Elderly institutionalization and depression

Separation is hard at any age for almost anyone. In many cases the institutionalization of the elderly leads to loneliness, isolation, and eventually to depression. When a person chooses or is forced to change residence to another, growing environmental pressures and the elderly are increasingly challenged to test their own limits. The purpose of this study is the discovery of the intrapersonal perspective regarding the effects of institutionalization and loneliness on the occurrence of depression in elderly. The research in this paper aims to analyze if loneliness and the institutionalization of the elderly can generate depression. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of PSIWORLD2011