Micro-data from a 1984 survey of adult education in Canada are used in the study. The data for persons 65 years of age and over are analysed using probit techniques. Prior level of education is found to be of considerable importance in determining the probabilities that elderly people will make use of adult education facilities. It is argued that future elderly population cohorts will have higher average education levels than present ones and that their members will therefore be more likely to take courses. Projections of increases in course enrolment by persons 65 and over are made for the next quarter century, based on the results of the probit analysis and projections of the population.

Persons aged 65 and older comprise about 9–12% of the population of industrialized countries but consume 25–30% of prescribed drugs. This high consumption may be due to an increase in disease and chronic illness and/or the result of over prescription.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of prescription drugs by the population of B.C. aged 65 and older. Using B.C. Pharmacare data for 1984, the cost and number of prescriptions were analysed, comparing consumption by the mobile elderly with that of the elderly in nursing homes. Both populations were found to receive a high number of prescriptions per person, particularly in the Central Nervous System therapeutic class.

The results indicate the need for further study into the prescription of drugs for both elderly groups, but particularly those in nursing homes.

Despite the extensive literature on the effects of relocation on the aged, most investigators have examined changes following relocation. Very little is known about the cognitions and emotions an older person experiences, or about the meaning of home during the pre-relocation period. The present study attempted to address these issues. Sixty-three older people awaiting relocation to age-segregated rent-subsidized apartment buildings were interviewed twice over a one year period: they received the PGC Multilevel Assessment Instrument as well as measures assessing coping strategies and their perceived meaning of home and relocation. Respondents did not demonstrate decrements on any domain of the PGC MAI over the year period; indeed, those who moved significantly increased their level of environmental satisfaction. Finally, participants reported dealing with stress by exercising personal control over, or actively manipulating, their environment; “home”, moreover, most often had meaning and importance because it was the place in which this personal control was optimized and ensured.

In the present study, the interpersonal problem solving competency of nondepressed and depressed elderly were compared. The subject sample which consisted of 40 French speaking elderly were administered the Beck Depression Inventory and two subtests from the Means Ends Problem Solving Procedure. The results failed to reveal any marked differences between nondepressed and depressed elderly on the measures of Optional Thinking and Perception of Consequences. However, significant correlations were found between the interperpersonal problem solving competency measures and some of the demographic variables. Implications for future assessment of interpersonal problem solving competency in the elderly are discussed.

In the first of two experiments designed to investigate perceived cognitive abilities of young and old targets, 80 female undergraduates estimated the performance of either a young or an old target on several subtests from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS; Wechsler, 1955). Experiment 2, with 120 respondents, extended Experiment 1 to include respondent sex and target sex variables, and additional WAIS subtests. The results of the two experiments suggest a highly differentiated view of cognitive abilities. On subtests related primarily to memory and psychomotor speed, the old targets were seen as less cognitively able than the young targets. On a subtest assessing practical judgment and common sense old targets were seen as superior to young targets. On subtests assessing computational abilities and logical abstractive thinking no reliable target age differences were found. Neither target sex nor respondent sex played a substantial role in target age perceptions. Compared to available norms estimates xvere unrealistically generous, particularly in the case of older adults. However the pattern of estimates across cognitive abilities reflected, to a substantial degree, the age-related differences in the norms.

This study examined the food variety and the effects of seven factors reflective of social, economical and health indices on the food choices of sixty-two urban dwelling individuals between sixty to seventy years of age. Food variety was assessed in terms of 157 foods grouped into eight food groups. The relative impact of the seven factors on food use was determined by Kendall's tau statistic. A salient identified factor was the use of dentures which reduced overall food variety. Living situations, particularly single dwelling conditions, exerted negative influences on food variety with the reduction of use frequency of foods in both bread and meat groups. The other five factors: education level, satisfaction with disposable income for food, social activity, emotional state and smoking habits limited food variety to a lesser extent than the aforementioned variables. The findings confirmed that attention to dental health and accommodation arrangements may aid in ensuring the diet quality of elderly persons.

The maximum lifespan of different animal species is genetically determined. Many biochemical and physiological systems which influence longevity have apparently evolved to regulate growth and development in a way which maximizes fitness given the ecological niche and constraints on the species. The diversity of individual genetic effects on aging makes it unlikely that either extrinsic factors such as nutrition and medicine or genetic intervention will have dramatic effects on the maximum lifespan of a species, in spite of significant qualitative effects on individuals. However, understanding the fundamental genetic determinants of senescence may be of particular importance to the treatment and or prevention of age associated problems involving tissue degeneration and/or cancer. Considerable investment in basic biological research on both aging and developmental processes is needed before this understanding can be achieved.

Many functional scales used with the elederly are inadequate because they focus solely on physical functioning and were designed for younger adults who were orthopedically or neurologically impaired (e.g. the Katz, the Kenny). An appropriate assessment of the elderly's capabilities must include other components—mental functioning, tolerance and motivation, as well as physical functioning. A new assessment tool—the Geriatric Function Score Scale (G.F.S.S.) was developed for the elderly by Lowe (1984). It is an objective tool which examines physical, cognitive and motivational components of functioning and takes only 20 minutes to administer. The results of a preliminary study revealed that the score patients received on the G.F.S.S. was able to discriminate the level of placement (chronic care setting versus nursing home versus supervised setting, etc.) they would need upon discharge from the hospital. In addition, a positive conelation was found (r = .84) when comparing the G.F.S.S. with the Folstein Mini Mental Status Examination.

This article provides a descriptive account of the history of Canadian veterans and veterans legislation focussing upon five time periods: pre–1918; 1918–1939; 1939–1950; 1950–1980; and the present time. Emphasis is placed on issues and legislation relating to aging and elderly persons, with particular concentration on pensions and health. It is shoivn that veterans legislation and veterans issues have played a facilitating role in the development of Canadian health and social services, and argued that a social historical perspective on aging provides for an enhanced understanding of current age-related institutions, services and policies.

The assessments of research in social gerontology in Quebec are already numerous. The need to continue to reflect on one's work is a sign of the uncertainty amongst Quebec researchers in social gerontology. Although research activities have been multiple in the past years and research in social gerontology has a few of the characteristics of an institutionalized scientific activity, the experience of research centres in gerontology has not always been a happy one; researchers have no definite place of work and scientific publications hardly get out of Quebec. Nevertheless, numerous works should be entitled to a Canadian and international circulation, and this exposure to the international trends of research in social gerontology would in turn profit Quebec researchers. Moreover, research in social gerontology is too exclusively concentrated in the field of social psychology, while the almost ideological rejection of quantitative methods appears largely unjustified. It is imperative that social research in gerontology in Quebec be diversified, but it is also important that researchers group together around research themes and that these groups be given adequate financial assistance by the funding agencies.

Nursing home aides are the primary care providers for the institutionalized elderly but, until recently, aides have received very little formal training. Recognizing this, some community colleges have implemented in-service training programs. This paper presents the results of an impact assessment of the Saskatchewan program offered by Kelsey Institute of Applied Arts and Science. The sample included 86 aides from 16 nursing homes selected at random from both rural and urban areas. Results from this study show that program graduates knew significantly more about simple nursing skills, the aging process, and the philosophy of long term care in comparison to aides from nursing homes that did not offer this in-service training (non-participants). Program graduates were also significantly more likely to describe their health care team as functioning effectively. However, attitudes of program graduates toward the elderly were not significantly different from non-participants. The vast majority of the aides, whether trained or untrained, held positive attitudes toward the elderly. Implications and limitations of these results are discussed in conjunction with information from interviews with three Directors of Care who have experience implementing and supervising this in-service training program.