Nancy W. Sheehan

Conflict, Emotion, and Personal Strain among Family Caregivers.

The purpose of this research was to examine the influence of interpersonal conflict, affection, and distress concerning dependency and caregiving satisfactions in predicting caregiver strain and negative emotion. The sample consisted of 98 family caregivers responding to a self-administered questionnaire. Results from two separate stepwise multiple regressions noted that interpersonal conflict between the elder and caregiver predicted the greatest amount of variance in both caregiver strain and negative affect. The implications of the findings for family therapists, family life educators, and gerontologists working with the elderly and their family caregivers are discussed.

Grandparents and Their Adult Grandchildren: Recurring Themes From the Literature

ABSTRACT Research on relationships between adult grandchildren and their grandparents is summarized to examine what is known about this neglected research topic. Viewed from a life span perspective, this review provides information concerning grandparent–adult grandchild interaction patterns, proximity, emotional closeness, and social support and the influence of grandparents on the mental health of adult grandchildren. Also considered is the influence of gender, ethnicity, affinal versus consanguine ties, and divorce on the relationship. Implications of the findings for researchers and family practitioners are discussed.

The Role of the Church in Providing Services for the Aging

We examined the responsiveness of churches and synagogues to the aging of their members. Employing a sample of 212 churches and synagogues, we described the availability of church-based aging programs, factors related to their development, linkages between churches and community agencies, and the clergys perception of unmet needs among older persons. Overall, churches that offered more church-based aging programs were those that envisioned their role as encompassing the social needs of members. The percentage of older persons in the congregation was unrelated to the number of programs for the aging. We discuss the implications for education and program planning.

Conservation of Space in Noninstitutionalized Old People

Summary Forty-eight noninstitutionalized elderly were administered Piagets Conservation of Surfaces Test. Only 13 subjects were designated as conservers in this content domain. A strong relationship existed between conservation ability and educational attainment, but not between sex and performance, and age and performance. Results indicated that cognitive abilities may be subject to qualitative disorganization in the latter portions of the life-span.

Nutrition Concerns of Low-Income Elderly Women and Related Social Support

Abstract The objectives of this study were to ascertain what low-income, older adults who live in government-assisted housing perceived as barriers to good nutrition and to delineate the types of support they found helpful in overcoming those barriers. Four focus groups (n = 35) and 12 in-depth interviews were conducted with widows, age 75-90 years. All discussions were audiotaped, transcribed, and content analyzed following an interpretivist approach. The women described 17 sources of stress related to nutrition. The most common were limited finances, modified diets, transportation, functional impairments, and depressed affect. Most participants reported little support for financial difficulties or mental health. The women described instrumental support for help with food acquisition, and informational and emotional support for help following modified diets. Nutrition programs should re-examine and perhaps re-focus objectives to better match the perceptions of elders regarding nutrition stress and nutrition support.

Identity Loss and Psychological Crisis in Widowhood: A Re-Evaluation

This study seeks to clarify the effect of widowhood on ego identity and psychological functioning. The sample consisted of eighty-three widows, ranging in age from twenty-two to seventy-four, who had been widowed an average of 4.9 years. A majority were found to be Identity Achievers on the Marcia instrument, and the group scored significantly higher on a structured measure of self-esteem (TSCS) in comparison to national norms. A quarter of the sample reported positive change after widowhood, 39 percent reported mixed effects, and only 30 percent reported only negative change. The results are discussed in terms of Eriksons developmental theory, suggesting that intimacy may be a more central issue of widowhood than ego identity. Further, little support is given the pathological sheen often attributed to widowhood. Rather, the data better fit a developmental or growth model of crisis resolution.

Family Dynamics for Caregivers: An Educational Model.

Previous research on the primary caregivers of elderly relatives emphasizes the importance of viewing their situation from a family perspective. Educational programs which focus on the potential stress and support within the family are needed for caregivers. However, current caregiver programs focus on the dyadic relationship with minimal attention to other family issues. This paper reviews the literature on primary caregivers and describes an educational model on family dynamics for adult children caregivers.

Management Issues in Service Coordination

Despite the growing popularity of service coordination in senior housing, the literature has yet to discuss the management issues that arise when professionals from housing and social services work together. This article discusses the problems and tensions that arise when service coordination is introduced into senior housing. Identification of issues/tensions is based upon experiences with the Resident Services Coordinator Program, a two-year federally funded service coordination program. The problems and tensions were identified through in-depth interviews with services coordinators; on-site property managers, and management company representatives involved in the project.

The Nature of the Life Concept across the Life-Span

In this study of people ranging from six to over sixty-five years of age, a high frequency of animistic responses was found in all ages examined. While a significant age effect was noted in the ability to categorize animate objects accurately, animisitc responding was generally unrelated to logical classification ability or to analytic cognitive style. For eleven- to thirteen-year-olds, however, a significant relationship between animism and both cognitive style and classification ability existed. An interpretation of the results which found high levels of animistic thinking beyond adolescence does not support Piagetian theory. Rather, adults may respond animistically because of emotional attachments which they have formed to certain meaningful physical objects.

Logical concept attainment during the aging years

While there is little question that Piaget’s theory and associated research represent the preeminent conception of logical concept development currently extant, it is also dear that the Genevan orientation to developmental issues offers very little information concerning significant behavioral change beyond the years of adolescence. In brief, the orthodox Piagetian perspective is rather exclusively restricted to the initial years of the human life-span, i.e., birth to maturity. Once the formal operations apex is attained, stability is predicted and no provision for significant cognitive changes, especially of a qualitative nature, is made (cf. Flavell, 1970a; Piaget, 1972b). This conceptual viewpoint is clearly at variance with a considerable number of normative research investigations of Piagetian concept attainment in mature and elderly adults (see recent reviews by Denny, 1974a; Hooper, 1973b; Papalia and Bielby, 1974). The purposes of the present chapter are threefold: (1) to review the normative and experimental assessments of aged individuals’ performances on Piagetian logical-concept tasks; (2) to evaluate this empirical evidence with regard to putative qualitative or structural changes such as those commonly associated with the childhood and adolescent age intervals; and (3) to speculate as to the role certain corollary factors may play in determining the performance of aged individuals on logical-concept tasks.