title: Idiographic assessment of the self in the aged: a case for the use of the Q-sort.
abstract: Literature bearing on the use of the Q-sort in gerontological research is discussed. It is argued that the measurement of self-concept and the design of outcome measures with elderly clients should be rooted in a perspective emphasizing multiple, interactive determinants of life-span development; increases in intraindividual variability/interindividual differences with age; ecological validity; and a growing concern for the practical utility and acceptability of nontraditional counseling and psychotherapy and the aged. Suggestions for the development and use of the Q-sort in evaluating intervention-oriented efforts from within such a perspective on the self in old age and on outcome research with elderly clients are offered.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011379:Prognosis; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods; D011779:Q-Sort; D012106:Research; D012649:Self Concept