Abstract
It is widely assumed that some groups of elderly are particularly at risk. The WHO Expert Group on Mental Disorders in the Elderly (WHO 1977) identified seven risk groups:
-
1.
The very old, those aged 80 and over
-
2.
The recently widowed
-
3.
The never married
-
4.
Those living alone
-
5.
Those who are socially isolated (not necessarily those living alone)
-
6.
Those without children
-
7.
Those in poor economic circumstances
But this WHO listing does not exhaust all possibilities. In Britain, two groups have been identified on the basic of recent changes in their circumstances (Arie 1981; Williamson 1981b):
-
8.
Those who have recently been discharged from hospital
-
9.
Those who have recently changed their dwelling
Finally, there is some evidence that those from working class backgrounds are disadvantaged in a number of respects (Taylor and Ford 1982):
-
10.
Those in social class V (manual non-skilled)
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Arie T (ed) (1981) Health care of the elderly: essays in old age, Medicine, Psychiatry and Services, Croom Helm, London
Barber JH, Wallis JB, McKeating E (1980) A postal screening questionnaire in preventive geriatric care. J R Coll Gen Pract 30:49–51
Ford G, Taylor RC (1983) Risk groups and selective case finding in an elderly population. Soc Sci Med 17, No. 10:669–705
Taylor RC, Ford G (1982) Inequalities in old age: am examination of age, sex and class of differences in a sample of community elderly. Ageing Soc 3, No. 2:183–206
Taylor RC, Barber JH, Ford G (1984) Approaches to screening and case finding in elderly populations. Background Paper prepared for WHO Consultation on Assessment and Screening of the Elderly, Aberdeen, mimeo
W.H.O (1977) Expert group on mental disorders in the elderly. Copenhagen
Williamson J (1981a) The preventative approach. In: Kinnaird J, Brotherston J, Williamson J (eds) The provision of care for the elderly. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh
Williamson J (198lb) Screening, surveillance and case-finding. In: Arie T (ed) Health care of the elderly. Croom Helm, London
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1986 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Taylor, R.C. (1986). Environmental and Behavioural Factors in Psychiatric Disorders in the Elderly: An Approach Through Risk Groups. In: Häfner, H., Moschel, G., Sartorius, N. (eds) Mental Health in the Elderly. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-70958-6_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-70958-6_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-70960-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-70958-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive