scholarly journals Is it normal to be depressed in old age? Needs assessors' conceptions of older people's mental illness

Author(s):  
Magdalena Elmersjö ◽  
Emelie Hansen ◽  
Marie Louise Victor
Keyword(s):  
2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
I O Nnatu ◽  
F Mahomed ◽  
A Shah

The population of the elderly in most developed nations is on the increase. Furthermore, the prevalence of mental disorder amongst elderly offenders is high. The true extent of `elderly' crime is unknown because much of it goes undetected and unreported. This leads to a failure to detect mental illness in such offenders. Court diversion schemes may improve recognition of mental illness but these schemes usually tend to deal with the more severe crimes. This may result in an overestimation of the amount of serious crime committed by the elderly and a failure to detect mental illness amongst those who commit less serious crimes. Efforts to service this hidden morbidity call for multi-agency collaboration. Improved detection and reporting of crimes is essential if mental health difficulties in the elderly are not to go unnoticed. The needs of elderly mentally-disordered offenders are complex and fall within the expertise of old age and forensic psychiatry, without being adequately met by either one. Therefore, consideration should be given to the development of a tertiary specialist forensic old-age psychiatry service.


Author(s):  
Sandra Evans ◽  
Jane Garner

Old age can be a challenging time for people. It brings with it changes which include losses as well as opportunities for shifting one’s focus. Societal perceptions of ageing and projections of negative values associated with being old can act as a further blow to peoples’ general resilience. This chapter explores some of these societal projections over the centuries, in public and political life and in the arts. It examines how these influences may impact on women personally as we get older, including how we become ill psychologically and how we react to illness. What the authors consider to be important is that in late life, opportunities for restoration of the self still exist. People can and do recover from mental illness and older women can and do contribute to the wider social world in ways other than as mothers and carers.


1961 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 340-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Eisdorfer ◽  
J. Altrocchi
Keyword(s):  

1980 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 455-455
Author(s):  
H. Merskey
Keyword(s):  

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 502-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajit Shah

Almost all elderly suicide victims have mental illness, and up to 90% have depression (Shah and De, 1998). A significant number of elderly suicide victims in Western countries consult their general practitioner or psychiatrist or contact mental health services between one week and six months prior to the suicide (Catell, 1988; Conwell et al., 1990; 1991; Catell and Jolley, 1995; Vassilas and Morgan, 1993; 1994). This offers an opportunity for identification and treatment of the mental illness. Thus, the availability of appropriate healthcare services may be an important factor associated with elderly suicide rates.


2022 ◽  
pp. 254-278

The study of poverty explores the experiences of elderly people and people living with disabilities pertaining to the five broad categories of disability, namely physical disability, blindness, deafness, and mental illness, including perceived barriers and remedies. Disability whether physical infirmity, disease, or sensory impairment or perhaps later in life, by the onset of illness or frailty due to aging, is conceptualized as a restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in a ‘normal' or expected manner. By focusing on the African extended family's context and the living conditions among people with and without disabilities, this discussion informs policy everywhere to combat poverty and social exclusion and discrimination, take lifecycle approach to individual needs, eliminate poverty among the elderly and in people living with disabilities, and ensure access to social protections and community participation.


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