Abstract

CARDOSO, Carmen Lúcia; ARANTES DE OLIVEIRA-CARDOSO, Erika  and  PASIAN, Sonia Regina. Projective assessment of aging method (PAAM) in elderly Brazilians. Subj. procesos cogn. [online]. 2015, vol.19, n.1, pp.63-78. ISSN 1852-7310.

Given the growing number of elderly people in the world, this study was aimed at identifying the emotional needs and self-perception of older women in relation to their housing (institution or their own home). It consisted of a convenience sample of 30 Brazilian women, older than 60, 15 of them institutionalized (Group 1 = G1) and 15 residing in their homes (Group 2 = G2). They were evaluated individually by means of a semi-structured interview (socio-demographic data) and the "Projective Assessment of Aging Method" (PAAM), apperceptive projective theme method for psychological evaluation, consisting of 14 pictures. We use the Morval evaluation system, comparing the average performance of G1 and G2, groups with no relevant differences between them. The main emotional needs identified in the elderly were related to receive affection, to interact with others, and to achieve personal and professional accomplishment. Empirical evidence showed PAAM sensibility to identify the processes related to aging, showing it is a useful resource for the psychological evaluation of elderly people, which deserves further investigation in other contexts.

Keywords : Aging; Psychological assessment; Elderly; Projective method; Institutionalization; Thematic apperceptive technique.

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