Chapter 25

AARP

A U.S. group of people aged 50 and older that advocates for the elderly.

Naturally occurring retirement community (NORC)

A neighborhood or apartment complex whose population is mostly retired people who moved to the location as younger adults and never left. An important reason for both aging in place and NORCs is the social convoy, the result of years of close relationships.

Instrumental activities of daily life (IADLs)

Actions (for example, paying bills and driving a car) that are important to independent living and that require some intellectual competence and forethought. The ability to perform these tasks may be even more critical to self-sufficiency than ADL ability.

Activities of Daily Life (ADLs)

Actions that are important to independent living, typically identified as five tasks of self-care: Eating Bathing, Toileting Dressing Transferring from a bed to a chair Inability to perform any of these tasks is a sign of frailty.

Friends and Relatives

One amazing aspect of long-term relationships is how interdependent the partners become over time. Generally, older spouses accept each other's frailties, assisting with the partner's physical and psychological needs.

Shared Laughter

One characteristic of long-married couples is that they often mirror each other's moods. Thanks to the positivity effect, the mood is often one of joy.

Involved grandparents

are active in the day-to-day lives of their grandchildren.

Surrogate parents

raise their grandchildren, usually because the parents are unable or unwilling to do so.

Companionate grandparents

sometimes called "fun-loving" grandparents) entertain and "spoil" their grandchildren.

Remote grandparents

sometimes called distant grandparents) are emotionally distant.

Retirement

Besides needing the money, some employees over age 65 stay on the job because they appreciate the social recognition and self-fulfillment of work. It was once believed that older adults were healthier and happier when they were employed than when they were unemployed and that retirement led to illness and death. Only when retirement is precipitated by poor health or fading competence does it correlate with illness.

Theories of Late Adulthood

Development is more diverse in late adulthood than at any other age. Some elderly people run marathons and lead nations, while others can no longer walk or talk.

Friends and Relatives

Feelings of familism prompt siblings, cousins, and even more distant relatives to seek out one another.

Even in ideal circumstances with community support, family caregiving can present problems:

If one adult child is the primary caregiver, other siblings tend to feel relief or jealousy. Resentments on both sides disrupt mutual affection and appreciation.

Relationships with Younger Generations

In past centuries, most adults died before their grandchildren were born. Today, some families span five generations.

Stratification by Age

Industrialized nations segregate elderly people, gradually shunting them out of the mainstream of society as they grow older. Segregation by age harms everyone because it creates socialization deficits for members of all age groups.

Elder Abuse

More likely to occur when: the care receiver is a feeble person who suffers severe memory loss. the caregiver is a drug-addicted relative. care occurs in an isolated place. visitors are few and far between.

Grandchildren

Most (85 percent) elders over age 65 are grandparents. Factors influencing the nature of the grandparent-grandchild relationship: Personality Ethnicity National background Past family interactions Age and the personality of the child

Beanpole family

Multiple generations but only a few members in each one

Religious Involvement

Older adults are less likely to attend religious services than are the middle-aged. Yet, faith increases with age, as do praying and other religious practices. Religious institutions fulfill many needs, and a nearby house of worship is one reason American elders prefer to age in place.

Home Sweet Home

One of the favorite activities of many retirees is caring for their own homes.

Frail elderly

People over age 65, and often over age 85, who are physically infirm, very ill, or cognitively disabled. Most older adults become frail if they live long enough. Frailty is most common in the months preceding death.

Aging in place

Remaining in the same home and community in later life, adjusting but not leaving when health fades.

Activity theory

The view that elderly people want and need to remain active in a variety of social spheres—with relatives, friends, and community groups—and become withdrawn only unwillingly, as a result of ageism.

Long-Term Partnerships

Spouses buffer each other against the problems of old age, thus extending life. Married older adults are healthier, wealthier, and happier than unmarried people their age.

Work

The activities of older people are intense and varied. The psychological benefits of work can be obtained through volunteer work. Work provides social support and status, boosting self-esteem. For many people, employment allows generativity.

Filial responsibility

The obligation of adult children to care for their aging parents. Adult children may be more willing to offer support than their parents are to receive it.

Positivity effect

The tendency for elderly people to perceive, prefer, and remember positive images and experiences more than negative ones. Selective memory is a way to compensate for whatever troubles occur. Unpleasant experiences are reinterpreted as inconsequential.

Compulsive hoarding

The tendency to cling to familiar places and possessions, sometimes to the point of becoming a health or safety hazard.

Disengagement theory

The view that aging makes a person's social sphere increasingly narrow, resulting in role relinquishment, withdrawal, and passivity.

Self Theories

Theories of late adulthood that emphasize the core self, or the search to maintain one's integrity and identity.