This study of 106 elderly Central Missourians examines religious behavior as an indication of "disengagement." It is argued that religiosity must be measured in both organizational forms such as attending religious services and the more subjective nonorganizational forms including prayer and listening to religious services. (Author)

Age changes in categorization and conceptual styles were studied using an object-sorting task in 276 subjects representing seven age groups. Significant age effects were found in the analysis of variance for four of six measures; there were no significant sex or interaction effects. (Author)

Behavioral observations were conducted on aged mentally impaired females in an institutional environment on a weekly basis for a two-year period. Half the subjects remained stable in the level of their behavioral functioning. Stable subjects evidenced less serious medical conditions, had better comprehension of their situations and were more…

The development of functional dependency in functionally independent aged in a community was observed by Public Health Nurses over a period of five years. Among the 138 survivors observed for five years the emergence of functional dependency was slow. The five-year risk of becoming functionally dependent was highest in Self-Care. (Author)

This paper examines political behavior among two samples of Mexican-American elderly. The findings show that the Mexican-American elderly have relatively low rates of political activity and a sense of efficacy. Factors leading to this political behavior--fear, lack of communication, socioeconomic status--are discussed. (Author)

Politically alienated elderly include those feeling inefficacious and others who are cynical. Yet cynics hold favorable attitudes toward voting and regularly cast ballots. The inefficacy and cynicism associated with political conservatism reflect pre-New Deal educational norms and political orientation. (Author)

The tendency of more than 1100 males and females aged 17-92 to daydream about the past, present, and future was determined. Contrary to common belief, no linear relation between age and daydreaming about the past was observed, and all temporal orientations were of near equal strength at all ages. (Author)

Implementation of "24-hour" and classroom Reality Orientation procedures resulted in improved orientation to environment and behavioral functioning for confused and disoriented residents of an institution for the elderly. This study used a pretest-posttest control group design with 12 residents in the experimental group and 13 residents…

Young (N=18) and older (N=18) adults participated in a vocabulary task involving varying degrees of risk with a payoff structure that varied either directly or inversely with risk. In contrast to prior research using constant payoff structures, results did not indicate that older adults are more cautious than young adults. (Author)

Questionnaires were administered to a sample of adults to assess the extent of social distance between people of different ages. The findings suggest that the greater the age difference (younger or older) between people, the greater the social distance they feel. (Author)

This paper describes a two-stage sampling design for obtaining probability samples of the elderly and other specialized populations. Results indicate elderly individuals will respond, use of the design does not appear to increase sample bias, and the method is extremely inexpensive. (Author)

The impact sex and marital status have upon circumscribing the social relationships of the elderly is explored. Data reveal that the widowed, as a group, are no more isolated from their kin and friends or from associations in religious organizations than married individuals. (Author)

This longitudinal analysis examines changes in voluntary association participation levels over a four-year period using data from the Duke Adaptation Study (N=374) and over a two and one-half year period using data from Oberlin, Ohio (N=104). The findings showed the extent of participation was high in both samples. (Author)

This study was designed to assess listeners' ability to judge a taped speaker's age and to measure the extent to which personality ratings are affected by perceived age. In two experiments, undergraduate subjects demonstrated that speaker age can be reliably estimated over a wide age range for both female and male voices. (Author)

Administrators in higher education disclosed life style patterns for the "retirement period" from ages 65 to 75. Two contrasting patterns are described-Transformers and Maintainers. These groups reported differences in boyhood experiences, attitudes toward retirement, and choices of activity after age 65. (Author)