Week 12 Slides Flashcards
mood disorder in which the individual is deeply unhappy, demoralized, self-derogatory, and
bored.
Major depression
Mental health is relatively ___ in early adulthood and
slowly ___ with age, but depression is a ___
___ in the elderly
poor in early adulthood; slow improves with age; complex issue in the elderly
Depression is not more common among older adults;
but when it occurs:
it is more likely to be chronic and to increase risk of suicidal ideation
Signs of depression in older adults is most likely dismissed as:
Old age ‘grumpiness’ by family members (ageism)
Depression can be mistaken for ____ because
both share symptoms of confusion and memory loss
dementia
Depressed mood that may be mistaken for clinical depression. Does not usually progress to clinical depression and is related to life stresses.
Geriatric Dysthymia
Less common form of depression, but when it occurs, problems are of long duration and are severe enough to interfere with the ability to carry out normal activities
Clinical depression
Risk factors of depression include:
– Inadequate social support
– Inadequate income
– Emotional loss
– Nagging health problems
– Health status (the strongest predictor)
▪ the more disabling conditions older adults have, the
more depressive symptoms they have
– Poverty
– Education—poorly educated older adults are more
likely to be depressed
– Gender
x2 as many ___ are depressed
women
___ in Canada have higher depression rates, but elderly ___ are more than 5X more likely to
commit suicide
women in Canada; elderly men
Why are elderly men 5x more likely to commit suicide?
▪ Elderly men tend to have several risk factors at once
▪ Elderly men are more troubled by economic stress
▪ Men do not adjust as well as women to the death of a spouse
▪ Men are more successful in suicide attempts
Suicide rates for all ages have ___
almost __% since the 1950s
increased almost 75%
Suicide rates in Canada are more than 3 times higher for __ than __, but the difference for those aged 65+ increases to more than 6 times higher for __ than __
males than females; males than females
Recommended treatment for depression include:
– medications
– consistent exercise
– psychotherapy, especially interventions to develop optimistic thought patterns
Antidepressants are useful, but:
▪ They may interfere with other life-sustaining drugs
▪ They significantly increase the risk of falls
Way to prevent depression in older adults:
– Help older adults improve their health
– Provide opportunities for social involvement,
especially participation in activities with children
– Support for the spiritual needs of the elderly
a global term for several neurological disorders involving irreversible decline in mental function severe enough to interfere with daily living.
Dementia
a neurological disorder involving problems with memory and thinking that affect an individual’s emotional, social, and physical functioning
Dementia
Medium to high levels of _____ have been linked with lower rates of dementia in 60- to 65-year-olds.
physical activity
____ is the leading cause of institutionalization of the elderly in Canada, especially for ___
dementia; women
Almost 2/3 of those with dementia have _______. This accounts for 60 to 80% of dementias
Alzheimers Disease
The second most frequent dementia
Vascular dementia
11% of adults over 75 and 34.5% of adults over 85:
have moderate to severe symptoms of dementia
is a progressive, irreversible brain disorder characterized by a gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and eventually physical function.
Alzheimers Disease
Now the sixth leading cause of death in the USA
Alzheimers Disease
One in 10 individuals 65 and older has
Alzheimers Disease
Twice as many African Americans and one and one-half times as many Latinos have
Alzheimers Disease
Two-thirds of those with Alzheimer disease in the U.S. are ___
women
Alzheimers Disease involves a deficiency in the brain messenger chemical called ____
acetylcholine
In Alzheimers Disease, deterioration is characterized by the formation of:
amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.
___ ___ and _____ may play a role in Alzheimers Disease
oxidative stress and mitochondria
In Alzheimer’s disease, a gene called _____ is linked to increased presence of plaques and tangles in the brain
apolipoprotein E (ApoE)
2 to 8% of all adults over age 65 show significant symptoms of ____ and the rate of this a rises rapidly among people in their 70s and 80s
dementia
What visible brain changes in photographs are noted in people with dementia?
deterioration and shrinking
The process of Alzheimers:
_ Slow, with subtle memory difficulties and repetitive conversation, and disorientation in unfamiliar
settings
_ Memory for recent events goes next.
– Memory for long-ago events and well-rehearsed cognitive
tasks are retained until late in the illness, as they can be
accessed by many alternative neural pathways
– Eventually failure to recognize family members, inability to communicate, and inability to perform self-care occurs
Diagnosing Alzheimers:
– Definitive diagnosis can only occur after death
– Neurofibrillary tangles, surrounded by plaques, are more likely than in other dementias
– Since normal aging affects memory, it is difficult to recognize early Alzheimer’s
– Mild cognitive impairment may be a better predictor
represents a transitional state between the cognitive changes of normal aging and very early Alzheimer disease and other dementias.
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI)
MCI is recognized as a risk factor.
Behaviour in Alzheimers:
– Changes in appetite regulation may result in significant
overeating
– Facial expressions and emotions of others are difficult to process
– Some cannot control their own emotions, and display
sudden bursts of anger or rage, or become excessively
dependent
– As many as 40% may be depressed
The current drugs used to treat Alzheimer’s disease:
Only slow the downward progression; they do not address its cause
Medication to increase neurotransmitters seems to slow the disease’s progress
Strategies such as making notes can help improve some memory tasks
Due to myths about dementia, people believe:
that nothing can be done or may dismiss symptoms as a normal part of age.
A problem with supporting those with dementia is:
Most people don’t educate themselves. Only 5% of Canadians would try to learn more if someone they knew was diagnosed.
A chronic, progressive disease (type of dementia) characterized by muscle tremors, slowing of movement, and partial facial paralysis. Triggered by degeneration of dopamine producing neurons in the brain
Parkinson Disease
The main treatment for Parkinson disease is:
Enhancing the effect of dopamine and later administering the drug L-dopa, which is converted by the brain into dopamine. Another treatment is deep brain stimulation (D B S).
involves being alert, mentally present, and cognitively flexible while going through life’s everyday activities and tasks
Mindfulness
Meditation has become a method of mindfulness training for older adults which:
- Improves memory and inhibitory control.
* Increases aerobic physical activity duration.
expert knowledge about the practical aspects of life that permits excellent judgment about important matters.
Wisdom
When is the main age window for wisdom to emerge?
Late adolescence to early adulthood
____ factors are better predictors of wisdom than ___ factors
personality-related; cognitive
In regards to wisdom, Baltes and colleagues assert that:
• High levels of wisdom are rare
• Factors other than age are associated with wisdom - for example, working in a field that involved difficult life
problems
• individual values play a key role - concern for others
• personality factors are more important than intelligence, including being open to experience, generativity, and creativity
In regards to wisdom, Kunzmann & Baltes (2005) argue that:
• wise people approach problems through a lens of ‘the
meaning of life’
• they consider the past, present, and future
• tolerant of others’ values systems
• understand that life holds uncertainties
• solutions to problems must be formulated in an
imperfect world
In regards to wisdom, Baltes’ research methods (reminiscent of Kohlberg) showed that:
- Performance on wisdom tasks does not decline with age
* The speed of accessing wisdom-related knowledge remains constant across adulthood
In regards to wisdom, Ardelt (2008) argues that:
- emotional and philosophical dimensions should be added to our understanding of wisdom
- wise people possess an unselfish love for others
- wise people are less afraid of death
Cohen’s four-stage theory of mid- to late-life creativity describes the potential for creative work through adulthood:
- re-evaluation phase (around age 50)
- liberation phase (around age 60)
- summing-up phase (around age 70)
- encore phase (80s and beyond)
A stage in Cohen’s theory where it’s time to reflect on past accomplishments and formulate new goals. Leads to an intensified desire to create new projects.
Stage 1: Re-evaluation phase (around age 50)
A stage in Cohen’s theory when retirement individuals have more time to be creative - they are freer
Stage 2: Liberation phase (around age 60)
A stage in Cohen’s theory where individuals have a desire to knit together creative projects into one meaningful narrative/story.
Stage 3: Summing-up phase (around age 70)
A stage in Cohen’s theory where individuals a desire to finish old projects, or fulfill projects that were planned.
Stage 4: Encore phase (80s and beyond)
Who is ‘Grandma Moses’?
- Anne Mary Robertson Moses - 1860-1961
- Started painting when she was 78 years old, after raising 5 children, when continuing with needlework was too painful due to arthritis
- One of America’s most famous folk artists
Older adults that express a secure attachment to God:
Have higher levels of life satisfaction, self-esteem, and
optimism. Religion can meet some important psychological needs for older adults.
What can religion and spirituality help older adults with?
- Helping them face impending death.
- Helping them find and maintain a sense of meaning in life.
- Helping them to accept the inevitable losses of old age.
Seniors who place a great deal of emphasis on religious faith:
worry much less than those who do not
Religious seniors are more likely than their nonreligious peers to view old age as:
a chapter in an ongoing story rather than as a period of loss of capacities
Religious coping is often cited as:
the primary means of managing stress
Religious attendance is highest among seniors. Canadian adults who regularly attend such services
are:
▪ more optimistic
▪ physically healthier/live longer
▪ very satisfied with their lives
▪ less stressed than their non-attending peers
In regards to religion coping and beliefs,
There is a connection between the sense of belonging and the sense of well-being
Participation in religion has many benefits including:
opportunity to help others and intergenerational involvement
Mortality is lowest among:
religious participants
Canadian ___ make more use of religious
coping than ___ do (but the effects seem to be the
same for men and women)
women more than men
Across all ages, adult ___ attend religious
services more regularly than ___
women more than men
likely present in those who are active religious participants, is linked to successful aging
extroversion
The research evidence suggests that _______ of the elderly may be just as important to maintaining their health and functioning as meeting their physical and material needs
supporting the spiritual needs
Changes in roles and relationships are perhaps just as significant as physical ones during late adulthood.
For many older adults, these changes:
are not perceived as losses but as opportunities to create new roles and to make old age a time of personal and social gains
the last of Erikson’s psychosocial stages, in which older adults must achieve a sense of satisfaction with their lives
Ego integrity versus despair stage
the feeling that one’s life has been worthwhile (in regards to Erikson’s stages)
Ego integrity
Involves reflecting on the past and either piecing together a positive review or concluding that one’s life has not been well spent (in regards to Erikson’s stages)
Integrity vs. despair
Reflecting on past experience.
- a positive emotional experience for older adults
- often seen as a way of communicating their experiences to younger individuals.
Reminicence
A higher frequency of reminiscence derived from ages of 15-30 than other life-stages. Related to memory processes (how we encode info)
Reminiscent bump
The important life events that tend to occur in that age range: • Moving away from home • First job/career • Getting married • Children, etc.
Self-positive reminiscences:
- involve restoring, maintaining, or enhancing a sense of meaning and purpose in life
- associated with increased mental health.
Self-negative reminiscences:
- involve dwelling on unresolved conflicts and losses
* associated with decreased mental health.
a looking back at one’s life experiences, evaluating them, and interpreting/reinterpreting them.
Life review
a therapy in which someone discusses past activities and experiences with another individual or group
Reminiscence therapy
A theory where the more active and involved older adults are, the more likely they are to be satisfied with their lives
Activity theory
The idea that it is normal and healthy for older adults to try to remain as active as possible for as long as possible; and the more active and involved older adults are, the more likely they will be satisfied with their lives.
Activity theory
Activity theory suggests:
that many individuals will achieve greater life satisfaction if they continue their middle-adulthood roles into late adulthood. If these are stripped from them, it is important to find substitute roles that keep them active and involved.
The most active seniors are often:
- the healthiest
- the most satisfied
- those with the highest morale
Regarding the Activity theory, research has found that:
• Older Canadian adults who remain physically active have higher life satisfaction and social interaction.
• Older adults who increased their leisure time
activities showed a slower progression to functional disability
Just like in middle adulthood, older adults maintain
high levels of performance by:
focusing on their strengths and compensating for weaknesses (SOC)
The idea that older adults adapt life-long interests and activities to the limitations imposed on them by physical aging.
Continuity theory
Continuing to engage in the activities that one loved and valued throughout the lifespan will
help seniors to maintain a positive outlook on the aging process. (Seen in Continuity Theory)
The theory that motivation changes as a function of time horizons. When horizons are limited, there is a shift toward prioritizing emotional meaning and satisfaction.
Socioemotional selectivity theory
In Socialemotional Selectivity Theory, two important classes of goals individuals are motivated to achieve are:
knowledge-related and emotional.
In Carstensen’s theory of socioemotional selectivity:
the motivation to reach knowledge-related and emotion-related goals changes across the life span.
the theory that it is normal and healthy for older adults to scale down their social lives and to separate themselves from others to a certain degree; the idea that older adults and society withdraw from one another as older adults approach death
Disengagement theory
Disengagement theory has 3 aspects:
- Shrinkage of life space - as persons age, they interact with fewer and fewer others, and fulfill fewer and fewer roles.
- Increased individuality - in the remaining roles and
relationships, older individuals are less governed by strict rules and expectations. - Acceptance of these changes - healthy older adults
actively disengage - turning more inward.
Social involvment:
promotes morale and decreases depression
Continues to make substantial contributions to the experiences of older men and women, related to overall quality of life and longevity.
Individual differences.
Predicts a lower mortality risk from childhood through late adulthood. Linked to a longer life and reduced risk of developing Alzheimer disease.
Conscientiousness
In older adults, what are related to more positive emotions?
Higher levels of conscientiousness, openness to experience, agreeableness, and extraversion
High ___ is linked to negative emotions and appears to predict higher frailty.
neuroticism
A higher level of ____ and lower level of ____ is linked with lowered likelihood of developing dementia
agreeableness; neuroticism
Based on a large cross-sectional study, ____ tends to decline significantly in the seventies and eighties
self-esteem
Negative impacts on self-esteem for older adults include:
- Being widowed, institutionalized, or physically impaired.
- Having a low religious commitment.
- Declining health.
A study of 65- to 92-year-olds found self-control was linked to:
Better outcomes for well-being and depression following a 6-week yoga program.
Another revealed self-control was a key factor in older adults’ physical activity levels.
A prejudice against others because of their age. Most frequent form is disrespect, followed by assumptions about ailments or frailty.
Ageism
Problems with health care for older adults involve:
- While many older adults have chronic rather than acute problems, the system is still based on a “cure” model.
- Because care is often more home-based, a new type of cooperative care needs to be developed.
A view of concern that older adults receive an inequitably large allocation of the society’s resources
Generational inequity
May contribute to intergenerational conflict and raises questions about whether the young should be have to pay for the old
Generational inequity
___ is linked to an increase in physical and mental health problems. Women and ethnic minorities have much higher rates.
poverty
In regards to older adults and technology:
• Increasing numbers do use e-mail, smartphones, and
social media.
• Television use continues to be high, raising concerns about the amount of sedentary behaviour
In late adulthood, attachment security is associated with
greater psychological and physical well-being than attachment anxiety
Insecure attachment is linked to
more perceived negative caregiver burden in caring for patients with Alzheimer disease
__ percent of older adults have living children,
many of whom are middle-aged. Adult ___ are more likely to be involved in the lives of aging parents.
80; daughters
Canadian studies show that between 2/3s and 3/4s of
older parents said their children
see them at least once a week
Aging parents are most likely to need support with:
activities that involve physical activity (e.g., lifting,
bending)
Good relationships and regular contact with adult children:
can add to an elderly adult’s quality of life, but are not necessary for it
Childless elders are:
just as happy and well-adjusted as those who have children
Relationships with siblings may:
become more important in late adulthood, especially after both parents have died
Marital satisfaction is higher in the late years; it is based on:
Loyalty, familiarity, and mutual investment in the relationship.
- Higher levels of pleasure and lower levels of conflict are reported
- Spend more time with each other than with family or friends
- Many provide a remarkable degree of care and assistance to their spouses
Married older adults have:
Higher life satisfaction, better health, and lower rates of institutionalization.
- The advantages are generally greater for married older men than for married older women
- Similar characteristics and effects are found in long-term gay and lesbian relationships
Rates of remarriage are higher for older ___ than for ___
men than for women;
Older unmarried men are also more likely to date and
more likely to cohabit
The protective nature of marriage for older adults is supported by research showing:
that single adults over 65 have higher mortality rates, even when factors such as poverty are controlled
The majority of divorced older adults are ___.
women (men are more likely than women to remarry)
Remarriage is increasing due to:
- Rising divorce rates
- Increased longevity
- Better health
The number of cohabiting adults 50 years and older has been
rising rapidly in recent years and is expected to increase further.
In many cases, older adult couples cohabit more for:
Companionship than for love. Others may cohabit rather than marry in order to maintain assets separately.
In late adulthood, contact between grandchildren and grandparents:
declines as the grandchildren become adults themselves
One contribution of great-grandparents is to:
transmit family history—where the family came from, what their members achieved, what they endured, and how their lives changed
In late adulthood, __ friendships less likely to be
forged but __ friendships are maintained.
new; close
Some older adults do seek out new friendships, especially following the death of a spouse.
Relationships with friends are likely to be more:
reciprocal or equitable, and such equitable relationships are more valued and less stressful than relationships with family members
Contact with friends has a significant impact on:
life satisfaction, self-esteem and loneliness
Research suggests close ties with friends can contribute to:
increased longevity and to better marital quality for
both wives and husbands.
Women and men appear to form different kinds of social networks, with men’s friendships involving:
less disclosure and less intimacy than is true among women - so the same pattern we have been seeing remains constant across the lifespan
Older ___ networks tend to be larger and closer than those of older ___
women’s; men
Men’s social networks are just as important to them and provide them with the same kinds of emotional support as women’s networks do, even though men’s networks tend to be smaller
when individuals go through life embedded in a personal network of individuals to whom they give and from whom they receive social support.
Convoy model of social relations
___ support is related to physical health, mental health, and life satisfaction
Social
The extent to which individuals are involved in social exchanges with others
Social integration
Older adults with higher levels of social integration
tend to be:
Less depressed, engage in more physical activity, and have a more positive mood.
Older adults tend to report being less lonely than
younger adults, and less lonely than would be
expected based on their circumstances.
