Personal characteristics of elderly patients with balance problems in a neurological hospital: projective test

The aim is to reveal the psychological characteristics of elderly patients of the neurological hospital with multisensory insufficiency and statodynamic disorders. Material and Methods. The study included data on 100 patients (mean age 67.6±7.7 years), each of whom was tested twice: on admission to a neurological hospital and on the day of discharge. We used the Luscher color test modified by L. N. Sobchik. Results. The level of performance of patients is assessed as average, but the indicators of the stressful state reflect the presence of moderate stress, unproductive tension, instability, fatigue, and the prevalence of negative thoughts and regrets. More than 30% of elderly patients experienced severe anxiety, a tendency to depressive feelings, about 11 % of patients had strong psychological stress. Conclusion. The revealed characteristics "heteronomy" and "concentricity" can be attributed to the "portrait of an average elderly patient" of the neurological hospital with balance disorders. However, given the wide range of fluctuations in the values in this sample, it will be advisable to use psycho-diagnostics, in particular, with the help of time-consuming projective techniques, for each patient of the older age group in the selection of individual approaches to the provision of medical care.