Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Weekly
59.6% 54.3% 22.7%
/more
Percentage of Persons Age
65+ Below Poverty Level
Question
I don't value older people in our society
as much as younger people.
a. Strongly agree
b. Agree somewhat
c. Unsure
d. Disagree somewhat
e. Strongly disagree
Elder Abuse
As many as 1.6 million older people in the
U.S. are victims of abuse each year.
Physical abuse includes malnutrition,
injuries and dislocations.
Psychological abuse includes verbal
assaults, threats, fear, and social
isolation.
Elder Abuse
Financial exploitation involves theft or misuse of
the older persons money or property.
Medical abuse is when medicine is withheld or
improperly administered.
Neglect is not providing sufficient care.
Question
Stereotypes regarding older persons
reinforce:
a. age stratification
b. ageism
c. age discrimination
d. gerontocism
Answer: b
Stereotypes regarding older persons
reinforce ageism.
Functionalist Perspectives on
Aging
Functionalist perspectives focus on how older
persons adjust to their changing roles in
society.
According to sociologist Talcott Parsons, the
roles of older persons need to be redefined by
society.
He suggested that devaluing the contributions
of older persons is dysfunctional for society;
older persons often have knowledge and
wisdom to share with younger people.
Disengagement Theory
According to disengagement theory, older
persons make a normal and healthy
adjustment to aging when they detach
themselves from their social roles and
prepare for their eventual death.
Disengagement aids a gradual and
orderly transfer of statuses and roles from
one generation to the next; an abrupt
change would result in chaos.
Symbolic Interactionist
Perspectives on Aging
Symbolic interactionist perspectives
examine the connection between
personal satisfaction in a persons later
years and a high level of activity.
Activity theory states that people tend to
shift gears in late middle age and find
substitutes for previous statuses, roles,
and activities.
Symbolic Interactionist
Perspectives on Aging
The concept of continuity - people constantly
attempt to maintain their self-esteem and
lifelong principles and practices and they simply
adjust to feedback from and needs of others as
they grow older.
Role theory asks: What roles are available for
older people?
Some theorists note that industrialized,
urbanized societies do not have roles for
older people.
Conflict Perspectives on Aging
Conflict analysis draws attention to the diversity
in the older population.
Differences in social class, gender, and
race/ethnicity divide older people just as they
do everyone else.
The conflict perspective adds to our
understanding of aging by focusing on how
capitalism devalues older people, especially
women.
Question
Medical and health insurance premiums
should not be based on age of the
recipient.
a. Strongly agree
b. Agree somewhat
c. Unsure
d. Disagree somewhat
e. Strongly disagree
Death and Dying
There are three frameworks for explaining
how people cope with the process of
dying:
the stage-based approach
the dying trajectory
the task-based approach
. The stage-based approach was
popularized
Stage-based Framework:
Elisabeth Kbler-Ross
Five stages in the dying process:
1. Denial and isolation (Not me!)
2. Anger and resentment (Why me?)
3. Bargaining and an attempt to postpone
(Yes me, but . . . negotiating for
divine intervention)
4. Depression and sense of loss
5. Acceptance.
Dying Trajectory Framework
Focuses on the perceived course of dying and
the expected time of death.
The process of dying involves three phases:
1. The acute phase, characterized by the
expression of maximum anxiety or fear.
2. The chronic phase, characterized by a
decline in anxiety as the person
confronts reality.
3. The terminal phase, characterized by the
dying persons withdrawal from others.
Task-based Framework
The dying person should perform tasks that
make dying easier on their loved ones and
themselves.
Physical tasks to satisfy bodily needs.
Psychological tasks to increase security,
autonomy, and richness of experience.
Social tasks sustain interpersonal
attachments.
Spiritual tasks help people develop, or
reaffirm spiritual energy and foster hope.
Quick Quiz
1. Observable individual attributes such as
physical appearance, mobility, strength,
coordination, and mental capacity that
are used to assign people to age
categories are called:
a. chronological age
b. functional age
c. developmental age
d. gerontological age
Answer: b
Observable individual attributes such as
physical appearance, mobility, strength,
coordination, and mental capacity that are
used to assign people to age categories
are called: functional age.
2. The graying of America refers to:
a. Americans living longer.
b. Americans taking care of older
adults.
c. the vanishing of clear cut borders
between what is old and what is
not.
d. longer life expectancy combined
with an increase in birth rates.
Answer: a
The graying of America refers to
Americans living longer.
3. The study of aging and older people is
called:
a. Sociology
b. Geriatrics
c. Gerontology
d. Epidemiology
Answer: c
The study of aging and older people is
called gerontology.
4. A cohort is:
a. a group of people born within a
specified period of time.
b. a group of people who share a
similar descent.
c. a group of people who share the
same gender.
d. a group of people who share the
same racial background.
Answer: a
A cohort is a group of people born
within a specified period of time.
5. Which of these is not one of the three
types of elder abuse?
a. physical abuse
b. medical abuse
c. housing abuse
d. psychological abuse
Answer: c
Housing abuse is not one of the three
types of elder abuse.
6. By the year 2050, there will be an
estimated __________________ people
in the United States age 65 and older.
a. 50 million
b. 80 million
c. 100 million
d. 120 million
Answer: b
By the year 2050, there will be an
estimated 80 million people in the
United States age 65 and older.