Assessment of financial decision making: an informant scale

Older adults with cognitive impairment are a population at great risk for financial exploitation. At-risk older adults often have difficulty reporting on their own financial abilities. Collecting information from trusted others is vital for professionals investigating the financial exploitation older adults. There are few reliable, valid, and standardized informant-report measures of financial capacity, and none that assess decisional abilities for an ongoing, real-world financial transaction. The present study sought to examine the psychometric properties of a new informant-report scale of financial decisional abilities in older adults. One hundred fifty participants were recruited to complete the Family and Friends and Interview regarding a known older adult’s financial decisional abilities. A factor analysis identified two subscales. The full scale had adequate sensitivity and specificity to detect an informant’s current concerns regarding financial exploitation. The Family and Friends Scale is a useful tool for collecting informant-report regarding an older adult’s ability to make financial transactions.     

Enhancing communication with older adults: overcoming elderspeak

Because communication behaviors are difficult to change, practicing speech without elderspeak is helpful in preparing for actual clinical situations. The Communication Enhancement Model describes potential benefits of eliminating elderspeak in speech to older adults. Minimizing the use of elderspeak is hypothesized to reduce stereotype-based messages that older adults are incompetent and dependent. An improved communication environment promotes the cognitive and functional abilities of older adults. Achieving optimal communication environments may contribute to higher levels of well-being for older adults and to increased quality of life. Young adult care providers also may benefit from increased job satisfaction if they relate closely with care recipients.     

Financial decision-making abilities and financial exploitation in older African Americans: Preliminary validity evidence for the Lichtenberg Financial Decision Rating Scale (LFDRS)

ABSTRACT

This study examines preliminary evidence for the Lichtenberg Financial Decision Rating Scale (LFDRS), a new person-centered approach to assessing capacity to make financial decisions, and its relationship to self-reported cases of financial exploitation in 69 older African Americans. More than one third of individuals reporting financial exploitation also had questionable decisional abilities. Overall, decisional ability score and current decision total were significantly associated with cognitive screening test and financial ability scores, demonstrating good criterion validity. Study findings suggest that impaired decisional abilities may render older adults more vulnerable to financial exploitation, and that the LFDRS is a valid tool.     

Expertise and aging: maintaining skills through the lifespan

As lifespan continues to increase in many developed countries, so too does the age at which we see extraordinary achievements from older adults. Examples from running, golf, and other domains continue to redefine what is possible as we age. Evidence suggests, however, that progression through adulthood is associated with a dramatic decline in all manner of physical and cognitive abilities, from physiological capacities (e.g., VO2 max) to cognitive and perceptual functions (e.g., IQ scores, reaction time). In the face of such precipitous decline in specific abilities, how do we account for maintenance of skilled performance and expertise amongst those supposedly well along the age-decline curve? Expert performers are seemingly able to sustain high levels of achievement in the face of an overall deterioration in general capacities. Moreover, experts maintain this performance in spite of reduced involvement in their field. There are three primary explanations for the ability of experts to maintain superior performance in spite of an overall decline in abilities: (a) preserved differentiation, (b) compensation, and (c) selective maintenance. Overall, research into the high achievements of older adults may reveal a great deal with respect to skill preservation and how to best counter age-related decline.     

The beneficial effects of different types of exercise interventions on motor and cognitive functions in older age: a systematic review

The decline in cognitive and motor functions with age affects the performance of the aging healthy population in many daily life activities. Physical activity appears to mitigate this decline or even improve motor and cognitive abilities in older adults. The current systematic review will focus mainly on behavioral studies that look into the dual effects of different types of physical training (e.g., balance training, aerobic training, strength training, group sports, etc.) on cognitive and motor tasks in older adults with no known cognitive or motor disabilities or disease. Our search retrieved a total of 1095 likely relevant articles, of which 41 were considered for full-text reading and 19 were included in the review after the full-text reading. Overall, observations from the 19 included studies conclude that improvements on both motor and cognitive functions were found, mainly in interventions that adopt physical-cognitive training or combined exercise training. While this finding advocates the use of multimodal exercise training paradigms or interventions to improve cognitive-motor abilities in older adults, the sizeable inconsistency among training protocols and endpoint measures complicates the generalization of this finding.     

The potential role of physical activity on driving performance and safety among older adults

The elderly represent the fastest growing driving population. Older drivers have a high crash rate per distance traveled, a high risk of injury or death in traffic accidents, and are commonly found to be ‘at fault’ in crashes. This reality has focused more interest on issues associated with the fitness to drive and the safety of older drivers. Many older adults depend greatly on their personal vehicle for transportation and suffer a marked loss of quality of life when, as a consequence of no longer being able or permitted to drive, their mobility becomes significantly restricted. The reasons for the deterioration of driving performance that occur during the aging process are multi-factorial and a great deal of research has focused on the identification of those factors. Nevertheless, some studies incorporating training programs have tried, with some success, to improve the driving-related abilities of older drivers. It has been demonstrated that physical activity can promote several skills that are associated with driving performance in older drivers. Few studies, though, have conducted exercise interventions among older drivers intended to enhance their driving-related abilities and promote road safety. In this context, the purpose of this work consists of examining the perceptual, cognitive, health, and physical factors related to fitness to drive in older adults and identifying possible strategies that can enhance their driving-related abilities. Moreover, potential mechanisms underlying the relationship among physical activity, driving ability, and road safety are discussed.     

Power mobility and the built environment: the experiences of older Canadians

In this article, we employ data from qualitative interviews with 15 men and 14 women aged 51–92 to examine older Canadian adults’ experiences of utilizing power wheelchairs and motorized scooters in the context of the built environment. When functioning properly and utilized within accessible spaces, power mobility devices provided many of the participants with the autonomy they desired. However, the features and functionality of power mobility equipment also constrained participants’ abilities to negotiate their surroundings and maintain valued social roles and physical activities. Participants’ experiences of power mobility technology as enabling or disabling were further complicated by the organization of the built environment, as the men and women described encountering various barriers to mobility within both public and private spaces. We discuss our findings in relation to the extant literature concerning the social and spatial construction of disability.     

Cognitive abilities,self-efficacy,and financial behavior

This paper investigates the effect of cognitive abilities on financial behavior among older adults. Using the U.S. Health and Retirement Study, I find that cognitive abilities significantly affect financial behavior through two channels: ability and self-efficacy. People with higher cognition scores achieve better financial outcomes. This positive association is especially strong in tasks having high demand of cognitive abilities, which confirms the ability channel of the cognitive ability effect. In addition, there is evidence for the self-efficacy channel as a secondary source of cognitive influence. Lower cognitive abilities decrease people’s sense of self-efficacy, which, in turn, significantly decreases financial management efficiency. The findings have important policy implications, specifically that more effort is needed to assist the growing older population through the cognitive aging process and that noncognitive skills, as a secondary source of influence, also warrant attention.     

Relationships Among Active Engagement in Life Activities and Quality of Life for Assisted-Living Residents

This cross-sectional research explored the relationships between active engagement in life activities (leisure, social, and instrumental activities of daily living) and quality of life for seniors aged 65 and older residing in assisted living facilities. It is increasingly recognized that active participation in diverse physical, cognitive, and social activities can promote older adults’ quality of life, including physical and mental health, but there is limited information about this in the population of residents in assisted living facilities. It is estimated that there are one million older adults residing in assisted living facilities, making assisted living facilities a rapidly growing segment of senior housing. Older adults who relocate to assisted living facilities commonly experience lifestyle changes, often related to their altered physical and social environment, reduced demands regarding household chores and meal preparation, and new opportunities for recreation and socialization. In this study, interviews were conducted with 131 ambulatory residents from assisted living facilities in the New York City metropolitan area using the 55-Item Activity Checklist, SF-36v2, Life Satisfaction Index-Z, and demographic questions. Results found significant low to moderate correlations between retained engagement in life activities (leisure, social, and instrumental activities of daily living) and life satisfaction, and several quality of life domains, including physical functioning, mental health, general health, and vitality. Older adults continued to engage in a greater percentage of everyday life activities they identified as important. This data supports exploration of client-centered activity programs to promote participation of residents in assisted living facilities in diverse activities to both maintain resident functional abilities and manage functional decline.     

Intergenerational Remote Exergaming with Family and Friends for Health and Leisure

Global guidelines for physical activity are not being met by most of the world’s youths, adults, and older adults. Family and friends who engage in physical activity across generations derive emotional, social, cognitive, and physical benefits from their interaction. Youths depend on adult assistance to travel long distances, adults are encumbered with obligations to work, and older adults often live more than 200 miles from their extended families. Intergenerational physical activity is difficult because generations are distant and lead busy lifestyles. Remotely played exergames can connect family and friends for intergenerational physical activity. Internet exergaming can help to make physical activity convenient and enjoyable as well as eliminate the effect of distance on playing with family and friends.     

Stress and coping among older workers

Age-related changes in physical and cognitive abilities can raise adaptive challenges for older working adults. Older workers exhibit considerable capacity to manage and cope with the stress of job and environmental demands, but at some point, many can become overwhelmed, and find themselves at increased risk for health consequences, injury, disability, and diminished productivity. Older workers are, however, a highly heterogeneous population, and many continue to work safely and successfully. Employers are encouraged to join efforts to provide an optimal person-environment-fit for all of their employees, but with a sensitivity to the increased variability to be expected among older employees.     

Assessing Capacity in the Setting of Self-Neglect: Development of a Novel Screening Tool for Decision-Making Capacity

ABSTRACT

Compared with older adults with disabilities and those who autonomously choose to live in squalor, self-neglect syndrome arises from a predicate state of vulnerability in frail older adults. This state of vulnerability is characteristically associated with a decline in decision-making capacity regarding the ability to care for and protect oneself. We developed the COMP Screen to evaluate vulnerable older adults to identify potential gaps in decision-making capacity using a screening tool. A total of 182 older adults were evaluated and consistent declines in cognitive ability and decision-making processes were present in this population. However, there were no significant differences between elders referred for self-neglect and matched older adults. These findings suggest that declines in decision-making processes are not uncommon in vulnerable older adults but traditional conceptualizations of decision-making capacity may be inadequate for differentiating the capacity for self-care and protection in elders who self-neglect.     

Assessing capacity in the setting of self-neglect: development of a novel screening tool for decision-making capacity

Compared with older adults with disabilities and those who autonomously choose to live in squalor, self-neglect syndrome arises from a predicate state of vulnerability in frail older adults. This state of vulnerability is characteristically associated with a decline in decision-making capacity regarding the ability to care for and protect oneself. We developed the COMP Screen to evaluate vulnerable older adults to identify potential gaps in decision-making capacity using a screening tool. A total of 182 older adults were evaluated and consistent declines in cognitive ability and decision-making processes were present in this population. However, there were no significant differences between elders referred for self-neglect and matched older adults. These findings suggest that declines in decision-making processes are not uncommon in vulnerable older adults but traditional conceptualizations of decision-making capacity may be inadequate for differentiating the capacity for self-care and protection in elders who self-neglect.     

Emerging Metacognitive Processes During Childhood: Implications for Intervention Development with Children

This paper reviews the literature of how three aspects of metacognition, relevant to working with children in clinical settings, develop across childhood. In cognitive therapy children use their metacognition to monitor the recall of thoughts from memory and to control thoughts as they are actively worked on and restructured. This paper will show that over childhood children use metacognitive monitoring and control abilities in increasingly complex ways and it will provide the ages at which children may be consistently using the cognitive abilities necessary to fully benefit from cognitive therapies.     

The need for empathy in the hospital experience of older adults

As health care has become increasingly sophisticated, health care providers struggle to ensure that patients do not become isolated and overwhelmed with the many specialists, support personnel, and technology they encounter in their hospital experiences. Hospitalized older patients often have complex diagnoses and pain issues and may have fewer external supports than younger patients. Nurses may find a renewed focus on empathy valuable in enriching health care experiences for hospitalized older adults.     

More is less: neurogenesis and age-related cognitive decline in Long-Evans rats

A reduction in the ability to generate new neurons in the brain has been suggested to contribute to cognitive decline with advanced age. In an outbred model strain of Long-Evans rats, cognitive performance as a function of age is variable in assessments of hippocampal-dependent spatial memory. Recent research indicates that greater hippocampal neurogenesis accompanies diminished cognitive abilities in older Long-Evans rats. These findings imply that the role of neurogenesis might change between youth and old age, and that further work is needed to understand the potential benefits and liabilities that new neurons may afford an aging brain.     

Why the social sciences won't become high-consensus,rapid-discovery science

A research front of rapid discovery, leaving a trail of cognitive consensus behind it, is characteristic of natural sciences since about the 17th century in Europe. The basis of this high-consensus, rapid-discovery science is not empiricism, since empirical research existed in the natural sciences before the 17th century. The key is appropriation of genealogies of research technologies, which are pragmatically manipulated and modified to produce new phenomena; high consensus results because there is higher social prestige in moving ahead to new research discoveries than by continuing to dispute the interpretation of older discoveries. The social sciences have not acquired this pattern of rapid discovery with high consensus behind the research front. Their fundamental disability is not lack of empirical research, nor failure to adhere to a scientific epistemology, nor the greater ideological controversy that surrounds social topics. What is fundamentally lacking in the social sciences is a genealogy of research technology, whose manipulation reliably produces new phenomena and a rapidly moving research front. Unless the social sciences invent new research hardware, they will likely never acquire much consensus or rapid discovery. Possibilities may exist for such development stemming from research technologies in microsociology and in artificial intelligence.     

Effect of resistance-exercise training on cognitive function in healthy older adults: a review

Several studies have demonstrated that exercise helps reduce or prevent cognitive deterioration among older adults, and recent studies have further examined the effects of resistance-exercise training on cognition. The purpose of this review was to examine the role of resistance-exercise training on cognition in healthy older adults. Specifically, it describes the definition, health benefits, and the design of resistance-exercise training. The authors also review the research related to resistance exercises and cognition and found that this exercise modality may enhance specific cognitive performances. Next, they examine the potential mechanisms underlying resistance exercise and cognitive enhancement. Finally, they consider potential therapeutics and recommendations for further research on resistance-exercise training and cognition in older adults.     

Network recall among older adults with cognitive impairments

Although it is widely accepted that personal networks influence health and illness, network recall remains a major concern. This concern is heightened when studying a population that is vulnerable to cognitive decline. Given these issues, we use data from the Social Network in Alzheimer Disease project to explore similarities and discrepancies between the network perceptions of focal participants and study partners. By leveraging data on a sample of older adults with normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, and early stage dementia, we explore how cognitive impairment influences older adults’ perceptions of their personal networks. We find that the average individual is more likely to omit weaker, peripheral ties from their self-reported networks than stronger, central ties. Despite observing only moderate levels of focal-partner corroboration across our sample, we find minimal evidence of perceptual differences across diagnostic groups. We offer two broad conclusions. First, self-reported network data, though imperfect, offer a reasonable account of the core people in one’s life. Second, our findings assuage concerns that cognitively impaired older adults have skewed perceptions of their personal networks.