Aging process of growing old the process of growing old especially of acquiring the physical and mental characteristics of old age Changes that occur to an organism during its lifespan from development to maturation to senescence Social gerontology the area of gerontology that is concerned with the impact of social and sociocultural conditions on the process of aging and its social consequences ATTITUDES TOWARD AGING AND THE ELDERLY Attitude definition enduring organization of motivational emotional perceptual and cognitive processes with respect to some aspect of an individual s world embodies both affective emotional component and action tendency Personal consequences of negative views of aging Older person s inability or unwillingness to seek needed services health care or others in social environment will ignore or may respond negatively to the elderly Robert Butler ageism definition process of systematic stereotyping of and discrimination against people because other services they are old a set of beliefs attitudes norms and values used to justify age based prejudice discrimination and subordination negative attitudes beliefs and conceptions of nature and characteristics of older persons that are based on age that distort their actual characteristics and abilities Three elements of ageism 1 prejudicial attitudes toward older people old age and aging process 2 discriminatory practices against older people ie age restriction for driving 3 institutional practices and policies that perpetuate stereotypes about older people Social construction of ageism American ideals youthful appearance independence speed of performance productivity and wealth are American Ideals DOES THIS NEED MORE In the american society mental and physical weakness are stigmatized intentional or negligent acts by caregiver or trusted individual that potentially Elder abuse definition causes harm to vulnerable elder Elder abuse prevalence 11 of US elders some kind of abuse within the past year Not much research completed on this topic Who is at risk for elder abuse women and oldest old 85 are more likely to be victimized 1 dementia those with mental health substance abuse issues socially isolated poor physical health affects individuals across all SES levels cultures and ethnicities Most common perpetrators of elder abuse victim s own family members HISTORY OF GERONTOLOGY Quetelet is considered the FIRST gerontologist Principal concern prolongation of life Gruman 1966 in his History of Ideas about the Prolongation of Life suggested that the inevitability of dying led mankind to think about ways to extend life Long lived individuals were viewed with awe and received respect because they were thought to have magical powers Alexander Leaf s studies of long lived peoples Harvard physician and pathologist visited many areas in which very long lived people are reputed to exist He collected empirical data on diet work patterns and health status Quality of life integrated work and physical exercise with an adequate diet Sir Francis Galton s studies of age differences Biggest contribution the data for 17 variables that he collected at the International Health Exhibit in London in 1884 for vital capacity visual accuracy reaction time etc Showed that there were age differences in many human characteristics hearing for high tones and that most variables were correlated with chronological age Benjamin Franklin s studies of aging Possibility that lightning might influence the resurrection of deceased animals and people since electricity had a stimulating effect it would have a direct influence on the life span interested in ageing and rejuvenation CAREERS IN GERONTOLOGY Seven categories of gerontological specialists Direct Service Provision program planning evaluation and administration marketing and product development advocacy education and training financial planning research Direct service provision Provides care to frail elderly in hospital nursing homes and daycares 2 provides counseling to older people and their families provide health legal psychological and social services Program planning evaluation and administration Design implement and evaluate programs to meet the needs of older people This work is usually performed by social services funded by the government Administrators oversee the operation staffing expenditures and evaluations of agencies and organizations for the elderly Marketing and product development These people assess the needs of older people and develop and market services and products to meet those needs examples home health care retirement communities Education and Training Plan instructional programs for older people and their families Growing need for education for practitioners who work with elderly Others teach courses on Adult Development and Aging in universities and colleges Advocacy Work as community activists to encourage the government and private sector to be responsive to the needs of older people Non profit organizations to develop specific programs for health care community services and government policy Financial planning helping retirees invest their funds understand benefits provided by employer like social security and medicare financial planners help elders choose various options for investing their money and explain tax consequences Research Conduct basic research on aging processes or applied research that is concerned with the extent to which various programs meet the needs for elderly DEMOGRAPHY Demography definition science of population dynamics Focus of demography large population groups not at the individual level level of society generally focuses on large broad statistical groups within and across populations Definitions of 3 demographic indicators 1 dependency ratio number of individuals in the dependent segment divided by the number of individuals in the supportive or working population 3 2 sex ratio proportion of men to women in a population number of men 3 birth cohort all of the individuals who are born in a particular period of time 100 number of women Longevity length and quality of life Life expectancy at birth year projects the average number of years of life for all persons born in a specific Comparative historical data regarding life expectancy at birth and at age 65 years Life expectancy at birth in 1900 47 years Life expectancy at birth in 2001 76 9 years Life expectancy at birth in 2007 77 9 years Life expectancy at 65 years in 1900 11 9 years Life