Download Aging: Social Problems of Growing Old

AGING: SOCIAL PROBLEMS
OF GROWING OLD
Demographics
• Ageism
• Prejudice and discrimination based solely on age
• The U.S. Census Bureau defines the elderly population as
65 and older
Demographics
• U.S. Census Bureau projections:
• The 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)
• The 85-and-older population will more than triple from 5.4 million to
19 million between 2008 and 2050
Demographics
• Why the big changes?
• People are living longer
• Sociologists generally divide the 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
Ageism
• Ageism likely to become more prevalent due to the
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 the workforce
• On the employment side, there is greater demand for experienced
(older) workers
• America values youth
International Life Expectancy
• The common belief is that medical advances have
increased life expectancy
• Studies show medical science accounts for only 3% of the 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 nonindustrialized nations
Current Influences on Ageism
• Media – especially TV – has huge impact on the spread of
ageism
• The older generation is often depicted as hunched-over and
wrinkled, with gray hair and liver spots
• Depictions reinforce negative stereotypes that lead to ageism and
distort perceptions of growing older
The History of Ageism
• The real problems of aging are rooted in history
• Thomas R. Cole
• The Journey of Life
• “the revolt against hierarchical authority and the rise of Victorian
morality” cultivated a negative view of aging
• Ageism is the product of mid-19th century health reformers who
believed that individuals were healthy by nature and that disease
was caused by some offense of natural law
• This philosophy “harbored evasive and hostile attitudes about
the realities of aging”
Income and Poverty
• As we age, it becomes more difficult to work and the
ability for self-support through income decreases
• One in ten seniors currently lives in poverty
• Social Security is one of main reasons why the
percentage is low as it is
• In 2007, 16.1% of the elderly lived at 125% of poverty
threshold
• Just barely above the poverty line
• Age stratification is problem for society with an increasing
number of elderly members
Safety and Security
• One problem related to aging is elder abuse
• Comes in many forms:
• Physical
• Sexual
• Psychological
• Financial
• Neglect
• Abandonment – desertion
• The exact number of elder abuse incidents is unknown
because many cases go unreported
• There are no federal guidelines for structuring elder abuse
laws, and only some states mandate reporting procedures
Housing and Residential Care
• Most seniors decide to stay in their own homes
• “Aging in place”
• Research suggests seniors are not ready to be “put out to pasture”
because they’ve gotten old
• At times, the elderly cannot take care of themselves at
home
• Other residential options exist to support the elderly who require
more assistance
Housing and Residential Care
• 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
Housing and Residential Care
• Nursing Home Reform Act (NHRA)
• Highlighted abuse and neglect of residents in nursing homes across
United States
• 25% of nursing homes were 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
Special Problems for the Elderly
• Home-Health Care
• Medical care provided for patients who cannot leave their homes
but have a 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
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 the 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
Functionalism: Disengagement Theory
• By disengaging the elderly, society can move forward
• The 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 that the process is functional
• Do all seniors willingly retire, or are some “forced out”?
• Does society pay the cost of losing their wisdom?
Symbolic Interactionism:
Activity Theory
• Each individual experiences the process of aging
differently
• Depending on the effect 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
Symbolic Interactionism:
Activity Theory
• 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
Symbolic Interactionism:
Activity Theory
• Growing old is a 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
• This becomes a strategy for adaptation to the challenges of growing old
• Research suggests spirituality serves to help people adapt and
cope with the problems of aging
Conflict Theory
• Conflict theory suggests that those with power use it to
their advantage, exploiting those with few options
• Companies
• Will hire retirees because they can pay them low wages and
receive the 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
Conflict Theory
• Retirement allows companies to save money by replacing
older, more expensive workers with a younger, cheaper
workforce
Specific Problems of Aging
• Social Security
• Government-run social insurance program paid to retired workers
• The government mandates Social Security, and the American
workforce funds it through payroll taxes
• With large numbers of workers preparing for retirement, there is a
question of the system’s lack of sustainability
• Without major changes to the system, it will no longer be able to
pay benefits in full by the year 2037
• The administration warns citizens to save for retirement through other
avenues as well
Specific Problems of Aging
• 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
Specific Problems of Aging
• Death and Dying
• Most wish death to be quick, peaceful, and free of pain
• A topic of worldwide debate centers on physician-assisted suicide
(PAS) and euthanasia
• PAS
• The terminally ill receive prescriptions for self-administered lethal
medications from physicians
• Euthanasia is 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
Euthanasia in Action
• Maurice A. M. de Wachter, director of the Maastricht
Institute for Bioethics
• Although active euthanasia is technically illegal in the 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 the
appropriateness of the request for euthanasia
Death With Dignity
• Active euthanasia illegal in the U.S.
• 1997, Oregon Death with Dignity Act
• Terminally ill patients may seek physician-assisted suicide
• Patients can voluntarily self-administer a lethal drug prescribed by
their physician
• State of Washington passed similar law in November
2008
Death With Dignity
• Few physicians are willing to follow through with the
procedure
• The universal stigma attached to death and dying weighs
heavily on society today
• Laws such as Death with Dignity are slow to be legislated
• A 2005 opinion poll of 1,010 U.S. adults: 79% surveyed were in
favor of a 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”
Active Euthanasia
Pro
Con
• The state should not interfere with a
• Euthanasia is murder and, depending on
patient’s right to choose when or how he
or she dies.
• Euthanasia is an act of mercy for
patients in severe pain and emotional
turmoil.
• Medical advancements that prolong the
lives of the terminally ill are against
natural law, so euthanasia should be a
valid option, too.
• It costs much more to keep patients
alive (through medicine, treatment, etc.)
than to let them die.
the situation, suicide. It breaches
spiritual and religious boundaries,
resulting in dire moral consequences.
• In some cases, the family or medical
personnel would have to decide when
the patient dies, not the patient.
• Euthanasia is against natural law.
• If euthanasia were made legal, the cost
of monitoring and legal interferences
would be greater than the cost of heath
care to keep patients alive.