PSY 447 Psychology of Aging – Study Guide Test 2_Latest updated,100% CORRECT

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PSY 447 Psychology of Aging – Study Guide Test 2_Latest updated Unit 5: Chapter 5 (Person-Environment Fit) and Comments File Terms to Know • B = f(P,E) - • PEI - person–environment... interactions • Competence - In the Lawton and Nahemow model, the theoretical upper limit of a person’s ability to function. • Environmental press - In the Lawton and Nahemow model, the demands put on a person by the environment. • Proactive - When people choose new behaviors to meet new desires or needs and exert control over their lives • Docile - When people allow the situation to dictate the options they have and exert little control • Ecology of Aging - Also called environmental psychology, a field of study that seeks to understand the dynamic relations between older adults and the environments they inhabit. • Aging in Place - a balancing of environmental press and competence through selection and compensation. Being able to maintain one’s independence in the community is often important for people, especially in terms of their self- esteem and ability to continue engaging in meaningful ways with friends, family, and others. • Adult Daycare - is like child day care, in that it is a group setting where a number of adults who need assistance can spend the day. This can be an ideal situation for a person who lives with a family member while the family member is at work. • Congregate Housing - • Assisted Living (ALFs) - Housing options for older adults that provide a supportive living arrangement for people who need assistance with personal care (such as bathing or taking medications) but are not so impaired physically or cognitively they need 24-hour care. Section 5.1 1. How do older adults often wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to moving? What other age group tends to do this, too? 2. Understanding psychosocial aging means focusing on attention to individuals’ needs, rather than treating all older adults alike (p. 129) 3. Who (ages) does environmental press affect? • What you are capable of doing as a 5 year old differs from what you are capable of doing as a 25, 24, 65, or 85 year old • the demands put on you by the environment changes as you age 4. Be able to give / identify examples of physical, interpersonal, and social environmental press, regarding older age. • Physical o a half-acre of lawn to mow • Interpersonal o The patience required to answer the repeated questions of your spouse with Alzheimer’s, over and over, all day long • Social Environmental o learning to cook and do laundry or do home repairs, even though those tasks are not part of your cohort’s or culture’s gender roles 5. What constitutes inappropriate environment press? What should the environment provide us? ****Inappropriate speech to older adults that is based on stereotypes of incompetence and dependence**** (MEH?) 6. In terms of an environmental press, how (SPECIFICALLY) can homes provide too much press for many older people, and how (SPECIFICALLY) can care facilities provide too little? If an older individual is prone to falling, then an environmental press would be living somewhere cold where there is a lot of ice, the environment would be providing too much press. 7. Understand internal locus of control and external locus of control. • Refers to the extent to which people feel that they have control over the events that influence their lives. If you believe that you have no control over what happens and that external variables are to blame, then you have what is known as an external locus of control. 8. Understand the Congruence Model and be able to give / identify examples of congruence related to older age (and of incongruence). • Congruence Model o People vary in their needs and environments differ in their ability to satisfy those needs; thus, people with particular needs search for environments that meet them best.” • focuses on o 1) three types of limitations – those that are about the environment (such as when no reliable public transportation is available), those that affect a person’s freedom (such as what time they can eat or what kinds of meals they can have), and those that are within the person (such as fear of falling, prejudice, etc.) o 2) individual differences (poverty / financial comfort, a shy / outgoing personality) o 3) competence (abilities, such as getting dressed, managing stairs, etc.). In addition, it focuses on people living in care facilities, though it can also apply to other situations. 9. What are examples of limitations and individual differences regarding care facilities? • Meals are served in specified “windows” o (Breakfast from 7-9, lunch from 11-1, dinner from 4:30-6:30 – if you want to sleep in and have breakfast at 10, you are out of luck). • Your room is too small to fit your piano, and you feel uncomfortable playing the “public” one in the activity room. o (Especially because most of the day that room is being used for activities.) 10. What is the Platinum Rule and why is it better than the Golden Rule? • Platinum Rule o “Do unto others as they would like to be done to.” • Golden Rule o Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” – but that assumes that other people have the same preferences you have. 11. Why is the personal freedom issue a bigger deal for someone in a care facility? No matter how much a care facility might try to be like a person’s home, there will still be limitations in what they can do. This is also true of universities (you can’t have pets in dorm rooms), hospitals (you will be taken by wheelchair within the hospital, even though you are there for a thyroid problem and can walk just fine – that’s to avoid lawsuits in case you should slip), schools (remember walking in lines to PE, lunch, music?), and many workplaces (dress codes, etc.). It isn’t like the 80-year-old in the nursing home can’t handle institutional requirements / rules – it’s just that in the past, they weren’t part of her HOME. We are supposed to be able to make our own rules in our own home. 12. In most cases, who selects a care facility? Family 13. What are ways nursing home staff can send messages that their residents are not competent? Resident competence is not valued as much as it should be and the staff may (because of time pressures) provide assistance that is not really needed. It takes longer to let Aunt Frances dress herself as much as possible so the staff puts her clothes on for her. After a while, Aunt Frances gives up trying to get herself dressed and waits passively for help. (On the other hand, you can see WHY the staff person feels the need to move Aunt Frances along. It would help if nursing homes had larger staffs, but then costs would go up.) 14. In what ways can care facilities be dull and boring? In what ways can they be more interesting? (The last eight questions have been based on the Comments file.) Too often, care facilities are drab, with little landscaping, and boring views of other buildings. Too often, care facilities make virtually no demands on their residents, and life becomes a dull routine of breakfast at 8:30, chair exercises from 10 to 11, lunch at 12:30, a nap from 1:30 to 3, singing or crafts from 3:30 to 4:30, dinner at 5:30, a movie from 7 to 9, and bed at 9:30 – day after day after day after day 15. Explain my version of the PCP model. (Now, Attitudes / LOC, Quality of Life) 1) We’re going to combine A and B and E and call it NOW. NOW is whatever your current situation is, given time and place and past experiences / decisions (of yours or others that affect you). Right NOW, you live in a community with excellent (or lousy) public transportation, you have excellent (or mediocre) health insurance, your income is adequate because you invested well during your working years (or you lack retirement benefits because you only worked part- time after first raising five children), you are happily married to your partner of 40+ years (or they died 6 months (or 6 years or 10 years) ago, you are close to (or estranged from) your adult children and grandchildren, you have an adequate number of close friends (or not), you still live in your 5-bedroom house with stairs (or you’ve moved to a first-floor two-bedroom condo), you have emphysema from smoking for 35 years (or your health is excellent), etc. LOTS of variability in that! Compare your own grandparents’ situations. 2) We are also going to combine C and D. These include our ATTITUDES – optimism (or pessimism), openness to new experiences (or fear of the unknown) – as well as our LOCUS OF CONTROL (choices we make) – eat healthily, exercise, move to a home that does not have stairs, take advantage of the internet to stay in touch with far-flung family members and friends. (Or, eat lots of processed food, live a sedentary lifestyle, stubbornly stay in the too-large family home with stairs, refuse to learn new technologies, etc.) 3) All of the above (1 and 2) combine to create the person’s QUALITY OF LIFE, which includes your moods (happy, sad, lonely, regretful, excited, contented or longing for more, etc.), the enjoyment (or not) you get from your activities, and the value you place on how you spend your time and the people you interact with (too much time spent doing nothing, too much time interacting with medical people, not enough time with grandchildren, etc.). The 5-bedroom, 2-story house is a problem because you have arthritis in your knees – or the one-story condo makes home maintenance a breeze and you can easily leave it if you want to travel or visit family. You worry about finances due to your lack of retirement benefits -- or you never think about money because you know you have plenty for your basic needs and some luxuries. You are lonely for your partner -- or you have made peace with his or her death and are relieved they are no longer suffering. Thus, N + A + LOC = QOL And that is all you need to know from the PCP model! 16. The focus must be on the interaction between the person and the environment, not on one or the other. (p. 133) Section 5.2 17. The text says that “even seemingly small changes in a person’s environment can result in major changes in behavior.” What are examples of these? Changes that can make the difference between a person being able to live independently or needing a more supportive situation. 18. Why is it overall better for older people to “age in place” as long as possible? Feeling one is “at home” is a major aspect of aging in place. Providing older adults a place to call their own that supports the development of the psychological attachments necessary to convert the place to a home is key for successful aging in place. Aging in place provides a way for older adults to continue finding aspects of self-identity in where they live, and to take advantage of support systems that are established and familiar. 19. What are ways to modify and / or simplify a person’s environment / behavior for a better fit? Many strategies are available for modifying a home to help a person accommodate changing competencies. Minor structural changes, such as installing assistive devices (e.g., hand rails in bathrooms and door handles that are easier to grip), are common strategies. In other cases, more extensive modifications may be needed to make a home fully accessible, such as widening doorways, lowering countertops, and constructing wheelchair ramps. Although minor alterations can often be done at low cost, more extensive modifications needed by people with greater limitations may be unaffordable for low-income individuals. Even though the cost of such interventions is significantly lower than placement in long-term care facilities or assisted living, many people simply cannot afford them. As a result, many older adults with functional impairments experience a mismatch between their competency and their environment. 20. What about the person’s home makes it hard (especially for women) to leave? People find their home truly is a “source of identity.” It may be where they raised their children and where they hold thousands of precious memories. It is probably decorated to their taste and reflects “who” they are. If they move, they will likely have to rid themselves of many of those items, as well as lose the daily joy of walking through the place they created to be “theirs.” 21. What kinds of non-gloomy housing decisions (to move) do older adults often make? Many older people make numerous decisions about where to live, starting with retirement. Stay put, or move to the beach? Stay relatively put, but downsize to a smaller home? Stay put, or move to where the grandchildren are growing up? 22. What makes moving in one’s older years more stressful? 23. As noted, it is best if the older individual is involved in the decision-making, but why does that often not happen? (Multiple reasons, including for #12 above.) They choose the nursing home closest to their home or their work, or they choose the one that is the prettiest (but has rapid staff turnover and for a very good reason). So, my advice to YOU is, if you have a relative who is 75 or so (or younger if in poor health) and they have NOT considered any care facilities, then YOU start looking. Take one Saturday a month and visit 3 or 4. As you keep doing this, you will have a better and better feel for which ones are good ones and which ones are … not. Think about what would best suit your family member (not necessarily you – remember the Platinum Rule!), and then if the “if” occurs – you are prepared and can whip into action and the rest 24. What are the three types of adult day care? • social o The first provides only social activities, meals, and recreation, with minimal health services. • medical/health o The second type is adult day health care that provides more intensive health and therapy intervention and social services for people with more serious medical problems or who require intensive nursing care for a specific medical condition. • specialized o The third provides specialized care to particular populations, such as people with dementia or developmental disabilities. 25. Understand MediCAID vs. MediCARE. How do they apply to nursing home care? • Medicaid vs. Medicare. Medicaid is health insurance offered to people who are at a certain level of poverty. This can vary from state to state. Medicaid recipients are children, teenagers, young adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults. The defining issue for Medicaid is POVERTY. Medicare is health insurance offered to those 65 and over. Your income does not matter. Millionaires have Medicare coverage. The defining issue for Medicare is AGE. Medicaid usually will pay for at least some adult day care expenses. Medicare typically does not. • Medicare also does NOT pay for long-term nursing home care. (It will pay for short-term rehab, for up to 100 days.) Thus, if an older person needs to move permanently to a nursing home, they have to pay for it out of pocket (with their own cash, savings, proceeds from the sale of their home, etc.). However, if their income is low enough (again, this varies by state), they can be eligible for Medicaid coverage, because Medicaid DOES pay for nursing home care. 26. How can care facilities be “culturally appropriate”? This refers to food (kosher for Jewish attendees?), activities (loteria and telenovelas for Hispanic members?), music (southern Gospel for African-Americans from the south?), the language staff members speak, and so on. These are also true of nursing homes and other care environments. 27. How do congregate housing and ALFs differ? Congregate housing just means that a lot of people live in the same basic place – if you live in an apartment building, you live in congregate housing. However, some congregate housing is specifically for older adults. My grandmother lived in two such large apartment buildings. Neither provided anything other than a large activity room with resident-organized activities (much as any typical apartment complex might offer), and field trips two or three times a month (which cost money – they could be anything from a trip to a Cincinnati Reds baseball game to an outing to a nearby town known for its antique stores or craft festival). Many charge a sliding scale, based on income, for rent. Other congregate housing options may provide a main meal at noon, one or more daily activities, weekly trips to local grocery stores or other shopping venues, etc. The more services are provided, the more expensive the congregate housing. Assisted Living Facilities (known as ALFs) provide assistance with ADLs and basic medical care (such as making sure medications are taken as prescribed). They also provide housekeeping services and usually two to three meals a day. My uncle lived in an ALF for about ten years. He had various minor health problems so certain things were hard for him to do, but other things were quite easy. It was his job to take the ALF dog for walks three times a day, for instance (he volunteered to do this). He also worked two hours a day, two or three days per week, in the little store they had. (It sold postage stamps, stationery items, some snack items, and used books and videos.) Other people, however, needed help with bathing, getting dressed, and getting from their bed to their wheelchair and vice-versa. Later, when he developed Parkinson’s, he required more assistance and eventually had to move (because his ALF was not a Continuing Care Retirement Community) to a nursing home. 28. What three attributes should an ALF provide to its residents? 29. Know the guidelines for choosing an ALF. • Face older adults when you speak to them, with your lips at the same level as theirs. • Ask open-ended questions and genuinely listen. • Concentrate on the older adult’s expertise and wisdom, as discussed in Chapter 14, by asking for advice on a life problem he or she knows a lot about, such as dealing with friends, cooking, or crafts. • Ask questions about an older adult’s living situation and social contacts. • Allow the older person to exert control over the visit: where to go (even inside the facility), what to wear, what to eat (if choices are possible). • Listen attentively, even if the older person is repetitive. Avoid being judgmental, be sympathetic to complaints, and acknowledge feelings. • Talk about things the person likes to remember, such as raising children, military service, growing up, work, courtship, and so on. • Do a joint activity, such as putting a jigsaw puzzle together, arranging a photograph album, or doing arts and crafts. • Record your visit on audiotape or videotape. This is valuable for creating a family history you will be able to keep. The activity may facilitate a life review as well as provide an opportunity for the older person to leave something of value for future generations by describing important personal events and philosophies. • Bring children when you visit, if possible. Grand- children are especially important, because many older adults are happy to include them in conversations. Such visits also give children the opportunity to see their grandparents and learn about the diversity of older adults. • Stimulate as many senses as possible. Wearing bright clothes, singing songs, reading books, and sharing foods (as long as they have been checked and approved with the staff) help to keep residents involved with their environment. Above all, though, hold the resident’s hands. There’s nothing like a friendly touch. 30. What is the (pretty much minimum) cost for an ALF? $1400 Minimum Unit 6: Chapter 8 (Social Cognition) and Comments File Terms to Know. • Negativity bias o occurs when people allow their initial negative impressions to stand despite subsequent positive information because negative information was more striking to them and thus affected them more strongly • Positivity bias o Refers to the human tendency to overestimate the possibility of positive (good) things happening in life or in research. • Social knowledge (social scripts) o Knowledge we have regarding how to behave in certain social contexts. It is generally just “picked up” and not formally taught. There is a “formal restaurant script” that is different from a “fast-food restaurant script.” There is a script for how to stand in an elevator, how to pass people on the street, how to wait for a bus or in a line for anything • Dispositional attribution o A causal attribution that concludes the cause resides within the actor. ▪ An explanation such as “Brittany is just an anxious person” would be a dispositional attribution • Situational attribution o An explanation that the cause resides outside the actor ▪ An explanation such as “Brittany is succumbing to pressures from her supervisor and that’s why she’s nervous” • Cognitive style o How we approach solving problems. • Age-based double standard o Operating when an individual attributes an older person’s failure in memory as more serious than a memory failure observed in a young adult. • Patronizing talk / Elderspeak o Mimics the way adults talk to young children and can include a higher pitch, a sing- song tone, the use of plural pronouns (as in “are we ready for our bath?” – are you climbing in the tub with them?), the use of demeaning phrases such as “well, well” and “now, now” (as in “Now, now, we don’t want to make a mess, do we?”), and childish expressions such as “go potty” or “make wee-wee” instead of adult phrasing. Section 8.3 1. Why is moving important when it comes to social cognition? (Multiple ways! Examples!) • The textbook notes the negativity bias (p. 228), which is the tendency to form an initial impression that is negative and then cling to that even when further information proves more positive. (This is NOT limited to older adults!) This is a problem for many older adults (and more so their family members!) when the older adult must involuntarily move to a new residence – typically, a care facility or a small apartment. They don’t like their room or apartment, they don’t like the other residents, they don’t like the food, they don’t like the activities, they don’t like the staff, they don’t like the view, they don’t like the this and the that and the everything. (They are a lot like teenagers who have been forced to move, which just goes to show that this is not necessarily an AGE thing.) 2. Explain negativity bias re age relevance, the continuation of it, voluntariness, etc. • This bias corresponds well with other studies demonstrating older adults pay attention to and seek out emotional information more than do younger people (Isaacowitz & Blanchard-Fields, 2012; von Hippel & Henry, 2012). We discuss this further later in the chapter. This bias suggests decline in cognitive functioning limits the ability of older adults to override the impact of their initial impressions 3. Older adults are at a disadvantage when the social context is cognitively demanding. 4. Explain the above with regard to moving to a new residence. • You can imagine an older adult moving (involuntarily) into an assisted living facility and finding the sheer numbers of people (and most likely all strangers, whether other residents or staff members), geographic layout (this hall to the dining room or that hall? And where is the activity room again?), schedule of activities (piano sing-along at 10:30 on Tuesdays and Fridays, but at 3:00 on Mondays and Thursdays), and meal times overwhelming. This older person may come across as rude or prickly; his or her social cognition is too taxed by all the other demands to function at its usual level. They may make some poor social decisions (judgments) that have longer-term repercussions, perhaps lashing out at other residents or staff members who are only trying to provide assistance. • That same older person – if they were moving voluntarily – might find all of the changes and newness exhilarating, or at least worth exploring. (This is an argument for moving BEFORE you need to.) • So, for an example of time pressures and multiple distractions, Roger wants to join the bridge games that are played at 1:30 on Thursdays in Building 1, Floor 4, Room 10. He leaves his apartment at 1:10. But on the way to Building 1 he takes a wrong turn (distraction) and has to retrace his steps. Now he is feeling time pressure. He hurries along but mistakenly presses 5 instead of 4 on the elevator in Building 1. (Stress from the time pressure?) He goes to Room 10 but it is the sewing club room. He has not realized he is on Floor 5. He thinks maybe he forgot the room number and checks out rooms 11 and 12 and 20, but they are a maintenance closet, an office, and someone’s apartment. It is now 1:32. Finally, someone tells him he is on Floor 5 and needs Floor 4 and he arrives at the bridge club meeting a 1:37 – and all the games have started. 5. Who makes snap judgments? • Everyone? • “In these situations, strong beliefs about how one should act in relation- ship situations appeared to be violated for the older adults, particularly older women. Therefore, these women made snap judgments about the main char- acter that violated their strong beliefs and did not feel it was necessary to engage in conscious, deliberate analyses. They knew the character was wrong, as in the husband who chose to work long hours and not spend time with his family.” Pg-231 top right paragraph 6. How do older people differ (re younger people) with regard to snap judgments? • As we consider in more depth in the section on causal attributions, Blanchard-Fields and colleagues found older adults consistently hold to their initial judgments or conclusions of why negative events occur more often than younger adults. They appear not to adjust their initial judgments by considering other factors, as Alexandra and Klaus were able to do when they revised their interpretation of their grandchildren’s behavior. 7. Do older adults tend to focus more on dispositional attributions, situational attributions, both, or neither? Explain. • When the target events were ambiguous as to what was the specific cause of the outcome, as with Allen and Joan, all adults tended to make interactive attributions, but older adults did so at a higher rate. • The dispositional bias was only found for older adults when they were presented with negative relationship situations. Researchers have found everyday reasoning biases in older adults occur not because of declining cognitive ability, but because older adults are more likely than younger adults to base their judgments on their own beliefs 8. What is the #1 reason parents give for physically abusing their very young child? • The #1 reason why children under age 2 years or so are physically abused by their parent figures is because they are crying. 9. What is the #1 reason parents give for physically abusing their 2-to-6-year-old child? • The #1 reason for children about two to five or six years is they have wet or soiled their pants / bed. Because of course children deliberately want to wet their bed. That was sarcasm.) 10. People who have strong beliefs about certain behaviors tend to make what THREE kinds of attributions? (See Comments file) • People who have strong beliefs about certain behaviors tend to make more rapid and negative and dispositional attributions than people who are less rigid. Section 8.2 11. How are cohort differences and salience important when examining social cognition? (details!) • First, the cohort is extremely important when it comes to social cognition. Older adults today, who were raised in the (mostly) 1930s-1950s, can have quite firm views of appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. On the other hand, they also lived through the topsy-turvy 1960s (Vietnam, political assassinations, race riots, etc.) and 1970s (Watergate, oil crisis, inflation, women working, divorce, etc.), and many have adjusted the black-and-white views of the world they were raised with in favor of seeing lots of shades of gray. • The textbook says, “Older adults may hold different beliefs than other age groups” (which is more about cohort than age); and “how strongly individuals hold these beliefs may vary as a function of how particular generations [cohorts] were socialized” (both on p. 223, 2nd column). The example of cohabitation (or as my grandmother said, “living in sin”) is a much bigger problem for today’s older adults than it will be for older adults in 30 or 40 years (thus, a cohort effect, not an age effect). 12. Social judgments are based on three main things – what are they? Be able to give examples of how they work. (see Comments file) • We make social judgments and decisions ALL of our lives, not just in older age – and we often make negative or rigid social judgments in our younger years, which may lay the groundwork for continued negativity and rigidity when we are old. (In other words, social judgments are a function of our life experiences, our personalities, and what is important to us NOW, and not just our age.) Section 8.4 13. What are the several reasons that goals and motivations may change as people grow older? (Some from the textbook, some from my comments.) • Goals change with age as a function of experience and time left in the life span. This can influence the degree we observe age differences in social cognitive functioning, such as the desire to focus on preserving ones’ resources or eliminating negative affect in problem situations. • Personal Goals o They consist of underlying motivations for our behavior and how we perceive our own ever- changing environment. Across the life span, personal goals change to match our needs, with young adults striving mainly for achievement, like completing a college degree or starting a career, and middle-aged and older adults seeking a balance between function- ing independently and sharing their lives with others (e.g., children, spouses).. • Emotion as a Processing Goal o Emotional goals become increasingly important and salient as we grow older (Carstensen & Fried, 2012). It is primarily a motivational model that posits the degree an individual construes time as limited or expansive that leads to the ranking of emotional or knowledge-seeking goals as higher in priority, respectively. Thus, given limited time left in the life span, older adults may be more motivated to emphasize emotional goals and aspects of life. • Cognitive Style as a Processing Goal o How we approach solving problems. Examples include a need for closure and the inability to tolerate ambiguous situations. People with a high need for closure prefer order and predictability, are uncomfortable with ambiguity, are closed-minded, and prefer quick and decisive answers 14. What kinds of details are older adults more likely to recall? Why? • Older adults are more likely to both focus on and recall pleasant and positive details and events than unpleasant or negative ones. o This is partly because as you get older, you realize how much energy is wasted on anger, resentment, bitterness, and other negative emotions. 15. How do Thinking types differ from Feeling types? • Thinking types are drawn toward facts o Thinking types may choose a course of action that seems rude to others • Feeling types are drawn toward emotions – theirs and others’. o Feeling types may do something that is against their own best interest to avoid hurting another person’s feelings. 16. How do Judging types differ from Perceiving types? We have these preferences from very early ages, though we can learn to act like and appreciate the opposites. • Judging types o Prefer predictability and like to get decisions over with. • Perceiving types o Like to keep their options open for as long as possible and enjoy novelty and variety. 17. Why are older people (usually) so comfortable with their routines and living environment? • Older people vary just as much as younger people in these dimensions. However, as people age they generally do become more comfortable with their routines (after all, they created them!) and their living environment (they created that, too). This is why involuntary changes in either can be very upsetting and taxing to their energy and disposition. It is people who already have a “high need for closure” and who already tend to “make stereotyped judgments who reflect the more rigid stereotype we often attribute to older adults (conveniently forgetting the many older adults who do not fit that stereotype). Many older people do not want to make quick decisions – they would much rather drag it out or, in some cases, have someone ELSE make the decision for them. Section 8.1 18. In what ways are some cultures more positive in their views of older adults? Why? • However, many other cultures (Hispanic, Asian, Native American, African-American, etc.) hold much more positive views of older members of their societies, seeing them as leaders and deserving of respect and honor. This may be due to in part to the greater integration between older and younger members in those cultures, with older people continuing to be actively engaged in families (e.g., Hispanic grandmothers who care for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren), local institutions (e.g., older African-American women as leaders in black churches), and the economy (basket-makers and rug-weavers among the Navajo). 19. What are examples of patronizing talk / Elderspeak? • This mimics the way adults talk to young children and can include a higher pitch, a sing- song tone, the use of plural pronouns (as in “are we ready for our bath?” – are you climbing in the tub with them?), the use of demeaning phrases such as “well, well” and “now, now” (as in “Now, now, we don’t want to make a mess, do we?”), and childish expressions such as “go potty” or “make wee-wee” instead of adult phrasing. It can also include a LOUDER AND S L O W E R VOICE THAN USUAL, which may be appropriate if the other person has a hearing loss, but many older people can hear just fine (often thanks to hearing aids) and do not need the amplification. Unit 7: Chapter 9 (Personality) and Comments File Terms to Know • Epigenetic principle o Each psycho social strength has its own special time of ascendancy, or period of particular importance. • Midlife correction / transition o reevaluating one’s roles and dreams and making the necessary corrections • Possible selves o A representation of an individual's ideas of what they might become, and are afraid of becoming • Subjective well-being o An evaluation of one’s life associated with positive feelings. • Spiritual support o Meaning they seek pastoral care, participate in organized and non-organized religious activities, and express faith in a God who cares for people—as a key factor in understanding how older adults cope. • Androgyny o The combination of masculine and feminine characteristics into an ambiguous form. o May be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual identity. 1. What are dispositional traits? What do they fail to consider? • dispositional traits o Are characteristics of a person presumed to be both inborn and fairly stable across life. o A criticism of dispositional trait theories of personality is that they do not take into account the contexts in which people live, behave, interact with others, etc. These contexts are often referred to as sociocultural influences. In actual fact, some aspects of a person’s personality are fairly stable, but many aren’t, and most vary based on the context. 2. What does it mean to “know a person well”? (what kinds of things do we need to know?) • To know another person well takes more than just knowing where he or she falls on the dimensions of dispositional traits. Rather, it means knowing what issues are important to a person, that is, what the person wants, how the individual goes about getting what he or she wants, what the person’s plans are for the future, how the person interacts with others who provide key personal relationships, and so forth. • In short, we need to know something about a person’s personal concerns. Personal concerns reflect what people want during particular times of their lives and within specific domains; they are the strategies, plans, and defenses people use to get what they want and avoid getting what they don’t. 3. In Jungian theory, the personality must be continually shaped throughout our lives. 4. Differentiate between extraversion and introversion (see Comments file). • Extraverts are oriented toward the external world and get their energy from things outside themselves (feeding off the energy of others, for instance). • Introverts are oriented toward the internal world and get their energy from reflection and quiet pondering. • However each must (because that’s how life is!) spend SOME time with others and SOME time alone, and learning how to do both, with satisfaction and serenity, are important parts of personality development. In fact, later in life, an orientation toward introversion is beneficial, as in very-late life a person is likely to spend quite a bit of time alone. The American adult population is about 70% extraverted and only 30% introverted, which means 1) introverts do much more adapting throughout their lives (as most of America is geared toward extraversion) and 2) extraverts often have little experience learning to be content when alone, because for most of their lives they seldom have to be. 5. How are Jung’s concepts of feminine and masculine reflective of his cohort? • When rigid gender roles were more expected. Today, young and middle-aged men are much more free to express the more (from a sociocultural perspective) feminine parts of their personality (such as nurturance) and young and middle-aged women are equally free to express the more masculine parts of their personality (such as analytical thinking). And of course many people identify as gender-fluid and do not wish to be labeled as either Male or Female. 6. Know Erikson’s last four stages (5, 6, 7, and 8) and how 5, 6, and 7 (but not 8!) can reoccur in later life. Make sure you go over the Comments!!! The epigenetic principle states that there is a “critical period” or “optimal” time for certain aspects of personality (and other things) to develop, and if they are postponed, they are more challenging. Thus, a person who struggled with, say, industry vs. inferiority well into his or her 20s, will not undergo identity vs. identify confusion until perhaps his or her 30s, which is not what “society” says is an appropriate time to be trying on personalities (Goth this month? Nerd the next? Social Butterfly or Languid Artiste after that?). • trust vs. mistrust o From birth to 12 months of age, infants must learn that adults can be trusted. This occurs when adults meet a child’s basic needs for survival. Infants are dependent upon their caregivers, so caregivers who are responsive and sensitive to their infant’s needs help their baby to develop a sense of trust; their baby will see the world as a safe, predictable place. Unresponsive caregivers who do not meet their baby’s needs can engender feelings of anxiety, fear, and mistrust; their baby may see the world as unpredictable. If infants are treated cruelly or their needs are not met appropriately, they will likely grow up with a sense of mistrust for people in the world. • autonomy vs. shame/doubt o As toddlers (ages 1–3 years) begin to explore their world, they learn that they can control their actions and act on their environment to get results. They begin to show clear preferences for certain elements of the environment, such as food, toys, and clothing. A toddler’s main task is to resolve the issue of autonomy vs. shame and doubt by working to establish independence. This is the “me do it” stage. For example, we might observe a budding sense of autonomy in a 2-year-old child who wants to choose her clothes and dress herself. Although her outfits might not be appropriate for the situation, her input in such basic decisions has an effect on her sense of independence. If denied the opportunity to act on her environment, she may begin to doubt her abilities, which could lead to low self-esteem and feelings of shame. • initiative vs. guilt o Once children reach the preschool stage (ages 3–6 years), they are capable of initiating activities and asserting control over their world through social interactions and play. According to Erikson, preschool children must resolve the task of initiative vs. guilt.By learning to plan and achieve goals while interacting with others, preschool children can master this task. Initiative, a sense of ambition and responsibility, occurs when parents allow a child to explore within limits and then support the child’s choice. These children will develop self-confidence and feel a sense of purpose. Those who are unsuccessful at this stage—with their initiative misfiring or stifled by over-controlling parents—may develop feelings of guilt. industry vs. inferiority • identity vs. role confusion o In adolescence (ages 12–18), children face the task of identity vs. role confusion. According to Erikson, an adolescent’s main task is developing a sense of self. Adolescents struggle with questions such as “Who am I?” and “What do I want to do with my life?” Along the way, most adolescents try on many different selves to see which ones fit; they explore various roles and ideas, set goals, and attempt to discover their “adult” selves. Adolescents who are successful at this stage have a strong sense of identity and are able to remain true to their beliefs and values in the face of problems and other people’s perspectives. When adolescents are apathetic, do not make a conscious search for identity, or are pressured to conform to their parents’ ideas for the future, they may develop a weak sense of self and experience role confusion. They will be unsure of their identity and confused about the future. Teenagers who struggle to adopt a positive role will likely struggle to “find” themselves as adults. • intimacy vs. isolation o People in early adulthood (20s through early 40s) are concerned with intimacy vs. isolation. After we have developed a sense of self in adolescence, we are ready to share our life with others. However, if other stages have not been successfully resolved, young adults may have trouble developing and maintaining successful relationships with others. Erikson said that we must have a strong sense of self before we can develop successful intimate relationships. Adults who do not develop a positive self-concept in adolescence may experience feelings of loneliness and emotional isolation. • generativity vs. stagnation o When people reach their 40s, they enter the time known as middle adulthood, which extends to the mid-60s. The social task of middle adulthood is generativity vs. stagnation. Generativity involves finding your life’s work and contributing to the development of others through activities such as volunteering, mentoring, and raising children. During this stage, middle-aged adults begin contributing to the next generation, often through childbirth and caring for others; they also engage in meaningful and productive work which contributes positively to society. Those who do not master this task may experience stagnation and feel as though they are not leaving a mark on the world in a meaningful way; they may have little connection with others and little interest in productivity and self-improvement. • integrity vs. despair. o From the mid-60s to the end of life, we are in the period of development known as late adulthood. Erikson’s task at this stage is called integrity vs. despair. He said that people in late adulthood reflect on their lives and feel either a sense of satisfaction or a sense of failure. People who feel proud of their accomplishments feel a sense of integrity, and they can look back on their lives with few regrets. However, people who are not successful at this stage may feel as if their life has been wasted. They focus on what “would have,” “should have,” and “could have” been. They face the end of their lives with feelings of bitterness, depression, and despair. 7. What can “stagnation” refer to? • This can refer to self-absorption (as the textbook notes), but it also can refer to a sense of futility – “I push papers all day long, but what impact am I having on the world?” I have heard it described by some people as “dying a little on the inside each day” and “fading away into nothing 8. What are the five ways a person can be generative? • As far as I am concerned, “generativity” assumes any and all of these. A person whose work is not generative may find that satisfaction via parenting, volunteering on a project that will outlive him or her, or helping to improve his or her community, whether it is the immediate neighborhood, the local synagogue, or a marginalized group that person is a member of. Just make sure you know the five types (and can identify / come up with examples of them). 9. Contrast midlife crisis with midlife transition / correction. • midlife crisis o a time in the midpoint of a person’s life where they feel distressed and hope to change their future course • midlife transition / correction o Research found that most men, in fact, do NOT undergo a “crisis,” but instead experience a re-prioritizing of values sometime in their 40s. This may be a decision to spend more time with their children before those children go off to college or move away. It may be a realization that their body isn’t what it used to be and they are going to need to eat a healthier diet and exercise on a regular basis. It may mean that they decide to give more time to a hobby or cause that in the past has been shoved aside in favor of work. For my own dad, it meant working less, taking up running, and deciding to let go of certain stressors and expectations. The terms midlife transition and midlife correction refer to this experience 10. Timing-wise, what are most transitions based on? Give examples. 11. What are gains during midlife? What are losses? • Most people are more competent at their jobs and in their relationships, they can handle stress more easily (because they have had extensive experience with different stressors by that point), and they usually have some degree of control over their life. • On the other hand, their physical bodies are changing in ways that may be depressing; they often have less stamina (but not if they start or continue exercising!) and aging signs are more pronounced (weight gain, sagging, wrinkles, etc.). 12. In McAdams’s theory of the life-story, what are the two most common goal themes? (Describe!) • When we adjust our behavior or our expectations, we are accommodating to the environment (or situation). • At other times, we change the environment / situation, by bringing our personal “skill set” to a situation to exert control over it (assimilation). 13. What is a scenario in Whitebourne’s Identity Theory? How does it operate? • we create scenarios, or expectations, and then we evaluate whether we are meeting our expectations. If we are not, we either adjust our behavior or we adjust our expectations. A person, for instance, who thought they’d be married by age 30 and starting a family and is now 34 and single can either decide to marry the next person who comes along (please don’t do that!) • 14. Contrast assimilation and accommodation and how they operate. • At other times, we change the environment / situation, by bringing our personal “skill set” to a situation to exert control over it (assimilation). We may do this at work by offering ideas for improvements in how certain tasks are done. • When we adjust our behavior or our expectations, we are accommodating to the environment (or situation). • A grandparent may walk into a child’s temper tantrum and know exactly how to handle it, whereas the child’s parent is overwhelmed and trying too much to accommodate to the child (and stop the tantrum). 15. Know Ryff’s six dimensions of subjective well-being (be able to DESCRIBE) and how they may be challenging in later life. 1) Self-Acceptance: Having a positive view of oneself; acknowledging and accepting the multiple parts of oneself; feeling positive about one’s past. (Having a positive view of oneself can become difficult in later life, if health problems redefine how we see ourselves. How easy is it to recognize and accept your less desirable traits – seeing yourself “warts and all” -- but making peace with the wart? What if your past was pretty darn negative – such as the former heroin dealer in the Humans of New York post?) 2) Positive Relations with Others: Having warm, satisfying relationships with people; being concerned with their welfare; being empathic, affectionate, and intimate with them; understanding the reciprocity of relationships. (This can be challenging in later life as friends die and family members move and the social circle becomes smaller – or as your own health issues and other struggles take over your focus.) 3) Autonomy: Being independent and determining one’s own life; being able to resist social pressures to think or behave in a particular way; evaluating one’s life by internal standards. (This can be hard for people raised in restrictive environments where conformity was emphasized and individuality was punished; it is also challenging in care facilities where the rules are made by others.) 4) Environmental Mastery: Being able to manipulate, control, and effectively use resources and opportunities. (This can be challenging, as well, due to health problems and / or living in a care facility.) 5) Purpose in Life: Having goals in life and a sense of direction; feeling that one’s present and past life have meaning; having a reason for living. (See above – this is challenging if the person can’t really do much, which is why it is important to give older adults meaningful tasks to do; sharing their life story is one way to pass on wisdom and family lore – YOU could ask grandparents and great-grandparents to talk with you about their lives, write it up, and include photos with all the people clearly identified. Then make copies for all your relatives, plus extras for people not yet born and the ones that get lost.)  6) Personal Growth: Feeling a need for continued personal involvement; seeing oneself as getting better and being open to new experiences; growing in self-knowledge and personal effectiveness. (Again, this can be challenging in later life or with very serious health issues; there may be few opportunities for personal improvement and new experiences; but a person can still try to grow in self-knowledge and seek out what opportunities are available.) 16. Why may the findings on religion, spirituality, and faith be a cohort effect? There is quite a bit of research on the importance of faith, spirituality, and religion (those are not all the same thing!) to older adults, particularly the very-old and those who are dealing with trying issues. Some of this may be a cohort effect, as the older adults of today (and the past 50 years) were raised at a time when most people attended any type of worship service and it was expected that you would belong to a faith community. The importance of faith, spirituality, and religion may fade some as younger cohorts (who more likely to indicate “none” when asked about faith) pass into older age. Research also has found that older adults who are members of a faith community report better psychological well-being than those who are not. This, however, may be partly due to the community aspect of a religious organization. People who attend religious services every week (or more often) have automatic social interaction, may have valuable roles to play (e.g., greeter, choir member), and when stresses hit, their faith community usually rallies around. 17. With whom are many older adults more comfortable talking about personal issues? One important variable for the current cohort of older adults is that they may be much more comfortable talking with a pastor or rabbi or person from their faith community about personal issues. They may shun seeking mental health support due to the stigma that mental illness carried during their younger years. 18. Why are the findings on gender identity also a cohort effect? • This has also been removed from the new edition of the textbook. This is another area where the cohort most likely has a strong influence. When the older adults of today were growing up, clear and differentiated gender roles were reinforced. Women and girls were discouraged from appearing “too smart” and men and boys were discouraged from engaging in any “feminine” activities • Men knew they would be the breadwinners and providers and responsible for yard and car maintenance and small home repairs, but otherwise not be much involved “inside the home.” • Over time, the current cohort of older people has gotten more androgynous (a mix of masculine and feminine characteristics) Unit 8: Chapter 11 (Relationships) – and mostly Comments File 1. Why are friendships important to older adults? • Many older adults see their friends several times a week but their family members as little as a few times a year. (Of course, others see their family members every day, so there’s lots of variability.) Having close friends, particularly ones the person has known for several decades, can provide enormous benefits, ranging from socialization to support during very trying times. • 2. How do older women differ from older men regarding friendships? (see p. 313 and Comments) • Older women do have more friends (see also first paragraph under Men’s, Women’s and Cross-Sex Friendships on p. 313), and more emotionally intimate friends, than older men. This is a cohort effect, in part, as the older men of today were not socialized to share much emotionally with their male friends (one reason why so many men are left at-sea when their wives die – they have no one to confide in or turn to for emotional support). Many older men in care facilities have PLENTY of female attention, but lack real friendships, as they were also socialized to see women as potential romantic partners, not as friends. Some older men have gotten past these expectations, but many have not and are quite lonely. 3. Know the seven types of elder abuse. • Physical abuse o the use of physical force that may result in bodily injury, physical pain, or impairment • Sexual abuse o nonconsensual sexual contact of any kind • Emotional or psychological abuse o infliction of anguish, pain, or distress • Financial or material exploitation o the illegal or improper use of an older adult’s funds, property, or assets • Abandonment o the desertion of an older adult by an individual who had physical custody or other- wise assumed responsibility for providing care for the older adult • Neglect o refusal or failure to fulfill any part of a person’s obligation or duties to an older adult • Self-neglect: o the behaviors of an older person that threaten his or her own health or safety, excluding those conscious and voluntary decisions by a mentally competent and healthy adult 4. Who is the most likely perpetrator of elder abuse? • loving spouses are often the perpetrators of neglect – not because they do not care about their spouse, but because they have cognitive or physical disabilities and, for instance, forget to give their spouse medication, do not realize their spouse is cold and needs an extra blanket, cannot prepare nutritious meals, etc 5. Know the other ways elder abuse/neglect occur. • (no more than 10%), strangers are the perpetrators, including unscrupulous businesses who prey on older adults via scams. This can include bogus repair persons who claim that there is damage to the older person’s home that will require thousands of dollars to fix, “but if you let us fix it today, we’ll take 25% off the bill.” 6. What is the marital status of most old-old people and why? • The “old-old” people of today (late 70s and up) tend to be in a long-term marriage or, more likely (especially if female,) widowed after a long-term marriage 7. What is the marital status of young-old people? • The young-old (65 to late 70s) are a mix of 1st and 2nd marriages, divorced, widowed, and cohabiting (often for tax and other benefits purposes). 8. Be able to describe / explain / identify the SIX challenges associated with couples in mid- and later-life. (Transitions, Retirement, etc.) DETAILS! • Transitions o times when we change our focus or priorities or interests. The transitions can lead to a general dissatisfaction with life as it is, and a desire for something new (novelty). What most men (and women) experience is a re-organization of priorities. o It is imperative for both partners to recognize that these transitions are quite normal and a part of growth. They should not be taken personally ▪ (Note – shake things up a BIT! That does not mean, “have an affair” or “move to Tahiti alone”!) • Financial Worry o tend to loom large as people reach their 50s and 60s. The reality of possibly greatly diminished income in the near future suddenly becomes clear. o medical expenses o A person working a blue-collar type job, for instance, may have NO retirement benefits. They also may have less-than-adequate medical insurance. It is incumbent on them to set aside money from every pay period for their retirement, and they may also need to increase their medical insurance coverage • Health Concerns o Illness and other medical issues may start becoming more frequent during the young-old years (and even more so as people get even older). This obviously may have financial consequences related to medical expenses, but there are other consequences that may even more seriously impact partners and / or their extended families. o Illness in older adulthood tends to be more chronic than acute in nature. (Chronic means “on-going” and acute means “short-term.”) • Retirement o Retirement comes to most couples, but how it is experienced varies WIDELY. In addition, there is a pronounced cohort effect associated with research on retirement. • Moving o Many couples opt to downsize following retirement or the exit of the last child from the family home. Others go even farther -- they move to a retirement community in another part of the country, or buy their “dream house” in the mountains / by the ocean / in the city / etc. • Partnership Challenges o refers to any changes that can adversely affect the commitment of the individuals to the relationship, or the quality of the relationship. o sexual issues ▪ Women going through menopause (generally in the late 40s / early 50s) may deal with decreased sexual interest, painful intercourse, and other symptoms, including hot flashes and weight gain, that interfere with her sexual desire. ▪ Men may experience erectile dysfunction, from a host of physical sources (including treatment for prostate cancer) or some psychological sources (e.g., stress) 9. What factors tend to increase caregiving stress? • the nature of the tasks (bathing someone is far more difficult than folding laundry) • the personalities of the caregiver (patient, short-tempered, kind, easy-going, easily “thrown”) • the care-recipient (grumpy, pleasant, appreciative, demanding), • other issues going on outside of the caregiving situation (a caregiver who is also working fulltime or who has health issues of their own, medical bills that are piling up, etc.). 10. What are some of the challenges around taking over the other partner’s chores, when s/he is ill? • The text notes the “division of labor … must be readjusted.” My mother-in-law had to take over some of the tasks my father-in-law had done, and almost more challenging, he had to give them up. (This really bothered him, as part of his identity as a man and a husband was that he performed certain tasks around the house, notably those involving the yard, the cars, and home maintenance.) 11. Why do female caregivers tend to be less stressed? (two reasons) • are presumed to be more “natural” caregivers (which is baloney – but they do usually have more experience with caregiving), • often because they make less money than their husbands or brothers and so their loss of income (if they must reduce their hours or quit altogether) is less costly to their family. 12. What are things caregivers need, in order to provide better care? • All caregivers can benefit from a support group, from respite care (where someone else takes care of their spouse while they get a few hours or a few days “off” to recharge or take care of personal tasks like getting a haircut), and/or from people willing to listen to them vent. If you know someone who is a caregiver (for a person of any age), do what you can to help them out – stay with the person while they attend the support group, let them talk to you when they need to, and if you can, organize a group of people to be the regular respite caregivers. If four of you share 12-hour consecutive shifts, the caregiving partner can get two whole nights of uninterrupted sleep, plus some necessary “down-time,” which will make them a better caregiver and eternally grateful to YOU! 13. How is divorce in midlife or later different from divorce in one’s 20s or 30s? • For one thing, children, if there are any, are usually grown and often gone. Divorces after twenty or more years of marriage often occur, in fact, WHEN they have an empty nest. The couple has either had problems for many years but “stayed together for the sake of the children,” or the absence of the children has made them realize that they no longer have anything in common. Divorce when children are grown, however, means there is no need to determine custody relationships, which may make post-divorce life easier. Divorces in middle age may also occur due to a midlife crisis (e.g., one spouse had an affair) or transition (they have very different priorities now). 14. What percentage of women over age 65 are widows? What percentage of men are widowers? • More than half of all women over age 65 are widows, but only 15% of men the same age are widowers. 15. Why are those numbers so different? How do they affect caregiving? • Women have longer life expectancies and typically marry men older than themselves. Consequently, the average married woman can expect to live at least 10 years as a widow. 16. Why is widowhood generally more challenging for men? • They usually have expected to die before their wives and have not given much thought to what they would do if she died first. They also, due to the gender role separation, may never have performed any of the “wifely” chores (as noted above) and be overwhelmed by all that must be done in a day in order to eat, wear clean clothes, eat off clean dishes, etc. (You can see why many widowers are anxious to get married again!) 17. Why is widowhood generally easier to adjust to for women? • Widowed women usually have (or soon will have) a large group of widowed friends to offer support and companionship. Widowers often do not have that, as most of their male friends are (usually) still married (or dead). 18. Be able to explain how widows are at a financial disadvantage, compared to widowers, regarding Social Security and pensions. • Spousal Social Security benefits are halved when a person dies, as are pensions for surviving spouses / domestic partners. 19. Why do at-home moms suffer financially in retirement (especially if they are widowed)? • After Henry’s death, Grace receives only half of Henry’s pension ($1100 a month), half of his SS benefit ($430), and her own half of his SS benefit (another $430), for an income of $1,960 a month, or less than $24,000 a year. • If Grace died first, Henry would only lose her $430 monthly SS spousal benefit. His income would be $3,060 a month, and nearly $37,000 a year. He would take a $4,000 annual hit from her death, but she is taking a $17,000 annual hit from his. 20. Why do marriages tend to be more satisfying when children leave home? • For most married couples, this coincides with an uptick in satisfaction with their marriage. They finally have the house to themselves! There aren’t hordes of hungry teenagers eating them out of house and home! No more lying awake late at night listening for the door to open before curfew! They can come home to a quiet house and RELAX all evening! 21. Who tends to have the most trouble with the empty nest? (two types of parents) • women who have identified themselves solely in the “mother” role (what are they now? They get to experience Erikson’s Identity vs. Confusion stage again) and • men who spent most of their time in their career role with little involvement with their children and now regret the missed opportunities to bond with them. 22. What is a boomerang kid and why do they boomerang? • Kids boomerang primarily for financial reasons. They may have graduated from college and not been able to find a job at all or one that pays adequately to move out on their own (especially given student loan payments they must start making). They may have found a job but want to save some money for furniture or a car and so they move home (assuming their job is relatively nearby) for six months or a year to live rent-free (or rent-very-reduced). They may have gotten divorced, or lost a job, or had high medical bills, or lost their home to foreclosure. 23. What issues should be discussed between the parents and the boomerang kid? • discuss expectations. o Will the adult child be treated as a child or as a tenant? Will the parents act more as parents or more as landlords? Will the adult child be expected to help with household chores? Expenses? Is there an end-date, and what happens if the end-date comes and goes and the adult child is still there? What are common courtesies that each party will show to the others? (Such as cleaning up dirty dishes immediately, keeping the common areas tidy, letting others know if you expect to be back quite late, etc.) 24. Historically speaking, how “normal” is it for an adult child to live at home in his or her 20s? • that until the post-World-War-II era (late 1940s), it was expected that most adult children WOULD live at home during their 20s, until they got married or were financially on-their-feet enough to make a down payment for a home. My dad lived at home until the day he got married, in 1960, at age 25 (having lived at home for his four years of college and having been working full-time since he graduated at age 21), and my mom also lived at home until that day, when she was 22 (she had also been working full-time for almost 5 years, since her high school graduation at age 17). The difference between pre-late-1940s (and the 1950s) and now is that now kids DO leave home and then come back – before they just stayed at home, continuously. 25. Who are the most likely caregivers for older adults, and why? (two reasons) • It is usually an adult daughter or daughter-in-law. This is partly because females are presumed to be more “natural” caregivers (which is baloney – but they do usually have more experience with caregiving) • More often because they make less money than their husbands or brothers and so their loss of income (if they must reduce their hours or quit altogether) is less costly to their family. 26. Where does most parental caregiving tend to occur? For what ethnic groups is this not true? • Is less likely, however, with Asian, Hispanic, and Native American groups, who avoid care facilities and believe that family members are obligated to provide care for their parents and grandparents. However, that is also becoming less common as more members of those cultural groups live farther from their older members and adopt other western cultural attitudes and behaviors (such as women working fulltime outside the home). 27. What are the two requirements for being part of the “sandwich” generation? • Not very common • The adult child must have BOTH an older parent who needs care AND one or more minor children at home. For most adult-child caregivers, their children are raised before their parents need any care, and so they are not “sandwiched.” 28. About how many (%) adult-child caregivers are members of the sandwich? • about 20% of adult-child caregivers fall into that category. 29. Why so few? • The reason is that the adult child must have BOTH an older parent who needs care AND one or more minor children at home. For most adult-child caregivers, their children are raised before their parents need any care, and so they are not “sandwiched.” 30. How many hours a week does the typical adult-child caregiver spend in caregiving? • the typical caregiver spends more than 20 hours a week in UNPAID caregiving, and spends around $7,000 a year, out-of-pocket. o Bear in mind that the 20 hours is either in addition to the person’s job (and don’t we all love 60-hour work-weeks?) OR it is because they have cut their hours (AND THEIR PAY) in order to provide the caregiving – and are spending $7,000 more a year, on top of a $10,000 or $20,000 (or more) pay-cut. 31. What are the monetary costs of caregiving (direct and indirect)? 32. Know the various costs and rewards of caregiving (DESCRIBE!) • Adult children may have trouble coping with declines in their parents’ functioning, especially those involving cognitive abilities and problematic behavior, and with work overload, burnout, and loss of the previous relationship with a parent. • If the care situation is perceived as confining or seriously infringes on the adult child’s other responsibilities (spouse, parent, employee, etc.), then the situation is likely to be perceived negatively, and that may lead to family or job conflicts, economic problems, loss of self-identity, and decreased competence. 33. Which demographic group is least likely to want care from family members? 34. Know some of the issues faced by my former student caring for her mother, Marilyn? • (age 81 now), contracted pneumonia and had to be hospitalized. A few days later, she suffered congestive heart failure, and her condition deteriorated further. The following week, while she was still in the hospital, she had a heart attack. Subsequent testing revealed Mom had advanced coronary artery disease, with two out of three major heart vessels completely blocked, and the third vessel functioning at twenty percent capacity. The only treatment option was coronary bypass surgery, but because of her extremely frail condition, the thoracic surgeon strongly advised against it. 35. What are the “functions” grandparents can serve regarding their grandchildren? • including playmate (when children are young) • surrogate parent (if the parents are absent a lot) • confidante / advice-giver • family historian (via stories of their own childhoods, their parents’, their own children’s, etc.) • They may pass on o skills, interests, and values, and they (usually) derive great satisfaction in watching grandchildren grow, in seeing family resemblances (if the grandchildren are biologically related) ** Make sure you are reading the textbook AND the comments file! Unit 9: Chapter 12 (Work, Leisure, and Retirement) Terms to Know Occupational priorities Mentor Age discrimination 1. Know (describe, etc.) Studs Terkel’s descriptions of work. 2. What are the various things work can provide? (details) 3. What Erikson stage does mentoring fulfill? How? 4. How does ageism affect people? (More than one way!) 5. When did Social Security start? 6. Who pays for the current SS recipient’s SS benefits? 7. What are the two problems with Social Security? 8. Social Security is based on income over years. 9. Contrast Frank and Margaret and what got them to their respective SS benefit levels. 10. How is retirement a “process”? 11. What issues are considered when people decide when to retire? 12. Contrast stepped-down retirement, blurred retirement, and clean-break retirement. 13. What are the main reasons why people retire? 14. What are reasons that women, in particular, retire when they do? 15. What tends to predict more successful adaptation to retirement? (p. 368, 2nd column) 16. What are the 7 main topics covered in pre-retirement education programs? 17. Be able to describe #2 (Psychological aspects). Some are addressed in the Comments file, but others you will have to come up with (which you should easily be able to do). 18. Know the three stages of the retirement phases (describe, etc.). 19. What kinds of challenges did my parents and my m-i-l deal with in early retirement? Later retirement? 20. What three things predict a pleasant retirement? 21. In what ways can retirement become less pleasant? 22. What are the issues regarding retirement in a traditional heterosexual couple? 23. What kinds of support do friends offer to older adultsthat may be better than the support offered by family members? 24. What is in the increase in the number of retired adults who volunteer, compared with the 1960s? 25. How are we defining leisure? (Two parts) 26. What are the four types of leisure? (Examples!) [Show More]

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