Perceptions of Old Age Among a Sample of Aging Mentally Retarded Persons

Abstract

This study presents a typology of perceptions of old age based on a sample of 47 aging mentally retarded persons. Using data collected through in-person interviews, a content analysis yielded six general types of responses to the question, "What does getting old mean to you?" Next, we conducted three analyses investigating the relation of respondents'perceptions of aging to specific sample member characteristics. Persons who were currently working were more likely to anticipate changes in their social lives than were persons who were not employed. Further, work-related changes were more likely to be anticipated by persons living in community- based settings than those in an institutional setting, and by respondents who were age 60 or younger than by persons older than 60. Finally, most of the sample members defined the age of an older person as being more advanced than their current age. We discuss the programmatic, research, and policy implications of the study.

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