Eileen E. MaloneBeach

Boomers' Prospective Needs for Senior Centers and Related Services: A Survey of Persons 50–59

The future service needs of baby boomers are unclear. A survey addressing work/retirement, family, civic engagement, health, caregiving, leisure, and perceptions of senior services was mailed to 800 addresses randomly selected from a upper Midwestern county voter registration list. The response rate was 28%. Fifty-three percent of the respondents (N = 225) intended to work and increase civic engagement. They expected more time for hobbies and friends, and to travel more. Family will continue to be their highest priority. These findings will be useful to service providers who are invested in providing services that are attractive to boomers.

Home-Delivered Mental Health Services for Aged Rural Home Health Care Recipients

Home health care programs are generally able to meet a wide variety of older persons’ medical care needs, but are often unable to provide for the specialized needs of those patients who are experiencing emotional problems. This situation is most problematic in rural communities where services to meet the mental health needs of homebound elders are often not available. This article reports the results of a study that tested the efficacy of providing home-delivered psychotherapy to 78 elderly patients of a rural home health care agency. Patients who completed the brief, task-centered psychotherapeutic intervention reported improvements in their emotional well-being and indicated significant reduction of the problems associated with the target complaints that were the focus of the interventive activities. These results suggest that home-delivered psychotherapeutic interventions may have an important role to play in treating the mental health problems of older, rural, home health care recipients.

Predictors of Grandparent–Grandchild Closeness: An Ecological Perspective

ABSTRACT Improved health and extended life expectancy have provided opportunities for more adult grandchildren to interact with their grandparents. Applying an ecological perspective, the current study examined demographic, personal, and environmental factors associated with close grandparent–grandchild relationships. Participants were 470 young adults aged 18–27 (M = 20.16). Adult grandchildrens perceptions of their relationships with their favorite/close grandparents were examined retrospectively in three stages (childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood). Predictors of grandparent–grandchild closeness include grandparent–grandchild contact frequency, grandparents’ education levels and general health, and personality traits. Path analysis revealed intertwined directional effects of these predictors of grandparent–grandchild closeness.

Migrating to the East: a qualitative investigation of acculturation and leisure activities

This study sought to explore leisure behaviours associated with acculturation and immigration experiences among emigrants from the United States and Canada who moved to South Korea. Three main themes were identified as leisure engagement associated with acculturation: (a) embracing new leisure behaviours, (b) experiencing dynamics of interpersonal relationships and (c) improving cultural understandings. The findings of this study indicated that leisure provided an opportunity for participants to develop the ability to adapt to a new environment and gain cultural knowledge. In addition, this study indicates that as a result of leisure activities, participants explored, understood and experienced a new cultural environment that may facilitate acculturation.

The experience of worry among young and older adults in the United States and Germany: A cross-national comparison

This study compared adult age-related differences in the experience of worry within two cultures. Data were collected from 173 Germans and 263 Americans (within the United States) on a general worry scale and two hypothesized correlates of worry (life events and locus of control). Results indicated that there were age differences on all of the hypothesized correlates of worry as well as the measure of worry, with younger adults reporting more worries than did older adults. Differences were found between the two countries on the hypothesized correlates (with the exception of internal locus of control) and one subscale of the worry measure. More importantly, structural equation modeling indicated that the hypothesized correlates of worry differentially contributed to the prediction of worry across the two cultures and across the two age groups. That is, with one minor exception, the hypothesized correlates did not predict worry within the German sample, but did predict worry within the American sample. Among the younger adult American sample, endorsement of external locus of control and life events predicted worry, but among the older American sample, positive endorsement of internal locus of control predicted worry.

Development of a Children’s IAT to Measure Bias Against the Elderly

ABSTRACT Ageism is defined as the systematic stereotyping and discrimination of a person based on his/her age (Butler, 1969). Though ageism is often explicit in that individuals realize and acknowledge their biases, some age biases are implicit, appearing without awareness. In the current study, the authors developed a Child-Age–Implicit Association Test that could be utilized to determine whether an intergenerational program is effective. Data were collected from third- and fourth-grade children on both the Child-Age IAT and two explicit measures of bias regarding older adults. Results indicated that when measured implicitly, children at this young age already reveal negative biases regarding older adults. However, when measured explicitly, children do not report liking younger persons more than older persons. Thus, it seems that the children realize they should not report negative views of older people, though they might actually feel them. Having an implicit measure of the effectiveness of an intergenerational program is beneficial in that it avoids the problem of social desirability affecting responses.

African American Women: A Life Course of Care?

ABSTRACT Twenty-five years of research on family care to dependent elders has produced a theoretically sophisticated understanding of the process of family caregiving. Although caregiving models initially were developed and tested on predominantly White samples, more recent work has applied these models to African American caregivers. This investigation builds on the comparative perspective by describing elder care in African American families through the eyes of the culture in which it occurs. Thirty-two African American caregivers were interviewed and asked to discuss their caregiving careers from a life course perspective. Qualitative narratives described three pathways to care: elder care only, limited life course of care, and live course of care. Recognition of the various pathways to care will enlighten tailored interventions.

Intergenerational Intervention to Mitigate Children’s Bias Against the Elderly

ABSTRACT The age-segregated society in which we live fosters ageism and has negative consequences for both young and old. The persistence of ageism may be due to a cultural fear of growing older, or gerontophobia (Bunzel, 1972), and is actively cultivated through various forms of communication and misinformation. Unfortunately, young children are exposed to the damaging effects of ageism through their interactions with an ageist society. Partially in response to this prejudice, intergenerational programs that involve some form of common activity shared in a multigenerational setting have become popular. The current study utilized the Child-Age Implicit Association Test and two measures of explicit bias to determine whether an intergenerational intervention could mitigate negative age biases in elementary school children. Though the program did not seem to reduce bias, it was clear that implicit biases exist and that they seem to be distinct from explicit bias. It is suggested that a different program or different age groups may be more effective in reducing ageism in children.

Environmental Sustainability in U.S. Assisted Living Facilities

Population aging and environmental sustainability appear to be on a collision course. Concurrent with the increasing needs of older adults for more goods, services, and housing, concern for the environmental impact of this population is growing. Environmental sustainability efforts by assisted living facilities (ALFs) were queried using an online survey focusing on the following four areas: facility information, sustainable practices, motivations to green, and views of sustainable certification. The survey was sent to 800 ALFs from 34 states. The results indicated movement toward environmental sustainability, primarily connection to community, interaction with nature, and quality of life improvement for residents and staff. This study also depicts the challenges of greening while keeping human well-being a top priority. Furthermore, administrators of ALFs were largely uninformed about greening but viewed the costs and paperwork as barriers to greening and certification. Suggestions for future research, education, and the promotion of greening in ALFs are proposed.

A Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation of the Impact of an Intergenerational Program on Children’s Biases Toward Older Adults

ABSTRACT Ageism refers to the negative bias that targets people of a particular age demographic, typically those in late adulthood. Intergenerational (IG) programs, designed to offset the development of ageism in children, can be beneficial and may improve children’s views of aging. In the current study, an IG program is evaluated using both quantitative and qualitative measures. Results indicated that when measured implicitly, but not explicitly, children reveal negative biases against older adults. However, with the exception of a self-assessment of their knowledge of and contact with older family members, there were no significant differences before and after the IG program.