Psychogenic impairment and current feeling tone in later life - Which options are offered by the biographical perspective?

In the Eldermen study funded by the German Research Association (DFG), a co nsecutive sample of patients, aged greater than or equal to 60 (n=120) and being treated for a variety of internal medical complaints in an acute geri atric hospital were examined with the help of comprehensive somatic diagnos tics, standardised questionnaires, and a semi-structured biographical inter view. The study investigates the relationship between burdensome and suppor tive biographical experiences and the extent of psychogenic impairment as w ell as aspects of feeling tone and self-concept in later life. For the degr ee of psychogenic impairment (Impairment Score, IS; Schepank 1995), subject ively experienced burdens and support were found to be more relevant than " objective" burdens. As expected, subjective burdens consistently experience d over several life phases, particularly in association with limited experi enced support, were found to be associated with greater psychogenic impairm ent and a higher "case risk" in later life. However, the patients with the highest values for current life satisfaction as well as a more positive sel f-concept were not those patients who never experienced more burdens than s upport in their biographies, but rather those who experienced more burden t han support in one life phase. The results are presented in relation to mod els of learning theory and object relation theory and discussed for their c linical relevance.