Late Adulthood Flashcards

1
Q

Lifespan (Longevity)

A

the maximum amount of time a person can live under optimal conditions

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2
Q

Life Expectancy

A

the amount of time a person can actually be expected to live in a given setting

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3
Q

Ageism

A

prejudice against people because of their age

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4
Q

Cataract

A

a condition characterized by clouding of the lens of the eye

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5
Q

Glaucoma

A

a condition involving abnormally high fluid pressure in the eye

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6
Q

Presbycusis

A

loss of acuteness if hearing due to age-related degenerative changes in the ear

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7
Q

Osteoporosis

A

a disorder in which bones become more porous, brittle, and subject to fracture, due to loss of calcium and other minerals

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8
Q

Sleep Apnea

A

temporary suspension of breathing while asleep

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9
Q

Cellular Clock Theory

A

a theory of aging focusing on the limits of cell division

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10
Q

Telomeres

A

protective segments of DNA located at the tips of chromosomes

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11
Q

Hormonal Stress Theory

A

a theory of aging that suggests stress hormones, left at elevated levels, make the body more vulnerable to chronic conditions

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12
Q

Immunological Theory

A

a theory of aging that holds that the immune system is pre-set to decline by an internal biological clock

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13
Q

Wear-and-Tear Theory

A

a theory of aging that suggests that over time, our bodies becomes less capable of repairing themselves

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14
Q

Free-Radical Theory

A

a theory of aging that attributes aging to damage caused by accumulation of unstable molecules called free radicals

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15
Q

Cross-Linking Theory

A

a theory of aging that holds that the stiffening of body proteins eventually breaks down bodily processes, leading to aging

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16
Q

Arthritis

A

inflammation of joints

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17
Q

Osteoporosis

A

a painful, degenerative disease characterized by wear and tear on joints

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18
Q

Rheumatoid Arthritis

A

a painful, degenerative disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the membranes that line the joints

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19
Q

Dementia

A

a condition characterized by deterioration of cognitive functioning

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20
Q

Alzheimer’s Disease

A

a severe form of dementia characterized by memory lapses, confusion, emotional instability, and progressive loss of cognitive functioning

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21
Q

Implicit Memory

A

automatic memories based on repetition and apparently not requiring any conscious effort to retrieve

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22
Q

Prospective Memory

A

memory of things one has planned for the future

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23
Q

Ego Integrity

A

maintenance of the belief that life is meaningful and worthwhile despite physical decline and the inevitability of death

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24
Q

Disengagement Theory

A

the view that older adults and society withdraw from one another as older adults approach death

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25
Activity Theory
the view that older adults fare better when they engage in physical and social activities
26
Socio-Emotional Selectivity Theory
the view that people place increasing emphasis on emotional experience as they age but limit their social contacts to regulate their emotions
27
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
extreme and/or persistent feelings of dread, worry, foreboding, and concern that are frequent and unrealistic
28
Phobic Disorder
irrational, exaggerated fear of an object or situation
29
Agoraphobia
fear of open, crowded places
30
Selective Optimization with Compensation
reshaping of one's life to concentrate on what one finds to be important and meaningful in the face of physical decline and possible cognitive impairment
31
What is gerontology?
specific study of aging
32
What are the three groupings in late adulthood?
young-old (65-74) old-old (75-84) oldest-old (85+)
33
What are some general characteristic of late adulthood?
period of tremendous individual variability rather than universal loss
34
What is senescence?
gradual deterioration of body system
35
What are some ageist characteristics associated with individuals in late adulthood?
grouchy, incapable, sluggish, forgetful, and fixed in their ways
36
What is the life expectancy for babies born in 2016?
men: 80 years women: 84 years why the sex difference?: men involved in risky behaviors, men are more susceptible to CVD
37
Why is longevity in late adulthood?
partially inherited + health care system human lifespan: ~115 years
38
What are the two types of theories about aging?
programmed theories cellular damage theories
39
What is cellular clock theory (Hayflick limit) of aging?
each species has a time limit beyond which less lose capacity to replicate themselves in humans it is about 50 years telomeres: strong of repetitive DNA at the tips of chromosomes, length is reduced slightly each time a cell replicates telomerase: enzyme that restores telomere to the end of DNA, most adult cells lack capacity to produce telomerase
40
What is the hormonal stress theory of aging?
corticosteroids and adrenaline are left elevated after illness increases susceptibility to chronic diseases
41
What is the immunological theory of aging?
pre-set to decline production of antibodies declines with age age-related changes increase risk for cancer
42
What is the wear-and-tear theory of aging?
our bodies become less capable of repairing themselves accumulation of unrepaired breaks resulting in loss of cellular function stem cells divide an unlimited amount of times, but we have a limited pool in our body can become damaged over time
43
What s the free-radial theory of aging?
damage cell proteins, DNA, membranes our body produces fewer antioxidants with age
44
What is the cross-linking theory of aging?
cell proteins bind to one another leads to stiffening of body proteins immune system combat cross-linking but get less efficient with time
45
What are the characteristics of the brain and nervous system in late adulthood?
decrease in efficiency, increase in compensatory functioning reduction of brain weight loss of gray matter: education as protective factor, less atrophy decline in the density of dendrites slower synaptic transmission speed plasticity decreases reaction time increases
46
What is bone density in late adulthood?
more brittle and vulnerable to fracture
47
What is osteoporosis?
loss of calcium leads to bone fractures: exercise (weight bearing) can decrease risk can shorten one's stature more common in women, due to drops in estrogen levels smoking and excessive alcohol consumption as risk factors
48
What are characteristics of vision in late adulthood?
presbyopia macular degeneration: part of retina that will affect sight, vision gets blurry cataracts (1 in 5): white spots in vision glaucoma (6%): pressure in eyes, hard to diagnose
49
What are characteristics of hearing in late adulthood?
gradual degeneration of every part of the auditory system, more quickly in men than in women presbycusis tinnitus
50
What are characteristics of taste and smell in late adulthood?
loss of taste buds on tongue, flavor blandness, inadequate nutrition as a result loss of sensitivity to odours
51
What are characteristics of touch in late adulthood?
skin is less responsive to cold and heat
52
What is the general slowing of movement in late adulthood?
everything takes longer slowing of brain activities arthritis and loss of muscle elasticity loss of senses' responsiveness
53
What are motor functions in late adulthood?
reduction in stamina due to changes in the CVS reduction in dexterity due to arthritis reduction in balance due to change in muscular strength difficulty learning new pattern of fine motor movements
54
What are the characteristics of sleeping in late adulthood?
need 7 hours per night on average some suffer from insomnia and sleep apnea wake up more frequently during night may be related to other changes of late adulthood how to improve sleep?: set up a nightly routine
55
What are eating habits in late adulthood?
satiety sensation pattern is impaired risk for unhealthy eating
56
What is sexual activity in late adulthood?
decline in physical functions: estrogen and testosterone production decline decline in frequency but still sexually active stereotype: not asexual physiological capacity to respond to sexual stimulation does not disappear with age, but slows down sexual satisfaction may remain high
57
What is health in late adulthood?
normal aging vs. pathological aging chronic diseases or degenerative process can lead to disability and premature death
58
What is functional status?
basic and instrumental activities of daily living
59
What are chronic diseases in late adulthood?
chronic diseases as main cause of death cancer is the leading cause for death after age 65 heart disease and respiratory diseases follow closely
60
What is substance abuse in late adulthood?
of prescription drugs 50% of prescription are not taken properly 20% of Canadian hospitalizations: problems with medication
61
What are accidents in late adulthood?
increased risk for unintentional injuries house should be equipped with safety features group with most auto accidents
62
What are good health habits in late adulthood?
help keeping up with activities of daily life and extending life expectancy healthy weight and healthy diet high levels of physical activities not smoking, limited use of alcohol and drugs
63
What is suicide in late adulthood?
until 1980, rate of suicide was higher than national average, slightly above for 85+ men are 5 times more likely to commit suicide women attempt more but men complete the act more often
64
What are the risk factors for suicide?
increased age being single, divorced, or widowed having a substance abuse problem poorly managed chronic pain social isolation hopelessness and helplessness depression fear of being forced to move to a nursing home loss of health, status, social roles, self-determination, and significant relationships
65
What are anxiety disorders in late adulthood?
3% of older adults GAD and phobias are more common stress releases cortisol, that suppress the functioning of the immune system prevalence is declining in older Canadians
66
What is depression in late adulthood?
declining prevalence for depressive disorders in older Canadians diagnosis: can be tricky, can be confused with dementia
67
What are risk factors of depression in late adulthood?
inadequate social support and income emotional loss nagging health problems gender (more common in women) education (might not have learned how to cope)
68
What are interventions and preventions of depression in late adulthood?
psychotherapy and medication exercise social involvement religious beliefs are protective factor
69
What is Alzheimer's disease?
excessive neurofibrillary tangles, clog connection between neurons severe form of dementia subtle memory difficulties, repetitive conversation, disorientation in unfamiliar settings, loss of memory for recent events, memory for long-ago events and well-rehearsed cognitive procedures is persevered, likely because memory can be accessed through different neural pathways difficulty processing/regulating emotions 2/3 of dementia cases
70
What is explicit memory?
episodic/autobiographical semantic memory conscious effort
71
What is implicit memory?
more automatic years of learning and repetition does not require conscious effort
72
What is temporal memory?
order in which events have happened
73
What associative memory?
relating information
74
What is long-term memory in late adulthood?
adults remember the second and third decade of their lives with more details and emotional intensity reasons: when developing identity, when sex hormones have strongest effect
75
What are long term memory declines in late adulthood?
retrospective memory: dependent on fluid intelligence prospective memory: independent of fluid intelligence episodic memory: Pollyanna principle (remember more new things), recall what fits self-view (in-line with who we are) associative memory temporal memory: confused
76
What are declines in short-term memory in late adulthood?
become more forgetful pronounced decline after age 70 speed processing decline learning process takes longer not only unrelated task, but also everyday memory but implicit memory remains largely unaffected by age
77
What is intelligence in late adulthood?
some people engage in high levels of mental activity during their lives and enter late adulthood with a cognitive reserve (compensate in their daily lives) cognitive training in memory, processing speed, and reasoning can be effective and improve old-aged adults' performance
78
What is language in late adulthood?
decline in reading comprehension: related to working memory difficulty to understand spoken language: related to working memory, also to hearing difficulties deficiencies in language production: gradual decline in expressive vocabulary, related to working memory and associative memory, more likely to experience tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon, but not necessarily in receptive vocabulary
79
What are problem solving skills in late adulthood?
decline in three areas: executive functioning (selecting strategies), working memory (holding information in mind), processing speed abstract problem-solving ability is not related to quality of life in late-adulthood, everyday problem solving is more concerning at this point in time tend to regulate emotions differently, focus on remaining calm, decreasing tendency of expressing anger, increased priority on emotional regulation
80
What is wisdom in late adulthood?
distractibility enable broader attention span knowledge blended with values and meaning systems consider past, present, future, and context sense of mastery and purpose in life is related to subjective well-being more related to intelligence and professional experience rather than age Baltes: performance on wisdom tests does not decline with age
81
What is the Cohen four-stage theory of mid- to late-life creativity?
re-evaluation phase (~50s): reflect on past accomplishments and formulate new goals liberation phase (~60s): freer to create, more tolerant of failures, more willing to take risks summing-up phase (~70s): knit accomplishment together in a cohesive story encore phase (~80s): complete unfinished works and fulfill desires
82
What is Erikson's psychosocial theory of ego integrity versus ego despair?
sense that one has lives a useful life person needs to come to terms with: who she is and who she has been, how her life was lived, the choices she made, the opportunities gained and lost, death and its imminence failure to achieve integrity leads to hopelessness and despair, too late to make changes
83
What are Peck's developmental tasks in late adulthood?
ego differentiation versus work-role preoccupation: those in old age must redefine themselves in ways that do not relate to their work-roles or occupations body transcendence versus body preoccupation: people must learn to cope with and move beyond changes in physical capabilities, shifting more value to cognitive as social activities ego transcendence versus ego preoccupation: elderly people must come to terms with their coming death, concern for wellbeing of humankind
84
What is reminiscence and generativity in late adulthood?
self-positive reminiscence is related to better mental health self-negative reminiscence is related to lower well-being reminiscence bump: remember more from young adulthood stage, likely due to cultural scripts that tend to happen (getting a job, leaving home, marriage, etc.) reminiscence is foundational for the process of life review: evaluative process of past behaviors, interventions have had positive effects, active and assisted living program quest for generativity persists: feel that current efforts are valued and respected, interventions have had positive effects
85
What is activity theory?
should maintain the greatest possible level of activity and involvement psychologically and physically it is the healthiest response in late life
86
What is disengagement theory?
shrinkage of life space increased individuality acceptance of these changes disengages from role and relationships, turns inward
87
What is continuity theory?
keep engaging in the same kind of activities consistency is essential for a positive aging
88
What is socioemotional selectivity theory?
limiting of social contacts to a few important ones focus on emotionally fulfilling experiences
89
What is self-esteem in late adulthood?
highest in childhood, dips in adolescence, rises gradually in middle-adulthood, declines in late adulthood less body esteem as years go by (more accentuated in men) generally higher in men some levels of rank stability
90
What is self-determination versus dependence in late adulthood?
self-determined old adults think of themselves and living a "normal life" dependent adults tend to worry more about aging and physical disabilities
91
How does volunteering impact self-esteem?
impacts valuable knowledge and skills to younger generations make people feel capable, confident, and useful to others lower risks of dementia and mental health issues promotes physical and cognitive activity
92
What is elderly abuse?
7% report emotional or financial abuse by an adult child, spouse, or caregiver intentionally causing harm
93
What is religious coping?
tendency to turn to religious beliefs and institutions in troubles times primary means to manage depression and anxiety sex differences: more common among women religious beliefs: linked to measures of well-being and resilience, spirituality more than particular set of doctrines/teachings attendance at religious services: highest for seniors (4 in 10), more optimistic, physically heathier, more satisfied with their lives, longer living, opportunity to help others, intergenerational involvement
94
What are living arrangements in late adulthood?
~6.8% (over age 65), ~30% (over age 85) reside in long-term care facilities factors: health, income, adult children's characteristics, social support services can affect sense of self-determination and disrupt their social networks
95
What is the partnership between heterosexual couples in late adulthood?
partner as most important source of emotional support higher levels of pleasure and lower levels of conflict martial satisfaction is higher in late adult years, higher among more egalitarian relationships more based on loyalty, familiarity, mutual investment, less based on passion less loneliness and better physical and mental health, even when poverty and other factors are controlled for less likely to seek divorce, generally when involved in unacceptable negative relationship, one of the partners has taken up a relationship with an outsider increasing likelihood to cohabit if previously married, worry about ramification of legal marriage
96
What are LGBTQ2S+ long-term relationships in late adulthood?
similar findings: higher self-esteem, less depression, fewer suicidal urges, less alcohol and drug abuse but, twice more likely to age alone and to face discrimination generally do not receive same benefits as heterosexual couples
97
What is widowhood in late adulthood?
one of most traumatic experiences in life related to decline in physical and psychological health, increased mortality, deterioration in memory function, increased risk of depression most will emerge as resilient individuals but some will go through severe grief, higher risk for high blood pressure, heart problems, cancer, and thoughts of suicide men are more likely to remarry
98
What are family relationships in late adulthood?
relationship with family becomes more harmonious as adults get older closeness through visits, phone calls, emails, etc.
99
What are grandchildren relationships in late adulthood?
ties can be meaningful and deep, often act as friends and confidants but contact can decline
100
What are sibling relationships in late adulthood?
source of emotional support, especially after a spouse death
101
What are friendships in late adulthood?
significant impact on overall life satisfaction, self-esteem, health, and amount of loneliness reported by older adults, particularly true for unmarried seniors relationships are more equitable and reciprocal than with family source of companionship, laughter, and shared activities smaller network as a way to regulate emotions, friends are like them and enjoy same kind of activities, avoid people with whom they have had conflicts women's network tend to larger, closer, and more intimate, but network is just as important to old adult men
102
What is retirement in late adulthood?
typical age: 65+ planning as key for a successful retirement
103
What are times and reasons for retirement?
expected life history for retirement age health family considerations financial support/backup work characteristics sex differences
104
Why would someone choose not to retire?
bridge employment/restricted retirement continuing in a lifelong occupation, sometimes due to low retirement income learning new job skills and workplace functioning
105
What are the effects of retirement?
income: non-government sources provide the largest proportion poverty: unattached older adults are more likely to be poor health, attitudes, emotions: can have a positive effect on life satisfaction, elderly with the least control respond least well, marriage and high SES predicted satisfaction geographic mobility: more retirees stay close to where they were living, amenity move, compensatory (kinship) migration, institutional migration leisure activities: essential for retirees physical and psychological health, enhance physical functioning, positive feelings, and social interactions
106
What is Baltes' selective optimization with compensation?
related to socioemotional selectivity theory, reshaping lives to focus on what is important and meaningful better person-environment fit to changing conditions maximize older people's gains while minimizing their losses selection: setting goals optimization: increasing gains compensation: avoiding losses
107
What is ageism?
89% of Canadians associate aging with negative outcomes being treated as if they are invisible (41%) being treated as if they have nothing to contribute (38%) being treated as if they are incompetent (27%) major obstacle for life review and accomplishment of Erikson's last stage of ego integrity versus despair