Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-g7rbq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-30T12:51:01.102Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Evaluating Physical Capabilities in the Elderly: The Relationship Between ADL Self-Assessments and Basic Abilities1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

A.M. Myers
Affiliation:
University of Waterloo
L. Huddy
Affiliation:
University of California at Los Angeles

Abstract

The relationship between ADL self-assessments and physical ability was investigated using data compiled on 128 exercise class participants. Compared with community dwelling respondents, institutionalized seniors were not only less accurate in their subjective ADL estimates, but consistently underestimated their capabilities over comparable ranges of the objective physical scale. Seniors appear to make errors estimating their functional capabilities with respect to daily activities they no longer perform and that may be restricted for reasons of institutional convenience.

Résumé

La présente communication porte sur une étude du rapport entre l'auto-évaluation de l'AAQ et les aptitudes physiques chez 128 sujets participants à une classe de culture physique. Comparées à celles qui vivent chez elles, les personnes âgées vivant en institution se sont révélées non seulement moins capables de donner une appréciation subjective exacte de leur AAQ mais elles ont constamment sous-estimé leurs aptitudes dans plusieurs zones comparables de l'echelle d'activité physique objective. Les personnes âgées semblent commettre des erreurs dans l'appréciation de leur capacité fonctionnelle appliquée aux activités auxquelles elles ne se livrent plus et dont elles se trouvent privées vraisemblablement par le fait même qu'elles vivent en institution.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1985

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Aniansson, A., Rundgren, A., & Sperling, L. (1980). Evaluation of functional capacity in activities of daily living in 70-year-old men and women. Scandinavian Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 12, 145154.Google ScholarPubMed
Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37, 122147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bassett, C., McClamrock, E., & Schmelzer, M. (1982). A 10-week Exercise Program for Senior Citizens. Geriatric Nursing, 3 (2), 103105.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bradburn, N.M. (1969). The structure of psychological well-being. Aldine, Chicago.Google Scholar
Duke University Ctr. for the Study of Aging. (1978). Multidimensional functional assessment: The OARS methodology (2nd ed.), Duke Univ., Durham, NC.Google Scholar
Ferrare, K.F. (1980). Self-ratings of health among the old and the old-old. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 377383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, E. (1982). Maintenance of the physical capacity of the elderly. Danish Medical Bulletin, 29, 113115.Google ScholarPubMed
Jette, A.M. & Branch, L.G. (1981). The Framingham Disability Study: II. physical ability among the aging. American Journal of Public Health, 71, 12111216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katz, S., Ford, A.B., Moskowitz, R.W., Jackson, B.A., & Jaffe, M.W. (1963). Studies of illness in the aged: The index of ADL. Journal of American Medical Association, 185, 914919.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuriansky, J., & Gurland, B. (1976). The performance test of activities of daily living. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 7, 343352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leighton, J.R. (1966). The Leighton flexometer and flexibility test. Journal of the Association for Physical and Mental Rehabilitation, 20, 8693.Google ScholarPubMed
Linn, M.W., & Linn, B.S. (1984). Self-evaluation of life function (Self) scale: A short, comprehensive self-report of health for elderly adults. Journal of Gerontology, 39, 603612.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McClannahan, L.E. (1973). Therapeutic and prosthetic living environments for nursing home residents, The Gerontologist, 13, 424429.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Myers, A.M., & Hamilton, N. (1985). Evaluation of The Canadian Red Cross Society's Fun and Fitness Program for seniors. Canadian Journal on Aging, this issue, 201212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Sullivan, S.B., Cullen, K.E., & Schmitz, T. (1981). Physical Rehabilitation: Evaluation & Treatment Procedures. F.A. Davis, Co., Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Rubenstein, L.Z., Schairer, C., Wieland, G.D., & Kane, R. (1984). Systematic biases in functional status assessment of elderly adults: Effects of different data sources. Journal of Gerontology, 39, 686691.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, M.E., Hadler, N.M., & Earp, J.L. (1982). Manual ability as a marker of dependence in geriatric women. Journal of Chronic Diseases, 35, 115122.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed