Identification should include

emotional responses (e.g., social support, lifestyles, loss of relationships, limited finances, decrease of independence, failing health, coping ability)
social responses (e.g., retirement, failing health).

Refer to Unit VI in Nurse Aide Curriculum, Virginia Board of Nursing, Virginia Department of Health Professions, 2018.

Process/Skill Questions:

How do the major adjustment periods of aging, such as retirement, the death of a spouse, major illness, depression, and nursing home/assisted living placement, manifest themselves?
How can aging affect an individual’s social needs?
What type of psychosocial problems might arise as a result of the lack of independence?
What are some of the coping mechanisms the elderly display in dealing with psychosocial situations?
What affect do psychosocial problems have on the health of the elderly?