Abstract
Geropsychology: beyond greyness.
Older people form a heterogeneous and pluriform group. The differences
characterizing older people are the theme of this paper: cohort differences,
differences in aging, differences in risk profile or kind of symptoms, and
socio-cultural pluriformity. Three questions are discussed: 1What is the
state of the scientific knowledge on the effects of psychological interventions
for older adults from the perspective of the difference?, 2What are the
consequences for the development of interventions and the research on the
effectiveness?, 3What does it mean for the program of my chair? The
perspective of the difference is only slightly taken into account in psychological
interventions and scientific research on the effects of these interventions.
For the development of interventions and research on the effects it is
important to start from the position of the older persons themselves. For
the development of interventions, the following ways of taking differences
into account are discussed: the direct involvement of older people, modular
programs, and decision rules for the assignment. Regarding the research
methodology it is important not to stick to Randomized Controlled Trials,
supposing homogeneous groups, but to use intra-individual techniques
such as time series. For the shaping of my chair, I will introduce the perspective
of the difference in the program for the development of interventions
and research on the effectiveness. I will not focus on diminishing problems
or disorders only, but also on increasing well-being and happiness. In
addition, I will not only focus on psychological interventions, but also on
other interventions or combinations of both.
Original language | Dutch |
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Place of Publication | Amsterdam |
Publisher | Psychologie & Gezondheid |
Number of pages | 10 |
Publication status | Published - 2009 |