Chapter 2 Historical and Cross-cultural Issues in Aging

Question 1

To be an older person today is a __________ ____________ than being old in the past.

Answer 1

Different experience

Question 2

Common myths about the elderly in societies and the past

Answer 2

The “good old days” are just part of a myth

Older people were not always valued in the societies of the past

Question 3

Roman, Greek, and Shakespeare sentiments on elderly.

Answer 3

In ancient Rome and Greece, only powerful older men were respected

Shakespeare felt that old age meant being useless and in decline

Americans have always been ambivalent about old age

Question 4

17th and 18th century American ideas and treatment of the elderly and the feelings of the elderly at the time.

Answer 4

In 17th and 18th century America, older individuals were treated with respect, also because they were very rare

During this historical time, older adults:

often felt anxious about having to meet several social obligations

were isolated from younger people

did not receive much love and affection from the latter

Question 5

In the U.S. after about 1770:

Answer 5

the youth started gaining power, and the power of older adults declined

“codger” and “fuddy-duddy” described them in the dictionary

Up to this point in time, “old age” meant being 40-50; starting around 1810, it began to rise

Question 6

Modernization theory (Cowgill, 1974):

Answer 6

explains the decline of the status of older adults in society and states that, with societal modernization, older people lose:

political and social power

influence

leadership

contact with community life

access to literacy and education

Question 7

Effexts of scientific technology on elderly

Answer 7

Scientific technology generates jobs that are mainly for young adults

Question 8

Does modernization have uniform effects?

Answer 8

Modernization does not have uniform effects, as it does not necessarily affect negatively those older adults with high financial status and education

Question 9

What happened in 19th century Europe?

Answer 9

retirement laws were created to stop competition for jobs between older adults and young people

Question 10

Glascock (1997)

Answer 10

pointed out that older adults have been and are mistreated also in the majority of non-industrial societies (from being insulted to even killed)

Question 11

With the financial destabilization of older adults, in the 19th and 20th century….

Answer 11

youth gained more and more status based on financial resources, and older adults lost respect

Question 12

While the social stratification/separation between young and old people has _________ based on

Answer 12

Increased

geographic, educational, and financial factors, affection between grandparents and grandchildren has increased

Question 13

In the 1960s, with the “baby boom” generation (comprised of people born between 1946 and 1964) we have seen the highest peak of the cult of youth so far

Answer 13

In the 1960s, with the “baby boom” generation (comprised of people born between 1946 and 1964) we have seen the highest peak of the cult of youth so far

Question 14

Veneration of older adults: According to Achenbaum (1996),

Answer 14

before the 1850s, older adults were:

venerated because of their experience

involved in many active and socially useful roles

Question 15

Comparative sociocultural gerontology

Answer 15

looks at differences in the ways older people are treated based on social and cultural values/factors

Question 16

In modern Japan, these two factors help older adults, but not as much anymore

Answer 16

Filial piety and ancestor worship

Question 17

Sources of power for older people:

Answer 17

Property (older adults can use their rights over property to obtain support and services)

Political (older adults can develop diplomatic skills, contacts with powerful others, and/or can be assigned political positions of power)

Knowledge

Question 18

Traditional Hindu laws

Answer 18

make sure that only older men from the highest castes can gain access to the highest form of knowledge; they have to renounce worldly life and family ties and become enlightened in isolation

Question 19

Some cultures still value older adults’ specific skills, such as

Answer 19

the knowledge of the words and dance steps in rituals, for Coast Salish Indians of Washington

the involvement of older adults in the traditional Matai family system in Samoa, which assigns positions of power and leadership to older adults within large extended families

older adults’ ability to take care of the home and of the grandchildren in Zimbabwe and rural Thailand, as young adults go to work in urban settings (this shows the reciprocal dependency of skip-generation households

Question 20

Many traditions are being ignored these days, like

Answer 20

the role of older women in rituals of education and initiation for young girls in Papua, New Guinea

the farming knowledge of older farmers (in favor of new agricultural methods)

Question 21

What is stressful for older refugees when moving to Western countries with their young families?

Answer 21

It is stressful for older refugees who have moved to Western countries with their younger family members to adjust to the fact that they no longer have properties = no power

Question 22

What is the main factor determining whether Indochinese refugees adjust to life in the US?

Answer 22

Financial self-sufficiency

Question 23

These factors contribute to maintaining a three-generational household in Japan:

Answer 23

The values of reciprocity and indebtedness to parents:

Question 24

long-term care options are expected to improve in the future in Japan as a result of…

Answer 24

many Japanese women currently working and refusing to stay home to take care of older parents

Question 25

Within many social contexts, there are three classes of older adults

Answer 25

no longer fully productive older adults from an economic viewpoint; yet, they are still physically and mentally high functioning, and can live independently

older adults who need custodial care because they are totally dependent

older adults who are involved in farming or are self-employed, take care of grandchildren, or perform house-hold maintenance

Question 26

In some parts of East Africa

Answer 26

older men get assigned important political positions based on their age automatically

Question 27

The male older Chipewyan Indians of Canada are

Answer 27

disrespected because they are unable to hunt, while older women can still engage in gathering and domestic tasks, so they lose less power

Question 28

Close to geronticide (or senecide) :

Answer 28

on Niue, an independent Polynesian island, older adults do not usually receive medical care due to their family’s neglect (often doctors are not called by family members to treat older adults’ medical conditions)