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Fulltext Coping among the non-institutionalised ill elderly

Thambypillai V

Med J Malaysia, 1986 Jun;41(2):116-22.
PMID: 3821606

The stress process and events of later life are more irreversible and chronic as compared with those of young adulthood Coping is defined as "things that people do to avoid being harmed by life-strains". This study looks at the coping status of non-institutionalised ill elderly in Holbaek, Denmark. A structured questionnaire was carried out on 500 elderly, aged 70 years and above. Coping status was found to be associated with income, social network, functional capacity and communications ability. The poor copers used more home help and home nursing services. Effective informal social network and functional capacity were found to be important determinants of coping status. The study recommends that besides strengthening the informal social networks of the elderly, they should also be given coping focussed counselling.

Matched MeSH terms: Aged/psychology*
Fulltext Suicide in the elderly in Malaysia

Rahimi R, Ali N, Md Noor S, Mahmood MS, Zainun KA

Malays J Pathol, 2015 Dec;37(3):259-63.
PMID: 26712672 MyJurnal

Suicidal feelings and a sense of hopelessness have been regarded as part of the ageing process more so in the context of being elderly and having physical difficulties. As older adults are the fastest growing population in the world, suicides among this population is also expected to increase. The authors retrospectively reviewed all cases recorded by the National Suicide Registry Malaysia (NSRM) for the year 2009. Suicide in victims 65 years and older totaled 23 in number and accounted for 7.1% of all suicides. All the cases were autopsied. The case records were retrospectively analyzed with respect to age, gender, ethnicity and method of death. Comparisons were also made between males and females, levels of education, presence of stressor and life events antecedent to suicide. The ages of these suicide victims ranged from 65 to 94 years. Men comprised almost 70% of the cases. The average age of the victim was 73 years. Hanging was the most common method of suicide, accounting for 56.5% of the cases. Other methods included jumping from height (13.1%), exposure to unspecified chemicals (13.1% ), jumping/lying before moving object (4.3%), exposure to pesticides (4.3%) and injuring oneself using sharp object (4.3%). Death of a loved one, legal problems, financial problems and physical illness were the stressors identified contributing to the suicide act.

Matched MeSH terms: Aged/psychology*
Fulltext Cohort comparisons: emotional well-being among adolescents and older adults

Momtaz YA, Hamid TA, Ibrahim R

Clin Interv Aging, 2014;9:813-9.
PMID: 24872683 DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S61636

There are several negative stereotypes about older adults that have negatively influenced people's attitude about aging. The present study compared emotional well-being between older adults and adolescents.

Matched MeSH terms: Middle Aged/psychology
Validation study of the Mini-Mental State Examination in a Malay-speaking elderly population in Malaysia

Ibrahim NM, Shohaimi S, Chong HT, Rahman AH, Razali R, Esther E, et al.

Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord, 2009;27(3):247-53.
PMID: 19246909 DOI: 10.1159/000203888

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In view of the differing sensitivity and specificity of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in the non-English-speaking populations, we conducted the first validation study of the Malay version (M-MMSE) in Malaysia among 300 subjects (from the community and outpatient clinics).
METHODS: Three versions were used: M-MMSE-7 (serial 7), M-MMSE-3 (serial 3) and M-MMSE-S (spell 'dunia' backwards). Dementia was assessed using the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV. The optimal cutoff scores were obtained from the receiver operating characteristics curves.
RESULTS: Seventy-three patients (24.3%) had dementia and 227 (75.7%) were controls. Three hundred patients completed the M-MMSE-7, 160 the M-MMSE-3 and 145 the M-MMSE-S. All 3 versions were valid and reliable in the diagnosis of dementia. The optimal cutoff scores varied with each version and gender. In the control group, significant gender differences were observed in the patients with the lowest educational status. Increasing educational levels significantly improved the M-MMSE performance in both genders.
CONCLUSION: All 3 versions of the M-MMSE are valid and reliable as a screening tool for dementia in the Malaysian population, but at different cutoff scores. In those with the lowest educational background, gender-adjusted cutoff scores should be applied.
Study site: Community, neurology and dementia outpatient clinics, Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM), University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC)

Matched MeSH terms: Aged/psychology*
Living arrangements of the elderly in Fiji, Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines

Martin LG

Demography, 1989 Nov;26(4):627-43.
PMID: 2583321

Using logit techniques and data from surveys of the elderly conducted in 1984 under the auspices of the World Health Organization, this article investigates socioeconomic, cultural, and demographic determinants of living arrangements of the elderly. Having a spouse or children with whom to live has important effects on living arrangements. The results provide only weak support, however, for hypotheses based on modernization theory and point to the need for detailed data on transitions in living arrangements and for information about the younger generation as well as the older generation, both of which are involved in deciding who lives with whom.

Matched MeSH terms: Aged/psychology*
Financial strain, social relations, and psychological distress among older people: a cross-cultural analysis

Ferraro KF, Su Y

J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci, 1999 Jan;54(1):S3-15.
PMID: 9934397

OBJECTIVES: This article examines how financial strain and social relations may independently and jointly influence psychological distress among older people in four nations.
METHODS: Data from four Western Pacific nations (N = 3,277) are used to test additive and multiplicative models of the relationships between financial strain, social relations, and psychological distress.
RESULTS: Financial strain is associated with higher levels of psychological distress in three of the four nations. Interactive models of the effects of financial strain and social relations on distress were uncovered in three of the four nations, but the type of social relation influencing the strain-distress relationship varied. Subjective-health and IADLs were significant predictors of psychological distress in all four nations.
DISCUSSION: Findings suggest that although financial strain is quite likely to lead to psychological distress among elders, this can be mitigated, at least in part, by social relationships. Modernization was not associated with higher psychological distress.

Matched MeSH terms: Aged/psychology*
Psychosocial factors and the health of the elderly Malaysian

Chen PC

Ann Acad Med Singap, 1987 Jan;16(1):110-4.
PMID: 3592576

Consequent to rapidly declining mortality and birth rates, developing countries, including Malaysia, can expect a rapid increase in the population aged 60 years and above. The health of the elderly is intimately tied up with both biophysical as well as psychosocial factors which include status loss, loneliness, fear of illness and death, poverty, harmful life-styles and deterioration of the quality of life. The effects of these psychosocial factors can manifest as sleep difficulties, worry and anxiety, depression, loss of interest, and a feeling of tiredness. In extreme cases, there may be auditory or visual hallucinations or paranoia. In the present paper, which is based upon a WHO sponsored study of 1001 elderly Malaysians, it is noted that 36% of the elderly have sleep difficulties, 47% "feel tired", 31% have a "loss of interest" and 22% are "worried tense". However 71% of the elderly are able to correctly perform at least 12 of 15 cognitive tests. 20% of elderly men smoke 15 or more cigarettes a day while 44% smoke at least one cigarette a day. 40% of elderly men indicate that their families complain about the amount of alcohol they drink. Undoubtedly primary health care programmes need to be re-oriented to the problems and needs of the elderly in countries such as Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Aged/psychology*
Respect redefined: focus group insights from Singapore

Mehta K

Int J Aging Hum Dev, 1997;44(3):205-19.
PMID: 9248879

This article re-examines the meaning of the concept of respect within the context of a fast modernizing Asian multicultural society-Singapore. Two key findings emerge. First, the meaning of respect both from the perspective of the aged and the middle-aged generation has shifted from obedience to courteous behavior. Second, in the majority of focus groups members concurred that the degree of respect accorded to elders has in general decreased. The focus group methodology was used in this research. Bearing in mind the limited sample size (88 participants) these findings alert us to the need for social scientists to monitor perceptual shifts in meaning of concepts critical in the sphere of interpersonal relationships. The findings throw light on the subjective views of intergenerational relations within the family as well as the community. As such, they would be valuable to counselors, social workers, and family therapists.

Matched MeSH terms: Aged/psychology*