Aging & Society Midterm (Weeks 1-5) - PDF

**Aging & Society Midterm (Weeks 1-5; Chapters1-5)** Week 2 Aging as a Social Process (Sept 10) **Intro: Population Aging** - On average, the world is getting older - Older adults (people over 65) are healthier and more active than ever before - Older adults expect to live for MANY y...

**Aging & Society Midterm (Weeks 1-5; Chapters1-5)** Week 2 Aging as a Social Process (Sept 10) **Intro: Population Aging** - On average, the world is getting older - Older adults (people over 65) are healthier and more active than ever before - Older adults expect to live for MANY years after retirement - As we age, the ways we interact with social institutions change: - Family life/make-up - Health care access and usage - Labour force participation - Economy & financial institutions - Education systems & schooling **Population aging: adding life to years** - People are living LONGER and are HEALTHIER than in previous decades - LIFE EXPECTANCY has increased substantially - Number of average years a person is projected to live at birth - BUT OUR LIFESPAN (fixed maximum age for a species) stays estimated at approx. 120 years **Why are our populations getting older?** 1. **[DECREASE IN MORTALITY RATES ]** a. Ratio of the number of deaths in a year to the average total population in that year b. Humans are preventing deaths (sanitation, public health, medicine, etc.) c. Our LIFE EXPECTANCY is higher than ever d. Canadian LIFE EXPECTANCY in 2020 = 80 years i. Variation across gender, location, education, etc. 2. **[DECREASE IN FERTILITY RATES]** e. Number of births per woman throughout the 'normal' childbearing years (14-49) f. Canadians are having fewer children than ever before g. There are fewer babies, so older adults (from the baby boom) are making up a bigger segment of the population h. Canadian fertility rates are below replacement rate BUT newcomers (immigrants) are still growing, so the Canadian population is NOT DECREASING **[Life Course Perspective]** - Interplay between individual (agency) and societal factors (social structures) over the course of someone's life - **[Life course theory/perspective:]** a framework for understanding age-related transitions that begin with birth, school years, and move along to adulthood, work, retirement, and death **[Four aspects of our individual aging]** 1. **[Chronological Aging ]** a. Passage of calendar time from one birthday to the next b. Legal age c. Social order and control d. Difference between functional age and chronological age (some people are FUNCTIONALLY older than they are) 2. **[Biological Aging ]** e. Changes in cellular, muscular/skeletal, neural, cardiovascular, sensory systems f. These changes influence: i. The number of years a person is likely to survive ii. The extent to which he or she is likely to experience illness or a disability 3. **[Psychological Aging ]** g. Changes in learning, ability, memory, creativity h. Interaction of cognitive and behavioural changes with social and environmental factors i. Cultural differences 4. **[Social Aging ]** j. Changes in social roles and relationships k. Rights and responsibilities assigned on the basis of age or age group and by attitudes toward specific age groups defined by society \*Chronological, biological, psychological, and social aspects of aging interact Aging as a social process (Sept 11) **Culture and historical contexts also shape how we age** - Age and status of older people are linked to the period of history and culture in which they live - In some cultures, and historical periods, old age is a sign of high status; in others it's a sign of decline and lack of productivity - The value of older adults in society is socially and culturally constructed and changes overtime **[Stereotypes about aging ]** - Aging-related stereotypes and misconceptions - **[Stereotypes:]** exaggerations of particular attributes of a group of individuals - Stereotypes contribute to discrimination and prejudice - Stereotypes reproduced in interactions and media (TV, film, ads, etc.) **[Ageism ]** - **[Ageism:]** process of systematic stereotyping of and discrimination against people they are old - Socially constructed - Expressed and reproduced in media - Individual vs Institutional ageism - Ageist stereotypes (they can't drive, they smell, they are not sexual, etc.) **[Gerontology ]** - **[Gerontology:]** a multidisciplinary study of aging and issues related to later life - The scientific (biological, behavioural, social) study of aging processes - Goes hand in hand with geriatrics (medicine) **[Life course theory (again)]** - Social theory that allows gerontologists to study aging - Ask questions about individuals and aging or about cohorts of people (those born around the same time period) - Urges us to think about: **[life histories and pathways; agency and social structure; micro/macro analyses ]** **[Life course histories and pathways]** - The experiences in early life have the potential to affect the experiences later in our lives - Individual life pathways are influenced by: SES; gender; ethnicity' religion; race; immigration status; sexuality, etc. **[Life experiences are shaped by a push and pull between agency and social structure ]** **[Micro and Macro Analyses]** - Life course theory helps us ask questions about individuals OR whole groups/cohorts/institutions **[What do older adults view as important issues ]** 1. To be recognized as active and engaged citizens 2. To have the right to age in the place of their choosing 3. To be viewed as an asset to their community NOT A CHALLENGE Week 3 Historical and cultural diversity of aging (Sept 17) **[Diversity in Aging ]** - Although BIOLOGICAL AGING is mostly universal, **aging experiences are vastly different** across people and differ by: - **[Culture:]** vary across societies in different parts of the world and in multi-cultural places - **[Time/historical periods]**: vary across eras and periods of time - Definitions of 'old' wage' varies within and across cultures and history based on: - Average life expectancy - How much older people are valued - Cultural stereotypes of aging - Roles that older people take on (and whether these roles are valued) **[How to study diversity in aging ]** 1. Historical comparison (earlier vs later societies 2. Comparison of two or more similar societies at the SAME POINT IN TIME 3. Comparison across global NORTH and SOUTH 4. Comparison between culturally diverse societies **[Implications for health care policy]** - Cultural differences in later life create challenges for healthcare - We need to ensure that our healthcare is designed and delivered in a way that is fair to all citizens - Consider language needs; health literacy' cultural beliefs about illness and death, etc. **[Culture:]** set of SHARED MEANINGS passed from one generation to the next (includes dimensions such as values, beliefs, norms, customs, knowledge) **[Historical and Comparative Approaches ]** - Status of older people varies across societies and within single societies at different points in history - Societal stratification is often linked with age - Cultural factors shape the status of older adults in a society **[Intersectionality ]** **[Intersectionality:]** the interactions among systems of inequality; power-based differences in life chances that accrue to group members - Privilege, status, disadvantage/advantage, SES factors do not just add up - They INTERSECT and there is a complex relationship between fluid social identities/systems of inequalities that affect people differently **[Post-colonial and Indigenous Theories ]** - These theories are used to understand role and effects of colonialism, residential school experiences, loss of culture and land for Indigenous peoples - We should understand the legacies and everlasting effects of colonialism in Canada to acknowledge the lived experiences of Indigenous elders **[The Modernization Hypothesis ]** - In **PRE-INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION TIMES** there were TWO societies 1. **[Hunting and gathering ]** a. Oldest members were a valuable source of knowledge b. Elders were influential in social, political, and religious aspects of life 2. **[Agrarian ]** c. Oldest citizens controlled the land d. Family heads e. Most knowledgeable about survival, animals, laws, etc. - When **[MODERNIZATION and THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION]** occurred, there was an increased need for labour in towns and cities which led to an increase in MIGRATION FROM RURAL TO URBAN AREAS - As MECHANIZATION increased, there was a decreased need for knowledge or wisdom and OLDER PEOPLE LOST POWER AND STATUS - **[Community effects:]** older adults experienced changes in roles, identities, and relationships with their community - **[Societal effects:]** older adults were no longer seen as PRODUCTIVE; changing how age status was viewed in society - The MODERNIZATION HYPOTHESIS does NOT account for: heterogeneity in aging; lower status older people in pre-industrial societies; continued high status for some older people in modern societies; other reasons for changing status post-modernization **[Aging in PRE-LITERATE SOCIETIES ]** - **[Pre-literate societies]**: societies that dd not have any formal education systems - Culture (language, norms, customs, knowledge) were based on experience - ELDERS WERE THE ONES WITH EXPERIENCE - Perceptions of older adulthood and status was linked to FOOD - Elders were responsible for controlling property and food - **[Literate societies:]** societies that have established WRITTEN LANGUAGE and EDUCATION SYSTEMS - Written language replaced oral transmission of knowledge and culture - Experience and elderhood were NOT as VALUED as they were in preliterate societies **[Aging diversity during Modernization ]** - Everyone was affected differently by the Industrial Revolution (different impacts in different places) - Subcultures were affected differently - **[Subculture:]** a homogenous community DISTINCT from MAINSTREAM society; has its own set of VALUES, NORMS, CUSTOMS, BEHAVIOURS, ATTITUDES - E.g., Chinatown in Toronto, Indigenous communities, ethic neighbourhoods, retirement communities - Subculture members can experience discrimination and marginalization from mainstream culture members - There is unique aging issues related to housing, health, health care needs, and discrimination that require specific programs and policies in Indigenous, racial, ethnic, and immigrant populations Population aging (Sept 19) **[Aging populations -- context ]** - Population data (via census data) allows us to gather insights about what citizens do and what they need - Healthcare status and healthcare needs - Housing status and needs - Employment status and education needs - Social/financial support needs - Pension needs - Canada's population is aging so WE HAVE TO ADJUST OUR SOCIAL SERVICES to accommodate these changes: - Pension changes - Healthcare changes - Expansion of LTC and home care - Expansion of public transportation - Aside from the government, business and innovators in private sectors also use DEMOGRAPHIC data to guide their products - E.g., anti-aging products, older-adult products - **[Demography:]** study of why and how populations change over time and become smaller, larger, older, younger, etc. - Uses populations' fertility rates, mortality rates, migration, and relationship between these things - **[Demographic Transitions:]** from 1800s and after, many nations underwent FOUR **[STAGES of DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION]** which affected their population size and age structure 1. Population **EXPLOSION**: BIG increase in population 2. Population **IMPLOSION**: populations concentrated in urban areas 3. Population **DISPLOSION**: population became more HETEROGENOUS due to migration 4. **TECHNOPOLOSION**: spread of new technology, creating improvements in public health (disease control, public sanitation, longevity) a. Due to new and improved technology, major causes of death shifted from infectious diseases (affecting all ages) to degenerative diseases primarily affecting older people - **[Epidemiological Transitions ]** - **[Epidemiology:]** study of how diseases spread, who gets them, and why; helps us to understand patterns of illness in groups of people to understand and identify ways to prevent and control diseases - **Leading cause of death in LATE 1800s** - ACUTE INFECTIONS (NO ANTIBIOTICS) like tuberculosis, influenza, cholera - **Leading causes of death TODAY** - Chronic and degenerative diseases like cancer, stroke, heart disease, and PREVENTABLE DEATHS (MVAs) - Humans experiences major improvements to hygiene, food access, education, sanitation, water quality, etc. (FEWER PEOPLE WERE DYING FROM INFECTION AND INFECTOUS DISEASES) - THIS INCREASED LIFE EXPECTANCY (from 50 years in late 1800s to 80 years NOW) **[Demography and cohorts]** - Demographic data allows us to understand variations in size, composition, lifestyles, health, and characteristics of a population - ALSO allows us to understand variations WITHIN the population (generations and cohorts) - **[Generations:]** set of birth cohorts who share life experiences and have characteristics that distinguish it from other generations (e.g., Baby Boomers, Gen Z, Millennials) - Age then becomes a key feature of social organization and can cause TENSION or CONFLICT between cohorts (ageism) **[Apocalyptic aging ]** - Increase in ageist narratives that frame older adults as a burden or downfall of society (fuel discrimination and marginalization of older adults) **[Global population aging ]** - 10% of the world's population is 65 and older - Not all nations are aging at the same rate (many countries are still young) - But these nations will still have to plan for an aging population in the future Week 4 **[Population aging (Sept. 24)]** **Impacts of population aging on a global scale?** - Some say population aging will slow economic growth - Increase in retirement, increase in worker age, decrease in number of young workers entering the workforce = smaller workforce, slower productivity - Other predictions - Declining fertility = more women in workforce - May COUNTERBALANCE the aging workforce - Retirement age could increase - This can increase the absolute number of workers pre-retirement **When did Canada's population start to age?** - Accelerated population aging started in 2011 - The Baby Boom was aging (make up a large portion of the population) **Centenarians in Canada** - **[Centenarian:]** person over 100 years old **Demographic Change (Key Terms)** **[Median age:]** the age at which the population divides into equal numbers of younger and older people (the higher the median age, the older the population is getting) **[Life Expectancy:]** the average number of years of life remaining for an individual at a given age (i.e., at birth) - Shaped by social determinants of health - Active life expectancy: 'disability free' life expectancy **[Code Red Project Hamilton ]** - Hamilton Spectator uncovered health disparities in neighbourhoods in Hamilton - Found life expectancy differences across Hamilton's highest and lowest SES neighbourhoods **[Birth and death rates]**: rates of births and deaths (usually captured in a one-year period per 1,000 people) **[Sex ratio:]** number of males per 100 females in a population **[Total dependency ratio:]** total number of people less than 19 and more than 65 (young AND old dependents) divided by the number of people who are 'eligible' to be in the labour force (aged 19-64) - Tells us how much social support (education, childcare, pension) might be needed in a population - High ratio means that the labour has to support more people Theories in aging research (Sept 26) **[Theories:]** help us to understand and interpret the phenomena we observe - Provides a set of propositions to model how the social and physical world operates - WHY and HOW questions - Encourages the development and accumulation of knowledge - Foundational theories: high level guidance in social research 1. **[Structural Functionalist Perspective ]** - Relationships between social structures and institutions - Includes norms, social roles, socialization into groups - Society is made up of structures/institutions (e.g., schools, governments, hospitals, etc.) - These structures FUNCTION together to regulate all of society - EX: Mandatory retirement policy (removing older adults from the 'worker' role) is functional because it allows younger people to enter the labour force - Older worker adjusts to new role of 'retiree' and is rewarded with pension income 2. **[Social Constructionist/Interpretive Perspective ]** - Focuses on how individuals derive meaning from social interaction - Individuals will define social situations in terms of what it means to them - Meaning comes out of interacting with other people through language, touch, clothing, SYMBOLIC INTERACTION - MICRO LEVEL THEORY - EX: university student presents their self differently during class as opposed to at a job interview 3. **[Conflict Theory]** - Society is made up of groups and these groups are conflicting/competing - Social interaction involves negotiating and resolving conflict - If one group has more power/money than another group, others will strive to obtain some/all of the resources from those in power - EX: older adults rely on pensions and working aged adults feel burdened by paying taxes/supporting the older generations (CONFLICT BETWEEN THESE GROUPS) **[Contemporary Theories]** **[Social Exchange Theory]** - People search for situations in which values outcomes are possible and where they can meet their social, emotional, and psychological needs - People seek to **MAXIMIZE rewards and MINIMIZE costs** - Considers whether relationships are RECIPROCAL or BALANCED **[Postmodern Theories]** - **Science and knowledge are linked to power and social control** - **[Social constructionism:]** reality is socially constructed and evolves as we actively interact with others or record our thoughts and meanings - **[Deconstructionism:]** language is not stable and a social concept that must be DECONSTRUCTED for use to understand and explain the 'real' meaning of thoughts and behaviours **[Feminist Perspectives]** - Gender is an organizing principle and an important determining factor in how genders experience disadvantages in life - Gender inequalities are socially constructed and perpetuated by social, economic, and political forces **[Life course perspectives]** - Bridges micro and macro levels of analysis - Life is made up of multiple trajectories and transitions - Explains **continuity and change in individuals' lives overtime**; age-related and social life transitions; interaction of social life, history, culture, etc. **[Other theories in gerontology ]** **[Activity theory:]** adapting to older adulthood involves continuing active life **[Disengagement theory:]** older adults must leave the workforce (withdraw) for young people to enter the workforce **[Continuity theory:]** as we get older, we strive to maintain our lifestyles and achieve continuity **[Age Stratification theory:]** society is segregated into age groups; we gain access to different social roles and expectations based on our chronological, legal, or social ages **[Political economy perspectives:]** demography is less important than political and economics when considering how age is constructed and valued in society; we collectively set older adults up for dependency by de-valuing their role in society through policy/social structures **[Critical gerontology:]** we must ask questions about taken for granted assumptions regarding aging; analyses lie outside mainstream gerontology world; focuses on improving age-related experiences for specific subgroups of older adults (class, gender, racial, privilege groups) **[Intersectionality perspectives:]** privilege and disadvantage need to be examined at the intersections of major systems of inequality (like age, sexuality, race, social class, religion, etc.) Research Methods (Sept 27) **[Research methods:]** tools used to conduct research **[Quantitative research:]** uses numbers and statistics in the collection and analysis of data (e.g., surveys, scores, measurements, etc.) - GROUP/SOCIETAL LEVEL UNDERSTANDING - Based on RANDOM SAMPLES; MORE GENERALIZABLE - \- INDIVIDUAL LEVEL UNDERSTANDING \- BASED ON CONVENIENCE SAMPLING; LESS GENERALIZABLE - Gerontology and aging studies look at aging processes, aging individuals, and life stages - Aging-related research is complex and has unique implications to how research is conducted **[Challenges in QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH ]** - How do we know if a research finding/result is due to age effects, cohort effects, or period effects? - **[Age effects:]** differences attributed to biological, psychological, and social aging processes of the individual (e.g., older people walk more slowly than younger people - **[Cohort effects:]** socio-economic and cultural experiences shared by all individuals born around the same time (e.g., people born before 1940s will prefer phone calls over video calls) - **[Period effects:]** historical and societal events that affect all individuals in the population regardless of age or birth cohort (e.g., people born before 1972 are more likely to have received the smallpox vaccine) - Challenges also arise when conducting cross-sectional research - **[Cross sectional research:]** recording observations of individuals at different ages at one point in time and reporting findings for each age group - E.g., Showing obesity rates of different age groups in 2015 - Cross-sectional data is helpful and descriptive BUT DOES NOT ALLOW US TO TEASE APART AGE, COHORT, AND PERIOD EFFECTS - **[Longitudinal research:]** collecting data overtime - **[Panel Design:]** the same people, households, organizations are studied at different times - Allow us to collect information from the SAME PEOPLE OVERTIME - **[Cohort/Trend Design:]** people sharing the same experiences are studied at different times, but different people may be studied each time - Involves cross-sectional surveys overtime (different groups of people overtime) - Allows us to disentangle age, cohort, and period effects Week 5 Integrating physical, psychological, and social change (Oct 3) - Aging is a **heterogeneous** and **multidimensional** experience - Everyone experiences biological, chronological, psychological, and social aging differently **[Multidimensionality of Aging Process]** - All individuals experience SOME DECLINE in health and gradual loss of physical, motor, and cognitive abilities with age; this is NORMAL - DOES NOT MEAN THAT AGE = DECLINE - **Aging is NOT a disease or a disability** - **Aging should not be medicalized** - The risk for certain diseases and disabilities does increase with age: - Individual factors (genetics, life history) - Choices (lifestyle) - External constraints (SES, gender, housing, work conditions) - **[Disability:]** reported difficulty performing ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIFE (ADLs) or in performing INSTRUMENTAL ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIFE (IADLs) - **[ADLs:]** getting out of bed, grooming, toileting - **[IADLs:]** shopping, meal prepping, banking, cleaning, driving, etc. - **[Frailty:]** characterized by impairments across physiological systems that often entail **imbalances** in systems - Involves weakness, decrease in muscle tone, susceptibility to adverse health outcomes - The rate at which people experience a decline in bodily functions and structures is linked to: - Cellular respiration - Lifestyle - Nutrition - Quality of health care - The environment Changes in Physiological Systems with Age ----------------------------------------- - Changes to **internal systems** - **Muscular, cardiovascular, respiratory, and nervous systems change with age** - We usually do not notice these changes until they impact our life in some way - E.g., changes in muscular system increases our risk of falls - E.g., cardiovascular and respiratory systems lead to decreased cardiac output and poor transportation of oxygen to our organs Changes in Motor and Sensory Systems with Age --------------------------------------------- - **Nervous system activity slows with age** - **Changes include slowing of motor, cognitive, and sensory processes** - Neurocognitive disorders (dementia) may start to appear BUT THESE ARE NOT A NORMAL PART OF AGING AND WILL NOT AFFECT EVERYONE [Motor Performance ] - **[Motor performance:]** action involving use of muscles to perform skills like walking, grabbing/lifting objects, etc. - Most significant change in motor control with age is: - Decrease in capacity for physical work - Increase in mistakes/accidents - Decrease in speed while completing motor performance tasks - E.g., reduced walking speed, reduced accuracy with placing objects **[Sensory Processes and Changes ]** - **[Sensory processes:]** vision, smell, hearing, taste, touch allow us to communicate with our physical and social environments - With age, the quality and quantity of information that we RECEIVE via our sensory organs can be impaired AND how our brains PROCESS thus sensory data - **[Vision:]** after middle age, changes in visual system occur - **[Hearing:]** hearing loss common in older age; reduced ability to hear high-pitch sounds - **[Touch:]** Loss of sensitive to touch and vibration; increased prevalence of pain - Sensory loss can be compensated for with **corrective devices** (glasses, hearing aids) Integrating physical, psychological, and social change (oct 4) cont - Cognitive processes (in addition to physiological systems and sensory/motor systems) also slow down as we age - Dementia: umbrella term which refers to degenerative diseases affecting cognition, memory, mood, ADLs/IADLs (includes Alzheimer's Disease; Vascular dementia, Lewy Body dementia, Younger Onset dementia, etc.) - Decline in cognitive processes are less rapid and less severe than declines in motor, physiological, and sensory systems Intelligence: multi-dimensional construct that includes verbal comprehension, reasoning, abstract thinking, problem-solving, and knowledge Two Types of Intelligence: 1. Fluid: neurological capacity a. Peaks during adolescence b. Susceptible to age-related declines 2. Crystallized: product of education, experience, acculturation c. Increases with age until mid-70s d. More resistant to aging effects Learning and Memory Learning: acquisition of information Memory: storing and retaining information - Learning and memory can be enhances using prompting (photos) and recall vs recognition Creativity and Wisdom: reflect a person's cognitive style; the way people conceptually organize their environment, use the knowledge they possess, and solve problems Creativity: ability to produce high-quality work Wisdom: expert knowledge of life that breeds insights and judgement about complex life situations Personality: traits, emotions, moods, coping strategies, cognitive style unique to an individual - Some elements of personality change with age and some stay the same - People do not experience MAJOR personality change with age, they tend to change their behaviour or cognitive pattern to FIT social expectations as they get older - Personality is GENERALLY STABLE over the life curse, BUT SOME CHANGE does occur - Decline in neuroticism and extroversion and openness but increase in agreeableness and conscientiousness