Psychological assessment and human aging: Research review

Abstract

Aging has been a focus of interest in psychology in recent decades, becoming one of its emerging areas of expertise. In this sense, the present study contemplates a systematic review of the literature on psychological assessment applied to the elderly Brazilian population. The search in the SciELO, Periódico Capes and PePSIC databases was carried out with the descriptors "psychological assessment and aging," "psychological assessment and the elderly," and "psychological assessment and the elderly," without limitation of the year of publication, resulting in 545 articles. After screening and applying the eligibility criteria, 36 were selected and analyzed, following the Prisma method. The results indicate that, in general, research is still small and recent, conducted mainly with the elderly in health institutions. The research focuses on investigating 21 different constructs related to depression, quality of life, and cognitive aspects, involving, especially, the deficits and losses associated with aging. Little emphasis on positive and healthy aspects was found in the studies to corroborate that aging continues to be seen as a phase marked by losses and declines, and the concept of successful aging has not yet been absorbed.