Late Adulthood

Late Adulthood & Death & Dying

Late Adulthood

I. What is ageism?

  A. definition…prejudice against elderly

  B. sources

  C. weakening of ageism

  D. young-old & old-old

II. How to describe physical changes?

  A. senescence

  B. health problems

      1. chronic disorders

      2. causes of death…heart disease,cancer,stroke

III. How to describe cognitive functioning?

      A. information processing…memory starts to fail,don’t comprehend things as quickly

    B. three important influences…stay active mentally and physically

    C nature of mental health

        1. three prevalent disorders…depression-suicide, anxiety, dementia-alzheimers

    D. need for generativity

      1. work…get into voluntary work

      2.   retirement…retire because they want to and are able to do so generally,

IV. What are some theories of socio-emotional developmentk?

  A. disengagement theory…very negative-withdrawal socially

  B. activity theory…very positive-reengage with another group of people

  C. social convoy…travel through life with other people

  D. marriage relationships…

V. Who are the frail elderly?

  A. numbers and reasons….physically and mentally impaired that cant take care of themselves

VI. What is Erikson’s crisis?

  A. integrity vs. despair…adjustment to aging and being ok with what uve done and who you are is integrity if you don’t feel good about it its despair

Death & Dying

I. What is the work of Kubler-Ross

  A. pivotal

  B. stages…denile,anger,depression,bargaining,acceptance

II. Dying a “good death”

    1. contemporary practices…don’t want to die alone in a hospital hooked up to stuff

    2. to ensure a “good death”…hospice setting is good,living wills

III. Controversial issues

    1 active vs. passive euthanasia…actively terminate a life,passive is just letting a person go [continues]

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