Study Guide Exam 4 1 How do different cultures respond to death Know specific examples In many preliterate societies the dead are imbued with special powers and considered potentially harmful to the living Many customs and funeral rituals surrounding death represent efforts to ensure the well being of the community Among some aboriginal tribes of Australia a dead person is never mentioned by name after the burial Ancient Hebrews regarded the corpse as unclean and not to be touched Among most traditional Native American tribes ghosts of the dead were feared Distinguishing feature of Hinduism is the belief in the transmigration of souls Passing of souls from one to another giving rise to successive rounds of death and rebirth Practice associated with Hinduism was that of burning or burying women alive with their deceased husbands Buddhists do not fear death They believe that dying is an inescapable part of life People who lead a good life and perform meritorious deeds for others will be rewarded in their next life Since ancient times Mexican culture has reflected the themes of life death and resurrection Life and death are viewed as part of a continuing process of regeneration Once a year death is celebrated in a national fiesta the Day of the Dead The fiesta is an occasion for communion between the living and the dead who return to visit They are welcomed with food drink 2 How has the treatment of death changed in the U S Since the nineteenth century there has been a shift in how death is viewed and how the dying are treated in the United States In 1900 more than half of deaths involved individuals 14 years old or younger Now most deaths occur in old age The shift in the proportion of deaths among the young and the elderly is called an epidemiologic transition 3 What are Elizabeth Kubler Ross five stages of dying 1 Denial 2 Anger 3 Bargaining 4 Depression 5 Acceptance 4 How can individuals express their desires about end of life decisions Living wills when an individual specifies their wishes for treatment in advance in case they should become terminally ill 5 What are the trends in suicide by age group Nearly a quarter of all suicides committed by people 65 Especially high among men 85 and older Elderly white men are the only group more likely to commit suicide than to die in an auto accident Risk increases with advanced age 6 What are some of the main psychiatric disorders faced by older individuals Dementia Depression 7 What are the factors that influence adjustment to widowhood for men and women When the period of mourning has passed some widows find that they enjoy their new independence the free time and the reduced load of housework Women react differently to husbands deaths Depends on relationships they had with their husbands May mean loss of a unique deeply loved person with whom they shared companionship May mean a change in status loss of social position and a couples oriented lifestyle Most older men are married and have a partner who can care for them if they become physically disabled Many men are totally unprepared to assume the role of widower Many have never prepared a meal They eat poorly and skip meals As a consequence their health suffers 8 What is the hospice philosophy Quality over the quantity of life Central component of hospice philosophy is pain management terminal pain is considered an illness in itself 9 What does hospice care provide Hospice allows terminally ill to die easily and peacefully no pain at home special units of hospitals 10 What options are available to preserve the long term stability of the Social Security trust fund Raising the retirement age raise the normal retirement age which has already been raised from 65 to 67 for people retiring in the future plus the highest benefits already go to people who wait until 70 to retire Reducing benefits lengthen the years of work needed for full benefits decrease the return for high earners decouple benefit increases from cost of living increases Increasing revenues increase the present payroll tax rate Means Testing reduce benefits only to higher income individuals Privatization Allow individuals to divert a portion of payroll taxes to private accounts 11 What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option for Social Security reform Raise the age for full Social Security benefits from 67 to 70 PRO people today are in better health and are living longer than when Social Security was enacted Why shouldn t they be working longer CON Some older people won t find jobs because of age discrimination Job competition might increase causing wages for younger workers to decline Older minorities would be most affected by any raise in the retirement age since they are most likely to retire early Cut Social Security benefits by decreasing what higher earners receive or make an across the board cut for all retirees PRO Cutting benefits would help restore the trust fund s long range solvency without undermining confidence in Social Security CON High earners already receive a low return on their payroll taxes The poorest elderly would be most severely affected by any across the board cut in benefits Increase revenues by raising payroll taxes PRO Payroll taces in the US are low relative to other contries Americans can afford a small hike in payroll tac CON the cost of raising the payroll tax will fall most heavily on younger workers Most Americans are opposed to any type of tax increase Make the affluent elderly ineligible for Social Security benefits PRO The standard of living has increased for many older people People who have high income should not receive resources from the government CON Public support for Social Security might devline if people who had made contributions all their working lives found they were ineligible for benefits when they retired Means testing also might reduce the incentive to save for old age Provide retirees a small basic benefit with most retirement income coming from individual contributions to a personal security account PRO Workers might receive a better rate of return on their investment than what they receive from making contributions to Social Security CON Inequality in old age would rise because low income workers would have less to invest Some people might invest poorly and lose all their retirement savings 12 What is the difference between a defined benefit and a defined contribution plan Defined Benefit Plans These are pensions that typically pay a worker a set