Odette N. Gould

Reminiscence and vivid personal memories across adulthood.

This study examined reminiscence functions and vivid (i.e., landmark) personal memories in nine samples ranging from the teens to the nineties. Participants (n = 198) ranging in age from 18–95 years completed the Reminiscence Functions Scale (Webster, 1997) and described a vivid personal memory which was subsequently rated for frequency of recall, emotional valence, time of occurrence, impact, and thematic content. Reminiscence results showed that older adults tend to reminiscence more for social functions while younger adults tend to reminisce more for self functions. Older adults reported vivid memories that were less intimate and less negative although adults of all ages showed the “reminiscence bump.” Significant relationships were also obtained between the content of vivid memories described and the patterns of general reminiscence behaviors.

Adult age differences in elaborations produced during prose recall

This study focused on adult age differences in the characteristics and quantity of elaborations produced during a prose recall task. Young (M = 24.3 years) and older (M = 67.9 years) adults were tested in 3 same-age, same-gender group size conditions: individual, dyad, and tetrad. Elaborations, which are statements not contained in the text but not inconsistent with it, were divided into 2 major categories. Denotative elaborations included statements that were closely related to the text and filled in gaps in the stories. These elaborations were equally produced by young and older adults and were significantly correlated with gist recall performance. Annotative elaborations were evaluative and interpretive comments. These statements were more frequently produced by older adults but were not correlated with recall performance. Young and older adults had different patterns of annotative elaboration production across group size conditions.

Collaborative recall in married and unacquainted dyads

Thirty younger couples between the ages of 19 and 36 (M = 26.0, SD = 3.5) and thirty older couples between the ages of 56 and 85 (M = 67.4, SD = 5.3) were tested on story recall, word recall, and a referential naming task. Each individual worked with the spouse and with a stranger of the other gender so that collaborative performance could be compared between familiar and unfamiliar dyads. Although participants anticipated that higher levels of recall performance would be obtained when they worked with a familiar partner, this expectation was not supported. Older men, but not older women recalled less information than younger adults. Younger dyads were found to be more efficient communicators than older dyads in the referential naming task.

Communication during prose recall conversations by young and old dyads

This study focused on the cooperative processes occurring during collaborative prose recall by adult dyads differing in age (young and old) and relationship (married and unacquainted). Analyses of the content of the conversations indicate that all groups produced similar proportions of story‐related and conversation‐related productions. At the beginning of the conversations, individual stimulus‐based productions were predominant. The end of the conversations were characterized by increased proportions of task discussion, particularly for married couples, and an increase in sociability/support productions by older adults, particularly older unacquainted dyads. Thus, all groups adopted the arguably superior strategy of beginning their recall conversations with an initial surge of individually recalled story information, and it was only at the end of the conversation that group differences in collaboration strategies were observed.

Self-Reported Medication Adherence and Health Status in Late Adulthood: The Role of Beliefs

In this study, we explore the role of subjective beliefs in determining self-reports of medication adherence and health status in 90 older adults (M age = 71.7 years, SD= 7.44). Self-reported adherence was predicted by personal health locus of control beliefs, but not by medical factors nor beliefs regarding ones own health care professionals. Self-reported health was predicted by medical factors, perceptions of ones health care professional, and health locus of control. These results suggest that self reported adherence is primarily a belief-laden construct whereas self reported health consists of both an objective assessment of health and a subjective belief-laden component. Exploratory analyses conducted on younger-old and older-old age groups indicated that medical factors may be less important to older-old adults perceived health status than the younger-old adults.

Nurse practitioners in Canada: Beginnings, benefits, and barriers

Purpose: The goal of this qualitative study was to investigate the experiences of nurse practitioners (NPs) 1 year after they were first introduced to a mostly rural Canadian province. Data sources: Qualitative analyses of individual 45‐min interviews with seven of the nine NPs in the province were carried out. Conclusions: Three main themes of importance were identified. First, a nursing philosophy with a holistic approach was described as being clearly different from medical care. Second, difficulties and barriers encountered in the establishment of the profession in the province were described. Third, despite these barriers, a pioneering outlook characterized by a sense of excitement and pride in the work was expressed. Implications for practice: For NPs to work effectively to reduce healthcare costs and increase access to health care, they need to be accepted by both the public and the other healthcare professionals. Moreover, it may be difficult for NPs to maintain their philosophy of care in the face of the expectations placed upon them.

Career Preferences of Nursing Students

Cette étude adresse les attitudes des étudiants et étudiantes débutants et avancés d’un programme en science infirmière envers les soins des patients tout au long de leur durée de vie. En plus, les étudiants et étudiantes ont donné les raisons pour lesquelles le soin des enfants et des personnes âgées leur semble plaisant ou déplaisant. Les étudiantes et les étudiants débutants (n = 114) et avancés (n = 56) étaient relativement positifs par rapport aux soins des clients tout au long du continuum d’âge. Toutefois, il y avait un effet linéaire significatif pour les étudiantes et les étudiants débutants, indiquant plus de négativité quant au travail auprès de clients âgés, en particulier après avoir connu un stage clinique initial. Nous trouvons un effet quadratique significatif pour les étudiantes et les étudiants avancés, indiquant ainsi plus de négativité envers le travail avec les enfants et les personnes âgées. Les raisons données pour apprécier les soins envers les aînés étaient différentes pour les deux groupes d’étudiants : les débutants placent plus d’accent sur les caractéristiques stéréotypes et la piètre santé des aînés que les avancés. Bref, les résultats semblent indiquer que les attitudes qui motivent les intérêts de carrière en science infirmière changent à mesure que la formation des étudiants progresse. This study investigates novice and experienced student nurses’ attitudes about caring for patients across the lifespan. Students were also asked why they would enjoy or not enjoy caring for children and older adults. Both novice (n= 114) and advanced (n = 56) nursing students were relatively positive about caring for patients across the lifespan. However, novices were significantly more negative about working with older patients, particularly after experiencing a first clinical placement. In contrast, a significant quadratic effect was found for advanced students, indicating more negativity about working with both children and older adults. When giving reasons for why they would enjoy caring for older patients, novices were more likely than were advanced students to focus on stereotypical characteristics and on negative health outcomes of older adults as a group. Overall, results suggest that the attitudes driving career interests in nursing students change as training advances.

Adherence Devices in a Community Sample: How are Pillboxes Used?

Background: Calendar-packaging devices such as pillboxes (dosettes) and blister packaging are often recommended to seniors, and are commonly used. However, little is known about how they are used. The goal of this project was to investigate how older adults in the community use calendar-packaging adherence devices. Methods: A mail survey of a community sample was used. Analyses addressed 3 research questions. First, the respondents reported on what type of calendar packaging they used. Second, the characteristics of the individuals who used pillboxes and blister packs were compared. Third, the way in which calendar devices were used by these individuals was described. Results: Respondents were 135 community-dwelling older adults (mean age ± standard deviation = 73 ± 9 years). The majority of respondents in the survey (75%) used a pillbox at least some of the time, while a smaller number (13%) used blister packs for at least some of their medications. Respondents who used pillboxes were taking more medications than those who did not. Few of the respondents reported using pillboxes in the recommended way. Only 11% of pillbox users used boxes with multiple slots for each day and, while the majority of respondents (93%) filled their pillboxes themselves, most of these individuals (82%) depended solely on their memory for filling the pillbox and only one individual had a second person check the pillbox for errors. Conclusion: Although pillboxes are often recommended and are widely used, the types of pillboxes chosen and the ways in which they are used may not be optimal to ensure medication adherence. Can Pharm J 2009;142:28–35.

Recall and Subjective Reactions to Speaking Styles: Does Age Matter?

Eighty-four younger adults (M = 20.9 years), and 70 older adults (M = 71.1 years) watched a videotaped presentation of medication instructions presented in either neutral speech or elderspeak. Older adults, particularly those with higher working memory performance, tended to recall more information from the elderspeak version. Younger and older adults agreed in rating the elderspeak as having both positive and negative characteristics. Findings supported our hypothesis that the relationship between recall performance and positive subjective reactions to speaking styles would be stronger for older adults than for younger adults.

Recall of Medication Instructions by Young and Elderly Adult Women Is Overaccommodative Speech Helpful

We tested the effectiveness of overaccommodative speech as a way to improve comprehension and recall of diagnostic and medication regimen instructions. Forty younger (M age = 21 years) and 82 older (M age = 71 years) adult women watched a videotape of an actor presenting medication instructions in either an overaccommodative or a neutral speaking style. Only older women with higher working memory performance levels benefited from overaccommodative speech. All groups had similar subjective reactions to the two types of stimuli: They preferred the speech attributes in the overaccommodative speech but preferred the person attributes of the neutral speaker. Finally, for older but not younger women, subjective reactions to the speaker predicted recall performance over and above age and working memory ability.