Thus, geriatric psychiatrists should enjoy significant financial security for a long time. In reality, the geriatric population is unique among age groups in its heterogeniety. Diversity is a defining characteristic of this age group and is true for most human characteristics, including psychological factors. Nevertheless, there are some generalizations that can be made when comparing psychiatric patients from different age groups. Personality disorders, for example, tend to diminish in intensity in those patients who survive into late adulthood.
Some differences are generally related to the condition of growing old.
Loneliness is common as friends and relatives pass away. Narcissistic injury occurs repeatedly as people lose the parts of their lives that gave them a sense of identity. Transference is more likely to be parental in nature rather than romantic, although the latter certainly occurs, and most geriatric psychiatrists feel comfortable with a slightly more intimate personal distance than would normally be appropriate with younger patients. Cognitive changes may be fairly ubiquitous and range from a very mild decrease in mental speed or slight forgetfulness to frank dementia as evidenced by deficits in language, memory, visuospatial ability and executive functions. There are several differences that may be unique to the current generation of older adults.