Kathleen I. Hunter

Characteristics of high and low self-esteem in the elderly.

Self-esteem is fundamental to the elderlys experience of life. To examine what background and personality characteristics were associated with low and high self-esteem in the elderly, 250 men and women age sixty-five and older were studied. Elderly with either high or low self-esteem did not differ with respect to age, income, education, or living-arrangement. However, the low self-esteem group had poorer self-reported health, more pain, and higher disability. The low self-esteem group had significantly higher scores on depression, anxiety, somatization, and a more external locus of control orientation both with and without health variables controlled. These data suggest that intervention may be a viable aid in promoting better feelings toward the self for persons over age sixty-five.

Discriminators of Internal and External Locus of Control Orientation in the Elderly

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of internal and external locus of control in the elderly to health and ability to function. Interviews were conducted with 258 men and women age 65 and over. Self-assessed health was found to be more favorable in the internal control group, and more restraints such as poor eyesight, loss of hearing, problems in recent memory, inability to do shopping, and need for assistance with finances were associated with the elderly who were controlled more by external factors. Internally controlled elderly were also more active in organizations and volunteer work. The findings suggest that internal and external locus of control orientation may be influenced in the elderly by environmental and physical restraints.

Cultural and Sex Differences in Dietary Patterns of the Urban Elderly

ABSTRACT: A group of 182 elderly subjects (91 females, 91 males; 94 blacks, 88 whites) were interviewed with respect to background data, dietary habits, and health variables. Analysis of variance showed race and sex differences with respect to meal patterns and quality of diet. In addition, correlational analyses revealed associations between quality of diet and social class, education, health status, and the smoking of cigarettes. Associations were strongest for the black subjects.

Minority women's attitudes about aging

Many factors combine to make middle age a critical period with respect to views about aging. To examine the effects of culture, background, and familial characteristics on attitudes toward old age, 304 middle-aged women from Black, Cuban, American Indian, Chicano, and white cultures were studied. A stepwise multiple regression analysis examined the contribution of each variable in the prediction of attitudes toward old age. Attitude toward death, attitude toward family, and church affiliation were found to be important predictors of attitude toward old age. Thus, clinicians dealing with middle-aged women having negative attitudes or fears about aging and old age in general may need to examine family dynamics as well as views about death and dying for possible problems. Where religion is already an integral part of a clients life, perhaps clinicians could use this orientation for added support.

Dietary Patterns and Cancer of the Digestive Tract in Older Patients

This study involved 97 male veterans (age range, 45–65) in four approximately equal groups, classified as follows: 1) colon or rectal cancer, 2) upper digestive‐tract cancers, 3) other cancers, and 4) additional controls (no cancer). Dietary histories of these cancer and noncancer inpatients were recorded to see whether or not consumption of particular substances could be predictive of cancer. The interactions of substances in combination such as sugar × fat, and alcohol × smoking, proved to be important predictors of cancer of the upper digestive tract. The degree of coffee consumption was a predictor of nondigestive‐tract cancer. However, colorectal cancer patients could not be distinguished from non‐cancer patients by the dietary variables examined.

Relationship between Women's Attitudes and Choice of Birth Control

No differences were observed in background measures for 108 mothers among whom the tubal ligation group was significantly more negative on two measures of attitude toward birth control than those whose husbands had had vasectomies and those who had had no intervention. However, women in the tubal ligation group were of the lowest socioeconomic class.

Living arrangements and well being in elderly women

Psychosocial and health data were obtained from 50 black and 47 white females age 65 and over. The women were divided according to whether they lived alone, with spouse only, or with persons other than (or in addition to) the spouse. Those living alone were found to have lower life satisfaction, lower self-esteem, and higher social dysfunction than those living with spouse or others. No differences were found with respect to depression, somatization, diet, or activity level. There was a significant interaction effect between race and living arrangement with respect to anxiety, with blacks being less anxious than whites when living with others, and more anxious when living alone or with only a spouse.

Self-Concept end Completion of Treatment for Heroin and Nonheroin Drug Abusers

One hundred sixty-one veterans with a history of drug abuse were administered a battery of background questions as well as self-concept measures prior to entering a Substance Abuse Unit at the VA Hospital in Miami. Significant interaction effects were found whe a 2 X 2 analysis of variance was run using heroin/nonheroin as one factor and completer/dropout as the other. Nonheroin drug abusers who subsequently completed treatment entered the program with the lowest self-concepts, highest ideals (with respect to the self), and were most often high school dropouts. Nonheroin drug abusers who eventually dropped out of treatment entered with relatively high self-concepts, low ideals, and were more often high school graduates. On the other hand, heroin users showed the opposite trend. Heroin users who eventually completed treatment began with higher self-concepts, lower ideals, and more education than the heroin users who became dropouts. It is suggested that a generalized feeling of optimism and motivation surrounds the completer, while the dropout seems to lack such drive.

Sterilization among American Indian and Chicano Mothers

In a large study concerning family size and birth control among women from five cultures in the Miami, Florida, area, it was noted that 60 percent of the Miccosukee and Seminole Indians having five or more children were surgically sterile. Compared with the incidence for whites (30%) and a similar socio-economic group of Chicanos (20%), the incidence among Indian women seemed highly inflated. To examine why this should be so and whether or not there were negative effects of such sterilization, analyses examined both pre- and post-operative differences between the Indians and a comparison group of Chicanos. Though there were significant cultural differences found for the women, these differences did not interact significantly in predicting sterilization. However, sterilized women reported significantly more pregnancy complications. Factors which may have contributed to the greater incidence of tubal ligation among Indian women are explored.