Optimism among Institutionalized Elderly:A Gender Study

The present research aims to study the level of optimism among institutionalized male and female elderly. For the purpose, a study was conducted on a purposive sample consisting of 200 elderly (62-72 yrs.) staying in various institutionalized homes of Delhi. The Hindi version of the Life Orientation Test-Revised (or Optimism Scale) by Schrier and Carver (1985) was used for the present study. An overview of the results depicted that a major section of the elderly population under study had high level of optimism. Gender differences were observed as females were found to be more optimistic as compared to males.