and three sections of a…

While there is growing awareness of the special needs and problems of older adults, little research has focused on differentiating groups within the older population. To determine whether different types of problems are more likely at specific ages within a range typically served at geriatric facilities, geriatric clinic patients in three age…

There is a common perception that stresses tend to increase and accumulate with age, but there have been no definitive studies of differences in perceived life stress among different age groups. To study these differences, a quasi-random sample of 215 adults completed a 41 item life-stressor questionnaire, modified from the Paykel (1971) and…

Compares the patterns of fear of crime among the aged and the non-aged. Four key specifying variables were used in the analysis--sex, race, socioeconomic status, and size of community. Findings indicated that elderly respondents who were either female, black, or metropolitan residents possessed extremely high fear rates. (Author)

Tested hypothesis that the institutional nature of old-age homes increases depression in the elderly. Results provided no support that the aged are more depressed. Somatic complaints can be indicators of depression in the elderly if normative differences between young and old are taken into account. (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)

The beneficial role that leisure can play in the lives of older persons is increasingly recognized by gerontologists and leisure service specialists. To study the psychological benefits of 18 commonly chosen leisure activities, 1,649 older adults, aged 55-75, responded to 27 paragraphs measuring the psychological benefits of leisure activities,…

Research has begun to define the older adult population, not as a homogeneous sample, but as at least two groups with different concerns. To determine the factors contributing to retirement satisfaction, two groups of retirees, i.e., young-olds, aged 75 and under (N=49) and old-olds, over age 75 (N=49), completed the Individual Status Assessment…

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)