Self-reported sleep complaints and current cognitive functioning were assessed in 375 nondemented participants ages 75 to 85 years (134 men and 241 women) as part of enrollment in the Bronx aging study, an ongoing longitudinal community-based study of cognitive aging. This study only reports on the baseline data collected from 1980 to 1983. Sleep complaints were common, occurring in about 25% of the sample. Furthermore, after controlling for depression, use of hypnotic medication, physical morbidity, age, and education, participants who reported longer sleep onset latencies performed significantly worse on measures of verbal knowledge, long-term memory and fund of information, and visuospatial reasoning. Participants who reported longer sleep durations did significantly worse on a measure of verbal short-term memory. These results suggest that perceived sleep is related to select objective cognitive abilities even when accounting for commonly recognized mediating variables, such as depression, medical comorbidity, age, or use of hypnotic medication. Given the restricted range of this nondemented sample, these results may underestimate the relation between cognitive abilities and sleep.

Objectives Favorable attitudes, emotions, personality characteristics, and self-rated health have been associated with successful aging in late life. However, less is known regarding these constructs and their relationships to mental health outcomes in the oldest old persons. This study examined cross-sectional relationships of these psychological factors to depressive symptoms in centenarians and near-centenarians. Methods A selected sample of Ashkenazi Jewish older adults ages 98 to 107 (n = 54, 78% female) without significant cognitive impairment participated. Cognitive function was assessed by Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE), Positive Attitude Towards Life and Emotional Expression by the Personality Outlook Profile Scale (POPS), self-rated health by participants’ subjective rating of their present health, and depressive symptoms by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Results Results demonstrated inverse associations of the Positive Attitude Towards Life domain of the POPS and self-rated health with participants’ levels of depressive symptoms even after adjusting for the effects of history of medical illnesses, cognitive function, and demographic variables. Additionally, participants with high levels of care showed higher levels of depressive symptoms. Path analysis supported the partially mediating role of Positive Attitude Towards Life in the relationship between self-rated health and depressive symptoms. Conclusion These findings emphasized the important roles of positive attitudes and emotions as well as self-rated health in mental health outcomes in the oldest old. Although, limited by its cross-sectional design, findings suggest these psychological factors may exert protective effects on mental health outcomes in advanced age.

Psychologists will need to develop increased competencies for Geropsychology practice to serve the behavioral and mental health care needs of an aging population. The Council of Professional Geropsychology Training Programs (CoPGTP) developed the Pikes Peak Geropsychology Knowledge and Skill Assessment Tool to help psychologists and geropsychology trainees evaluate professional geropsychology competencies and related training needs. In this study, geropsychologists and geropsychology trainees were asked to complete the competency tool to evaluate its psychometric properties and to assess MICHELE J. KAREL received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Southern California. She is a staff psychologist at the VA Boston Healthcare System and Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School. Her areas of clinical and research interest include competency-based geropsychology training, aging and mental health, psychotherapy with older adults, and ethical issues in geriatric care. CAITLIN K. HOLLEY earned her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Louisville. She is a staff psychologist at the Albany VA Medical Center. Her areas of professional interest include dementia screening and assessment, grief, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Although small in number, current predoctoral programs in professional geropsychology offer models and training strategies that can guide future program development. Training opportunities exist within generalist programs as well as in geropsychology tracks within broader programs. This article explores the variety of ways by which predoctoral programs can facilitate development of foundational attitudes, knowledge, and skills that comprise the competencies in geropsychology. New programs can benefit from the guidance and ideas offered about how to accomplish professional geropsychology training within a variety of structures.

Centenarians have been reported to share particular personality traits including low neuroticism and high extraversion and conscientiousness. Since these traits have moderate to high heritability and are associated with various health outcomes, personality appears linked to bio-genetic mechanisms which may contribute to exceptional longevity. Therefore, the present study sought to detect genetically-based personality phenotypes in a genetically homogeneous sample of centenarians through developing and examining psychometric properties of a brief measure of the personality of centenarians, the Personality Outlook Profile Scale (POPS). The results generated two personality characteristics/domains, Positive Attitude Towards Life (PATL: optimism, easygoing, laughter, and introversion/outgoing) and Emotional Expression (EE: expressing emotions openly and not bottling up emotions). These domains demonstrated acceptable concurrent validity with two established personality measures, the NEO-Five Factor Inventory and Life Orientation Test-Revised. Additionally, centenarians in both groups had lower neuroticism and higher conscientiousness than the US adult population. Findings suggest that the POPS is a psychometrically sound measure of personality in centenarians and capture personality aspects of extraversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness, as well as dispositional optimism which may contribute to successful aging.

The current study surveys medical and doctoral psychology students (N = 100) from an urban northeastern university regarding knowledge and attitudes toward elderly sexuality and aging using the Facts on Aging Quiz, the Aging Sexuality Knowledge and Attitudes Scale, and measures of interest in gerontology, academic/clinical exposure to aging and sexuality, and contact with elders. The current study found that psychology students demonstrated greater aging knowledge than medical students; however, both groups showed gaps in knowledge about sexuality. Married students had greater academic/clinical exposure and greater knowledge about aging but less permissive attitudes toward elderly sexuality. Generally, knowledge about aging was the strongest correlate of knowledge about sexuality. Level of knowledge about sexuality was not associated with attitudes. Attitudes toward sexuality and aging may be more strongly tied to demographic variables reflective of religious beliefs or adherence to sociocultural norms.

Might some older persons experienced as difficult by their health care providers be exhibiting signs of maladaptive personality functioning? Personality disorder may be a more significant problem among treatment-seeking older adults than was previously believed. Psychologists seeking to assess personality disorder must confront several challenges, including their own beliefs regarding personality and aging, criteria sets of uncertain validity for the older persons, and the limitations of current assessment tools. Empirically informed assessment of personality disorder in older adults may be enhanced by reviewing evidence regarding the prevalence, associated demographic and clinical features, and natural history of personality pathology across the life span. This review also describes how assessing personality disorder in older adults poses unique diagnostic difficulties and proposes practical strategies for evaluating this challenging client group.

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