To determine whether Reid and Ziegler's Desired Control Measure assesses locus of control of reinforcement 363 community-residing elderly individuals completed: (a) the Desired Control Measure (DCM); (b) Levenson's Internal (I), Powerful Other (PO), and Chance (C) Locus of Control Scales; (c) the Life Satisfaction Index – Form A; and (d) the Affect Balance Scale. Support for construing the DCM as an index of locus of control was not obtained: (a) DCM scores correlated only modestly with the I, PO, and C scales; (b) factor solutions indicated minimal item overlap on the two measures; and (c) regression analyses indicated that the DCM added substantially to the variance in adjustment measures accounted for by I, PO, and C. We conclude that the DCM does not primarily tap locus of control, and is more appropriately conceptualized as an index of individuals' perceptions/evaluations of their environment.

Data from the 1986/87 Health and Activity Limitation Survey (HALS) were used to examine the relationship between reported disabilities and institutionalization. Odds ratios obtained through logistic regression analyses were utilized to estimate the strength and direction of the associations between the various disabilities, age, gender, and institutionalization. An analysis of types and combinations of disabilities which are most strongly associated with institutionalization indicate that persons with disabilities regarding agility, mental functioning or speech have higher odds of institutionalization. The analyses of the relationship between number of disabilities and institutionalization suggest an exponential relationship, a greater rate of institutionalization with age and a higher rate for women than for men.

This research, taking into account sex and previous occupational level, examines the influence of retirement on three dependent variables: loneliness, depression, and life satisfaction. One hundred and six men and women, aged 65 and receiving governmental pensions (Régie des rentes du Québec) completed on two occasions (with a one year interval) the Échelle de solitude de l'Université Laval, the Questionnaire de dépression de Beck and the Échelle de satisfaction de vie. The resulte indicate that there is no significant difference between Time 1 and Time 2 of evaluation on the three questionnaires (temporal view). However, from a cross-sectional perspective, newly retired men and professionals may be more lonely, less satisfied with their life and more depressed. The results are discussed in the light of Atchley's (1976b) model.

This investigation measured the physical fitness and anthropometrie parameters of a sample of 100 Saskatchewan women and men, aged 65 to 75 years. Subjects were grouped by age (65–69 years and 70–75 years) and these data were compared to the results from the Canada Fitness Survey (CFS) for women and men aged 65 to 69 years. In general, the Saskatchewan women in this study demonstrated an age-associated decline in the fitness and anthropometric variables measured. The Saskatchewan men, aged 65–69 years were significantly poorer in four variables (weight, sum of trunk skinfolds, Body Mass Index (BMI) and Maximal Oxygen Uptake (V02 MAX)) compared to the age-matched men tested in the CFS. However, the Saskatchewan men, aged 70–75 were not significantly different from the younger CFS subjects for these variables. Within limitations of the cross-sectional design, the results of this study indicate that Saskatchewan men in their early retirement years may require particular attention and further study with respect to their physical activity behaviour and fitness.

This paper explores similarities and differences in the way caring work is experienced by kin, homemakers and volunteers. Under the conceptual umbrella of working conditions, issues of work milieu, isolation, communication, feedback, autonomy, motivation and choice are compared across these three groups of care providers. Although the functional capacities of the elderly persons receiving care were quite similiar, the circumstances that surrounded the performance of caring were quite different. The paper argues that the context within which care is provided will be critical in future policy discussions. It is suggested that the specific task content of providing care may be of secondary importance to understanding the context within which care providers carry out these activities.

Data from longitudinal studies have a number of advantages for gerontological research, but the effects of attrition and the increased complexity of data structures with multiple observations may pose some problems for statistical analysis. Proportional hazards models allow for the examination of event histories using all observations of a dependent variable, and these models can incorporate time-dependent covariates to increase their explanatory power. The assumptions and applications of event history analysis using proportional hazards models are described, and the analysis of mortality data from the Ontario Longitudinal Study of Aging provides a relevant example. Extensions of proportional hazards models and commercially available software are also discussed.