Transcript Ch05_LPPT - Napa Valley College

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Chapter 5:
Aging: Social Problems of
Growing Old
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Demographics

Ageism
• Prejudice and discrimination based solely on
age

U.S. Census Bureau defines elderly
population as 65 and older
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Continued

U.S. Census Bureau projections:
• Nation will be more racially and ethnically diverse, as
well as much older, by the mid-21st century
• 2030
 Baby boomers (babies born from approximately 1946
to 1964) are 65 or older, nearly one in five U.S.
residents will be considered elderly
 This age group will increase to 88.5 million in 2050,
more than doubling since 2008 (38.7 million)
• 85-and-older population will more than triple from 5.4
million to 19 million between 2008 and 2050
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Continued

Why the big changes?
• People are living longer

Sociologists generally divide elderly into different
categories:
• The “young old” and the “old old”
 “Young old” range in age from 65 to 75
 Generally healthy and comprise an active group of
senior citizens
 Tend to have fewer social problems
• “Old old” are over age of 75
 Tend to have more problems and need more social
support
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Ageism

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Ageism likely to become more prevalent due to
growing population of older individuals
David Certner, Legislative Policy Director for the
American Association of Retired Persons
• People are healthier, living longer, and have more
economic reasons to stay in workforce
• On employment side, greater demand for experienced
(older) workers
• America values youth
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International Life Expectancy

Common belief is that medical advances have
increased life expectancy
• Studies show medical science accounts for only 3% of
increase in life expectancy from 1900 to 1970

Thomas McKeown
• Increase in life expectancy due to two factors:
 Improvements in standard of living
 Improvements in hygiene

Life expectancy remains low in non-industrialized
nations
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Problems Face an Aging
Population
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Current Influences on Ageism

Media – especially TV – has huge impact
on spread of ageism
• Older generation often depicted as hunchedover and wrinkled, with gray hair and liver
spots
• Depictions reinforce negative stereotypes that
lead to ageism and distort perceptions of
growing older
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The History of Ageism


Real problem of aging rooted in history
Thomas R. Cole
• The Journey of Life
 “Revolt against hierarchical authority and the rise of
Victorian morality” cultivated negative view of aging
 Ageism is product of mid-19th century health
reformers who believed individuals were healthy by
nature and disease caused by some offense of
natural law
 This philosophy “harbored evasive and hostile
attitudes about the realities of aging”
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Income and Poverty

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As we age, more difficult to work and ability for
self-support through income decreases
One in ten seniors currently lives in poverty
Social Security is one of main reasons why
percentage is low as it is
2007, 16.1% of elderly lived at 125% of poverty
threshold
• Just barely above poverty line

Age stratification is problem for society with
increasing number of elderly members
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Safety and Security

Problem related to aging is elder abuse
• Comes in many forms:
 Physical
 Sexual
 Psychological
 Financial
 Neglect
 Abandonment – desertion


Exact number of elder abuse incidents unknown
because many cases unreported
No federal guidelines for structuring elder abuse
laws, and only some states mandate reporting
procedures
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Housing and Residential Care

Most seniors decide to stay in their own
homes
• “Aging in Place”
• Research suggests seniors not ready to be “put
out to pasture” because they’ve gotten old

At times, elderly cannot take care of
themselves at home
• Other residential options exist to support
elderly who require more assistance
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Continued

Senior Care: Behind Closed Doors
• Quality of care varies depending on who funds the nursing
home
 (Non-profit facilities) state run nursing homes
 (For-profit facilities) private insurers or resident funded
 State-funded homes provide poorer care than those that
are privately funded
• Nursing Home Reform Act (NHRA)
 Highlighted abuse and neglect of residents in nursing
homes across United States
 25% of nursing homes cited for quality problems that
would harm residents or put them at risk of death
 Follow-up inspections showed nearly half of homes did not
make efforts to improve
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Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Special Problems for the Elderly

Home-Health Care
• Medical care provided for patients who cannot
leave their homes but have possibility of
improving

Hospice Care
• Short-term aid only available to patients with
six months or less to live
• Does not take measures to prolong life nor
does it try to prematurely end a person’s life
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Functionalism: Disengagement Theory

Disengagement Theory
• Suggests that reduced interaction between elderly
persons and other members of society is unavoidable,
mutual, and acceptable
• Also suggests that remaining members of society are
freed from having to see painful side of aging, death,
and dysfunction

To avoid disrupting the social system, society
disengages aging individuals
• Makes room for younger people to fill their roles
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Continued

By disengaging the elderly, society can move
forward
• Process is desirable for the young and for aging
 Allows older individuals to prepare themselves for the
end of their lives
 Frees them from the expectations of their previous
life

Critics of disengagement theory
• Dispute process is functional
 Do all seniors willingly retire, or are some “forced
out”
 Does society pay the cost of losing their wisdom
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Symbolic Interactionism: Activity Theory

Each individual experience process of
aging differently
• Depending on affect of environment and
individual relationships

Sociologist Charles H. Cooley
• People develop a sense of “self” through
personal interactions with others
• Social interaction is still important for seniors
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Continued
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Successful aging is a “multifaceted phenomenon
that encompasses not only health but also
psychological wellbeing, role integration, and
social engagement”.
Activity Theory
• States that life satisfaction depends on maintaining
societal involvement by developing new interests,
hobbies, roles, and relationships
 Seniors still engaged in some form of work are
happiest and have greatest expressed life satisfaction
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Continued
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Growing old is difficult transition for many seniors
• Could cause depression or dissatisfaction in life

Robert Atchley
• Continuity Theory
 Older people seek out familiar areas of their lives and
strive to keep those constant as they age
 Becomes a strategy for adaptation to the challenges
of growing old
• Research suggests spirituality serves to help people
adapt and cope with problems of aging
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Conflict Theory
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Conflict theory suggests those with power use it
to their advantage, exploiting those with few
options
Companies
• Pay close to minimum wage will hire retirees because
they can pay them low wages and receive work
experience of a person who has long history of
maintaining a job
 Situations like these potentially exploit the elderly

This form of ageism penalizes the old and
desperate
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Continued

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Retirement allows companies to save
money by replacing older, more expensive
workers with a younger, cheaper
workforce
Melissa Fodor
• “When people work out of desperation and not
choice, it carries little dignity.”
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Specific Problems of Aging

Social Security
• Government-run social insurance program paid to
retired workers
• Government mandates Social Security, and American
workforce funds it through payroll taxes
• With large number of workers preparing for retirement,
question of system’s lack of sustainability
 Without major changes to system, it will no longer be
able to pay benefits in full by the year 2037
• Administration warns citizens to save for retirement
through other avenues as well
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Continued
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Medicare
• Government-run social insurance program that provides
health coverage for people 65 and older
 Similar to Social Security, projections of continuing
coverage for future generations look problematic
• Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees
 Problems facing Medicare are actually more severe
than those of Social Security because of the rising
costs of medical care
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Continued
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Death and Dying
• Most wish death to be quick, peaceful, and free of pain
• Topic of worldwide debate centers on physician-assisted
suicide (PAS) and euthanasia
• PAS
 Terminally ill receive prescriptions for selfadministered lethal medications from physicians
• Euthanasia divided into two subgroups
 Passive, or allowing a person to die
 Active, or doing something to assist suicide
• Taking away a patient’s life-sustaining medication
• Physician directly administers a lethal medication
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Euthanasia in Action

Maurice A. M. de Wachter, Director of Maastricht
Institute for Bioethics
• Although active euthanasia technically illegal in
Netherlands, physicians are protected but adhere to
three conditions:
 Voluntariness: The patient’s request must be
persistent, conscious, and freely made
 Unbearable suffering: The patient’s suffering cannot
be relieved by any other means
 Consultation: Attending physician must consult with a
colleague regarding patient’s condition, genuineness,
and appropriateness of request for euthanasia
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Death With Dignity


Active euthanasia illegal in the US for
people
1997, Oregon Death with Dignity Act
• Terminally ill patients may seek physicianassisted suicide
• Patients can voluntarily self-administer a lethal
drug prescribed by their physician

State of Washington passed similar law in
November 2008
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Continued
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
Few physicians willing to follow through with
procedure
Universal stigma attached to death and dying
weighs heavily on society today
• Laws such as Death with Dignity are slow to be
legislated
• 2005 opinion poll of 1,010 U.S. adults,79% surveyed in
favor of law that would “allow doctors to comply with
the wishes of a dying patient in severe distress who asks
to have his or her life ended”
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.