Social differentials in older persons’ employment in Canada, Denmark, Sweden and the UK in 2010-15

To investigate the effects of leisure activities on cognitive performance of healthy older subjects, an innovative intervention program was developed. Frequent participation in cognitively stimulating activities (i.e., reading, playing chess, or playing music) is associated with reduced risk of dementia. AKTIVA (active cognitive stimulation – prevention in the elderly) is an intervention program designed to enhance cognitive stimulation in everyday life by increasing cognitive stimulating leisure activities. The present study determines the effects of AKTIVA on cognitive function, mood and attitude toward aging in a sample of older participants from the general population. Several measurement instruments were used including the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-Cog), the Trail-Making Test (TMT), and the Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q). Initially, the sample consisted of 307 older persons (170 female, 72 ± 7 years). The intervention was evaluated with a randomized, controlled pre-post follow-up design. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: AKTIVA intervention (n = 126), AKTIVA intervention plus nutrition and exercise counseling (n = 84), no-intervention control group (n = 97). The AKTIVA intervention consisted of 8 weekly sessions and two booster sessions after a break of 4 months. Participation in the group program resulted in positive effects on cognitive function and attitude toward aging for subassembly groups. Older persons (≥ 75 years) showed enhanced speed of information processing (by TMT Version A) (F = 4.17*, p < .05); younger participants (< 75 years) showed an improvement in subjective memory decline (by MAC-Q) (F = 2.55*, p < .05). Additionally, AKTIVA enhanced the frequency of activities for leisure activities for subassembly groups. The results of this study suggest that the AKTIVA program can be used to increase cognitively stimulating leisure activities in the elderly. Further research is necessary to identify the long-term effects of this intervention particularly with respect to the prevention of dementia.

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Ethnic Differences in Self-Poisoning Across South London

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000258 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 35 (4) ◽

pp. 268-272

Author(s):

Sean Cross ◽

Dinesh Bhugra ◽

Paul I. Dargan ◽

David M. Wood ◽

Shaun L. Greene ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Black Women ◽

Data Collection ◽

White Women ◽

Population Based ◽

Care Services ◽

Self Harm ◽

Managing Risk ◽

The Uk ◽

Incident Cases ◽

Minority Ethnic

Background: Self-poisoning (overdose) is the commonest form of self-harm cases presenting to acute secondary care services in the UK, where there has been limited investigation of self-harm in black and minority ethnic communities. London has the UK’s most ethnically diverse areas but presents challenges in resident-based data collection due to the large number of hospitals. Aims: To investigate the rates and characteristics of self-poisoning presentations in two central London boroughs. Method: All incident cases of self-poisoning presentations of residents of Lambeth and Southwark were identified over a 12-month period through comprehensive acute and mental health trust data collection systems at multiple hospitals. Analysis was done using STATA 12.1. Results: A rate of 121.4/100,000 was recorded across a population of more than half a million residents. Women exceeded men in all measured ethnic groups. Black women presented 1.5 times more than white women. Gender ratios within ethnicities were marked. Among those aged younger than 24 years, black women were almost 7 times more likely to present than black men were. Conclusion: Self-poisoning is the commonest form of self-harm presentation to UK hospitals but population-based rates are rare. These results have implications for formulating and managing risk in clinical services for both minority ethnic women and men.

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The Case of Thematic Tests Adapted to Older Adults

Rorschachiana Journal of the International Society for the Rorschach ◽

10.1027/1192-5604/a000015 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 46-71 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Benoît Verdon

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Older Persons ◽

Older Men ◽

Elderly Persons ◽

Mental Processes ◽

Men And Women ◽

Projective Tests ◽

New Material ◽

Older Men And Women ◽

Latent Content

Since the 1950s, the growing interest of clinicians in using projective tests to study normal or pathological aging processes has led to the creation of several thematic tests for older adults. This development reflects their authors’ belief that the TAT is not suitable to the concerns and anxieties of elderly persons. The new material thus refers explicitly to situations related to age; it aims to enable older persons to express needs they cannot verbalize during consultations. The psychodynamic approach to thematic testing is based on the differentiation between the pictures’ manifest and latent content, eliciting responses linked to mental processes and issues the respondent is unaware of. The cards do not necessarily have to show aging characters to elicit identification: The situations shown in the pictures are linked to loss, rivalry, helplessness, and renunciation, all issues elderly respondents can identify with and that lead them to express their mental fragilities and resources. The article first explains the principles underlying four of these thematic tests, then develops several examples of stories told for card 3BM of the TAT, thus showing the effectiveness of this tool for the understanding and differentiation of loss-related issues facing older men and women.

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Childhood Intelligence Predicts Adult Trait Openness

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000194 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 105-111 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Adrian Furnham ◽

Helen Cheng

Keyword(s):

Structural Equation Modeling ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Social Background ◽

Study Data ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Direct Effects ◽

Data Set ◽

National Child Development Study ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

The Uk

Abstract. This study used a longitudinal data set of 5,672 adults followed for 50 years to determine the factors that influence adult trait Openness-to-Experience. In a large, nationally representative sample in the UK (the National Child Development Study), data were collected at birth, in childhood (age 11), adolescence (age 16), and adulthood (ages 33, 42, and 50) to examine the effects of family social background, childhood intelligence, school motivation during adolescence, education, and occupation on the personality trait Openness assessed at age 50 years. Structural equation modeling showed that parental social status, childhood intelligence, school motivation, education, and occupation all had modest, but direct, effects on trait Openness, among which childhood intelligence was the strongest predictor. Gender was not significantly associated with trait Openness. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed.

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