Sociology of Aging

Ageism and Aging

• Ageism: prejudice or discrimination against a person based on age
• The Graying of the Population: gradual increase in the proportion of older people in the population

Stages of Aging

• Young old: people aged 65-74, healthy and active majority of older adults
• Old old: people aged 75-84, frail, infirm, and in the minority of older people
• Oldest old: people aged 85 and above
• Primary aging: gradual, inevitable process of bodily deterioration throughout the life span
• Secondary aging: aging processes resulting from disease and bodily abuse and disuse, often preventable

Functional Age and ADLs

• Functional age: measure of a person's ability to function effectively in their physical and social environment
• Activities of Daily Living (ADLs): essential activities that support survival, such as eating, dressing, bathing, and getting around the house

Gerontology and Geriatrics

• Gerontology: study of the aged and the process of aging
• Geriatrics: branch of medicine concerned with processes of aging and age-related medical conditions

Physical Development

• Longevity: length of an individual's life
• Life expectancy: age to which a person is statistically likely to live, based on average longevity of a population
• Life span: longest period for which members of a species can live

Theories of Aging

• Senescence: period of life span marked by changes in physical functioning associated with aging
• Genetic-programming theories: theories that explain biological aging as resulting from a genetically determined developmental timetable
• Programmed senescence: theory of aging in which specific genes "switch off" before age-related losses become evident
• Mitochondria: minute organisms that generate energy for cell processes, whose fragmentation is hypothesized to be a cause of aging

Variable-Rate Theories

• Variable-rate theories: theories explaining biological aging as a result of processes that vary from person to person and are influenced by both internal and external environment
• Metabolism: conversion of food and oxygen into energy
• Wear-and-tear theory: theory that the body ages as a result of accumulated damage to the system beyond the body's ability to repair it
• Free-radical theory: theory that attributes aging to the harmful effects of free radicals
• Rate-of-living theory: theory of aging that suggests that the body can do just so much work, and the faster it works, the faster it wears out
• Autoimmune theory: theory of aging that suggests that an aging immune system can become "confused" and release antibodies that attack the body's own cells

Life Span Extension

• Survival curves: curves showing percentages of a population that survive at each age level
• Hayflick limit: genetically controlled limit, proposed by H...