Challenges and Developments in the Assessment of (Mal)adaptive Personality and Pathological States in Older Adults

Since older adults often show an atypical presentation of (mal)adaptive personality traits and pathological states, the articles in this special issue will concisely discuss some perennial issues in clinical assessment in older adults and thus outline the main challenges this domain faces. By bringing empirical work and meta-analytic studies from leading scholars in the field of geropsychology, the articles will also address these challenges by reporting the latest developments in the field. This way, we hope to reshape the way clinicians and researchers assess (mal)adaptive personality and pathological states in older adults into a more reliable and valid assessment method that integrates the specific biopsychosocial context of older age.

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Ageing in a network society: An Introduction

Networking Knowledge: Journal of the MeCCSA Postgraduate Network ◽

10.31165/nk.2017.101.499 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 1-4

Author(s):

Hannah Grist ◽

Liliana Vale-Costa

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Older Age ◽

The Other ◽

Network Society ◽

Communication Studies ◽

Special Issue ◽

Information And Communication ◽

Shared Understandings ◽

Networked Society

This special issue aims to explore the role of ICTs in encouraging the development of networked older adults. Specifically, the following papers give a noteworthy contribution to the challenges posed by an increasingly ageing and networked society. This special issue is edited by colleagues whose disciplines are not naturally symbiotic – one from Information and Communication studies and the other from Ageing studies. As such, this special issue posed an interesting set of challenges for the editors as they explored their shared understandings of what it means to grow old or be old in a network society. The editors would therefore like to thank the authors for their receptiveness to ageing studies theory and for challenging their own assumptions about what it means to be old. This special issue acts, in some ways, as a stepping stone or a bridge between more information technological based notions of what it is to grow older and cultural gerontological constructions of older age.

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Hospital-treated deliberate self-poisoning in the older adult: Identifying specific clinical assessment needs

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0004867419897818 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 54 (6) ◽

pp. 591-601

Author(s):

Mariann Jackson ◽

Katie McGill ◽

Terry J Lewin ◽

Jenifer Bryant ◽

Ian Whyte ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Clinical Assessment ◽

Older Age ◽

Middle Aged ◽

Aged Patients ◽

Psychiatric Hospitalisation ◽

Aged Group ◽

Targeted Interventions ◽

Middle Aged Adults ◽

Prospective Longitudinal

Background: Hospital-treated deliberate self-poisoning is common, with a median patient age of around 33 years. Clinicians are less familiar with assessing older adults with self-poisoning and little is known about their specific clinical requirements. Objective: To identify clinically important factors in the older-age population by comparing older adults (65+ years) with middle-aged adults (45–64 years) during an index episode of hospital-treated deliberate self-poisoning. Methods: A prospective, longitudinal, cohort study of people presenting to a regional referral centre for deliberate self-poisoning (Calvary Mater Newcastle, Australia) over a 10-year period (2003–2013). We compared older-aged adults with middle-aged adults on demographic, toxicological and psychiatric variables and modelled independent predictors of referral for psychiatric hospitalisation on discharge with logistic regression. Results: There were ( n = 157) older-aged and ( n = 925) middle-aged adults. The older-aged group was similar to the middle-aged group in several ways: proportion living alone, reporting suicidal ideation/planning, prescribed antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs, and with a psychiatric diagnosis. However, the older-aged group were also different in several ways: greater proportion with cognitive impairment, higher medical morbidity, longer length of stay, and greater prescription and ingestion of benzodiazepines in the deliberate self-poisoning event. Older age was not a predictor of referral for psychiatric hospitalisation in the multivariate model. Conclusion: Older-aged patients treated for deliberate self-poisoning have a range of clinical needs including ones that are both similar to and different from middle-aged patients. Individual clinical assessment to identify these needs should be followed by targeted interventions, including reduced exposure to benzodiazepines.

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Fathers and Forefathers: Men and Their Children in Genealogical Perspective

Genealogy ◽

10.3390/genealogy4020065 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 65

Author(s):

Martin Robb

Keyword(s):

Empirical Work ◽

Special Issue ◽

The Relationship ◽

The Way

This editorial article introduces the seven contributions to the special issue “Fathers and Forefathers: Men and their Children in Genealogical Perspective”. It highlights the geographical, historical and methodological diversity of the contributions, as well as their commonalities, and the different ways in which they use a genealogical perspective to explore the relationship between past and present fatherhoods. The special issue, as a whole, aims to deepen the understanding of this relationship and to point the way for future theoretical and empirical work on this important topic.

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How do personality traits manifest in daily life of older adults?

European Journal of Ageing ◽

10.1007/s10433-020-00598-z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Stefanie Lindner ◽

Damaris Aschwanden ◽

Johannes Zimmermann ◽

Mathias Allemand

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Personality Traits ◽

Relative Stability ◽

Multilevel Models ◽

Daily Life ◽

Older Age ◽

Older Adulthood ◽

Person Perspective ◽

Assessment Study ◽

And Behaviors

AbstractThe present study examined how personality traits manifest in daily life of older adults and distinguished between the manifestations of experiences and behaviors. We used data from an ambulatory assessment study over 10 days with assessments of trait-related experiences and behaviors obtained from 136 older adults aged between 60 and 91 years (41.2% male; M = 70.45 years). Multilevel models revealed that on average, 61.2% of variance in trait-related experiences and 39.6% of variance in behaviors were due to consistent differences between persons. Older adults were rather variable and diverse in their trait manifestations, while they also showed relative stability in trait manifestations. Across older age, some age effects for trait manifestations were found. Moreover, within-person variation of experiences and behaviors showed, with one exception, joint fluctuations in daily life. The findings portray a nuanced picture of trait manifestations in older adulthood. The findings complement the literature on within-person variability in older adulthood and might encourage further studies from a within-person perspective to better understand how older adults navigate through daily life.

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Executive Dysfunction Mediates the Association Between Older Age and Online Health Information Search Performance

10.31234/osf.io/cjnyu ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Victoria Kordovski ◽

Savanna M. Tierney ◽

Samina Rahman ◽

Luis D. Medina ◽

Michelle A. Babicz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Information Search ◽

Search Task ◽

Executive Dysfunction ◽

Older Age ◽

The Internet ◽

Younger Adults ◽

Related Information ◽

Health Related

Objective: Searching the Internet for health-related information is a complex and dynamic goal-oriented process that places demands on executive functions, which are higher-order cognitive abilities that are known to deteriorate with older age. This study aimed to examine the effects of older age on electronic health (eHealth) search behavior, and to determine whether executive functions played a mediating role in that regard. Method: Fifty younger adults (≤ 35 years) and 41 older adults (≥50 years) completed naturalistic eHealth search tasks involving fact-finding (Fact Search) and symptom diagnosis (Symptom Search), a neurocognitive battery, and a series of questionnaires. Results: Multiple regression models with relevant covariates revealed that older adults were slower and less accurate than younger adults on the eHealth Fact Search task, but not on the eHealth Symptom Search task. Nevertheless, executive functions mediated the relationship between older age and eHealth Fact Search and Symptom Search accuracy. Conclusions: Older adults can experience difficulty searching the Internet for some health-related information, which is at least partly attributable to executive dysfunction. Future studies are needed to determine the benefits of training in the organizational and strategic aspects of Internet search for older adults and whether these findings are applicable to clinical populations with executive dysfunction.

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Stress and Personality Disorders

The Oxford Handbook of Stress and Mental Health ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190681777.013.8 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 182-198

Author(s):

Christina Noel White ◽

Christopher C. Conway ◽

Thomas F. Oltmanns

Keyword(s):

Personality Traits ◽

Personality Disorders ◽

Empirical Work ◽

Stressful Events ◽

Stress Exposure ◽

Early Life Adversity ◽

Abuse And Neglect ◽

Methodological Problems ◽

Complex Relationships ◽

Stress Influence

This chapter reviews literature investigating the complex relationships between stress and personality disorders. Various forms of early life adversity, particularly experiences of abuse and neglect, portend the development of personality disorders and maladaptive personality traits later in life. Much of this association appears to be causal (i.e., independent of genetic risk). A comparatively much smaller literature suggests that acute stressful events later in development show complex interrelations with personality disorders. These connections appear to be bidirectional, such that not only does stress influence the development of personality, but personality also influences stress exposure. Additionally, personality traits influence the way in which individuals respond to stressors, both psychologically and physiologically. Our review concludes by underlining enduring methodological problems and conceptual issues that await resolution in future empirical work.

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Parental Bereavement in Older Age: A Scoping Review

Illness Crisis & Loss ◽

10.1177/1054137321995811 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 105413732199581

Author(s):

Patricia Moyle Wright

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Adult Child ◽

Older Age ◽

Parental Bereavement ◽

Older Parents ◽

Physical Decline ◽

Scoping Reviews ◽

Cultural Mores ◽

Meta Analyses

A scoping review of parental bereavement in older age was conducted to identify the unique needs of older adults after the loss of an adult child. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed in accordance with the stated objectives of this review, which was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). In total, 26 research studies were included. The data were then analyzed using a systematic approach for organizing and synthesizing key data. The results indicated that some consequences and mediators of parental bereavement are similar regardless of age. But, older adults experience greater loneliness, isolation, and stigma than their younger counterparts. Older parents are also at greater risk for physical decline, mortality, and institutionalization following the death of an adult child. Religious and cultural mores also have influence on the bereavement process.

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The Association Between Personality and Homebound Status in Older Adults: Results From the NHATS

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.751 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 233-233

Author(s):

Xiaocao Sun ◽

Minhui Liu ◽

Christina E Miyawaki ◽

Yuxiao Li ◽

Tianxue Hou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Personality Traits ◽

Personality Assessment ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Health Related ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults ◽

Ordinal Logistic Regression Model ◽

Hispanic White

Abstract Personality is associated with predictors of homebound status like frailty, incident falls, and depression. It has been rarely investigated whether personality predicts homebound status among older adults. Using the combining cross-sectional data of the Year 2013 and Year 2014 data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), this study examined the association between personality traits and homebound status in a sample of community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older (N=2,788). Homebound status (non-homebound, semi-homebound, and homebound) was determined by the frequency, difficulty, and help of outdoor mobility. Personality traits, including conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness, extraversion, and neuroticism were assessed using the 10-item Midlife Development Inventory on a rating scale from 1 (not at all) to 4 (a lot). Each personality trait was included as a predictor in an ordinal logistic regression model to examine its association with homebound status after adjusting demographic and health-related covariates. The sample was on average 79±7.53 years old, non-Hispanic White (72.0%), female (58.6%), living alone (35.4%) or with spouse/partner only (37.4%). Seventy-four percent, 18%, and 8% of participants were non-homebound, semi-homebound, and homebound, respectively. Homebound participants tended to be less-educated older females. The average scores of conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness, extraversion, and neuroticism were 3.19±0.75, 3.57±0.56, 2.81±0.83, 3.13±0.75, and 2.22±0.86, respectively. Among these five personality traits, high conscientiousness (OR=1.34, p<0.001) and extraversion (OR=1.16, p=.03) were associated with a reduced likelihood of being homebound. These findings provided a basis for potential personality assessment to identify and protect individuals with high homebound risk.

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Laws and Emerging Technologies

Laws ◽

10.3390/laws10020046 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 46

Author(s):

Esther Salmerón-Manzano

Keyword(s):

Information Technologies ◽

New Technologies ◽

Legal Issues ◽

The Other ◽

Special Issue ◽

Legal Challenges ◽

The World ◽

Huge Impact ◽

New Challenges ◽

The Way

New technologies and so-called communication and information technologies are transforming our society, the way in which we relate to each other, and the way we understand the world. By a wider extension, they are also influencing the world of law. That is why technologies will have a huge impact on society in the coming years and will bring new challenges and legal challenges to the legal sector worldwide. On the other hand, the new communications era also brings many new legal issues such as those derived from e-commerce and payment services, intellectual property, or the problems derived from the use of new technologies by young people. This will undoubtedly affect the development, evolution, and understanding of law. This Special Issue has become this window into the new challenges of law in relation to new technologies.

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