PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L E Troll

Publications and source records attributed to L E Troll.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Questions for future studies: social relationships in old age.

It is impressive, not to mention refreshing, to see four careful, weighty studies on social relationships that are not primarily concerned with caregiving. The fact that they are both longitudinal and cross-cultural makes them even more impressive and highlights general issues in the area of social relationships as well as more specific issues of aging. Four issues seem to me to be notable: 1) kinds of relationships, 2) continuity of relationships, 3) functions of relationships, and 4) cultural differences. I will consider each in turn.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Perceived continuity of self in very old age.

Little is known about how the changes of very late life affect identity. One hundred fifty of the oldest old were asked how they thought they had changed over the years and how they had remained the same. Responses were coded for perceived change in both core self ("I") and self-descriptors ("me"). Almost all the respondents thought they were still essentially the same person ("I"), and although they could point to ways in which they had changed in specific characteristics of self-concept ("me"), there was considerable stability in that as well. Also, not all the changes identified were negative. Perceived continuity was related to positive affect but apparently not to either recent disruptive events or mortality.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1994

Constraints and facilitators to friendships in late late life.

This report analyzes friendship patterns of individuals 85 and older, 77% of whom are women. Despite high levels of disability and the loss of age peers, the majority were in frequent contact with friends and still had a close friend. Over 31 months, however, the predictors of friendship involvement changed. At Time 1, mood was most important, but by Time 3, increased disability was most important. Qualitative data describe how the constraints and facilitators lead to changing criteria for friendships in late late life.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Family-embedded vs. family-deprived oldest-old: a study of contrasts.

Most of the white oldest-old in San Francisco have at least one surviving relative, but only one-half have relatives available to them if they need help. The primary family resources are children, especially for women. They are closer to children than to grandchildren or other relatives. The respondents themselves are more passive and unemotional family members, however, rather than being active kinkeepers. They also seem to derive satisfaction from thinking about relatives now dead--men usually about their dead wives and women about their mothers and siblings. There is a sharp contrast in life style and feelings between those who are most embedded in their families and those at the other extreme, the "family deprived," with the embedded being much better off.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1981

The adaptive function of the menopause: a devil's advocate position.

The menopause may be adaptive, in that it minimizes exposure to endogenous estrogen. However, ageist and sexist assumptions have distorted society's perceptions so that the menopause has come to be viewed as a "deficiency disease," best treated through the routine prescription of estrogen replacement therapy. Recent evidence suggests that menopausal discomfort has been exaggerated, and that most reported symptoms are not directly attributable to declining estrogen levels but to other biologic and social variables. A change in perspective might have the beneficial consequence of providing women with effective, and probably safer, forms of therapeutic intervention.

Aging↗
PubMed1980

Gender and generation effects on person perception.

It has been assumed that the characteristics of respondents, such as their sex, background and socialization experiences, would affect the way in which respondents perceive other persons. Sex differences have been found in college students, but generational differences have not been explored. The present study employed one hundred fifty men and women, of non-college background and of a wide range of ages, and permitted free responses in respondents' descriptions. The effect of gender and generation on the categories participants used to describe a known man and woman was examined. A multivariate analysis of variance indicated significance on both variables. However, subsequent one-way analyses of variance revealed that only a few categories were used differentially by men and women, or by the older, middle and younger generations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

A seven-year follow-up of intelligence test scores of foster grandparents.

After 7 years, a group of originally nonemployed poverty-level older people (over 60) who had been employed as foster grandparents were retested with the WAIS. Four WAIS subtests - Vocabulary Similarities, Digit Span, and Block Design - were employed. Of the original group of 39, complete data were available for 28; 18 of these were still working on the project, and the other 10 had dropped out. Dropouts as a group tested lower originally and also showed more deterioration in functional health ratings over time. For the total group of 32 foster grandparents, three subtest scores showed stability over the 7 years. Only Digit Span showed a statistically significant drop. Neither age nor the initial level of health or WAIS scores was related to test-score changes over time.

Aged↗