1. Chapter Fifteen Social Aspects of Later Life: Psychosocial, Retirement, Relationship, and Societal Issues

2. Continuity Theory
Continuity theory proposes that people use familiar strategies to cope with daily life
Too little continuity promotes a feeling that
life is too unpredictable
Too much continuity promotes boredom
Optimal continuity allows for challenges
and interest without overwhelming

3. Integrity Versus Despair
Older people engage in life review in which they reflect often and long on the events and experiences of their lifetime
Some individuals judge their life to have been meaningful and productive and feel good about the choices they have made, resulting in ego integrity
Others feel a sense of meaninglessness and blame others for their problems, resulting in despair

4. Religiosity & Spiritual Support
Religious faith and spirituality are
important means by which older people
cope with life
Spiritual support is involvement with
organized and unorganized religious
activities and pastoral care

5. What Does Being Retired Mean?
Retirement does not always mean complete
withdrawal from the work environment
Some elders have a bridge job, or a job one
holds between ending their primary
employment and final retirement
Bridge jobs are associated with both
retirement and overall life satisfaction

6. Why Do People Retire? Today, more people retire by choice than for
any other reason
Most people retire when they feel they are
financially secure
Some people retire when physical health
problems interfere with work
People with jobs that are physically
demanding tend to retire earlier

7. Gender Differences Women with husbands that have poor health
or with larger numbers of dependents tend to
retire earlier. The opposite is true for men

8. Ethnic Differences There are differences in what retirement
means among ethnic groups, making
comparisons difficult
There are no gender differences in retirement
among African Americans

9. Adjustment to Retirement
Adjustment to retirement develops over time and involves such factors as
-physical health
-financial status
-voluntary retirement status
-feelings of personal control
Men who place high priority on family report more
retirement satisfaction
Women’s satisfaction with retirement is not
associated with any specific roles

10. Adjustment to Retirement
Research does not find the belief that health
begins to decline right after retirement to have
any validity
Retirees volunteer and find ways to provide
service to others
Volunteering supports a personal sense of purpose

11. Friends and Siblings Friendships
Older adults have fewer relationships than
younger adults

12. Sibling Relationships
Five Types:
Intimate sibling relationships - 14%
Congenial sibling relationships - 30%
Loyal sibling relationships - 34%
Apathetic sibling relationships - 11%
Hostile sibling relationships - 11%

13. Sibling Relationships (Cont)
Older African Americans have apathetic or
hostile relationships with siblings 5 times less
often than European Americans

14. Marriage and Gay and Lesbian Partnerships
Older couples are more likely to be similar in mental and physical health
-show fewer gender differences in pleasurable activities
Older couples usually have developed effective
ways to avoid conflict
The quality of older gay and lesbian relationships
are the same as the quality of older heterosexuals
relationships

15. Caring for a Partner
Caring for a chronically ill partner is more stressful
and challenging than caring for a chronically ill
parent
Division of labor has to be readjusted
Spouses of Alzheimer’s patients report more
depression and decreased marital satisfaction
Older adults who have higher feelings of
competence report few hassles in caring for
partners

16. Widowhood For most people, the death of a spouse is among
the most traumatic experiences they will have
More than half of all women over 65 are widows.
Only 15% of men the same age are widowers
Friends and family may not visit or socialize as
much with elders after the death of a spouse

17. Widowhood (Cont) Men are at a higher risk of dying, themselves,
soon after the death of a spouse
Some researchers believe that a man’s wife is
often his only close friend and confidant
There is evidence that older men are less likely
to be able to carry out routine activities such as
shopping and financial responsibilities

18. Widowhood con’t Women are usually less financially secure
when widowed and are more likely to enter
poverty status
Widowers are 5 times more likely to remarry
than widows

19. Great-Grandparenthood
For most adults, grandparenting is an enjoyable
and important role
Three important aspects of great-grandparenthood:
It gives a sense of personal and family renewal
Great-grandchildren provide new diversions and
a positive new role
A major milestone of longevity, which is usually
viewed positively

20. Frail Older Adults Frail older adults have physical disabilities, are
very ill, or may have cognitive or psychological
disorders
The % of frail older adults are less than healthy
older adults but the % increases with advancing
age
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) assess the basic
daily living task competencies of older adults
-eating, bathing, toileting, dressing, walking

21. Frail Older Adults Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) are
tasks that require intellectual competence and
planning
-shopping for personal items
-paying bills
-making telephone calls
-taking medications appropriately
-keeping appointments
-caring for animal herds, threshing grain
-making bread, tending crops

22. Prevalence of Frailty Less than 5% of adults aged 65 to 74 need
assistance
Incidence of needing assistance increases
dramatically thereafter
Older adults may also have higher rates of
anxiety and depression

23. Living in Nursing Homes
Only about 5% of older adults live in nursing
homes
About 50% of those who live beyond 85 will spend
at least some time in a nursing home
The increase in the number of assisted-living
facilities, for older adults who need help but are not
so impaired to require 24-hour care, is decreasing
the number of older adults in nursing homes

24. Who Lives in Nursing Homes?
Widowed or divorced, financially disadvantaged,
without living family, very old, and European American
Risk factors include:
Over age 85, Female
Recently admitted to a hospital
Lives in retirement housing
Unmarried or living alone
Has no children nearby
Has cognitive impairment, has problem with IADLs

25. What Characterizes a Good Nursing Home?
High quality of life for residents
Quality of care
Safety
Researchers suggest a “person-centered planning”
approach to nursing home policies
Promotes residents’ well-being by increasing their
feelings of personal control
Nursing home staff should avoid patronizing speech
and infantilization (i.e., using first names when
inappropriate, terms of endearment, etc.)

26. Elder Abuse and Neglect
There are several different categories of elder abuse
Physical
Sexual abuse
Emotional or psychological abuse
Financial or material exploitation
Abandonment
Neglect
Self-neglect

27. Prevalence Estimates are that there were 551,000 people
over the age of 60 abused or neglected in the
U.S. in 1996
The most common types of abuse were:
Neglect - 60%
Physical abuse - 16%
Financial or material exploitation - 12%

28. Characteristics of Elder Abuse Victims
People over the age of 80 are 2 to 3 times more
likely to be abused than those under age 80
In 90% of the cases where the perpetrator of elder
abuse is known, it was a family member, 2/3 of
which were a spouse or adult child
Recently, telemarketing fraud has become a
larger problem

29. Causes of Elder Abuse Abuse is more likely to be caused by a
combination of:
Intrapersonal problems of the caregiver
(substance abuse, mental disorder, behavior
problems)
Interpersonal problems of the caregiver (fam or marital conflict, poor rel with care recipient, $ dependence on care recipient)
Social characteristics of the care recipient (lack of social support, past abuse)

30. Politics, Social Security, and Medicare
As the number of older adults has increased,
so has the quality of their everyday lives,
partly as a result of increasing political power
(AARP)
In the 1950s, roughly 35% of older adults
were below the poverty line compared to
about 11% in the mid-1990s

31. The Political Landscape
The cost of Medicare, Social Security, and other
federal programs began to be larger proportions
of the federal budget as the numbers of elders
increased in the 1970s
Elders began to be the scapegoats of budgetary
problems, resulting in program reform
Political pressure increased to ensure that
programs treated all generations fairly

32. Political Activity Adults over the age of 65 are the most
politically active of all groups
The AARP is the largest interest group in the
U.S. and has political power and influence

33. Social Security Created in 1935 by Franklin Roosevelt to protect
the average American and his family against the
possibility of poverty in old age
Social Security has become the primary source of
financial support after retirement for most U.S.
citizens
Baby boomers will be followed by a smaller
generation that will not generate payroll taxes
sufficient to pay for it

34. Medicare 40 million U.S. citizens depend on Medicare for
medical insurance
To be eligible, a person must be over 65, be
disabled, or have permanent kidney failure
Part A covers inpatient hospital services
Part B covers the cost of physicians, outpatient
services, medical equipment, and other health
supplies
Medicare includes prescription assistance