The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between several theory based strategies for adaptive coping and well-being in a community of visually impaired elderly.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed in healthy older adults between two psychological and physiological variables. The conceptual framework suggested that a relationship of psychological and physiological functions would facilitate positive adjustment to the stressors of aging. Life satisfaction represented psychological functioning; body temperature represented physiological functioning; body temperature represented physiological functioning. Because some evidence exists that normal temperature for older adults is lower than 98.6°F, an additional purpose was to determine if the sample had a normal body temperature lower than 98.6°F. Subjects were 174 healthy Caucasians aged 60-97. None were taking antibiotic, phenotiazine, cortisone, or reserpine containing drugs. Life satisfaction was measured using Neugarten's Life Satisfaction Index A (LSIA); body temperature was measured with an IVAC 821 oral electronic thermometer. Subjects rated perceived health on the Health Status Scale (HSS), and enumerated the past year's stressful life events on a modification of Holmes and Rahe's Social Readjustment Rating Questionnaire (SRRQ). Data were collected in winter and summer to determine if body temperature was different based on season. Statistical significance was p = .05. An ANOVA revealed no significant differences between winter and summer groups. The Pearson product-moment revealed no correlation between LSIA and TEMP. LSIA was significantly correlated with HSS and AGE; that is, subjects who were more satisfied with their lives considered themselves healthier, and were younger than other subjects. TEMP was significantly related only to SEX, indicating that females had higher temperatures than males. The mean temperature for all subjects, 98.24°F, was statistically different from 98.6°F, as were winter (98.32°F) and summer (98.17°F) group means. No difference was found between winter and summer mean temperatures, indicating that season of the year did not affect body temperatures in this sample. It was concluded that no psychophysiological relationship was found because body temperature may index only illness, not health. The mean temperature was not clinically different from 98.6°F most likely because these subjects were not taking drugs known to affect body temperature. A recommendation was that nurses evaluate each older client's temperature against his own normal, versus a universal normal.

The graying of America as a sociological and health care phenomenon continues to dictate the demand for creative and innovative interventions that can directly influence the quality of life of nursing home residents. Creative Reminiscence is a program that fosters the active reliving of the past through narration, such as in story-telling, and the use of creative art expression to uncover meaningful life events or valuable life experiences. The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the meaningful life events elicited by the experience of Creative Reminiscence using a phenomenographic approach. Existing (archived) data-transcribed interviews, poetry and painting on planters that were obtained from 20 participants of the Creative Reminiscence program entitled Le Jardin de Sante were analyzed. Five variations of meaningful memories evoked by Creative Reminiscence were identified. These are described as follows: (a) memories that rejuvenate the elder's sense of connectio n; (b) memories that revive the elder's sense of love and intimacy; (c) memories that restore the elder's sense of being; (d) memories that reassert the elder's sense of control; and (e) memories that reinstitute the elder's sense of purpose. In a caring interaction with Creative Reminiscence, the nursed are able to transcend, moving back in time (past) to appreciate segment(s) of their lives, with triumphs and disappointments that give meaning to their inner conflict/human struggle (present), and integrate a sense of confidence and acceptance of their lives to sustain well-being and a sense of wholeness. This research highlights the similarities and differences in the description of memories by the nursing home residents evoked during Creative Reminiscence. / The results of the study support Erikson's notion of the circular nature of the life cycle, wherein there is an inherent need at the last stage of life to re-integrate ascendant psychosocial themes.Taking into account the meaning that nursing home residents ascribe to their experiences provided data on strategies nurses and caregivers can use effectively to help these elders transcend despair. Further research is recommended using a more diverse sample and in more diverse geographical locations. Current standardized instruments may be revised to quantify effects on the ascendant psychosocial themes. / by Germina Emily Risos Rio. / Thesis (D.N.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2008. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Two skills necessary for the execution of proficient calculation, retrieving arithmetic facts from memory and accessing number magnitude information, were studied in a group of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and healthy controls to try to elucidate the locus of impairment in AD-related calculation deficits. This was achieved through the use of an arithmetic production task and a number-matching task as measures of explicit and implicit retrieval of arithmetic facts, and a numerical Stroop task that assesses automatic access to number magnitude representation. AD patients, but not MCI patients, showed high response latencies and a high number of errors when performing multiplications in the production task, and reduced automatic retrieval of arithmetic task in the number-matching task. All participants showed the classic problem-size effect often reported in the mathematical cognition literature. Performance on the numerical Stroop task suggests that access to number magnitude information is relatively resistant to cognitive impairment. ... Results for the AD group are consistent with a pattern of preserved and impaired cognitive processes that might mediate the reported calculation deficits in AD. / by Marâia Beatriz Jurado Noboa. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Data was provided by researchers of the Einstein Aging Study (EAS) of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University whom statistically analyzed data from the Bronx Aging Study cohort, concluding that participation in cognitive leisure activities and one physical activity, dancing, were associated with a reduced risk of dementia [1]. We explore data from a second (the EAS) cohort, utilizing Cox Proportional-Hazards and extended Cox regression [13]. Cognitive leisure activities in general, and particularly doing crossword puzzles, reading books, watching television, and emailing are associated with a reduced risk of dementia. Doing aerobics, learning computer programming, babysitting, dancing, jogging singing, and weight training are associated with an increased risk of dementia. Participation in cognitive leisure activities in general, and reading books in particular, remains highly significant even after adjustment for well-known risk factors [14] such as: age, cognitive status, depression, medical illnesses, gender, ethnicity, education and economic status. / by Carrie Stevens. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

As pesquisas atuais nos campos das ciências do envelhecimento chamam a atenção para a necessidade de estudos sobre o grupo de idosos com idade igual ou superior a 80 anos, denominados idosos muito idosos ou longevos. A necessidade de estudos com essa população se justifica pela elevada prevalência de morbidades e incapacidades que afetam esses idosos, comprometendo sua autonomia e capacidade funcional, gerando maior risco para quedas e institucionalização. Entretanto, para além dos critérios cronológicos adotados pela literatura, sabe-se que a vivência do processo de envelhecimento e a consciência da passagem do tempo são condicionadas também por um fator subjetivo, fazendo com que os critérios baseados na exterioridade, como a idade numerada, sejam insuficientes para circunscrever a complexa experiência de envelhecer. Visando a compreensão das particularidades desse segmento populacional, o objetivo dessa pesquisa foi investigar as percepções do idoso longevo sobre a passagem do tempo e suas vias de inscrição psíquica. Foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo de natureza exploratória, envolvendo metodologias quantitativas e qualitativas. Participaram da pesquisa 30 idosos com idade igual ou superior a 80 anos, distribuídos em dois grupos: idosos que vivem na comunidade e idosos que vivem em um lar geriátrico. Para a coleta dos dados foi utilizado o Mini Exame do Estado Mental (MEEM), um Questionário de Caracterização Socioeconômica e de Saúde, um Roteiro de Entrevista Semiestruturado, oito pranchas da Técnica de Apercepção Temática para Idosos (SAT) e a versão abreviada da Escala de Depressão Geriátrica (GDS-15). A comparação dos resultados do SAT evidenciou que os idosos que residem no lar geriátrico demonstraram percepções mais positivas sobre a velhice e as relações estabelecidas nessa etapa da vida, descontruindo parte dos estigmas relacionados às instituições geriátricas. Também foi observada uma maior pontuação positiva para depressão na GDS-15 e pontuações mais baixas no MEEM no grupo de idosos que residem na comunidade. Como principais resultados da análise qualitativa da entrevista e SAT, observou-se que o tempo da velhice é produto do encontro entre o tempo de Kairós e o tempo de Crono, sendo o primeiro baseado numa acepção temporal subjetiva e o segundo numa concepção de tempo objetivo e sequencial. Observou-se que esse encontro ocorre a partir das diferentes experiências reais com a exterioridade, como as perdas vinculares e as alterações corporais, que se configuram como vias de inscrições psíquicas da temporalidade objetiva, promovendo a conscientização sobre a existência de um tempo externo ao Ego que situa o sujeito no momento presente da velhice. Com isso, conclui-se que a maior consciência da transitoriedade é o denominador que confere especificidade à experiência dos idosos longevos com a passagem do tempo. A adoção de instrumentos epistemologicamente distintos, como escalas, técnica projetiva e entrevista, evidenciou ser uma posição metodológica válida para a investigação dos fenômenos da velhice. Considera-se que a presente pesquisa cumpriu seus objetivos, contribuindo para o desenvolvimento científico do campo das ciências do envelhecimento e a atuação profissional junto à população idosa longeva / Current research in the fields of the Sciences of Aging draws attention to the need for studies on the group of elderly people with 80 years and over, called very elderly or oldest old. The need for studies on this population is justified by the high prevalence of morbidities and disabilities that affect these elderly people, compromising their autonomy and functional capacity, generating a greater risk for falls and institutionalization. Beyond the chronological criteria adopted in the literature, however, it is known that the experience of aging and the awareness of the passing time are also conditioned by a subjective factor, rendering criteria based on exteriority, such as numbered age, insufficient to circumscribe the complex experience of aging. Aiming at understanding the particularities of this population segment, the objective of this research is to investigate the perceptions of the very elderly about the passage of time and the pathways of its psychic inscription. A field research of an exploratory nature was carried out, involving quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The study included 30 elderly people aged 80 years and over, divided into two groups: elderly people living in the community and elderly people living in a geriatric home. The following instruments were used for data collection: the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), a Socioeconomic and Health Characterization Questionnaire, a Semistructured Interview, eight boards of the Senior Apperception Technique (SAT) and the abbreviated version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). The comparison of the results of the SAT showed that the elderly who reside in the geriatric home demonstrated more positive perceptions about old age and the relationships established at this stage of life, deconstructing some of the stigmas related to geriatric institutions. There was also a higher positive score for depression in GDS-15 and lower scores in the group of elderly people residing in the community. As the main results of the qualitative analysis of the interview and SAT indicate, the time of old age is the product of the encounter between the time of Kairos and the time of Cronos, the first one being based on a subjective temporal meaning and the second on a conception of objective and sequential time. This encounter occurs in different real experiences with the externality, such as loss of bonds and bodily alterations, that are configured as ways of psychic inscriptions of the objective temporality, entailing awareness about the existence of a time external to the Ego which places the subject in the present moment of old age. Therefore, a greater consciousness of transience is the denominator that confers specificity to the experience of the oldest old with the passage of time. The adoption of epistemologically distinct instruments, such as scales, projective technique and interview, proved itself to be a valid methodological standpoint for the investigation of the phenomena of old age. This research is considered to have fulfilled its objectives, contributing to the scientific development of the field of the Sciences of Aging and to the professional practice with the very elderly population

O envelhecimento implica em alterações bio-psico-sociais, que refletem um processo individual, podendo ser vivido e resolvido diferentemente de acordo com a possibilidade de articulação entre as capacidades do indivíduo e os recursos do meio. Em função do aumento da população idosa torna-se fundamental investigar as condições que interferem no bem-estar na senescência e os fatores associados à saúde dos idosos. O processo de diagnóstico psicodinâmico envolve uma situação bi-pessoal, com duração limitada de aproximadamente três encontros com o objetivo de descrição e compreensão da personalidade do participante, a mais completa e profunda possível. O objetivo do trabalho é o desenvolvimento de uma nova técnica de intervenção psicodinâmica, a caixa lúdica para idosos. Utilizando o modelo da caixa lúdica infantil, a técnica proposta possibilitou que cada um dos idosos depositasse em uma caixa vazia objetos de sua preferência, permitindo a expressão simbólica de conteúdos do mundo interno, circunstâncias de sua história pessoal e do grupo familiar e etário. Participaram da pesquisa oito idosos, distribuídos da seguinte forma: dois do Hospital Universitário da USP; dois da Universidade Aberta à Terceira Idade; dois de Instituição Asilar Particular; e dois da Clínica Psicológica Durval Marcondes, do IPUSP. A pesquisa foi aprovada pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa do Hospital Universitário da USP filiada ao SISNEP/Conep e aprovada pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa com Seres Humanos do Instituto de Psicologia da USP. Foram utilizados a entrevista psicodiagnóstica semiestruturada; o mini-mental; a caixa lúdica para idosos; e a entrevista devolutiva. O procedimento da caixa lúdica para idosos permitiu a livre expressão de seu mundo interno através da manifestação de vivências, recordações, fantasias representadas pelos desejos inconscientes; medo, ansiedade e mecanismos de defesa. Além disso, o procedimento da caixa lúdica para idosos favorece a espontaneidade, a criatividade, a ousadia, a sensibilidade, o insight sobre novos sentidos para a história de vida, novas significações e a livre expressão de fantasias inconscientes, contribuindo assim para melhorar a compreensão psicodinâmica do idoso / Not informed by the author

As pesquisas atuais nos campos das ciências do envelhecimento chamam a atenção para a necessidade de estudos sobre o grupo de idosos com idade igual ou superior a 80 anos, denominados idosos muito idosos ou longevos. A necessidade de estudos com essa população se justifica pela elevada prevalência de morbidades e incapacidades que afetam esses idosos, comprometendo sua autonomia e capacidade funcional, gerando maior risco para quedas e institucionalização. Entretanto, para além dos critérios cronológicos adotados pela literatura, sabe-se que a vivência do processo de envelhecimento e a consciência da passagem do tempo são condicionadas também por um fator subjetivo, fazendo com que os critérios baseados na exterioridade, como a idade numerada, sejam insuficientes para circunscrever a complexa experiência de envelhecer. Visando a compreensão das particularidades desse segmento populacional, o objetivo dessa pesquisa foi investigar as percepções do idoso longevo sobre a passagem do tempo e suas vias de inscrição psíquica. Foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo de natureza exploratória, envolvendo metodologias quantitativas e qualitativas. Participaram da pesquisa 30 idosos com idade igual ou superior a 80 anos, distribuídos em dois grupos: idosos que vivem na comunidade e idosos que vivem em um lar geriátrico. Para a coleta dos dados foi utilizado o Mini Exame do Estado Mental (MEEM), um Questionário de Caracterização Socioeconômica e de Saúde, um Roteiro de Entrevista Semiestruturado, oito pranchas da Técnica de Apercepção Temática para Idosos (SAT) e a versão abreviada da Escala de Depressão Geriátrica (GDS-15). A comparação dos resultados do SAT evidenciou que os idosos que residem no lar geriátrico demonstraram percepções mais positivas sobre a velhice e as relações estabelecidas nessa etapa da vida, descontruindo parte dos estigmas relacionados às instituições geriátricas. Também foi observada uma maior pontuação positiva para depressão na GDS-15 e pontuações mais baixas no MEEM no grupo de idosos que residem na comunidade. Como principais resultados da análise qualitativa da entrevista e SAT, observou-se que o tempo da velhice é produto do encontro entre o tempo de Kairós e o tempo de Crono, sendo o primeiro baseado numa acepção temporal subjetiva e o segundo numa concepção de tempo objetivo e sequencial. Observou-se que esse encontro ocorre a partir das diferentes experiências reais com a exterioridade, como as perdas vinculares e as alterações corporais, que se configuram como vias de inscrições psíquicas da temporalidade objetiva, promovendo a conscientização sobre a existência de um tempo externo ao Ego que situa o sujeito no momento presente da velhice. Com isso, conclui-se que a maior consciência da transitoriedade é o denominador que confere especificidade à experiência dos idosos longevos com a passagem do tempo. A adoção de instrumentos epistemologicamente distintos, como escalas, técnica projetiva e entrevista, evidenciou ser uma posição metodológica válida para a investigação dos fenômenos da velhice. Considera-se que a presente pesquisa cumpriu seus objetivos, contribuindo para o desenvolvimento científico do campo das ciências do envelhecimento e a atuação profissional junto à população idosa longeva / Current research in the fields of the Sciences of Aging draws attention to the need for studies on the group of elderly people with 80 years and over, called very elderly or oldest old. The need for studies on this population is justified by the high prevalence of morbidities and disabilities that affect these elderly people, compromising their autonomy and functional capacity, generating a greater risk for falls and institutionalization. Beyond the chronological criteria adopted in the literature, however, it is known that the experience of aging and the awareness of the passing time are also conditioned by a subjective factor, rendering criteria based on exteriority, such as numbered age, insufficient to circumscribe the complex experience of aging. Aiming at understanding the particularities of this population segment, the objective of this research is to investigate the perceptions of the very elderly about the passage of time and the pathways of its psychic inscription. A field research of an exploratory nature was carried out, involving quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The study included 30 elderly people aged 80 years and over, divided into two groups: elderly people living in the community and elderly people living in a geriatric home. The following instruments were used for data collection: the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), a Socioeconomic and Health Characterization Questionnaire, a Semistructured Interview, eight boards of the Senior Apperception Technique (SAT) and the abbreviated version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). The comparison of the results of the SAT showed that the elderly who reside in the geriatric home demonstrated more positive perceptions about old age and the relationships established at this stage of life, deconstructing some of the stigmas related to geriatric institutions. There was also a higher positive score for depression in GDS-15 and lower scores in the group of elderly people residing in the community. As the main results of the qualitative analysis of the interview and SAT indicate, the time of old age is the product of the encounter between the time of Kairos and the time of Cronos, the first one being based on a subjective temporal meaning and the second on a conception of objective and sequential time. This encounter occurs in different real experiences with the externality, such as loss of bonds and bodily alterations, that are configured as ways of psychic inscriptions of the objective temporality, entailing awareness about the existence of a time external to the Ego which places the subject in the present moment of old age. Therefore, a greater consciousness of transience is the denominator that confers specificity to the experience of the oldest old with the passage of time. The adoption of epistemologically distinct instruments, such as scales, projective technique and interview, proved itself to be a valid methodological standpoint for the investigation of the phenomena of old age. This research is considered to have fulfilled its objectives, contributing to the scientific development of the field of the Sciences of Aging and to the professional practice with the very elderly population

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