Self-assessment - Introduction to Mental Health in later life

In this section we have provided you with a series of questions that you may find useful in checking understanding of some of the key messages and points. There are 10 questions in this self-assessment section.

1. Both the size of the population and the average age in the UK have risen over the past 30 years.

  1. True
  2. False

The correct answer is True.

The correct answer is in section 1 – ‘The Aging Population’.

2. More men than women aged over 65 years live as part of a couple. This reflects the fact that men tend to die younger.

  1. True
  2. False

The correct answer is True.

The correct answer is in section 1 – ‘The Aging Population’.

3. The number of people in the older population who are from black and minority ethnic groups is expected to go down in the future.

  1. True
  2. False

The correct answer is False.

In fact, a very small proportion of people in the older population are from black and minority ethnic groups, but this is expected to increase in the future. This was mentioned in section 1.

The correct answer is B

In fact, there are about 13,400 care homes and the majority of people who live in them are over 75. This was mentioned in section 1.

5. ‘Old’ and ‘old age’ are concepts which are easy to define.

  1. True
  2. False

The correct answer is False.

In fact, there are wide variations between older individuals, and so ‘old’ and ‘old age’ are concepts which are difficult to define. This was mentioned in section 2.

6. People relate to age in two ways: A) comparing themselves with others of the same age and B) making a distinction between ourselves and people who are ‘really old’.

  1. True
  2. False

The correct answer is True.

This was mentioned in section 2 – ‘What is Old’.

7. Three indicators of good mental health at any age are: the capacity to make and sustain relationships, adjustment to living circumstances and......

  1. Being married
  2. Being in employment
  3. A sense of well-being

The correct answer is a sense of well-being.

The correct answer is a sense of well-being. This was mentioned in section 3 – ‘What is Mental Health’.

The correct answer is C

C is False. In fact, most mental health problems that affect older people can affect people of any age. This was mentioned in section 3 – ‘What is Mental Health’

9. Although some mental disorders most typically present themselves in later life (e.g. dementia,) mental health in old age is in part a consequence of successful ageing throughout one's life.

The correct answer is true. The correct answer is in Section 3.

10. Depression is not a significant problem for older people.

The correct answer is false.

in fact, although most people probably think of dementia when they think about the mental health problems older people face, depression is relatively prevalent among all older age groups. This was mentioned in Section 3.