ABSTRACT
Our study emphasizes the implicit theories of nursing professionals about the elderly and their influence on nursing behavior styles. According to our central hypothesis we expected a correlation between the differentiation of attitudes towards the elderly and the quality of nursing interventions. By means of a new methodological approach based on Forgas' theory of "social episodes" we investigated attitudes towards the elderly and behavior intentions in specific nursing situations. The sample consists of 133 professionals working in nursing homes for the elderly or in home care services. In a first step the structure of attitudes towards the elderly was examined by employing multivariate techniques, e.g. factor analysis and multidimensional scaling. Three aspects of older patients' competence constitute the images which influence nursing personnel's interactions with the elderly. In the next step a significant correlation between the complexity of attitudes towards the elderly and the quality of nursing behavior could be demonstrated. In general, the findings in our sample support personalized rather than stereotyped perceptions of the elderly. In particular such qualities will be stressed by nursing professionals which facilitate or disturb the nursing process.
Subject(s)
Aged , Geriatric Nursing , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Nursing Staff/psychology , Nursing Theory , Geriatric Nursing/education , Home Care Services , Homes for the Aged , Humans , Nursing Homes , Nursing Methodology Research , Nursing Staff/education , PrejudiceABSTRACT
Suicide in the elderly has been underemphasized in gerontological research. This deficit is even more surprising as the aged, especially the very old male group, have the highest suicide rate in the population. This pattern has not markedly changed over time. The very old male is at highest risk of suicide, a fact still waiting for a conclusive explanation. Epidemiologists have predominantly investigated four groups of risk factors for suicide in old age; (1) chronic and painful illnesses, (2) psychiatric disorders (mainly depression), (3) conflicts and stress in interpersonal relationships, and (4) social isolation and loneliness. Suicide finally results from stressful life events, losses and conflicts, which, through an accumulating effect, end up in hopelessness and despair. The research literature does not offer a convincing explanation for the characteristics of suicide in old age. Sociologists (e.g. Durkheim) have tried to explain suicide in the aged by stressing the "anomic" situation in old age, characterized by disintegration, the "roleless role" decreasing influence and weakening ties to groups and institutions in society. Psychiatrists on the other hand (e.g. Ringel, Henseler) offer explanations derived from a psychodynamic point of view. In their opinion, suicide is the final solution to a severe neurotic crisis. The psychiatric explanation for suicide tends to neglect stressful life events, losses and environmental influences which result in an intolerable life situation, and finally in a self-destroying reaction. The life-event paradigm and the cognitive personality theory give the opportunity to develop a model in which environmental and psychological (personality) variables can be exemplified. Furthermore, their interdependence can be described. The function of this model is primarily heuristic. It can stimulate more specific research in the field of suicide and suicide attempts in old age.
Subject(s)
Aged/psychology , Suicide/psychology , Aged, 80 and over , Germany, West , Humans , Risk Factors , Suicide/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The psychology of motivation in adult education has been mostly confined to the assessment of superficial causes for attending courses and seminars. The findings were not integrated in a ced in a conclusive theory of motivation elaborated for instance by American and German psychologists. Besides that the verbalized "motives" to attend courses were hardly correlated with other psychological and social context variables. An investigation of the relationship between verbalized "motives" to attend courses, certain personality dimensions (Freiburg Personality Inventory) and some aspects of the "life space" (occupational and non-occupatoinal) revealed that the motivation to participate in adult education is embedded in the context of psychological and socio-demographic factors and that the motive structure depends on the relevance of life-long learning, for example, to keep or improve the occupational status or to meet people involved in creative activities.
