Attempts to explore the mix between the provision of support by informal and formal sources typically involve evaluations of a single sample of seniors. This study examined the sources of support (i.e. informal, formal, mixed) for instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) received by seniors at two points in time, approximately 12 years apart. Sources of support were compared to consider whether those used by men and women in 1983 (n = 1479), were similar to those used by their counterparts more than a decade earlier (n = 2512). For women, the proportions receiving assistance from various sources were identical in 1983 and 1971. For men, they were not. Among seniors receiving some IADL assistance, the probability of receiving it from primarily informal sources in 1983, relative to 1971 was significantly lower for men than for women. Moreover, the probability of receiving support from primarily formal sources in 1983, relative to 1971 was significantly higher for men. These findings might imply that, for men, but not for women, the receipt of support has moved toward primarily formal sources and away from primarily informal sources. Several potential explanations for these findings are explored.

This study explored admission factors which predicted the successful return to the community of patients entering a Geriatric Assessment and Rehabilitation Program (GARP). A stepwise logistic regression technique was used to determine predictive factors from a consecutive sample of 100 medical or surgical geriatric patients admitted for a four to six week rehabilitation program. The significant independent predictors of discharge which could be determined at the time of admission were ability to safely medicate, admission from the community, GDS score and the number of supports. The ability to safely medicate may be an important but under-utilized predictor.

Secondary analysis of data from the Health and Activity Limitations Survey (HALS) in the metropolitan Montreal area shows that 3.5 out of 10 elderly persons living in a household had a disability. In this descriptive research, we locate the dependency level according to the attributes of the elderly and of their residence. Approximately three out of four elderly with a disability receive help and one out of three are assessed as needing more help. Assistance varies with the person who helps. The family mostly helps for everyday activities, friends for shopping, and private or governmental services for personal care and household tasks. Assistance varies also with the marital status of the elderly person. Finally, the presence of special devices is associated with type of housing.

The goal of this meta-analysis was to provide an estimation of the average effect of aging on intentional memory for spatial location in small-scale space. Findings from 22 studies, which represent the testing of 1,598 subjects, were compared using the following statistics: (a) d (Cohen, 1988), (b) omega2 (Hays, 1963), and (c) Proportion of classified subjects. The meta-analysis suggests that the effect of aging is “large” (e.g., the average d was 0.81), and that it is proportional to the number of dimensions of the array used. However, these conclusions have to be treated with caution because of some methodological limitations of the reviewed literature. In particular, less than half of the studies mentioned (a) control for differences often found between young and elderly adults in visual acuity, and (b) having used a test phase of fixed duration. It is recommended that future research on age-related deficits in spatial memory take into account these confounds.

In a sample of 1449 adults, divided by age into young, middle-age, and old, mood was found to consist of two age invariant components, vigour and affect. Factor structure differed by age for affect but not vigour. For old adults, two unipolar affect factors were obtained, whereas one bipolar affect factor was obtained for the two younger groups. From these factor analyses a mood scale (the Memorial University Mood Scale, the MUMS) was developed and its predictive validity and reliability established for all age groups. Using the MUMS, mean level differences by age were found in both vigour and affect, as well as a measure of globed mood, with the old adults higher on all three measures. Age invariant, diurnal patterns were found for both vigour and affect. Vigour followed an inverted U-shaped diurnal pattern and affect a primarily linear pattern, suggestive of appraisals of somatic state and environmental conditions, respectively.

Age-related changes in the capacity for cognitive flexibility should be considered in social planning for the expanding elderly population and in the functional assessment of the individual geriatric patient. Current means for assessing conceptual flexibility are not particularly appropriate for use with the elderly. In the current study, a briefer and more tolerable measure of conceptual flexibility was derived from the Visual Verbal Test (VVT). This index correlated significantly with the number of perseverative errors but not the number of nonperseverative errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), attesting to its validity as a specific measure of the ability to shift mental set. A significant relationship between age and both this VVT measure of conceptual shift and the number of perseverative errors on the WCST was observed in a sample of 60 healthy elderly volunteers between the ages of 55 and 84, suggesting that cognitive flexibility is indeed negatively associated with age.

Young and old observers performed a feature search task in which a single target was embedded in five distractors. Target-distractor similarity was varied quantitatively (along the feature dimension of orientation) and display duration ranged from approximately 50–400 ms. Identification accuracy was worse on target-absent trials, particularly when distractor similarity was high and display duration brief. An age X duration interaction on accuracy was found to reflect generalized age deficits in sensitivity and duration-dependent age differences in bias. Results suggest that an age deficit in the rate of information extraction produces in the elderly a greater dependence on partial information gained from distractors. Additionally, the additive effects of age and similarity have implications for visual search tasks where display size is varied.

Using variables derived from Attachment Theory, gender differences in several motivational and structural factors on the levels of care provided by adult offspring to their parents are explored. Data from the Winnipeg Parent Support Project on informal helpers who were sons and daughters between the ages of 30 and 64 (n = 79) were analysed. Consistent with previous research, adult daughters reported greater caregiving than sons. The structural variables of Employment, Marriage and Presence of Children did not emerge as significant predictors of caregiving involvement for sons or daughters. Considerable support was found for Attachment Theory. Perceived Parental Dependence, followed by Frequency of Visits, emerged as the strongest predictors of sons' and daughters' caregiving involvement. Perceived Parental Ability accounted for additional variation in daughters', but not sons', caregiving. No support was found for Exchange Theory; reciprocity did not predict caregiving involvement. Implications for understanding the helping behaviour of adult sons and daughters are discussed.

Age (18–81 years), sex, and personality (Extraversion, Neuroticism, Openness to Experience) variables were used as predictors of four dimensions of reminiscence behaviour. Contrary to theoretical assumptions, age did not predict reminiscence frequency. Neither were there age differences in terms of emotional tone or philosophical content of reminiscence. Memory remoteness, however, was predicted by age. Personality traits, in contrast, were significant predictors for all four reminiscence dimensions. Finally, sex predicted reminiscence frequency. The results are discussed from a lifespan perspective.

This study was devised to determine the effectiveness of a pretherapy training procedure in enhancing group cognitive therapy for depressed older adults. Twenty-nine subjects were randomly assigned to a pretherapy training condition or an attention-placebo control condition. Subjects were 65 years of age or older, had a score of 14 or higher on the Beck Depression Inventory or on the Geriatric Depression Scale, and had no previous experience in psychotherapy. The pretherapy training procedure was based on Bandura's social cognitive theory and included verbal persuasion, vicarious experience, and performance accomplishment. The pretherapy training improved knowledge about psychotherapy and promoted the development of a problem-oriented focus in therapy. However it was unsuccessful in significantly reducing dropouts, increasing attendance, modifying role expectancies in the expected direction, and differentially affecting the outcome of cognitive therapy. For the experimental and control conditions taken together, 53.7 per cent of the subjects demonstrated clinically significant improvement at the end of therapy. Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.

This paper reviews the different concepts and measures of positive aspects of caregiving that have been used in previous studies. It describes the use of a simple measure of “enjoyable aspects of caregiving” used in a large longitudinal Canadian study of dementia care in the community. The measure attained significant test-retest reliability and significantly correlated with caregiver burden and health. It also predicted caregiver desire to institutionalize the care recipient at three different time periods but not actual institutionalization. The paper calls for greater use of measures related to positive aspects of caregiving and a better understanding of how these measures relate to one another and to outcomes.

This paper describes patterns of caring for people aged 65 or over with dementia in Canada, and the relationship this has with the well-being of caregivers. Data were drawn from a representative sample of elderly people, selected from the community and from institutions in the ten provinces of Canada as part of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA). Interviews were held with the caregivers of people diagnosed with dementia, and with a comparison group of caregivers for non-demented persons. About half of all people with dementia in Canada are living in the community, and our results show that over 98 per cent of them have a caregiver. The caregivers in 94 per cent of these cases are unpaid family members, relatives or friends: the spouse in 37 per cent of cases and a daughter in 29 per cent. Caregivers rarely use community support services. Among those caring for someone in the community, those caring for a person with dementia are more likely to experience chronic health problems and depressive symptoms than are those caring for a non-demented elderly person. Those caring for a person in the community are much more likely to feel burdened than those whose loved one is in an institution, even though those who are institutionalized are more likely to suffer from severe dementia. These national figures support many of the findings reported from smaller, localized studies. The findings suggest that long-term care institutions are serving a role for Canada's seniors, particularly for the most demented, and that caregivers often provide care for loved ones even when suffering from chronic health conditions, depression, and burden themselves.

The interactional environment of institutionalized elders has been described as communication-impaired due to the lack of opportunities for ordinary adult-to-adult conversation. Patronizing speech from caregivers is one form of constraining communication that may frustrate elders within institutions. In this study, 256 adults (randomly assigned to one of 16 experimental conditions) evaluated either a patronizing conversation between a nurse and an elderly woman in a nursing home or a more neutral version of the same conversation. In a complex between-subjects design based on Communication Accommodation Theory, we examined the possible influences on the evaluation of patronizing speech of three manipulations: resident alertness, personal situational topic, and privacy of setting for the conversation. Across all contexts, the nurse using a patronizing speech style was viewed as less respectful and less nurturant than the nurse using the neutral style. The resident was considered less satisfied with the patronizing conversation. The situational topic manipulation yielded main effects for these same variables, with the nurse criticizing a resident about a personal issue being viewed as less respectful and nurturant than the nurse raising a safety issue. Moreover, the resident addressed about a personal issue was rated as less competent than the resident addressed about a safety issue. Situational topic interacted with speech style on only one measure, while resident alertness and privacy had no impact on the negative connotations of patronizing speech.

Previous work on the association between total aluminum (Al) concentrations and a measure of cognitive impairment is extended by considering the associations between this measure of cognitive impairment, not only with total Al, but also with turbidity and DOC both of which also contain Al. The multivariate, but not bivariate, analyses show that the odds of showing indications of mental impairment increase with turbidity but decrease with DOC, and this effect is most pronounced at a medium pH. It is suggested that the two variables considered could account for some of the unexplained features of the association between Al concentrations and measures of cognitive impairment. The other associations, namely those with F, pH, source of drinking water (ground or surface) remain similar to those reported previously in this series of papers.

Studies on informal caregiving in institutional settings are rare. The impact on their burden of 197 caregivers' perceptions of their elderly dependents' autonomy was investigated. The results of previous research on caregivers' burden in non-institutional contexts were used to provide an empirical starting point for the research. The results of regression analysis show that help for bathing and concurrent demands have an impact on objective burden, but caregivers' perceptions of their elderly dependents and the social support they receive affect subjective burden.

The French language imposes an additional difficulty for gerontological research: the lack of research on valid and reliable instruments of measurement in the French language. The translation into French of instruments already developed and validated in English is an interesting solution to this problem, since it offers the opportunity of profiting from previous research and allows for international comparisons. However, translation must follow strict rules to ensure that psychometric properties of the instrument have not been altered. A consensus workshop concluded that the following steps were needed in translating from English an instrument for gerontological research: (1) selection of the most valid and reliable instrument in English; (2) translation into French and back again into English; (3) review of the translated versions by a committee; (4) pretest; (5) test-retest (and if indicated inter-rater) reliability study. An inventory of all translated instruments showed that very few instruments fulfil these basic rules. This inventory is a useful tool for researchers and will stimulate research on measurement instruments and encourage publication of its results.

This study compared the attitudes of adult children toward the sexuality of their older parents with their parent's own attitudes toward sexuality. A 56-item questionnaire was given to 41 family pairs consisting of a parent over age 65 and his or her son or daughter. Questions were based upon previous studies and involved six point Likért ratings. In general, attitudes toward sexuality were positive among parents and their adult children. However, adult children had significantly more positive attitudes than their parents. This difference was primarily due to more positive attitudes toward physical aspects of sexual behaviours. Overall, the disapproval and negative attitudes of adult children reported in previous research were not found in this study. Adult children had positive attitudes, much more positive attitudes than their parents, possibly due to a cohort effect

The interest in preventive approaches to the health problems of older persons has increased substantially in recent years, partly in response to escalating health care costs. The present paper involves a critical examination of the potential usefulness of preventive home visits in the Canadian context in light of demonstration projects in other jurisdictions. The paper concludes with recommendations for Canadian research on the use of preventive home visits.

Previous papers reported on the associations between water quality and a measure of cognitive impairment, based on data of the Ontario Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSA). The present report summarizes the information on fluoride (F) and aluminum (Al) and provides additional information on the effects of pH. Specifically, our preliminary results suggest that a neutral pH, relatively low Al and relatively high F concentrations in drinking water decrease the odds of showing indications of cognitive impairment by a factor of about five, compared with other types of drinking water. The relevant chemical reaction is ascribed to an equilibrium involving Al complexes.