Douglas McConatha

A COMPUTER‐BASED INTERVENTION FOR THE EDUCATION AND THERAPY OF INSTITUTIONALIZED OLDER ADULTS

Institutionalization often presents an unstimulating environment, in addition to requiring a surrender of autonomy. Research has shown that people quickly come to respond to the world in a limited and rigid fashion when their choices and activities are limited. This decline is frequently associated with a corresponding decline in psychological health and, consequently, an increase in depression. According to Seligman (1981), changing depressed individuals’ environment for the better and enhancing their sense of control should serve as an antidepressive. Thus the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a psychoeducational model making use of computer interaction for the therapy, education, and recreation of a group of institutionalized older adults. The results indicated that the computer interaction was an effective tool for increasing these older adults’ cognitive abilities and daily living skills and decreasing their levels of depression.

TURKISH AND U.S. ATTITUDES TOWARD AGING

As people live longer and the number of older adults increases worldwide, it becomes important to understand the factors that influence how we understand and perceive our own aging as well as how we construct our attitudes toward older adults. Although studies have indicated that later adulthood can be a healthy, productive, and satisfying time of life, ageism or prejudice and discrimination against older adults and a fear of the aging process, continues to be a widespread phenomena. The purpose of this study was to compare attitudes and anxieties toward aging of young and middle-aged men and women from the United States and Turkey. The results indicate that significant country and gender differences exist in how people feel about getting older and the age at which they consider themselves to be “old.” Contact with elders as well as education regarding the process of aging appear to have a significant impact on attitudes toward aging.

Japan's coming crisis: problems for the honorable elders.

The rapid aging of the Japanese and United States populations represents a major challenge in terms of health care and the quality of life. This article provides a cross-cultural analysis of the status of the elderly in these two countries. Japan currently has almost 13 million people over the age of 65. This number will more than double in the next two decades, making Japan one of the oldest countries in the world. This change offers an opportunity to view the approaches, solutions, and dimensions associated with current and proposed directions for the elderly in the United States, who now number 32 million and will increase to 35 million by the year 2000.

Coping in Later-Life: An Optimistic Assessment

Aging is an area of study that has undergone considerable change in the recent past. At present, methodological flaws and researcher biases are giving way to a view of aging as a highly individualized and variable process, rich in experience and potential. From this new perspective this paper reviews older age coping and defines it as a healthy and positive process characteristic of development at later ages. Coping is regarded as a critical strategy, allowing the older population to appraise their situation, access needed skills, and face critical, radically distinct life tasks. In support of this position the traits of defensiveness and rigidity, often regarded as characteristic of the aged, are discussed and found to be inappropriate.