Residents Of Old Age Homes Research Articles

Methodological problems of research into the ageing process among Indian residents in old-age homes in Durban

Research among old-age home residents in South Africa is fragmentary. This article explores several methodological problems associated with the existing theoretical orientations regarding the problems of the elderly. The article focuses on problems related to research among the residents of Indian old-age homes in Durban. After a schematic literature survey on the problem, background is given regarding the theoretical schemata examining and analysing the ageing process and the problems facing the elderly. This is followed by an examination of the historical background and structural and organizational settings of the existing Indian old-age homes in Durban. Finally an attempt is made to determine the various research procedures that can be employed in examining and analysing the applications of the various theories to the Indian old-age home residents in Durban. S. Afr. J. Sociol. 1986, 17(2): 43–48

Methodological problems of research into the ageing process among Indian residents in old-age homes in Durban

Research among old-age home residents in South Africa is fragmentary. This article explores several methodological problems associated with the existing theoretical orientations regarding the problems of the elderly. The article focuses on problems related to research among the residents of Indian old-age homes in Durban. After a schematic literature survey on the problem, background is given regarding the theoretical schemata examining and analysing the ageing process and the problems facing the elderly. This is followed by an examination of the historical background and structural and organizational settings of the existing Indian old-age homes in Durban. Finally an attempt is made to determine the various research procedures that can be employed in examining and analysing the applications of the various theories to the Indian old-age home residents in Durban. S. Afr. J. Sociol. 1986, 17(2): 43–48

Psychic and somatic symptoms of depression among young adults, institutionalized aged and noninstitutionalized aged.

Beck Depression Inventory scores were obtained from 48 elderly who had been residing in homes for the aged for more than one year, 31 elderly residing in the community and waiting to enter an old-age home, and 424 young adults enrolled in a fist-year psychology course. The residents of old-age homes reported no more symptoms of depression than the waiting-list controls, a finding that provides no support for the hypothesis that the institional nature of old-age homes increases depression in the elderly. Both the institutionalized and noninstitutionalized aged reported more somatic symptoms of depression than the young adults, but no greater cognitive or affective symptoms of depression. These results were interpreted as providing no support for the widely belief that the aged are more depressed than any other age group. Finally, it was argued that somatic complaints can be valid indicators of depression in the elderly if normative differences between young and old are taken into account.

The influence of hospitalization on the verbal behaviour of chronic schizophrenics.

After reviewing the literature pertaining to intellectual deterioration, Yates (1956) concluded that the major determinant of declining vocabulary in hospitalized persons, especially schizophrenic patients, was the length of stay in hospital. The studies on which Yates based his hypothesis were cross-sectional; that is, groups of patients admitted for relatively short periods of time were compared with patients admitted for longer periods. Two studies of schizophrenics showed that long-term patients did not perform as well as short-term patients on vocabulary subscales (Nelson, 1953; Rabin, King and Ehrmann, 1955). Similar decline was noted both in long-term epileptic patients (Capps, 1939) and in non-psychotic residents of old-age homes (Fox and Birren, 1949).