While aging is associated with increased health problems and disability, most seniors subjectively rate their health positively, and view aging as a positive period of life evaluation, increased wisdom and maturity. The somewhat paradoxical nature of these findings suggests that later life well-being is multidimensional and variable. Drawing on data from a nationally representative survey, this paper describes the subjective well-being of a sample of Canadian seniors, using the Ryff multidimensional measure of well-being, and investigates the effects of various demographic, health and socio-economic conditions on reported levels of well-being. Seniors’ well-being is robust in terms of the dimension of autonomy, which is resilient to the physical and social circumstances of later life. But, as seniors age, they experience declines in their sense of purpose in life and opportunities for personal growth, in part, due to socio-economic factors. Good health and functional status are important for seniors’ sense of mastery over their surrounding world.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in the coping strategies of older persons and the relationship between coping and mental health following widowhood. A subsample of a longitudinal study, composed of 32 subjects aged 65 years and over, was interviewed at home three times within a 24 month interval. These subjects had been widowed for 18 to 23 months at the third data collection period. Standardized questionnaires and ethnographic open-ended interviews were used as data collection methods. Non parametric statistics revealed no significant difference between the use of coping strategies by women before and after widowhood. The only change found for men was a significant increase in the use of formal social support from services after the loss of their partner. Content analysis of qualitative data suggests a pattern in the use of coping strategies following widowhood. Refraining, a cognitive strategy, was the only coping strategy positively associated with the mental health of spouses and widows. There was no significant difference in the strength of this relationship before and after widowhood. Refraining, a cognitive strategy, was the only coping strategy positively associated with the mental health of spouses and widows. There was no significant difference in the strength of this relationship before and after widowhood. These results suggest a stability in the repertoire of coping strategies in spite of the stressfulness of the situation of losing a lifelong partner and give credence, in part, to the notion of trait or style of coping. Results of this study also provide guidance for gerontological intervention.

This study aimed at identifying the factors associated with caregivers' use of three community services (day care centre, attendant care at home and home help), and those associated with caregivers' nonuse of these services due to a perceived barrier. The sample consisted of primary caregivers (n = 265) cohabiting with a demented relative. Using polychotomous nominal logistic regression analyses, a group of users and of nonusers perceiving a barrier was contrasted with a group of nonusers reporting no need for these services. Across the three services, under high relatives' needs (high ADL impairments or frequent dysfunctional behaviours), caregivers with high psychological distress, compared to those with low psychological distress, were more likely to be nonusers reporting no need for a service than to be users or nonusers due to a barrier, suggesting that psychological distress may impede service utilization, despite a relative's high needs. Vulnerability factors (caring for a relative with frequent dysfunctional behaviours or experiencing high psychological distress and caring for a relative with low ADL impairments) were associated with the use of day care centre or attendant care. These factors were also associated with nonuse due to a barrier, meaning that some caregivers with the same characteristics of vulnerability did not draw on these two services. In addition, caregivers with less informal support who were caring for a relative with high ADL impairments were more likely to be nonusers perceiving a barrier to attendant care.

A survey of service providers was undertaken to identify issues regarding the provision of service to aging adults with developmental disabilities (DD). Seventy-five questionnaires were sent to 38 agencies involved in the support of older adults with and without disabilities. Forty-four or 59 per cent of surveys were returned. Results suggested that service providers did not feel adequately trained to address many of the needs of aging adults with DD. Respondents requested additional training in dealing with such issues as the health and medical concerns of older adults with DD, and recreational and retirement planning for aging clients with DD. Service providers also required assistance from professionals such as psychologists and medical personnel who were knowledgeable about aging and/or DD. Results were consistent with previous surveys in finding that training for service providers and medical/health care support were key issues. The information reported here updates and extends our knowledge of the needs of those involved in the support of aging adults with DD in the Canadian service sector and details the specific types of information and support required. Preliminary recommendations for modifications to service delivery, policy, and educational programs, are offered.

This exploratory survey aimed at determining the spatial and territorial factors used by elderly people when entering an old people's home and illustrating how these variables could be referred to two spatial and territorial appropriation processes. One hundred and two residents were asked to describe their rooms and to fill in a life satisfaction rating scale adapted by Blais, Vallerand, Pelletier and Brière (1989). The findings highlighted two distinct appropriation processes, that is to say a spatial appropriation-disappropriation process and a territorial disappropriation-reappropriation one. The respective predictors of these two processes are on the one hand the life satisfaction ratio, age and sex; and on the other hand the representation the elderly person has of his/her own autonomy as well as the evaluation of the gap between the elderly person's satisfaction with his/her past and present life.

Critical, language-based analytic approaches offer tools to explore how we use language to construct identities, roles and relationships, to represent realities, and to challenge or support existing social orders. In this paper we use language-based analyses to explore the issue of work and eldercare. We identify the epistemologies, mechanics and insights of three language-based approaches: functional grammar, discourse analysis, and deconstruction. The texts analysed are drawn from depth interviews with male and female managerial level employees in Southern Ontario who provide care for aging relatives. Analyses target (1) managers' reactions to the “eldercare” label and (2) how managers balance work commitments and caregiving commitments. We focus on managers because their role in eldercare has received little attention in either the organizational or the gerontological literature; and yet they may be in a position to effect institutional change.

The prevalence, risk factors, and medical conditions associated with seeing and hearing disabilities were examined among Canadian adults aged 55 years and older. A probability sample of respondents from the 1986 and 1991 Canadian Census were selected to complete the 1986 and 1991 Health and Activity Limitations Survey (HALS). Seniors, 65 years and older, were more likely than 55–64 year olds to experience a sensory disability. Men were more likely than women to report having hearing disabilities, while women were more likely to report seeing disabilities than men. Increased age and lower total household incomes were associated with a greater likelihood of having a sensory disability. Cataracts and deafness were reported most often as the cause of seeing and hearing ADL restrictions in both age groups. Sensory disabilities are prevalent conditions among older adults. Public health initiatives should focus on hearing and seeing disabilities particularly among seniors, women, and the lower income level population.