Life Course Chapter 9: Late Adulthood Flashcards
late adulthood
1/3 - 1/4 of a person’s life 65-120
dependency ratio
a deomographic indicator that expressed=s the degree of demand placed on society by the young and aged combined, the ratio of dependent age groups to the working-age population
Six traits for growing old with grace
- Caring about others and remaining open to new ideas
- showing cheerful tolerance of the indignities of old age
- Maintaining hope
- Maintaining a sense of humor and capacity for play
- Taking sustenance from past accomplishments while remaining curious and continuing to learn from the next generation
- Maintaining contact and intimacy with old friends.
Disengagement theory
elderly persons gradually disengage from society
Activity theory
level of life satisfaction is related to level of activity
Continuity theory
Elderly persons continue to adapt and continue their interaction patterns
Social construction theory
self-concepts arise through interaction with the environment
feminist theories
gender is an important organizing factor in the aging exerience
Social exchange theory
resource exchanges in interpersonal interaction change with age
Life course perspective/life course capital perspective
Aging is a dynamic, lifelong process characterized by many transitions. People accumulate human capital during the life course to address their needs.
Age stratification perspective
society is stratified by age, which determines peoples roles and rights
Productive aging theory
A new generation of older adults is more physically active, mobile, healthy and economically secure
Programmed aging theories
aging follows a biological timetable
3 subcategories of programmed aging theory
- programmed longevity theory - aging because of gene activity
- endocrine theory - aging through hormones
- immunological theory - immune system programmed to decline over time
Damage/Error theories of aging
emphasize the role of environmental assaults that cause cumulative damage to various biological system
Developmental biocultural co-constructivism
brain and culture are in a continuous, interdependent, co-productive, transaction and reciproal determination
mortality rate
the frequency at which death occurs within a population
morbidity
the incidence of disease, has increased as mortality has decreased
dementia
brain disease in which memory and cognitive abilities deteriorate over time
Alzheimer;s disease
the most common type of dementia 70% of all cases.
Parkinson’s disease
chronic and progressive movement disorder caused by a gradual loss of cells that produce dopamine
ego integrity versus ego despair ERIKSON
the ability to make peace with one’s one and only life cycle and to find unity with the world
Guardianship
taking on the task of passing on the traditions of the past to the next generation, concern for the culture as a whole.
fluid intelligence
the capacity for abstract reasoning: to respond quickly, to memorize quickly, to compute quickly and to draw rapid inference from visual
crystallized intelligence
accumulated learning: to reflect and recognize rather than recall and remember
Stages of memory
- sensory memory - lost within a second
- primary memory - recent/recall memory, limited capacity
- working memory - active reorg and manipulate info that is still in primary memory
- secondary memory - permanently stored, ability to recall declines with age, but recognition doesn’t
- tertiary memory - memory stored for extended periods remote memory, little age related change
intentional memory
events you plan to remember, does not decline as you age
incidental meory
facts you have learned without the intention to retain and recall, declines with old age
depression
the most common mental health problem in older adults
delirium
an impairment of consciousness: consciousness, drowsiness, disorientation to time and place, inability to remember events, problems concentrating, incoherent thinking and speech
substance abuse
growing number of older adults are misusing and abusing alcohol and psychoactive rx meds
life review
a developmental task of late adulthood, process of evaluating and making sense of one’s life
reminiscense
tell their stories to anyone who is willing to listen. combines the past, present and future orientation
informal resources for meeting he needs of elderly person
the family, friends and neighbors, religious and community groups
formal resources for meeting the needs of elderly persons
Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) of the SSI, Hospital Insurance Trust Fund (Medicare part A), Supplemental medical insurance medicare part B, disability insurance, adult day care, senior centers, home health care, hospice, senior housing, adult homes, senior facilities, nutrition programs, transportation services, power of attorney
Power of Attorney
a legal arrangement by which a person appoints another individual to manage his or her financial and legal affairs
