RESUMO
An elderly person is the subject of changes and development of the basic conditions of his life. Older patients may experience manifestations of social aging, in which some new areas of social reality remain unexplored for them. This article analyzes dispositional optimism and locus of control, as two personal characteristics closely related to the social and psychological aspects. The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between dispositional optimism and locus of control in young and old people. During the study, 115 elderly respondents from the Gerontological Center were surveyed. The average age was 70 [52-74]. A survey of 120 students of the Krasnoyarsk State Medical University of the first, second, third and fourth years, whose average age was 20 [19-25] was conducted. The majority of elderly patients were classified as having an external locus of control (54%), while 46% had an internal locus of control. Regarding optimism, 20% of older people were optimists, 73% were pessimists, and 7% of respondents had a combination of both optimism and pessimism. The majority of young respondents also fell into the category with an external locus of control (70%), while 30% had an internal locus of control. 73% of young people were optimists, 19% were pessimists, and 8% of respondents had a combination of both optimism and pessimism. In older people, there is an inverse relationship between the indicators - the level of internality is inversely proportional to the level of optimism, which is explained by the expectation that bad events will happen more often in the future than good ones. Accordingly, it is necessary to introduce practical recommendations.