Encephale
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Historical Article
[Mortality of psychiatric inpatients in France during World War II: a demographic study].
In France, World War II lasted from 1939 to 1945. Under-nourishment was a national problem, and was more severe in mental hospitals. The mortality of psychiatric inpatients in France during World War II has long been a controversial issue in the country. ⋯ Comparison with people living in hospices shows that during the war mortality rates were 50% higher in these institutions, while they almost tripled in mental hospitals. The number of people who died of starvation and infectious diseases in mental hospitals from 1939 to 1945 can be estimated at about 45,500. However, mental patients were made specially vulnerable by circumstances that existed before the war in mental hospitals, in terms of food, hygiene and staffing, as suggested by an official document quoted in the paper.
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This article is focused on motivation and depression in later life. For about 20 years, research on the motivation of elders has underlined the importance of the cognitive evaluation of life contexts, notably in terms of self-determination. This cognitive evaluation determines the motivational orientation for daily activities (notably the levels of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation). ⋯ The most depressive elders showed significantly lower-intrinsic and self-determined motivation levels. Our results support the hypothesis that motivational styles are related to important aspects (adaptation, well-being and depression) of the life of elderly people. Self-determination theory appears of high interest in research on aging and especially on the determinants of well-being in the elders.