[Aging well in the 20th century: a psychosocial perspective]. / 'Aging well' in de 21e eeuw: een psychosociaal perspectief.

Aging well refers to retaining or restoring well-being in the face of various age-related changes in later life. This process is influenced by the quality of social relationships and active adaptation to loss and change. According to recent studies from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, more older adults are maintaining relationships with friends, colleagues and other non-kin longer. Greater diversity in their social networks contributes to happiness and morale, and provides protection against anxiety, depression and loneliness. There is also a slight increase in mastery and in cognitive functioning among new cohorts of older adults. These developments promote adaptation to declines in health and loss of the partner. These improvements are found less frequently among those with lower education, lower incomes, and/or small networks. Several interventions have proven to be effective for these disadvantaged groups: a visiting service for widows and widowers and two self-management interventions for chronically ill or physically vulnerable older adults.

[Caring friends and neighbors as informal caregivers of older adults: A comparison with offspring]. / Zorgzame vrienden en buren als mantelzorgers van oudere volwassenen: een vergelijking met kinderen.

This study compared informal care to older, non-coresiding adults provided by friends and neighbours and informal care by children or their partners. Using data from a Dutch representative survey among informal caregivers conducted by CBS and SCP, caregivers of friends (n=133), neighbours (n=108) and parents (n=1,008) were compared with one another to investigate care that friends and neighbours provide to the elderly non-coresiding adults (age 55 and over). Nine percent of those providing care to someone outside the household were friends and nine percent were neighbours. Friends, like children, usually provide long-lasting care, up to four or five years. Friends are similar to neighbours in the number of hours that they provide care. Friends and neighbours experience a lower caregiver burden than children. However, when fulfilling multiple caring tasks, both friends and children, have a greater chance of experiencing higher levels of burden. When there were other caregivers to help, friends experienced a small reduction in burden. Friends and neighbours deserve to be recognized as informal caregivers by policy makers and they deserve attention and support along with family caregivers.

Breaking the cycle of loneliness? Psychological effects of a friendship enrichment program for older women.

The present study examines effects of participation in the friendship enrichment program, an intervention that is designed to stimulate improvement in friendship, self-esteem and subjective well-being, as well as reduction in loneliness among older women. The intervention group was compared to a control group of women who were interested in the program or in improving their friendships. All respondents had been studied at three points in time: at a baseline, prior to the program; three months later, and 9-10 months after baseline. The results indicate that the program was successful in attracting lonely older women who were willing to work on their friendships. Many participants reported improvement in the quantity and quality of their friendships. The program was moderately successful in stimulating improvement in subjective well-being and awareness of the need for an active stance toward achieving goals in social relations, especially in friendship. Loneliness among the participants was reduced, but it also declined in the control group, and both groups continued to experience loneliness. One conclusion is that an effective intervention to help older women reduce their loneliness should be multi-dimensional focusing not only on friendship but also on other personal and situational factors contributing to loneliness.

[Adaptation to loss of partner in older widows. Typology]. / Aanpassing aan het verlies van de partner bij oudere weduwen. Een typologie.

In a study of fifty older widows living independently we examined whether or not these women had managed to fulfill their needs and desires in relationships several years after the husband's death. The ways in which the widows had achieved congruity on their relational needs (or standards) was also analyzed. A typology of four styles of adaptation has been developed based on two dimensions: 1) the amount of activity undertaken to maintain, intensify or initiate relationships, and 2) the amount of congruity experienced in reference to needs for intimacy. The four types have been described, as well as the variations in life satisfaction within each type. The most successful type of adaptation involves both an active stance in maintaining relationships and cognitive restructuring of ideals concerning intimacy.

[Effect of sex and sex role in later life. Report of a seminar by Prof. Margaret Hellie Huyck, April 1978]. / De invloed van het geslacht en de geslachtsrol op latere leeftijd. Verslag van een seminar gegeven door Prof. Margaret Hellie Huyck, April 1978.

During a seminar at the University of Nijmegen in Holland, Prof. Margaret Hellie Huyck examined the influence of sex and gender on development in the second half of life. She began by presenting a framework for analyzing problems during the phase of the life cycle. She then proceeded to examine the consequences of one's sex and sex role for love, friendship and intimacy, as well as for sexuality later in life. She also presented research evidence on the quality of marriage during the second half of the life cycle. Her discussion on personality changes in men and women at mid-life was more extensive and included consequences of these changes for mental health. Since research on these areas is scarce, many questions for research became evident in the course of the seminar. Prof. Huyck ended the seminar by comparing different visions on the development of men and women over the life cycle, including the model which she sees as ideal.