Can The Institutionalized Elderly Person Approach Self-Actualization

Abstract

The structured life-style of an institution can have a retarding effect on its inhabitants. Posited in this thesis is the belief that the needs of the institutionalized elderly could be better fulfilled. Beyond the fulfillment of primary physical needs lies the intangible area of the desire of each human being to become a self-actualized individual. The elderly have conglomerate needs which are not different from those of the rest of society. These needs have been considered in this treatise to determine which ones could be feasibly met in an institutional setting.