DISTINCTION BETWEEN QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF PROBLEM-SOLVING RESPONSESAMONG DEPRESSED OLDER WOMEN

The purpose of this project was to investigate the extent to which dep ressed and nondepressed community-dwelling older women differed in the ir problem-solving responses to vignettes describing problematic situa tions common in this population. Contrary to expectations, the depress ed and nondepressed older women showed an equal capacity to follow tra ditional problem-solving steps. There were differences, however, in th e quality of solutions generated for dealing with social isolation and interpersonal conflict as judged by peer evaluators. Further work is needed in understanding the components of effective problem solving mo st important for adjustment to real-life difficulties.