Content uploaded by Frieder R Lang
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Frieder R Lang on Jun 22, 2018
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
Taking Diversity into Account: Assessments of older adults.
Abstract and Figures
In old age, individual differences and intra-individual changes are quite common, and are often more pronounced than in earlier phases of adulthood (Baltes & Carstensen, 1996). Such diversity has been a central issue to many theories of life-span psychology and aging research. Accordingly, the assessment of older adults needs to take such diversity into account. In this chapter, we first provide an overview of the theoretical consideration of assessing older adults, including the role of images of aging, the principles of multidimensionality, multidirectionality, and plasticity, and the use of adaptive strategies. We then continue to discuss three central issues of psychological assessments with older adults. These issues include the facts that (1) many assessment tools for older adults were originally designed and normed for younger adults; (2) older adults may perform well in everyday functioning even though they may score low in standardized tests in the laboratory; in addition,and (3) contextual factors, such as age differences in goals and motivation, age differences in memory and other cognitive mechanics, and age/cohort differences in norms and expectations, may affect the performance of older adults in assessments. Finally, we suggest evidence-based solutions to address these issues.
Figures - uploaded by Frieder R Lang
Author content
All figure content in this area was uploaded by Frieder R Lang
Content may be subject to copyright.
This study aimed to map and categorize the psychosocial assessment instruments, with available psychometric evidence, for elderly Brazilians. Through a scoping review, 5.258 studies were identified and after applying the eligibility criteria, 237 studies were included for analytical synthesis. Part of the extracted data was presented in four blocks: Review identifiers (information about the studies); Population (information about the participants); Psychosocial Instruments (organized by categories); Psychometric properties (type of evidence). 192 instruments were highlighted, which were organized into five subcategories, being “Anxiety, Depression and Stress”, “Physical Activity, Ability to Work and Mobility”, “Intelligence and Cognition”, “Health, Well-Being and Quality of Life” and “Geriatric’s Syndromes and Violence”. This study does not exhaust the alternatives of instruments available to elderly Brazilians, but allows a broader view, gathering in a single source, evidence that can generate reflection and add to the research and practice of all those interested in the theme.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.