Araceli Peña
Culminating Senior Project
May 9, 2012
Needs and Personality of the Elderly
As Eleanor Roosevelt once said “Life is what you make it. Always has been, always will be.” A person ultimately determines the life they want to live, how to live, and who they are; the type of person they become is based on their personality. Personality is the combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual’s distinctive character, making them one or someone who can be distinguished as an individual rather than a similar being. (http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=personality&tbs=dfn:1&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=zUipT7bNNqf20gG1iYi7BQ&sqi=2&ved=0CGAQkQ4&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=3f36ec44d8ae71d8&biw=1024&bih=587 ) “Even in a crowd your personality can shine through.” Whether they are cheerful, excited or gloomy the person is mainly in control.
Studies have shown that through aging approximately 14.8% of 30.8 million adults/elders face personality disorders (http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/aug2004/niaaa-02.htm) which affect the type of person they already are or the type of personality they were born with. Personality disorders are a type of mental illness in which a person has trouble perceiving and relating to situations and people. People with these types of disorders have rigid and unhealthy patterns of thinking and behaving no matter what the situation may be. Many individuals experience problems and limitations in relationships, social encounters, work and school. Many times a person is unaware of what they are doing and the person they are becoming, their health is changing and their ways of life as well.
There are three groups of personality disorders. The first group is known as the Eccentric group which consists of three types of personalities. Paranoid includes people who tend to interpret the actions of others as threatening. Schizoid who detach from social relations, showing a narrow range of emotional...
