PSYC 3404 Chapter Notes - Chapter 12: Asian Americans, Dependency Ratio, Culture Of Asia
4 May 2018
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Physical Development: Cultural Beliefs About Late Adulthood
How Old is “Old”?
●Cultural Variations in Conceptions of Late Adulthood
○Historically - bleak and grim
○Agism: prejudice and discrimination based on age
■Hard to get a job
■Ignored or patronized
○Asian, African, Latin America - favorable
○Traditional - the older, the more respect and authority they have
○West - improved attitudes b/c of increased economic power
●Substages of Late Adulthood
○Young-old (65-74)
○Old-old (75-84)
○Oldest-old (85 and up) - highest risk of problems
■Physical and cognitive disabilities
■Social isolation, psychological disorders,
■Difficulty performing ADL (activities of daily living)
■Fewer than ½ (85-89) have a disability
○Gerontologists (researchers on aging)
■Functional age: age that indicates the actual competence and
performance of older adults
Global Aging Patterns: The Worldwide Boom in Older Adults
●Population age 65+ continues to grow; even as population declines
●2050: # adults over age 60 will surpass number of children under 15
●Old-age dependency ratio (OADR)
○* 100
Number of P ersons 65+
Number of P ersons age 20−64
○People 20-64 contribute to economy and society
○People 65+
●Japan, S. Korea, Spain, Italy, Greece → low fertility rates
○Japan: by 2050, 35% 65+ → high proportion
●US and Canada → total population is growing b/c immigration
●“New Old People’s Movement” - promote active, engaged way of life for elderly,
including staying in the work force
●Life expectancy at 65 is 15-25 years (developed)
●Women have a longer life expectancy by ~5 years
○Behavior: men > women to smoke and drink excessively
○Genetics
●Whites have a longer life expectancy than African Americans by ~5 years
●Latin and Asian Americans life expectancy = higher than White and African Americans
●Less elderly in poverty → pension and helath care programs
○African Americans and Latinos 65+ are 2x likely to be poverty than Whites
○Women > men to be in poverty
●Developing countries: no pension system for older adults → economically dependent on
children/grandchildren
Physical Development: Physical Changes
●Primary aging: inevitable biological aging
●Secondary aging: decline in physical functioning that takes place due to behaviors
○Diet, lack of exercise, substance abuse, environmental influences
Changes in Appearance
●Hair: grayer and thinner
●Skin: wrinkle and sag; “age spots”
●Bone: thinning
●Height (men: 1 ½ inch, women: 2 inch) and weight decline
●Loss of appetite
●Teeth → yellower
Changes in Vision
●Declines in visual system (cornea, lens, retina, optic nerve)
●Cornea = hazier → lower visual acuity and higher sensitivity to bright lights
●Lens = thicker and yellower
●Cataracts (most common) - lens thickening → vision = cloudy and distorted
○Biological aging, smoking, sun exposure
●Macular degeneration (retina) - loss of clarity in the center of visual field
○Aging, smoking increases risk; healthy diet and lowers risk
●Glaucoma (optic nerve): loss of peripheral vision
●Loss of visual acuity → hard to carry out daily activities
Changes in Hearing
●Cilia (inner ear hairs) - thin out
●Structures of inner ear → less flexible and efficient
●Auditory nerve deteriorates
●Hearing acuity diminishes for high-pitched sounds
●Tinnitus - ringing or buzzing sound w/o external source
●Due to aging, preexisting health problems, side effect of meds; smoking increases risk
●Hard to carry out daily activities (communication) → depression, loneliness, cognitive
decline
Changes in Taste and Smell
●Decline in # taste buds, cells in smell receptors; olfactory bulbs shrivel
●Due to smoking, side effect of certain diseases and medications
●¼ 65+ adults report degree of impairment; 60% 80+ report impairment
●Food → less appetizing → malnutrition due to eating too little
●Unable to detect a smell that signifies danger
Changes in Sleep Patterns
●Take longer to fall asleep, wake up more often during the night
●Sleep less deeply; stage 1 sleep increases, stage 4 and REM sleep decreases
●Early bedtime and early wake-up time
●Sleep apnea (>½ 65+)
○Common in older adults who are obese or drink alcohol heavily; men > women
○Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
●Aging, psychological (depression, anxiety) and medical conditions (arthritis,
osteoporosis) contribute to sleep changes
●“Restless legs” (involuntary leg movements), shrinking bladder
●Regular time of sleeping/waking, avoid alcohol and caffeine, regular exercise, meds
Physical Development: Health in Late Adulthood
Chronic Health Problems
●Arthritis
○Due to wear and tear of joints
○Stiffness and pain → difficulty carrying out daily activities
○No cure; managing and reduce pain; artificial joints; exercise
●Osteoporosis
○⅔ women 60+ are affected by osteoporosis
○High risk for broken bones and mortality
○Receive regular bone density checks post menopause
○Bone-strenghtning exercise and calcium-rich diet
●Hypertension (high blood pressure)
○70% 65+ have hypertension
○Due to primary aging (heart= stiffer and pumps less efficiently); secondary
aging (diets high in cholesterol and fat); stress
○No direct symptoms; weakens circulatory system
Health Care and Health Promotion
●Advances in medical care are $$$
●Eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, avoid unhealthy habits (cigarette smoking, excess
alcohol consumption)
●Health Effects of Diet
○Slows down primary aging, enhance immune system
○Multivitamins
○Poor diet → obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer
●Health Effects of Exercise
○Slows effects of primary aging; improves motor coordination
○Aerobic exercise - enhance functioning of respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive
system; enhance cognitive functioning
○Strength training - builds muscle and bone mass; promote functioning of
circulatory system
○Exercise participation decreases with age
Automobile Driving in Late Adulthood
●Automobile crashes = major threat to older adults’ health (developed countries)
○More likely to be fatal, due to their bodies not being as strong
●Sensory abilities and driving abilities decline w/ age
Document Summary
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