24. OLD AGE, DEATH AND BEREAVEMENT Flashcards

1
Q
  1. What is the current life expectancy in developed countries for men, women and overall?
A
  • OVERALL: 80 years
  • MEN: 75 years
  • WOMEN: 80 years
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2
Q
  1. Which rate has fallen, despite the increase in life expectancy?
A
  • birth rate
  • this means that the numbers of the future working force have decreased
  • this also means that the elderly population is
    increasing
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3
Q
  1. What is the Basic Conflict for the Young Adulthood stage (19 to 40 years)?
A
  • Intimacy vs Isolation
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4
Q
  1. What are the important events for the Young Adulthood stage?
A
  • Relationships
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5
Q
  1. What is the outcome of the Young Adult hood stage?
A
  • young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people
  • success in this field leads to strong relationships
  • failure in this field leads to loneliness and isolation
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6
Q
  1. What is the Basic Conflict for the Middle Adulthood stage (40 to 65 years)?
A
  • Generativity vs Stagnation
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7
Q
  1. What are the important events for the Middle Adulthood stage?
A
  • Work and Parenthood
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8
Q
  1. What are the outcomes of the Middle Adulthood Stage?
A
  • adults need to create and nurture things that will outlast them
  • they do this by having children
  • or by creating a positive change that influences other
    people
  • success in this field leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishment
  • failure in this field leads to shallow involvement in the world
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9
Q
  1. What is the Basic Conflict of the Maturity Stage (60 years to death)?
A
  • Ego Integrity vs Despair
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10
Q
  1. What are the important events of the Maturity Stage?
A
  • Reflection of Life
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11
Q
  1. What are the outcomes of the Maturity Stage?
A
  • older adults tend to look back on life and feel a sense of fulfilment
  • success at this stage leads to feelings of wisdom
  • failure at this stage results in regret, bitterness and despair
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12
Q
  1. What is present in each stage of life?
A
  • loss
  • something is left behind at every stage
  • our response to loss depends on our experiences at each stage
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13
Q
  1. What has the control of infection diseases resulted in?
A
  • there is a lower burden of disease among young people
  • there is a lower concentration of illness and death among the elderly
  • people tend to stay well for longer
  • illness tends to be reserved for the final stage of life
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14
Q
  1. Which age group has a much larger concentration of medical consultations and treatments focused on them?
A
  • the elderly
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15
Q
  1. What are two contradictory stereotypes about the elderly?
A
  1. the elderly are seen as sages
    . they are seen to have a lifetime of knowledge and
    experience
  2. they are seen as senile and demented
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16
Q
  1. Why does society have a general, negative outlook towards ageing?
A
  • it is seen as the loss of youth
  • it is seen as the decline of:
    - physical functioning
    - cognitive functioning
    - social functioning
17
Q
  1. What are the two ways that intellectual functioning is expressed?
A
  1. Crystalline Intelligence
  2. Fluid Intelligence
18
Q
  1. What is Crystalline Intelligence?
A
  • it is intelligence that reflects experience
  • it also reflects long term memory
  • old people tend to score highly here
  • young people tend to score lower
19
Q
  1. What is Fluid Intelligence?
A
  • this is intelligence that reflects processing, speed and short term memory
  • young people tend to score highly here
  • old people tend to score lower
20
Q
  1. What do fluid intelligence tests (IQ) often suggest?
A
  • older people are mentally disadvantaged

HOWEVER:
- their behaviour does not often reflect this description
- their crystalline intelligence often compensates for their decline in fluid intelligence

21
Q
  1. What are a few examples of negative stereotypes about the elderly?
A
  • they are physically frail
  • they are psychologically frail
  • they are cognitively impaired
  • they have diminished social engagements
  • this is because many of their friends have died
  • moving around for them is difficult
  • they tend to feel like they are burdens
  • the elderly can then often be treated with no respect or dignity
22
Q
  1. Do they elderly tend to get discriminated against in Medical facilties?
A
  • yes
  • this is not acceptable
  • all patients should be treated with equal respect
  • doctors often tend to prefer to work with younger patients
  • they are treated with less respect than any other patient
    group
23
Q
  1. What do doctors often need to examine with regards to patients, when it comes to adjusting their consultation skills accordingly?
A
  • they need to check their patient’s capacity
  • they need to check their patient’s response time
  • they need to check their patient’s mental capabilities
24
Q
  1. How should a doctor treat an elderly patient with a clear decline in fluid memory?
A
  • allow more time for information to be considered and
    processed by the patient
  • then ask further questions
  • do not fill in the gaps for your patients if they are
    answering very slowly
  • do not bombard them with questions
  • this will lead to a communication breakdown
  • this could lead to the doctor incorrectly diagnosing the
    patient
  • they could administer the wrong treatment
  • the patient will then be unsatisfied
  • the patient will feel inadequate
25
Q
  1. Which age groups is Depression more prevalent in?
A
  • older age groups
  • it is more prevalent in women than in men
26
Q
  1. Declines in which areas are often related with Depression?
A
  • functional disabilities
  • cognitive impairments
  • social deprivation
27
Q
  1. What are some contributing factors to increased depression in the elderly?
A
  • role loss
    (they tend to feel useless and in despair)
  • negative life events
  • death and bereavement
    (death of a: spouse, child, friend)
  • older people are more likely to experience the death of
    their spouses or friends
28
Q
  1. Which gender is more likely to be a widow/widower?
A
  • women are more likely to be widowers
  • this is because they have a longer life expectancy
  • this leads to higher rates of death and bereavement
    amongst women
  • this leads to increased depression rates amongst women
29
Q
  1. What is Grief?
A
  • a natural emotional reaction to loss
  • it is complex
  • it incorporates psychological and physical responses
  • this is the personal process of how we feel
  • grief can often resemble depression
  • psychological processes including:
    - cognitive
    - social
    - behavioural
  • physical processes including:
    - physiological responses
    - somatic responses
30
Q
  1. What is Mourning?
A
  • this is the process of the adaptation to loss
  • there is a particular reference to cultural and social rituals
    and expectations
  • these rituals and expectations include:
    - public displays of grief
    - public displays of social expression
  • these may interact with the individuals personal response
    to grief
31
Q
  1. Name the acute responses to Grief.
A
  • disbelief
  • shock
  • numbness
  • yearning
  • agitation
  • anger
  • hostility
  • irritability
  • crying
  • tearfulness
  • sadness
  • aimless activity
  • inactivity
  • illusions
  • hallucinations
  • a preoccupation with the images of the lost person
32
Q
  1. What is the estimated duration of the Acute Grieving process?
A
  • there is really no set time
  • it may last about six weeks or so
  • it differs based on the individual
33
Q
  1. Name the longer term responses to Grief?
A
  • social withdrawal
  • sleep disturbance
  • restlessness
  • anxiety
  • decreased concentration
  • decreased food intake
  • increased food intake
  • reduced libido
  • depressed mood
34
Q
  1. What is the estimated duration of the Longer Term Grief Response?
A
  • it may last 3 - 12 months or more
  • it varies amongst individuals

NB: it is not unusual for people to experience minimal grief
responses or an absence of grief responses
: they can even experience personal growth