CHAPTER 9. Older Persons: Individual Characteristics

ABSTRACTBackground: The role of individual characteristics in incidences of elder abuse has long been highest on research and policy agendas. Now, it is timely to discuss factors that go beyond victim and perpetrator. Environmental factors also play an important role in elder abuse. In this paper, we address the framing of elder abuse as a social and health problem. Attention is paid to the factors that influence societal context and the healthcare system, its organization, structure, and principles.Methods: Focus groups and in-depth semi-structured interviews were held with different professionals and older people themselves. Qualitative analysis of focus groups and interviews transcripts was performed to analyze how different professional groups and older persons themselves view elder abuse, to determine opinions and attitudes toward elder abuse and the necessary actions that should be taken to prevent or intervene in the problem.Results: Two main explanatory frameworks emerged in the discourse of older persons and care professionals: social arrangements and healthcare system. The themes within the social arrangements included social taboo, social control and responsibility, and institutional cultures. The fragmentation of care and changes in the financing of healthcare were two aspects distinguished within the framework of the healthcare system.Conclusion: Two explanatory frameworks showed elder abuse as both a social and health problem. The environmental factors through social arrangements and healthcare system have an influence on framing of abuse. The different ways of framing abuse impact the understanding of abuse, ways of intervention, and prevention measures.

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Sexual satisfaction and associated individual factors among midlife and older people in Ile-Ife, Southwest Nigeria: implications for sexual and reproductive health

International Journal of Reproduction Contraception Obstetrics and Gynecology ◽

10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20204285 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 4045

Author(s):

Rhoda Oluwatofunmi Omotosho ◽

Bola Lukman Solanke

Keyword(s):

Older People ◽

Sexual Satisfaction ◽

Associated Factors ◽

Older Persons ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

Individual Characteristics ◽

Outcome Variable ◽

Logistic Regression Models ◽

Explanatory Variables ◽

Southwest Nigeria

Background: Studies in Nigeria have rarely documented the prevalence and associated factors of sexual satisfaction among the midlife and older persons as a special group of underserved population in the country. This study investigates the prevalence and individual associated factors of sexual satisfaction among the midlife and older people in Ile-Ife, Southwest Nigeria.Methods: A sample size of 404 was analysed in the study. The outcome variable was sexual satisfaction. The explanatory variables are sets of individual and relational characteristics. Data were analysed using Stata 14. Bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression models were estimated.Results: Findings reveal 42.0% level of sexual satisfaction. Higher educational attainment (AOR=0.864, p<0.01; 95% CI: 0.841-0.886), longer length of marriage (AOR=0.931, p<0.01; 95% CI: 0.912-0.950), remarriage (AOR=0.536, p<0.01; 95% CI: 0.387-0.742), economic inactivity (AOR=0.456, p<0.01; 95% CI: 0.322-0.646) reduces the odds of sexual satisfaction while absence of serious health challenges (AOR=2.742, p<0.01; 95% CI: 1.594-4.716) and spousal high wealth level (AOR=1.038, p<0.01; 95% CI: 1.017-1.059) increase the odds of sexual satisfaction.Conclusions: Individual characteristics of midlife and older men and women are significantly associated with their sexual satisfaction. These characteristics should be targeted in a special programme focusing on midlife and older persons in Nigeria.

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The Influence of Language Context on Repetitive Speech Use in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ◽

10.1044/2019_ajslp-19-00003 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 327-334 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Allison Gladfelter ◽

Cassidy VanZuiden

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Individual Characteristics ◽

Receptive Vocabulary ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

School Age Children ◽

Social Responsiveness ◽

Contributing Factors ◽

Children With Asd ◽

Language Context

Purpose Although repetitive speech is a hallmark characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the contributing factors that influence repetitive speech use remain unknown. The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine if the language context impacts the amount and type of repetitive speech produced by children with ASD. Method As part of a broader word-learning study, 11 school-age children with ASD participated in two different language contexts: storytelling and play. Previously collected language samples were transcribed and coded for four types of repetitive speech: immediate echolalia, delayed echolalia, verbal stereotypy, and vocal stereotypy. The rates and proportions of repetitive speech were compared across the two language contexts using Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests. Individual characteristics were further explored using Spearman correlations. Results The children produced lower rates of repetitive speech during the storytelling context than the play-based context. Only immediate echolalia differed between the two contexts based on rate and approached significance based on proportion, with more immediate echolalia produced in the play-based context than in the storytelling context. There were no significant correlations between repetitive speech and measures of social responsiveness, expressive or receptive vocabulary, or nonverbal intelligence. Conclusions The children with ASD produced less immediate echolalia in the storytelling context than in the play-based context. Immediate echolalia use was not related to social skills, vocabulary, or nonverbal IQ scores. These findings offer valuable insights into better understanding repetitive speech use in children with ASD.

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Effects of a Group Program to Increase Cognitive Performance Through Cognitively Stimulating Leisure Activities in Healthy Older Subjects

GeroPsych ◽

10.1024/1662-9647/a000035 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 83-92 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Valentina A. Tesky ◽

Christian Thiel ◽

Winfried Banzer ◽

Johannes Pantel

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Function ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Older Persons ◽

Intervention Program ◽

Leisure Activities ◽

The Elderly ◽

Cognitive Stimulation ◽

Group Program ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Older Subjects

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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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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Predicting Stock Market Performance

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000330 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Thomas Plieger ◽

Thomas Grünhage ◽

Éilish Duke ◽

Martin Reuter

Keyword(s):

Stock Market ◽

Risk Taking ◽

Life Stress ◽

Price Volatility ◽

Individual Characteristics ◽

Self Report ◽

Financial Behavior ◽

Market Simulation ◽

Stock Market Performance ◽

Risk Taking Behavior

Abstract. Gender and personality traits influence risk proneness in the context of financial decisions. However, most studies on this topic have relied on either self-report data or on artificial measures of financial risk-taking behavior. Our study aimed to identify relevant trading behaviors and personal characteristics related to trading success. N = 108 Caucasians took part in a three-week stock market simulation paradigm, in which they traded shares of eight fictional companies that differed in issue price, volatility, and outcome. Participants also completed questionnaires measuring personality, risk-taking behavior, and life stress. Our model showed that being male and scoring high on self-directedness led to more risky financial behavior, which in turn positively predicted success in the stock market simulation. The total model explained 39% of the variance in trading success, indicating a role for other factors in influencing trading behavior. Future studies should try to enrich our model to get a more accurate impression of the associations between individual characteristics and financially successful behavior in context of stock trading.

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