Lk. Wright et al., HUMAN-DEVELOPMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF AGING AND CHRONIC ILLNESS - THE ROLE OF ATTACHMENT IN ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE AND STROKE, International journal of aging & human development, 41(2), 1995, pp. 133-150
Does chronic illness in older people provide potentials for human deve
lopment? To date, this question has not been adequately addressed by d
ynamic theorists of human development. In this article, two illness tr
ajectories, Alzheimer's disease and stroke, are examined to illustrate
emerging changes in human development over each course of illness and
the increasing importance of attachment behavior among ill elders and
their family members. It is argued that the phenomenon of attachment
links ailing older people to their environment, and that attachment is
vital if human development is to continue.