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S K Whitbourne

Publications and source records attributed to S K Whitbourne.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Toward a model of person-environment congruence: development of the EPPIS.

The Person Environment (P-E) Congruence model represents an approach to understanding the impact of the environment on the well-being and adjustment of elderly which may also provide information for the development of intervention programs at individual, group and/or institutional levels. Assessment of P-E congruence, or fit between the person and his/her environment, was operationalized in two studies through the development of the Environmental Perception, Preference and Importance Scale (EPPIS). the EPPIS provides scales to assess environmental perceptions, individual environmental preferences and the important or salience of the environment on 15 empirically derived, commensurate dimensions. In a third study, the four-month test-retest reliability of the overall P-E congruence score of the EPPIS, defined as the absolute difference between the perceived and preferred environment weighted by importance, was .78 while the unweighted model reliability was .76. Also, the 15 dimensions of the EPPIS were observed to be significant predictors of well-being. It was proposed that the EPPIS may be used both to determine areas of intervention which the elderly themselves feel are important and as a means to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions intended to reduce P-E incongruence and increase psychological well-being.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Determinants of person-environment congruence in institutionalized elderly men and women.

This study was designed to obtain information potentially of value in understanding an modifying the impact of the social environment of the perceived quality of like among institutionalized aged persons. It was hypothesized that Person-Environment (P-E) congruence, as assessed by the Environmental Perception, Preference and Importance Scale (EPPIS), would be related to (1) sex integration/segregation makeup of the health related facility (HRF) living units, and (2) quantity of social interaction between staff and residents. Analysis of sex by unit sex-type interaction for 60 residents' Person-Environment (P-E) congruence scores revealed that elderly females on sex-integrated units reported a higher level of P-E congruence than those residing on female-only units; males on sex-integrated units, in contrast, reported a poorer level of P-E congruence than males on sex -segregated units. Furthermore, behavioral observations of staff-resident verbal interactions confirmed the hypothesis that residents living on units with high staff-resident interaction perceived the environments more congruent with their preferences than residents on units low in verbal interaction. The observed relationships between the P-E congruence measure, resident-staff interaction, and unit sex-type were taken as further support for the relevance and value of the EPPIS measure as a tool for assessing and improving the institutional milieu.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Friendship, social interaction and subjective well-being of older men in an institutional setting.

The relationship of informal social interaction to subjective well-being of older adults was investigated using the PGC Morale Scale, the MACC Behavioral Adjustment Scale, and a sociometric interview which provided measures of peer friendship and frequency of social interaction. Respondents were fifty-four males aged fifty-two to ninety years, who were residents of a Veterans Administration domiciliary. The predicted positive correlation was obtained between morale and frequency of social interaction with persons outside the institution, but men's friendships within the institution were not related to morale. As expected, men who reported overall change in frequency of social interaction scored substantially lower on the PGC Morale Scale than those who perceived no change. Behavioral adjustment ratings of participants made by a staff member were positively correlated with friendship and social interaction scores. The results were thus consistent with a continuity model of aging, in which maintenance of accustomed levels of social interaction is related to subjective well-being.

Aged↗
PubMed1978

Adult age differences in reflection-impulsivity.

Adult age differences in reflection-impulsivity were examined on a modified version of Kagan's adult Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFF). The sample consisted of 20 elderly adults (mean age = 70.6) and 20 young adults (mean age = 21.9), each of whom was administered the modified MFF by an adult examiner. On half of the 24 items, the original (i.e., the standard) was present among the four alternatives ("original present" condition), while on the other half, all the alternatives were variants of the standard ("original not present" condition). The elderly subjects were generally more impulsive (had shorter latencies and committed more errors) than were the young adults. The results, though, varied somewhat with the two stimulus conditions employed. An analysis of the mean scores of both age groups indicated that the elderly took less time to respond only in the "original present" condition. A higher number of errors was observed for the older group in both conditions, and both age groups had fewer errors in the "original present" condition. Possible interpretations of these findings, in terms of age group differences in search strategy, anxiety, and other aspects of decision style are offered, and implications for further research are provided.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Cognitive egocentrism in institutionalized adult males.

Spatial egocentrism and its relationships to discrimination ability and communicative egocentrism were investigated in a sample of 80 adult males from a single institutional setting. The participants ranged in age from 33 to 83 years. As predicted, no significant age differences were obtained on any of the three dependent measures. However, significant effects of order of task presentation indicated that the experimental procedure influenced performance on the spatial and communicative egocentrism and discrimination tasks. The findings, which provide support for the Piagetian position of maintenance of operational level through the life-span, were discussed in terms of social and affective factors which may influence adult performance on cognitive tasks.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Test anxiety in elderly and young adults.

Test anxiety in elderly and young adult college students was measured by the Anxiety Achievement Test following a free-recall memory experiment. As expected, the elderly had higher levels of debilitating test anxiety than the younger adults. A large proportion of older persons showed behavioural manifestations of test anxiety either by refusing to participate in the study, or by their reactions during the testing. Test anxiety was related to memory performance among both age groups, suggesting than an older person's performance on a cognitive task may be influenced by affective reactions to the testing situation itself.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Beyond despair and disengagement: a transactional model of personality development in later life.

It is argued that ego analytic, disengagement, and symbolic interaction theories of personality share an insufficient consideration of the dynamics of the interaction between developmental and social forces transpiring during the aging period. An alternative, transactional model is proposed, positing that the effects of the environment to which the elderly person is subject are the product of: (1) the people and settings comprising that environment and (2) the manner in which the individual acts upon and is acted upon by these people and settings. The model highlights the need for research in which present behavioral and environmental events assume as much importance as past ones.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Construction and validation of an ego integrity status interview.

Erikson's theory regarding the existence of an Ego Integrity versus Despair crisis in old age was tested using an interview derived from Whitbourne and Weinstock's application of Marcia's status construct to the ego integrity crisis. Four integrity statuses were defined: integrity achieving, dissonant (in crisis), foreclosed (avoiding crisis), and despairing. These statuses were reliably (80%) identified among forty elderly community-dwelling men and women through the forty-five-minute semistructured interview. Moreover, predicted differences among the four statuses were observed on questionnaire measures assessing reminiscing activity, death attitudes and preparation, psychological well-being, and questionnaire scales of Stages 6 through 8 of Erikson's theory. The pattern of differences suggested that integrity achieving and foreclosed samples differed mainly regarding their degree of introspection regarding the past, but that both appeared to have a high degree of psychological well-being. Dissonant individuals appeared to be unhappy and stressed, but this was seen as a temporary state in contrast to the more chronic nature of the despairing's low sense of psychological well-being. The validity of the integrity status construct and the interview designed to measure it have, therefore, been supported, and provide the basis for suggested refinements within Erikson's description of the Ego Integrity versus Despair stage.

Aged↗