title: An exploration of perception of body boundary, personal space, and body size in elderly persons.
abstract: A study of 108 elderly persons using the Body Distortion Questionnaire and the personal space simulation technique test did not support hypotheses that elderly persons with a large personal space will have a larger distortion of body boundary, a larger perception of large body size, a smaller perception of small body size, a larger distortion of body size, and a larger body distortion than elderly persons with a small personal space. The analyses with one-tail t tests showed elderly persons with a small personal space have a larger perception of large body size and a larger distortion of body size than elderly persons with a large personal space. When the extremes of personal space were used the results were the same. Males have a larger personal space and greater distortion of skin perceptions than females.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D001828:Body Image; D003861:Depersonalization / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010469:Perceptual Distortion; D010550:Personal Space; D012858:Size Perception; D013037:Spatial Behavior