Towards a Happier Old Age: Psychological Perspectives on Successful Ageing

The Australian Psychological Society's position paper is reported by Gething et al. (2002) in “The Role of Psychologists in Fostering the Wellbeing of Older Australians”. An orientation towards “successful ageing” requires the authors to meet head‐on the unfortunately dominant view of older people in the negative. They are successful in showing that the stereotype is contradicted by the evidence and may be costly in terms of life satisfaction for the older person. The need for a new paradigm of research is considered, one that takes into account both social changes and the nature of continuity and individual differences in ageing. The practitioner's role may be enhanced because the future generation of older persons has grown up with a greater acceptance of counselling services than the present occupants of this age group, and the families of older persons might be expected to seek greater assistance in helping their relatives through relocation transitions. Issues related to older persons from diverse cultural backgrounds are briefly discussed.