Metamemory abilities were compared among three age groups, 18 to 31, 60 to 69, and 70 to 79 years. These groups were compared with respect to their memory knowledge about the relative difficulty of memorizing low- and high-imagery and low- and high-frequency words. The three age groups were similar in their predictions of the number of words they could recall but differed in the number they actually did knowledge of these word types declines with age.
Following the procedure used by Zemore and Eames (1979) with the Beck Depression Inventory, the 20 items of the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale were categorized as either somatic or psychological symptoms of depression. Scores of 179 college students and 462 community-dwelling older adults revealed significant, though small, age differences in somatic complaints. Somatic complaints were especially prominent in older women. Age differences in psychological symptoms of depression were not significant. Diagnosis of depression in later life, especially in women, may be confounded by the use of physical symptoms of depression that are comparable to physical changes that accompany the aging process.
Age differences in spatial vision were examined by establishing contrast sensitivity functions for young and old adults. In addition, differences in the speed of operation of the different visual channels and their contribution to age differences in reaction time were assessed in a comparison of response speed to sinusoidal gratings of varied spatial frequency. An age-related loss in contrast sensitivity was observed primarily for stimuli of intermediate and high spatial frequency, an effect apparently due mostly to age-related optical differences. Reaction time varied markedly as a function of spatial frequency for the older participants, an outcome only partly attributable to age differences in target visibility. These data indicate a slowing in the speed of operations of individual visual channels and/or a change in the relationship between visual channel classes. These findings also raise a question in regard to the meaning and comparability of any studies that have used measures of response latency to the figural aspects of stimuli.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether patient dementia diagnostic type (Alzheimer's Disease/Vascular Dementia) is associated with caregiver burden. A retrospective case review was conducted of patient and caregiver information collected at a university-based dementia clinic. Results showed that primary dementia diagnosis was not associated with burden. Rather, psychotic symptoms paired with poor IADL functioning generated the most burden, while cognitive dysfunction did not significantly influence burden. Additionally, caregiver gender (female), depressive symptoms, and being an adult child of the care recipient were associated with increased caregiver burden. Findings advocate for including tailored designs in caregiver interventions.
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