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Beanpole Family
3 or more generations
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Why Study Aging?
- Understand current social issues
- Increasing older ppl will bring changes in social institutions
- More community-based healthcare services
- Older ppl will take part in recreation activity than ever before
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Ageism
A process of systematic stereotyping & discrimination against ppl because they're old
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"New" Ageism
- The desired to help older people
- Compassionate ageism (giving up seat on the bus, etc.)
- Has a positive spin with a negative undertone
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The Aging Enterprise
Helps older people by providing assistance where they need it
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Medicare
- Set at 65 because most ppl weren't expected to live that long.
- So, they were only helping some people
- The age for eligibility is rising as ppl live longer
- Part of compassionate/"new" ageism
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Older Americans Act
- Part of compassionate ageism, "New" ageism
- Can't discriminate in the workforce based on age
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Ads with Older Ppl Tend to Be Focused on
- Cancer survival
- Memory loss
- Loss of sexual vigor (ie- Viagra ads)
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Elderspeak
- "Ageism at its worst!"
- Baby talk to older people
- Based on stereotypes
- Can lower self-esteem
- Decreases ability to communicate effectively
- Decreases quality of interaction
- Decreases sense of control
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Why are older people likely to be victims of fraud?
- They have large amounts of money
- They have fewer social supports
- They're more vulnerable to deceptive businesses
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Types of Fraud
- Auto or home repair
- Phone slamming & cramming
- Telemarketing
- Bank examiner
- Email phishing
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Effects of Victimization
- Lower self-image
- Feelings of inferiority
- Loss of self-esteem
- Loss of independence
- Institutionalization
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Problems of old age that most early gerontologists focused on
- Disease
- Disability
- Decline
- Death
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Study of Aging: 17th Century
- Researchers trained in natural science & medicine
- Scientific methods (but still looking at the problems in aging!)
- Systematic observations
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Study of Aging: 18th Century
- Included mathematics
- 1st American geriatric publication ("Account of the Body and Mind in Old Age" by Benjamin Rush)
- Started to do research- not just personal experience & observation
- When we discovered that age is not a "disease"
- Began a modern period of aging research
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"Account of the Body and Mind in Old Age"
- 1st American geriatric publication (18th century)
- Benjamin Rush
- Based on a review of more than only religious texts
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19th Century
- Quetelet: “social physics” (numbers)
- First use of the term "gerontology"
- Socity of Gerontology of 1912
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Quetelet
- Social physics
- Used quantitative methods (numbers) to study physical & social age differences
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First use of the term "gerontology"
- 19th century
- Elie Metchnikoff
- Wrote first gerontology text
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Society of Geriatry, 1912
The earliest society of ppl who came together to focus on aging
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Senescence
Shutting down associated with age
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Social Gerontology
- Clark Tibbits (1954)
- Trying to understand ppl's lives (not just the biological aspects)
- Incl. integration of all 3 core areas of aging studies
- Perspective of individual & social systems
- Life course perspective on change (thinks across the lifespan, considers all aspects of a person's life)
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Core Areas of Aging Studies
- Biomedicine
- Psychosocial studies
- Socioeconomic-environmental studies
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Biomedicine Studies
- One of the core areas of aging studies
- Changes in the body that come with age
- DNA, Cells, Body systems, Stress, Dementia
- Experts in most agreement on content in this area
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Psychosocial Studies
- One of the core areas of aging studies
- Changes that take place within the individual
- Changes between individuals & groups
- Memory, Creativity, Learning, Personality, Relationships, Death & dying
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Socioeconomic-Environmental Studies
- One of the core areas of aging studies
- Effects of aging on social institions
- Economy, family, healthcare system
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Baby Boomers
Born 1946-1964
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How Will Baby Boomers Affect the Healthcare System?
- Stress social security
- Affect the number of ppl working w/ elders
- Create demand for more ppl to work w/ aging population
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Micro-Level Theory
- People & relationships
- Small scale events
- Individual change (how does this concept influence the individual?)
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Macro-Level Theory
- Social institutions & systems
- Large scale events
- The way social institutions shape experiences & behaviors
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Interpretive Perspective
- How individuals define & create
- Micro-level (small scale)
- Relatively few gerontologists use this perspective
- Critique: Gives only 1 view of social life & doesn't discuss power & conflict btw. social groups
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Social Constructionism
- Theory within the interpretive perspective
- How we, as individuals, assign meaning to interactions
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Social Exchange Theory
- Theory within the interpretive persepective
- How we engage in exchanges
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Social Phenomonology
- Theory within the interpretive perspective
- Looks at the event, seeking to understand the essense of an interaction; the defining concept
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Ethnomethodology
- Theory within the interpretive perspective
- Taking everyday knowledge/interactions and interpeting them using the words of those who are interacting
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Functionalist Perspective
- Social order based on cooperation
- Society is made up of many parts
- Society regulates itself (so if a system no longer works, society takes care of it)
- Change in system evokes mechanisms to reestablish order
- Norms & roles shape behavior
- Conformity thru pressure & belief
- Formal & informal sanctions
- Society changes in positive ways
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Disengagement Theory
- Theory within functionalist perspective
- Stop working in society
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Acitivity Theory
- Theory within functionalist perspective
- The activities one engages in in younger life are likely to be continued in older life
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Modernization Theory
- Theory within functionalist perspective
- As the society modernizes, older persons are left behind (modern ideas are not likely to be adopted by the elderly)
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Age-Stratification Theory
- Theory within functionalist perspective
- Helps us to define what an appropriate role is according to one's age
- If a person's not doing what they're "supposed" to be doing at their age, they're often viewed negatively
- Assumptions: Norms & values infl. indiv. aging; Relationship btw. indiv. & society as a feedback loop (one cannot understand the indiv. or society without understanding both)
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Cohort
A group of ppl defined by shared experience
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Life Course Approach
- Most important theoretical concept for gerontologists
- Looks micro & macro levels of analysis (looks at indiv. & society interactions)
- Recognizes differences within (not across!) age cohorts, roles, & role-change
- Understands aging as a dynamic process that takes place t/o life
- Encourages thought ab. the many forces that affect aging (let's look at our society so it's good for ppl of ALL ages)
- Transitions & trajectories
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Transitions & Trajectories
- Transitions: The point of change
- Trajectories: The path you're on once that transition occurs
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Experimental Designs
- Very few true experiments (bc of ethics)
- Comparison of groups that already exist (ie- smokers v. non-smokers)
- Looking for causation
- Problems: Correlation is not causation; Diff's btw. age groups may not be due to age alone
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The APC Problem
- Age Effects (physical decline)
- Period Effects (time of measurement- situation at time of study/at time of experience)
- Cohort Effects(related to indiv's age- ppl born around the same time and often share a common experience)
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Paradigms
- Part of quantitative & qualitative methods
- Frameworks for thinking ab. & understanding natural or social phenomena
- Defines research questions
- Guides methods for conducting studies
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Positivism
- Part of quantitative & qualitative methods
- A natural science paradigm (if I do x, then y will happen)
- Positivist methods include: mathematical measurement, statistical methods, & cause and effect
- Seeks to control natural events
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Quantitative Research Methods
- Based on positivist paradigm
- Surveys, questionnaires
- Strengths: gather lots of info on many issues, analyze large samples, generalize to populations
- Limitations: Doesn't matter "why," Rules out many questions as unscientific, Structured questions with limited answer choices (leaves out subjective experience & perceptions of participants)
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Qualitative Research Methods
- Interviews
- Life histories
- Case studies
- Documents & artifacts (study ppl's stuff)
- Field observation
- Participant observation
- Limitations: We can't generalize across groups; Time consuming
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Ethical Issues in Research
- Three Main Ethical Issues: informed consent, guarding subjects from harm or injury, protecting the individual's privacy
- Vulnerable groups require extra protection
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Population Aging
- Not a new concept BUT now growing faster
- Steady growth of 130 years
- Growth is a steady swell, not a tidal wave
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Demography
The study of human populations
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3 Measures to Study Population Aging & Change
- Absolute # of older ppl in a population
- Median age (half ppl older, half ppl younger)
- Increased proportion of older ppl (used more often by gerontologists; Relationship btw. older ppl & the rest of society- shows how much infl. the older group will have on society)
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Migration
- Less of an impact than in the past
- Most immigrants are of a younger age, and will have more impact when they're older
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Birth Rates
- Main cause of population aging in the 20th century
- Now there's a decline in fertility and death rates
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Changes that Infl. Population Aging
- Increase in births before 1920, and immigration
- Post WWII baby boom
- First (oldest) boomers reach 65 in 2011
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Factors Leading to Lower Birthrates
- Birth control
- Years in school
- Increased # of women working outside the home
- Smaller proportion of childbearing age women in population today
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Age Categories of the Older Population
- 65-74: Young-Old
- 75-84: Old
- 85+: Oldest-Old
- The oldest age group will be one of the fastest-growing groups into the next century
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Oldest-Old Characteristics
- Smaller social networks
- Social networks declined over time
- 1/2 men married
- 11% women married
- 1/3 had no living children
- Use most nursing home services
- Multiple chronic conditions
- High disability rates
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Accumulation
- Younger ppl move out
- Older ppl stay put
- Higher concentrations due to natural accumulation
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Recompostion
- Younger ppl move out
- Older ppl move in
- Ex: Retirement to rural areas
- Arkansas, Missouri
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Congregation
- All ages move there
- Older ppl move there at the fastest pace
- Also attract young ppl
- Keeps proportion of older population low
- Florida, Arizona, North Carolina, California, Texa
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Amenity Migration
Want to move somewhere to enjoy a new lifestyle or return to their roots (where they grew up, etc.)
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Kinship Migration
- Assistance- moves back to be near family
- Often triggered by a health crisis (need help w/ moderate disability)
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Preparation for Aging
- From the community to institutional setting
- Need help w/ major disability
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The Impact of Population Aging
- Population Aged 0-14 and 65 and older
- Population Aged 15-64
- A crude measure comparing the number of working-age ppl to non-working age ppl
- Very critiqued
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