1 HISTORY OF GERONTOLOGY Alexander Leaf characteristics of long lived peoples visited many areas in which very long lived people are reputed to exist he collected empirical data on diet work patterns health status the long lived peoples far better than typical health was due to their quality of life curiously without inner stress they integrated work physical exercise with an adequate diet Benjamin Franklin studied methods of rejuvenation explored the possibility that lightning might influence the resurrection of deceased animals people thought that since electricity had a stimulating effect it would have a direct influence on the lifespan Quetelet the first gerontologist developed the concept of the average man around which extremes were distributed in 1835 he published On the Nature of Man and the Development of his Faculties which provides descriptive data for many traits mortality data age changes in artistic productivity the use of the normal distribution to describe human characteristics represented a conceptual revolution he introduced the idea that traits varied in degrees that these differences were measurable Sir Galton Francis fundamental contribution to gerontology is the data for 17 variables that he collected at the International Health Exhibit in London in 1884 o collected for 9337 males females aged 5 80 for vital capacity visual accuracy reaction time etc showed age differences in many human characteristics that most variables were correlated with chronological age developed the first index of correlation Milestones 1945 Gerontological Society in America was established 1946 University of Cambridge Nuffield Unit for Research into Problems of 1974 creation of the National Institute of Aging within the National Institutes of Aging established Health ATTITUDES TOWARD AGING THE ELDERLY Consequences of negative views of aging 2 may result in an older person s unwillingness or inability to seek needed services health care or other types of assistance old people s negative attitudes may affect others who in turn may feel free to respond negatively to the elderly or ignore them completely Cross sectional studies at the same time of measurement examines or compares people of different chronological ages who were born at different times attempts to estimate age maturational changes from age differences age changes are confounded with birth cohort or generational differences Longitudinal Studies the repeated measurement of the same person over a specified period of time the same individual is studied to determine what changes or effects are experienced as an individual moves from young adulthood to middle age to old age to advanced old age these within individual changes are the best estimates of age changes time cost of such studies prevent most researchers from conducting these confound age changes time of measurement effects Robert Butler Ageism Ageism stereotyping discriminating against individuals or groups because of their age a set of beliefs attitudes norms values used to justify age based prejudice discrimination subordination 3 elements of Ageism 1 prejudicial attitudes towards older people old age the aging process 2 discriminatory practices against older people ex age restrictions for driving 3 institutional practices policies that perpetuate stereotypes about older people ex mandatory retirement Consequences of internalization of ageist views his her belief ultimately may affect a person s self identity particularly if an individual is observing typical age related changes in his her own behavior then an individual s self concept self esteem may be diminished Elder abuse intentional or negligent acts by caregiver or trusted individual that causes or potentially causes harm to a vulnerable elder most common categories neglect physical abuse sexual abuse financial abuse exploitation emotional or psychological abuse including verbal abuse threats abandonment self neglect women the oldest old those 85 years are more likely to be victimized mistreatment is most often perpetrated by the victim s own family members DEMOGRAPHY 3 demography the science of population dynamics study statistics such as births deaths income or the incidence of disease which illustrate the changing structure of human population Demography Focus of Demography typically focus at the level of society rather than the micro level of the individual focuses on large broad statistical groups within across populations the info represents statistical generalizations there are variations within the group exceptions to the generalizations 3 Demographic indicators dependency ratio o in modern societies demographic changes have particular significance for economic arrangements in society o In the US social security system is the basic public pension system the primary function of social security is to provide at least a minimum income to an elderly person o Raises issue of relationship between the dependent population the working supportive population o Dependency ratio the number of individuals in the dependent segment divided by the number of individuals in the supportive working population Dependent young the old Old 65 years Working 18 64 years sex ratio the number of males per 100 females in a population in modern societies the general sex ratio is less than 1 0 because women tend to outlive men birth cohort all the individuals who were born in a particular period of time born in a particular historical period raised in a particular historical milieu from the moment of birth represent a particular configuration of demographic characteristics Baby Boomers the pig in the python birth cohort 76 4 million born between 1946 1964 responsible for the shockwave of older Americans by 2030 the elderly will comprise 25 of the total population Population of primary concern for gerontology people aged 65 years Longevity life expectancy 4 embraces both the concept of the length of life the quality of life Life expectancy at birth projects the average number of years of life for all persons born in a specific year Comparative historical data regarding life expectancy at birth at age 65 years Life expectancy at birth in 1900 47 3 years Life expectancy at birth in 2000 76 9 years Life expectancy at birth in 2007 77 9 years Age specific life expectancy age specific life expectancy life expectancy at age 65 years or 75 or 85 projects the average years of life remaining for an individual of a given age Gender