Psychology's Contribution to the Well-Being of Older Americans
Psychology's Contribution to the Well-Being of Older Americans
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DOI：
10.1037/a0040251
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发表时间：
2016-05-01
影响因子：
16.4
通讯作者：
DiGilio, Deborah A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Gatz, Margaret;Smyer, Michael A.;DiGilio, Deborah A.
为了配合每十年举行一次的白宫老龄问题会议，心理学家们考虑了心理科学的发展如何有助于美国老年人的福祉。我们建议心理学研究的5个说明性领域：神经科学的进展阐明了促进健康认知衰老的方法；神经心理学评估的相关发展可以帮助保护认知丧失的美国老年人免受经济剥削、虐待和忽视。决策和行为经济学的心理学研究对退休保障的规划和减少财务滥用的脆弱性有很大的帮助。自我管理和行为改变的心理学研究对促进老年人良好健康行为具有重要意义；同样，环境对行为的影响也可以在长期护理环境中得到利用。对态度和刻板印象的心理学研究使我们深入了解了可能对健康老龄化有害的年龄偏见。适应性技术和信息技术正开始改变研究和临床环境中的评估；技术还有望在机构和社区环境中改善对老年人的长期支持。最后，现在有七分之一的美国人年龄在65岁以上，而50年前只有十一分之一，心理学工作者——包括健康服务提供者和培训这些提供者的教师——不足以应对人口老龄化的挑战。
In concert with 6 decennial White House Conferences on Aging, psychologists have considered how developments in psychological science can contribute to the well-being of older Americans. We suggest 5 illustrative areas of psychological research: Advances in neuroscience elucidate ways to promote healthy cognitive aging; associated developments in neuropsychological assessment can help in protecting older Americans with cognitive losses from financial exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Psychological research on decision making and behavioral economics has much to offer to planning for retirement security and reducing vulnerability to financial abuse. Psychological research on self-management and behavior change can contribute importantly to enhancing good health behaviors among older adults; similarly the power of context on behavior can be harnessed in long-term care settings. Psychological research on attitudes and stereotypes gives insight into age bias that can be detrimental to healthy aging. Adaptive technologies and information technologies are beginning to transform assessment in research and clinical settings; technology also holds the promise of improving long-term support for older adults in both institutional and community-based settings. Finally, with 1 in 7 Americans now ages 65 and older, compared with 1 in 11 50 years ago, the psychology workforce-including health services providers and faculty to train those providers-is insufficient to meet the challenge of the aging population.