Changes in Behavior and Personality Corresponding to the stereotype of inevitable intellectual decline with aging are stereotypes of regressive behavior and increasing inflex-ibilily of personality traits. However, these are more a sign of psychiatric disturbance than a manifestation of aging. Consider the issue of cautiousness. Research shows that (he elderly are more cautious than younger [...]
Changes in Behavior and Personality Corresponding to the stereotype of inevitable intellectual decline with aging are stereotypes of regressive behavior and increasing inflex-ibilily of personality traits. However, these are more a sign of psychiatric disturbance than a manifestation of aging. Consider the issue of cautiousness. Research shows that (he elderly are more cautious than younger [...]
Changes in Cognition A longitudinal study of cognitive capacity in a cohort of men followed from 1919 to 1961 described increments in verbal ability and total intellectual performance from age 20 to age 50. although mathematical ability declined slightly. From 50 to 60 yr of age, scores of intellect showed little change. These studies were [...]
NORMAL CHANGES OF AGING Changes in Cognition A longitudinal study of cognitive capacity in a cohort of men followed from 1919 to 1961 described increments in verbal ability and total intellectual performance from age 20 to age 50. although mathematical ability declined slightly. From 50 to 60 yr of age, scores of intellect showed little [...]
NORMAL CHANGES OF AGING AND PATTERNS OF PSYCHIATRIC DISEASE Failure to differentiate disease-related psychiatric changes from manifestations of normal aging has blurred the understanding of mental funclion in healthy older adults. Many decrements in capacity or performance viewed as age related—particularly those associated with cognition and behavior—actually reflect modifiable consequences of illness. NORMAL CHANGES OF [...]
Fear oldeath: Research shows thai while the elderly often think about death, they fear dealh less than do other age groups. Thinking or talking about death is not the same as fearing or dreading it. Thoughts or conversations about death are naturally more common in the elderly, since they more likely have peers and relatives [...]
Symptoms and Signs Psychiatric symptoms that develop in later life are often dismissed as normal manifeslations of aging. Even schizophrenia-like symptoms may be dismissed as eccentricity or misdiagnosed as senility. Treatment cannot be planned if a problem is not acknowledged and identified. Memory and intellectual difficulties: Significant changes in intellectual functioning are no longer readily [...]
Epidemiology The high frequency of mental health problems in the elderly is significant; they impact mental status and emotional states and potentially influence the course of physical illness. Epidemiologic studies since the 1950s have documented a 15% to 25% prevalence of serious menial disorders in those “-”– 65 yr old. More than 25% of stale [...]
PATTERNS OF PSYCHIATRIC DISEASE Epidemiology The high frequency of mental health problems in the elderly is significant; they impact mental status and emotional states and potentially influence the course of physical illness. Epidemiologic studies since the 1950s have documented a 15% to 25% prevalence of serious menial disorders in those “-”– 65 yr old. More [...]
Is the problem mental or physical? Making the correct diagnosis can be especially challenging when differentiating psychologic from physical causes. Consider GI complaints, which are subject to conflicting stereotypes. One stereotype holds that most GI complaints in the elderly are of psychogenic origin—a psychosomatic explanation. The opposing stereotype holds that if one looks hard enough, [...]
