Chapter VI: Aging and Psychological Adjustment

Abstract

A HE past three years have seen a considerable amount of study of the psychological adjustment of people as they grow older. But the concept of adjustment as applied to adults in a modern society is so complex that these studies have merely served to outline the problem and to suggest some useful approaches to it, leaving a thoro exploration of it to the future. An important characteristic of current research in gerontology is the amount of study being devoted to middle age rather than to old age. This signifies an interest in the process of aging and in getting knowledge which will provide a basis for a preventive mental hygiene that will help people to make a better adjustment in their later years. The Meaning of Psychological Adjustment in the Later Years Scientists study psychological adjustment for two general purposes. One is the purely scientific purpose of getting an accurate description of the behavior of people; the other purpose is to find out how to help people become happier, more successful in their pursuit of the goals of life, or better adjusted. Both purposes are illustrated in current research on adjustment in the later years. Watson (59), in a critical review of studies of the personality of the aged, urged more of the first type of research and gave examples of possible studies. Dennis (19) wrote a critical survey calling for more rigorous research on groups of people who differ widely in age or in social circumstances. The second purpose of the study of psychological adjustment is illus-trated by studies by Busse and his associates (14, 15). They studied the problem of recurrence of periods of depression in normal old people and came to the conclusion that the best defenses against such maladjustment are habits and activities developed much earlier in life. This interest in preventive mental hygiene is the basis for research on people in middle age.

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