Special Geriatric Psychiatry Section Exploring the Links Between Depression, Integrity, and Hope in the Elderly

E lderly persons experience a complex array of physical, psychological, and social changes while they struggle to adjust to the aging process. As part of the psychosocial developmental task of aging, most people deal with existential issues, at some level, in their efforts to achieve integrity or coherence. In his theory of human development, Erik Erickson describes distinct developmental stages across the lifespan from birth to death (1). The eighth stage occurs in late adulthood and focuses on the dynamics between ego integrity and despair. Persons who achieve integrity can reflect on their