Late Adulthood to Death and Bereavement Flashcards
The age and label of the fastest growing age group worldwide.
80’s and older; Late Adulthood
Gradual, inevitable process of bodily deterioration throughout the life span.
Primary aging
The aging process that result from disease and bodily abuse and disuse and are often preventable.
Secondary Aging
3 groups of older adults and their ages
Young old (65-74)
Old old (75-85)
Oldest old (85 and above)
A more meaningful classification of age; measure of a person’s ability to function effectively in their physical and social environment compared with others of the same chronological age.
Functional age
The study of the aged and aging process.
Gerontology
Branch of medicine concerned with aging.
Geriatrics
Age to which a person in a particular cohort is statistically likely to live on the basis of average longevity of a population.
Life expectancy
Length of an individual’s life.
Longevity
The longest period that members of a species can live.
Life span
They typically live longer because of the greater tendency to take care of themselves and see medical care.
Women
Estrogen is linked in helping women protect against _ diseases and strengthen their _.
Heart
Immune system
More than 6 out of 20 people in developed countries but only _ in 10 in developing countries live in their 70th birthdays.
3
A period marked by obvious declines in bodily functioning associated with aging.
Senescence
Physical changes in late adulthood:
_ and less _ skin
Fat and muscle _
Wrinkles
Formation of _
Hair _ and _, eventually turning to _
Becomes shorter due to _
Chemical composition of bones changes creating greater risk of _.
Paler and less elastic skin
Fat and muscle shrink
Wrinkles
Formation of varicose veins
Hair thinning and graying, eventually turning to white
Becomes shorter due to spinal vertebrae atrophy
The chemical composition of bones changes creating greater risk of fractures.
Aging, mixed with chronic stress, depresses _ function, making older people susceptible to _ infections
Immune function
Respiratory infections
The _ system remains relatively efficient..
Digestive system
The rhythm of the heart tends to be slower and irregular. Deposits of _ accumulate around the heart and may interfere with functioning. _ often rise as well.
Fat
Blood pressure
Also called organ reserve; the ability of body organs that helps the systems function to their utmost limits in times of stress. It drops with age.
Reserve capacity
The brain gradually diminishes in volume and weight, particularly in the _ which controls executive functions.
Frontal cortex
Loss of _ function may lessen the ability to inhibit irrelevant or unwanted thoughts that may cause older adults to talk too much about matters apparently unconnected to the topic.
Executive function
Decrease of dopamine neurotransmitters due to losses of synapse, this cause slowed _.
Slowed response time
The amygdala shows lessened response to _ events.
Negative
Myelin sheaths begin to thin out and this is associated with _ and _ declines.
Cognitive and motor
Older people tend to sleep and dream _.
Less
Men take longer to develop erection and ejaculate, and may need more manual stimulation, may experience __ between erections.
Longer intervals
Women’s breast engorgement and other signs of sexual arousal are __ than before.
Less intense
Women are more likely to report what chronic conditions or disabilities?
Hypertension
Asthma
Chronic bronchitis
Arthritis
Men are more likely to have what kind of chronic conditions and disabilities?
Heart disease
Stroke
Cancer
Diabetes
Emphysema
Deterioration in cognitive and behavioral functioning due to physiological causes.
Dementia
Progressive, irreversible, degenerative brain disorder characterized by cognitive deterioration and loss of control of bodily functions, leading to death.
Alzheimer’s Disease
Progressive, irreversible, degenerative brain disorder characterized by tremor, stiffness, slowed movement, and unstable posture.
Parkinson’s Disease
What influences the impact of cognitive changes?
Earlier cognitive ability, SES, educational status
Older adults solve _ more effectively.
Interpersonal problems
A general slowdown in ___ functioning is a major contributor to losses of efficiency of information processing and changes in cognitive abilities.
Central nervous system
__, the first cognitive ability to decline, is related to health status, balance and gait and performance of daily activities.
Speed of processing
Failing memory is often considered a sign of _.
Aging
The crowning achievement of late adulthood according to Erikson.
Ego integrity
Also known as the integrity of the self, an achievement based on reflection about one’s life itself. Accepting life one has lived without regrets.
Ego integrity
Older adults need to evaluate and accept their lives so as to accept _.
Death
In Erikson’s model, integrity must outweight _.
Despair
Virtue in Ego Integrity vs Despair.
Wisdom
An informed and detached concern with life itself in the face of death itself.
Wisdom
Studies about the Five Factor Personality Test by McCrae and Costa shows that personality becomes more _ in old age.
Rigid
What kind of emotions decrease and remain stable until late life?
Decrease- negative emotions
Stable- Positive emotions
Adaptive thinking or behavior aimed at reducing or relieving stress that arises from harmful, threatening or challenging conditions.
Coping
Older adults according to __, show the best psychological adjustment when during earlier adulthood, had used mature adaptive defenses.
George Vaillant
This kind of defense enables people to change their perceptions of realities that are powerless to change. These are unconscious or intuitive.
Adaptive defenses
What are examples of Adaptive defenses?
Altruism, humor, suppression, anticipation, sublimation
This model by Lazarus and Folkman states that people choose appropriate coping strategies to deal with situations that tax their normal resources as a result of their constant appraisal of their environment.
Cognitive Appraisal
Coping directed toward eliminating, managing or improving stressful situations.
Problem- focused coping
Coping directed toward managing the emotional response to a stressful situation to lessen the physical and psychological impact.
Emotion-focused coping
What are the main components of successful aging?
- Avoidable of diseases or disease related disability
- Maintenance of high physical and cognitive functioning
- Sustained active engagement in social and productive activities.
What are the current theories on aging?
- Disengagement Theory
- Activity Theory
- Continuity Theory
- Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC)
Theory proposed by Cumming and Henry. Success aging is characterized by mutual withdrawal of the older person and society.
Disengagement Theory
This theory claims that in order to age successfully, a person must remain as active as possible. This is proposed by Neugarten.
Activity Theory
According to this theory by Atchley, in order to age successfully, people must maintain a balance of continuity and change in both the internal and external structures of their lives.
Continuity Theory
This theory enables adults to enhance their over all cognitive functioning by using stronger e abilities to compensate for those that have weakened.
Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC)
What are the 2 theories of social contact and social support?
Social convoy theory
Socioemotional selectivity theory
What country publicly burns bodies of heroes as a sign of honor?
Greece
Whose wake toast the memory of the dead person? (People)
Irish/ Ireland
Study of death and dying.
Thanatology
Warm, personal, patient and family centered care for a person with a terminal illness.
Hospice care
Care aimed at relieving pain and suffering and allowing the terminally ill to die in peace, comfort and dignity.
Pallative Care
Refers to a widely observed decline in cognitive abilities shortly before death. Decline in perceptual speed, verbal ability and spatial reasoning.
Terminal drop
What are the 5 stages in coming to terms with death, pioneered by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross?
Denial
Anger
Bargaining for extra time
Depression
Acceptance
Loss, due to death of someone whom one feels close to and the process of adjustment to the loss.
Bereavement
Emotional response experienced in the early phases of bereavement.
Grief
A classic pattern of grief is three stages in which the bereave person accepts the loss.
Classic Grief Work Model
Working out of psychological issues connected with grief?
Grief work
What are the 3 stages of the Classic Grief Work Model?
- Shock and disbelief
- Preoccupation with the memory of the dead person
- Resolution
Shock and disbelief stage may last for how long?
Several weeks
Preoccupation with the memory of the dead or when the survivor tried to come to terms with death but cannot accept it yet, may last for how long?
6 months to 2 years.
Ages _ to _ most children understand that death is irreversible.
5-7
Children realizes 2 important concepts about death which are:
Universal (all living things die)
Nonfunctional (all life functions end at death)
When do children’s concepts about death start?
During concrete operational stage
What reassurance do children need if they experience losing a loved one?
That they will continue to be cared for.
What would adolescents most likely do after losing a loved one?
Unnecessary risks
What could adults feel when faced with sudden death of a loved one?
Frustrated and angry
Deliberate withholding or discontinuation of life-prolonging treatment of a terminally ill person in order to end suffering.
Passive Euthanasia
Deliberate action taken to shorten the life of a terminally ill person in order to end suffering; also called mercy killing.
Active euthanasia
Suicide in which a physician or someone else helps a person take his or her own life.
Assisted suicide.
The central importance of psychosocial development in this period.
Search for meaning for life.
