Considering the increase of chronic conditions in the elderly people, more attention has been given to the identification of the psychological and social factors that can affect the well-being and the quality of life of individuals with incapacities. The psychological and social resources that the individual disposes are clues to determine the implications of the functional incapacity in the life of affected people. This review has the objective to present some ways which the individuals face their losses in physical functions and social roles, and in which extension the psychological and social resources operate over the negative effects of the chronic conditions in the elderly quality of life. Among the explainable variables presented there is the social support, the positive emotional states and beliefs, the affectionate regulation, the mechanism of social comparison, the sense of self-sufficiency, the selection-optimization-compensation mechanism and the coping mechanisms.
elderly; functional incapacity; psychological adjustment