Chapter 4 - Psychological Considerations of Aging Flashcards
Define quality of life:
The combination of physical, psychological, emotional, and social well-being of individuals that collectively describes what they experience on a daily basis.
Define health-related quality of life:
Refers to the impact that health-related variables, such as physical and cognitive function, have on quality of life.
Define mulitmorbidity:
The occurrence of individuals living with more than one condition or diagnosis.
Define self-perceptions:
How people see themselves and their abilities.
Two important components when considering self-perception:
When considering self-perception, two important components are self-efficacy and self-esteem
Define self-efficacy:
The belief or confidence that a person has in his or her ability to accomplish a task or behavior.
Factors that influence self-efficacy:
- Mastering a behavior
- Social modeling
- Social persuasion
- The physical and emotional states that result from engaging in the behavior
Strategies to enhance mastery behaviors:
Focus on the repetition of a few skills at a time. For example, repeat the same two to three balance exercises each session until the client reports that they feel they can perform an exercise confidently on their own.
Encourage clients to engage in physical activity several times a week.
Only introduce a complex skill once easier skills have been mastered. For example, once a client can balance on one leg, have them progress to using a half foam roller or balance beam.
Strategies to enhance social persuasion:
Provide positive verbal feedback about exercise behaviors.
Encourage clients to try more advanced skills when they are ready.
Reassure clients that barriers and setbacks can be overcome.
Strategies to enhance social modeling:
Point out other older adults engaging in desired behaviors.
Identify group exercise options designed for older adults.
Bring similar clients together for small group training.
Define self-esteeme:
Describes how someone assesses their self-worth and overall value.
Strategies to enhance physical and emotional responses:
Communicate with clients about normal and expected muscle soreness, tightness, or discomfort.
Regularly ask clients how they feel about their program to gauge whether positive or negative emotions are elicited.
Define body image:
A subjective view that a person has about their physical appearance.
Define psychosocial:
Refers to how psychological and sociological aspects interact in a person’s life.
Define active listening:
A technique of listening to another person that confirms interest and understanding for the messages being sent.
Considerations should be made when communicating with older clients to ensure a comfortable exchange and an accurate transfer of information:
- Ask older clients how they prefer to be addressed (for example, first name, Mr., Mrs., or Ms.).
- Avoid using terms or jargon that are specific to the fitness industry. Instead, use simple common language.
- Be aware of possible hearing deficits, as many adults over the age of 65 years experience age-related hearing loss.
- Do not rush. Some older clients will have difficulty processing large amounts of information at one time or answering rapid-fire questions.
- Avoid labeling a population. For example, do not say, “elderly people tend to fall more.” Instead, say “we will focus on strength and balance since the risk of falling increases as we age.”
Senior Fitness Specialist can utilize the five-step process for helping clients realize greater achievement. What are the five steps/traits?
The five key traits reviewed include vision, strategy, belief, persistence, and learning.
What are some questions that can help facilitate a productive conversation that will provide important insight into the thoughts and feelings of older clients:
- What do you want your life to be like in the next few years?
- What would you try to accomplish if you knew you could not fail?
- What is stopping you from pursuing these accomplishments?
- What kinds of activities do you find interesting and engaging?
- Are there any activities you enjoy but can no longer successfully participate in?
- Why do you feel you can no longer do these activities?
- What most influences your decision to be inactive or active?
- Does this change from day to day?
The following strategies have been shown to positively affect exercise behavior in older adults:
- Focus on the numerous benefits of exercise and not the risks of sedentary behavior.
- Provide a personalized plan that emphasizes the client’s goals, values, and vision.
- Develop both short-term and long-term goals where the short-term goals support the greater vision.
- Plan for relapses in behaviors and explain that it is normal for setbacks to happen.
- Identify sources of social support, which refers to the people who provide encouragement or assistance that will enable positive behaviors to occur.
- Identify ways for clients to self-monitor exercise behaviors.
What do the letters in SMART goals stand for?
The SMART acronym is a commonly used tool that refers to making short- and long-term goals that are:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-bound.
Define internal locus of control:
Describes when someone feels they have control over outcomes in their life.
In addition to social modeling, social persuasion, and mastering behaviors, what other factor influences self-efficacy?
Physical and emotional responses
In the context of achieving success, what does learning refer to?
Being able to evaluate progress and satisfaction, recognizing when adjustments are necessary, and implementing new strategies
The five steps to greater achievement include vision, strategy, belief persistence, and what else?
Learning
How does social persuasion help older clients to gain successful self-efficacy toward exercise behaviors?
It helps to encourage clients to try more advanced skills when they are ready.
