Midterm Exam Flashcards
Ageism
prejudice against older people
anti-aging industry
the multibillion-dollar worldwide market for products that claim to reduce or reverse the effects of aging
discrimination
unfair treatment of a person or group based on prejudice
elderspeak
simplified speech like baby talk that some people use when they speak to older people; it stems from stereotyping older people as slow-witted
Term 4/10
gerontology
the discipline that systematically studies aging
inter generational equity
a call for balanced support of older and younger people through public policy and public expenditures
prejudice
being biased against someone or something; a negative judgement formed beforehand without knowledge of the facts
social structure
a relatively stable pattern of social interactions
society for all ages
promotes the well-being and contributions of older people in all aspects of life, recognizes their valuable contributions, and reflects the goals of elimination of ageism in all sectors; a society for all ages has five core principles: dignity, independence, participation, fairness, and security
society
an exaggerated and often prejudiced view of a type of person or group of people
active euthanasia
intervening actively to end a persons life
advance directives
(including a personal directive, healthcare directive, living will, and continuing power of attorney) a precise statement of the desired treatment and care, including what medical actions are to be taken under what conditions, and a declaration of who has the right to decide in the situation where the writer of the advance directive is no longer able to express his or her wishes
anticipatory grief
experienced prior to and in anticipation of the death of a loved one
assisted suicide
made possible with the help of someone
bereavement
the state of having recently experienced the death of a loved one
disenfranchised grief
defined by society as illegitimate grief and therefore unacknowledged because society defines the relationship between the grieving person and the deceased as insignificant
do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order
a person may request that, if dying from a terminal disease, resuscitation not be attempted if the dying person’s heart stops; this request may lead the dying person’s physician to place a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order on the patient’s medical care chart
ego integrity
the acceptance of the notion that one’s life cycle is something complete and unique
grief
a sense of profound loss and the experience of deep sorrow
hospice
a place or program of care designed to meet the special needs of dying patients
life review
a dying person looks over his or her life, seeks a conviction that one’s life has had meaning and purpose, ties up loose ends, achieves acceptance of the life lived, and prepares for death
medical assistance in dying
(or physician-assisted death) a physician helps a person to die either by assisting the patient’s suicide or by euthanasia
morbid grieving
also known as complicated or pathological grieving, refers to a pattern or duration of grieving that society considers abnormal and problematic
mourning
the public expression of grief, typically following social and cultural rules
palliative care
directed toward improving the quality of life for the dying, including symptom control and spiritual support as well as bereavement support and education for the family members of dying patients
passive euthanasia
withholding or ceasing treatment of someone who is ill or injured and not expected to recover
physician-assisted suicide
a physician provides a patient with advice about how to commit suicide or with the technical means (e.g., lethal medications) to commit suicide
power of attorney
a legal document that gives someone, usually a lawyer, adult family member, or friend, the right to make decisions on behalf of the ill person if the person loses his or her mental capacity
social death
refers to the perception or behaviour of others that indicates that they perceive or treat a person as if physically dead when the physical body has not yet died
trajectory of dying
the pattern or course of dying over time, for example, sudden death or slow decline
age cohort
a group of people born in the same period of time; for example, all of the people born between 1950 and 1955 form an age cohort
age effects
on a person’s life are related to physical decline or change due to the aging process
age grades
a concept used in age stratification theory to describe periods of life defined by society, such as childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood
age stratification theory
focuses on the movement of age cohorts over the life course and on “the role of social structures in the process of individual aging and the stratification by age in the society” (Bengtson, Burgess, & Parott, 1997, p. S81)
age-status asynchronization
someone for whom major life events come early or late—a teenaged mother or a newlywed octogenarian—may feel out of sync with the age-status system in Canada.
cohort effects
are related to the time of the person’s birth
conflict perspective
holds that society consists of conflicts between dominant and subordinate social groups
critical gerontology
theoretical approaches that look “within” theory and research to critically examine and question the underlying and “taken-for-granted” assumptions about aging
cross-sectional research design
studies people from many age groups at one point in time
cumulative advantage and disadvantage theory
says that advantages and disadvantages earlier in life accumulate and are magnified over the life course
evidence-based practice
promotes the use of research findings in the delivery of services to older people
feminist approaches
view gender as a defining characteristic in social interaction and life experiences, as well as in the process and experience of aging; gender is seen as socially constructed, with men being more advantaged than women in society
functionalist perspective
holds that social order is based on consensus, cooperation, and shared norms and values, and that all parts of society serve a role or function to keep society in a state of balance or equilibrium; structural functionalism predicts that when there is social change, society will attempt to create an orderly transition to a new, stable state
interlocking systems of oppression
“macro level connections linking systems of oppression such as race, class, and gender” (Estes, 2001, p. 13)
interpretive perspective
focuses almost exclusively on the micro level of social life; it looks at how people define situations, how they create social order, and how they relate to one another in daily life
life course perspective
a functionalist approach that bridges the micro and macro levels of analysis by incorporating social interaction and social structure within its framework; begins with the idea that life unfolds from birth to death in a social, cultural, and historical context; looks at the impact of social institutions, historical periods and events, personal biography, life cycle stage, life events, and resources on the older person
longitudinal research designs
looks at a single group of people at two or more points in time
macro-level theories
“examine social structures or structural elements as they influence experiences and behaviors” (Bengtson, Burgess, & Parrott, 1997, p. S76)
micro-level theories
focus on individuals and their interactions; they are used to explain phenomena such as the relationship between adult children and their parents, changes in memory with age, and the effect of negative attitudes on older people’s self-esteem
moral economy theory
focuses on shared values and social norms that shape popular beliefs in the legitimacy of certain practices and policies; this theory complements political economy theory
narrative gerontology
seeks to understand the “inside” of aging by examining the narratives or life stories that people tell in order to organize and make sense of their lives, and their experiences of aging
non-normative events
unexpected events such as illnesses, layoffs, and accidents
normative age-graded events
socially sanctioned events that occur most often at a certain age, like marriage or retirement
normative history-graded events
shape the lives of many age cohorts, such as the Great Depression of the 1930s or World War II
period or environmental effects
on a person’s life are due to the time of measurement; this would include historical, social, or environmental effects, such as an ongoing war, changes in health habits (e.g., better nutrition), or changes in healthcare policies that have different influences on different age cohorts
political economy theory
focuses on conflict and change in social life; it traces this conflict to the struggle between social classes and to the resulting dominance of some groups in society and the subordination of others
positivist worldview
based on the belief that knowledge is built by studying observable facts and their relationship to one another
post-modern theory
contrasts contemporary society with society in the recent past; for example, older people today can take on many roles in retirement, whereas in the past, they had limited options after they retired
sequential designs
researchers look at a series of cross-sectional studies during a longitudinal study
social gerontology
a subfield within the wider field of gerontology; it focuses on the social side of aging, while other subfields study the physical and biological aspects of aging
time-lag comparison design
examines different groups of people of the same age at different points in time (e.g., 55-year-olds in 2000, 2010, and 2020)
trajectories
long-term patterns of stability and change that often include many transitions
transitions
changes in social status or social roles such as marriage, parenthood, divorce, remarriage, and widowhood
age-specific birth rate
the number of births in a given age group per 1,000 women in that age group
Allowance
an income supplement program for spouses of pensioners who receive only the Old Age Security pension and have a combined income below a set amount
apocalyptic demography
the use of demographic facts (such as the aging of the population) to project the high cost of an aging population and predict that population aging will lead to economic and social crisis
Baby Boom
the sharp rise in the fertility rate in Canada from about 1946 to the early 1960s (precise dates vary)
Baby Bust
the sharp drop in the fertility rate from the mid-1960s on
birth rate
the number of live births per 1,000 women in a population
crude dependency rates
are based solely on the number of people in each age group
death rate
the number of deaths per 1,000 people in a population
demographic determinism
the assumption that population dynamics determine the future of social relations and social insti-tutions (e.g., the amount of dependency of the old on the young)
demographic transition
occurs when a population changes from a high birth rate/high death rate condition to a low birth rate/low death rate condition
elderly dependency ratio
the number of people age 65 and over divided by the population age 20 to 64
fertility rate
“the average number of children that would be born alive to a woman during her lifetime if she were to pass through all her childbearing years conforming to the age-specific fertility rates of a given year” (Beaujot & McQuillan 1982, pp. 220–221)
Guaranteed Income Supplement
an income supplement program for the poorest older people
infant mortality rate
the death rate of children less than one year old
least developed regions
consist of 49 countries with especially low incomes, high economic vulnerability, and poor human development indicators (e.g., Haiti, Bangladesh, Ethiopia)
less developed regions
developing regions and countries are classified as less developed (e.g., China, India, Vietnam)
median age
half the population is older and half is younger than the median age
more developed regions
following the UN classification, more developed countries comprise all of Europe and North America, plus Australia, Japan, and New Zealand
Old Age Security pension
Canada’s basic retirement income program, which supplements the income of nearly all of the country’s older people
overall dependency ratio (or rate)
the combined total number of people age 19 and under and people age 65 and over divided by the number of people age 20 to 64.
population aging
demographers, experts who study population change, use at least three measures of population aging: (1) the number of older people in a population, (2) the median age of a population, and (3) the proportion of older people in a population
prospective aging
allows demographers to compare populations with different life expectancies, and to compare one society at different points in time as life expectancy increases; one measure of prospective aging uses a number of years of remaining life expectancy as the start of old age
youth dependency ratio
the number of people age 0 to 19 divided by the population age 20 to 64
buffering theory
holds that a culture that values seniors and provides meaningful roles for them tends to protect them to a degree from losses and social devaluation in later life
cultural enclaves
areas in a city or region where particular ethnocultural groups tend to congregate geographically and socially
culture
shared language, beliefs, values, customs, and practices
ethnicity
variously defined as country of birth, birthplaces of ancestors, cultural heritage, or self-identification with an ethnocultural group
filial piety
the culturally defined obligation, highly valued in Asian cultures, of adult children to their aging parents, requiring adult children to support their parents in their old age
gentrification
in-migration into older urban neighbourhoods by new (often wealthy residents) that tends to drive up property values and displace former residents
Institutional completeness
the presence in a community of a wide range of economic, social, and religious institutions, including the availability of services, agencies, and programs
life course perspective
begins with the idea that life unfolds from birth to death in a social, cultural, and historical context; this perspective looks at the impact of social institutions, historical periods and events, personal biography, life cycle stage, life events, and resources on the minority older person
minority groups
in Canada, those ethnocultural groups that have not originated in northern and western European countries
multiple jeopardy theory
the hypothesis that there is a compounding of disadvantages associated with age, race, ethnicity, and gender
visible minority
non-European in origin and/or not white in skin tone; curiously, Canada’s official definition of visible minority excludes the Indigenous population (First Nations people, Inuit, MÉtis)
activities of daily living (ADLs)
activities performed daily, such as bathing, moving from a bed or chair, dressing, getting to and using the toilet, eating, and walking
chronic health problems
long-term illnesses such as arthritis, rheumatism, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease
compression of morbidity hypothesis
the idea that severe chronic illness would occur for a short time near the end of life
dependence-free life expectancy
the number of years of remaining life that a person will live in a state free of dependence on others for daily tasks
disability-free life expectancy
the years of life remaining that are free of any disability
epidemiological transition
the transition a society makes when it moves from a high rate of acute illness (mostly in youth) to a high rate of chronic illness (mostly in old age); Canada has made this transition, as have many developed nations
functional disability
a limitation in the performance of normal daily activities due to illness or injury
hypokinesia
physical problems due to lack of movement
instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs)
home management activities such as using the phone, cooking, shopping, managing finances, and doing light housework
life expectancy
the number of years at birth an average member of a population can expect to live
maximum life span
the maximum number of years a member of a species can live
rectangularization or squaring of the survival curve
the change over time in survival curves resulting in a right angle or square shape, leading researchers to conclude that a finite life span exists
selective optimization with compensation (SOC)
those who age successfully use the SOC method: they select activities that optimize their ability, and when they can no longer engage in an activity, they compensate for losses by setting new priorities
successful aging
characterized by a low chance of disease and disability, high mental and physical functioning, active engagement in social relations and productive activity
