In this article, the authors focus on divorce and remarriage because it is assumed that divorce weakens the bonds between parent and child. This has important implications for later in life. As years pass, and these parents are aging, will their children (now adults) support them (financially or personally)? [read more...]

The researchers explored this issue - challenging behavior in older adults with intellectual disabilities – because of its importance to staff welfare and the need to provide the best care for these individuals. The authors particularly wanted to study the intra-individual change in staff-averse challenging behavior among older adults with intellectual disabilities. [read more...]

The articles in this section suggest that the best ways to assist caregivers may be to focus on the well-being of the older persons they care for; to focus their training on specific problems; to develop communication skills between the caregiver/care receiver pair; to offer telephone support, although this may be more beneficial to adult child caregivers than for spousal caregivers; and to better serve caregivers through adult day service programs. [read more...]

This article discusses a real-world experiment that tested the Retention Specialist Program (RSP), which was designed to improve the retention of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in nursing homes. [read more...]

Providing care to a loved one with dementia and the death of that loved one are generally considered two of the most stressful human experiences. Each puts family caregivers at risk of psychological problems. Although research has suggested that religious beliefs and practices are associated with better mental health in older people, little is known about whether religion is associated with better mental health in family caregivers. [read more...]

Authors: Karl Pillemer, Mark Lachs

There has been a lot of public attention to the issue of elder mistreatment in nursing homes, including governmental hearings and much press coverage over the past decade. Usually, “elder abuse” in nursing homes conjures up images of mistreatment by staff. It is likely, however, that another problem is much more common: aggression and violence among residents themselves. [read more...]