Deck 16: Aging and Issues in Psychological Disorders

Question 1

Delirium typically has a slow onset.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Speaking a second language reduces the risk of developing dementia.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Treating the underlying medical problem can resolve delirium.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

"Super agers" tend to develop Alzheimer's disease at the same frequency as other adults.

Question 5

The preferred term for dementia is neurocognitive disorder.

Question 6

Medications (e.g., Aricept, Cognex) can reverse the progress of Alzheimer's disease.

Question 7

People tend to become more alike as they get older.

Question 8

Seniors currently make up about 15% of Canada's population.

Question 9

Seniors may experience a form of "double jeopardy" in that they face stigmas for being mentally ill and physically ill.

Question 10

People over the age of 65 are too old to have sex.

Question 11

Frontal-subcortical dementias affect memory and motor function.

Question 12

Dementias, other than Alzheimer's disease, tend to have acute onset.

Question 13

Selective mortality refers to people dropping out of studies because they die.

Question 14

Cross-sectional studies do not allow us to make statements about age changes over time.

Question 15

Diagnostic criteria in DSM-5 are the same for adults and older adults (i.e., seniors)

Question 16

Seniors tend to have the lowest rate of mental health problems in the population.

Question 17

Alzheimer's disease can only be conclusively diagnosed upon autopsy.

Question 18

Over 74 million seniors in China would benefit from treatment for depression.

Question 19

Paraphrenia is schizophrenia with onset in old age.

Question 20

The most prominent symptom of dementia is difficulty remembering past events.

Question 21

Late-onset depression is when someone experiences depression for the first time in old age.

Question 22

The phenomenon of feeling younger than one actually is refers to:

A) Ageism
B) Aging
C) Subjective age bias
D) Objective age phenomenon

Question 23

Older adults experience insomnia at double the rate of younger people.

Question 24

There are approximately 600 000 people in Canada who are 60 years of age or older (2007). By 2041, this number is expected to climb to:

A) 1 million
B) 2.5 million
C) 5 million
D) 10 million

Question 25

Negative aging stereotypes have been linked (Levy et al., 2009; Teusher, 2009) to:

A) A greater likelihood of enjoying life
B) A greater likelihood of experiencing subsequent cardiovascular events
C) The need to engage in regular exercise programs
D) The need to justify "feeling" old

Question 26

Consideration of death and dying are often a part of therapy with older adults.

Question 27

Older adults are more expressive than younger adults in therapy.

Question 28

Family relationships are the biggest worry for older adults with anxiety.

Question 29

Until recently, some workers, including university professors, were forced to discontinue their positions due to mandatory retirement. Such discrimination has been termed:

A) Age-related discrimination
B) Geriatric prejudice
C) Ageism
D) Age effects

Question 30

Antidepressant medication seems to be most effective in the elderly if it is taken for longer periods of time (e.g., 24 months).

Question 31

A study in Kingston, Ontario on the treatment of older adults by GPs (Mackenzie et al., 1999) found that:

A) GPs are more likely to treat older patients themselves for psychological problems than send them for treatment elsewhere.
B) GPs feel less prepared to identify older patients with psychological problems than they do younger patients.
C) Older patients are less likely to turn to their GPs for psychological treatment but rely more on friends and family.
D) None of the above

Question 32

The gender difference in suicide rates for Canadians is most evident for those 75 and older.

Question 33

The loss of a loved one is the second most important risk factor for depression in the elderly.

Question 34

The current state of university programs focusing on gerontology in Canada (Konnert et al., 2009) is reflected in the following:

A) There are limited training activities that focus on diagnosis and assessment of older people
B) Overall breadth and depth of exposure to aging content is quite superficial
C) The only formal concentration in geropsychology is at the University of Calgary
D) When training in geropsychology exists, it is mostly focused on therapy, not diagnosis and assessment

Question 35

Ageism refers to:

A) The physical deterioration that accompanies old age.
B) The intellectual deterioration that frequently occurs as a person ages.
C) The phenomenon of feeling younger than one actually is.
D) Prejudice against a person based on their age.

Question 36

Research shows that psychotherapy is less effective for older adults.

Question 37

Seniors have increased their prevalence of binge drinking.

Question 38

Subjective age bias refers to:

A) The physical deterioration that accompanies old age.
B) The intellectual deterioration that frequently occurs as a person ages.
C) The phenomenon of feeling younger than one actually is.
D) Prejudice against a person based on their age.

Question 39

Setting the age at which one is considered 'old,' which is now 65, is based upon:

A) Clear biological changes that begin at about that age.
B) Social policy.
C) The age at which individuals begin to refer to themselves as old.
D) A scientific standard.

Question 40

According to recent studies of the elderly, training in the assessment and detection of depression could be particularly effective if this training is given to:

A) Friends
B) Family members
C) Family doctors
D) Psychologists

Question 41

Some of the findings from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging include:

A) A risk factor for Alzheimer's is head trauma.
B) Non-dementia cognitive impairment requires acute hospitalization.
C) The prevalence of dementia is just over 20 percent in Canada.
D) Adult daughters are the primary informal caregiver for seniors in the community and in institutions

Question 42

Which of the following statements is an example of a time-of-measurement effect?

A) Today's older adults are less likely to seek mental health services because when they were growing up, mental illness was stigmatized.
B) Because exercise has become widely promoted in the media, many older adults are now exercising and thus are healthier than was predicted by earlier measures of their physical well-being.
C) Because of the effects of aging on the brain, older adults do less well than younger adults on measures of "fluid" intelligence.
D) In a longitudinal study, many of the elderly subjects died before the follow-up data was collected.

Question 43

A problem with interpreting results from longitudinal studies of aging is:

A) Cohort effects are not controlled for.
B) The findings may not generalize to other cohorts.
C) The changes found may be the result of aging effects, not cohort effects.
D) The most active and healthy subjects may drop out of the study, leading to pessimistic findings about aging.

Question 44

Canadian family physicians feel less prepared to identify psychological problems among:

A) Children
B) Adolescents
C) Middle-aged adults
D) Seniors

Question 45

The Canadian Study of Health and Aging has allowed researchers to:

A) Develop better screening tools for dementia
B) Pinpoint the specific genes involved in Alzheimer's disease
C) Develop an algorithm to predict which seniors are most likely to develop dementia
D) Create new opportunities to study the elderly

Question 46

The main goal(s) of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging was (were) to

A) estimate the prevalence of dementia in Canadians over age 65.
B) examine patterns of caring for people with dementia.
C) identify risk factors associated with Alzheimer's disease.
D) All of the above.

Question 47

As people age, they become:

A) more different from one another.
B) more alike.
C) more alike until age 65, at which point they become more different from one another.
D) more different from one another but not as different as are adolescents.

Question 48

According to data from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (1996), approximately __________ new cases of dementia are identified each year in Canada.

A) 15 000
B) 60 000
C) 1 100 000
D) 1 750 000

Question 49

The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia is ______ in Canada.

A) <1 %
B) 8%
C) 16%
D) 22%

Question 50

Cohort effects are reflected in which of the following problems in research?

A) Third variable
B) Directionality
C) Reliability
D) Longitudinal

Question 51

In studying Alzheimer and dementia in the elderly, Oveisgharan and Hachinski (2010) established that:

A) Among the elderly people with cognitive impairment but not dementia, hypertension is associated with increased likelihood of progressing to dementia.
B) Among the elderly people with cognitive impairment but not dementia, head trauma is associated with increased likelihood of progressing to dementia.
C) Among the elderly people with head trauma but not dementia, hypertension is associated with increased likelihood of progressing to dementia.
D) None of the above.

Question 52

Results from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA) indicated that acute, sudden onset of dementia:

A) Is associated with greater chance of institutionalization
B) Is associated with decreased vascular risk
C) Occurs in about half of all dementia cases
D) Is associated with reduced survival rates

Question 53

In cross-

A) Two age groups are compared at one point in time.
B) People with different mental disorders are compared at one point in time.
C) The same group of people are followed over time.
D) People from different cultures are compared at one point in time.

Question 54

Hubbard et al. (2009) studied frailty in the elderly and found that:

A) A history of smoking is one of the most reliable predictors of physical frailty
B) Moderate smoking during one's youth is associated with physical frailty
C) Physical frailty is only mildly associated with a history of smoking
D) There is no association between smoking and frailty

Question 55

According to their analyses of data from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging, Andrew and Rockwood (2007) found that _____________ was associated with greater levels of psychiatric illness.

A) old age
B) traditional family and social supports
C) any illness in the elderly
D) physical frailty

Question 56

According to Canadian researcher Herbert, "The Big Boom" will have a tremendous impact on Canada's heath system. "The Big Boom" refers to an increase in the:

A) Prevalence of mood disorders among generation X
B) Number of seniors within the next 10 years
C) Number of people affected by HIV and AIDS in the next decade
D) Prevalence of autism

Question 57

Longitudinal studies involve:

A) Testing several different age groups on two or more measures.
B) Testing age effects vs. cohort effects in a population.
C) Testing one cohort over time.
D) Testing the effects of time-of-measurement.

Question 58

Which of the following statements is an example of an age effect?

A) Today's older adults are less likely to seek mental health services because when they were growing up, mental illness was stigmatized.
B) Because exercise has become widely promoted in the media, many older adults are now exercising and thus healthier than was predicted by earlier measures of their physical well-being.
C) Because of the effects of aging on the brain, older adults do less well than younger adults on measures of academic performance.
D) In a longitudinal study, many of the elderly subjects died before the follow-up data was collected.

Question 59

Which of the following statements is an example of selective mortality?

A) Today's older adults are less likely to seek mental health services because when they were growing up, mental illness was stigmatized.
B) Because exercise has become widely promoted in the media, many older adults are now exercising and thus healthier than was predicted by earlier measures of their physical well-being.
C) Because of the effects of aging on the brain, older adults do less well than younger adults on measures of "fluid" intelligence.
D) In a longitudinal study, many of the elderly subjects died before the follow-up data was collected.

Question 60

A group of people age 40 are compared to a group aged 70) This type of research is called:

A) Longitudinal.
B) Time-of-measurement.
C) Cross-sectional.
D) Cohort effect.

Question 61

Alzheimer's disease is evident in post-mortem brains by:

A) Smaller ventricles.
B) Atrophy of the cerebral cortex by plaque deposits.
C) Plaque deposits on the medulla oblongata.
D) None of the above are correct.

Question 62

Elderly people may be subject to "double jeopardy," which means facing stigmas about:

A) Being old and being frail
B) Being frail and being mentally ill
C) Being mentally ill and being old
D) Being both physically and mentally ill

Question 63

Some of the most commonly used tools for assessing and diagnosing elderly people include all of the following EXCEPT:

A) The Clock Test
B) The Mini-Mental State Examination
C) The Alzheimer's Symptom Checklist
D) The Geriatric Hopelessness Scale

Question 64

In terms of extant diagnostic criteria, disorders of old-age in DSM-5:

A) Have been revised substantially from the previous DSMs.
B) Are basically the same as those of younger adults.
C) Are included in a separate section for the first time.
D) Are basically similar to Axis II disorders.

Question 65

Research regarding Alzheimer's disease indicates that:

A) More women than men die of Alzheimer's disease
B) Brain tissue deterioration can be reversed in some circumstances
C) Median survival time is about 3 years from onset of symptoms
D) Men live longer and experience less severe symptoms than women

Question 66

The Alzheimer Society of Canada (2010) projected that the current 500,000 Canadians with Alzheimer will rise to _____ cases within a generation based on population trends and risk factors, and costs increasing from $15 billion to ____ billion.

A) 800,000; $105
B) 900,500; $105
C) 1.1 million; $153
D) 1.5 million; $153

Question 67

Diagnosing psychopathology in older adults is difficult because:

A) It is difficult to distinguish between their real, exaggerated, and imaginary complaints.
B) Little research has been done on symptoms of disorders in older adults.
C) Older adults have difficulty communicating their complaints clearly.
D) Many more disturbed individuals die before reaching old age.

Question 68

According to estimates by WHO, by 2050, the projected world-wide population of individuals with Alzheimer's disease will:

A) Reduce by half
B) Double
C) Triple
D) Quadruple

Question 69

Brookmeyer and colleagues (2007) suggested that ______________ could result in a 10% decrease in the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease

A) new developments in pharmacotherapy
B) promoting cognitive-behavioural therapy
C) promoting mental and physical exercise
D) increasing one's social network

Question 70

A lay term for dementia is:

A) CVA
B) Stroke
C) Delirium
D) Senility

Question 71

According to a review conducted by Zakzanis and colleagues (2003), in which region of the brain is volume loss the most sensitive measure for identifying patients with Alzheimer's disease after four of more years?

A) Hippocampus
B) Anterodorsal nucleus
C) Medial temporal lobe
D) Cerebellum

Question 72

Impairment in which of the following areas is the most prominent symptom of dementia?

A) Memory
B) Abstract thinking
C) Judgement
D) Language

Question 73

In terms of people who are 65 years or older, Alzheimer's disease is present in:

A) 1 in 7
B) 1 in 9
C) 1 in 13
D) 1 in 20

Question 74

The Geriatric Suicide Ideation Scale by Heisel is unique because:

A) It was developed in Canada and has norms for French-Canadians
B) It is one of the first measures of Schneidman's concept of psychache
C) It is the first scale of its kind created specifically for the elderly
D) It measures both self-reports and clinician ratings

Question 75

In individuals with Alzheimer's disease, the first area(s) of the brain typically affected by atrophy include:

A) Entorhinal cortex and hippocampus
B) Parietal lobes
C) Diencephalon and telencephalon
D) Frontal lobes

Question 76

The Clock Test is an assessment tool which has been found to be effective in screening for:

A) Psychosis in old age
B) Emotional conflicts in old age
C) Alzheimer's disease
D) Language disorders in old age

Question 77

The Geriatric Suicide Ideation Scale (GSIS) has four subscales including:

A) Suicide ideation, death ideation, loss of personal and social work, and perceived meaning in life
B) Negative view of self, others, work, and life in general
C) Introjected anger, sense of loss, hopelessness, and fatalism
D) Death wish, suicide intent, hopelessness, and rigid thinking

Question 78

A study of Alzheimer's patients and their family informants at the University of Victoria found that patients are:

A) Wholly aware of their memory decline and disturbed by it.
B) Unaware of the extent of their memory decline and therefore not as disturbed by it as one might think.
C) Wholly unaware of the extent of their memory decline.
D) Often aware of deficits in memory but not in learning.

Question 79

The Canadian Study of Health and Aging is

A) a self-report longitudinal study on dementia.
B) a longitudinal study using interviews, medical exams, and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).
C) a longitudinal survey on the risk factors for Alzheimer's disease.
D) a cross-sectional study using the MMSE.

Question 80

In DSM-5, dementia is listed under:

A) Dementia, Delirium, Amnestic, and Other Cognitive Disorders
B) Neurocognitive Disorders
C) Neurodevelopmental Disorders
D) Alzheimer's Disease