Mental Health and Psychological Well-being Among the Old and the Very Old Living at Home

Abstract

Using four brief assessment scales, profiles of mental health and psychological well-being were obtained from 507 old (aged 65-74 years) and 535 very old (aged 75+) individuals randomly sampled from the community. Assessments of dementia and depression were subsequently validated against diagnostic ratings made by experienced psychogeriatricians. Levels of agreement between psychometric and clinical ratings of dementia (kappa = 0.83) and depression (kappa = 0.66) were satisfactory. The old and very old groups reported similar levels of anxiety and personal disturbance, and showed a similar prevalence of depression. However, those aged 75+ showed higher levels of dementia and significantly lower levels of social involvement and morale.