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Theories of Aging
Attempt to explain the phenomenon of aging as it occurs over the lifespan
aging is viewed as a total process that begins at conception
a guide for developing a holistic gerontologic nursing theory for practice application
Senescence
a change in the behavior of an organism with age leading to a decreased power of survival and adjustment
Biologic Theories
Physiological processes that occur in all living organisms as they chronologically age
Complex biological processes in which changes at molecular, cellular, and organ levels result in a progressive, inevitable and inescapable decrease in the body’s ability to respond appropriately to internal or external stressors
Deleterious effects leading to decreasing function of the organism
Gradually occurring age-related changes that are progressive over time
Intrinsic changes that can affect all member of a species because of chronologic age
Foci of Biologic Theories
Stochastic
Nonstochastic
Types of biologic theories
Error Theory
Cross-Linkage Theory
Wear & Tear Theory
Free Radical Theory
What are the biologic theories in stochastic?
Error Theory
Originally proposed in 1963
As a cell ages, various changes occur naturally in its deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid(RNA), the building blocks of the cell.
errors can occur in the transcription in any step of the protein synthesis of DNA, and this eventually leads to either the aging or the actual death of a cell
error causes the reproduction of an enzyme or protein that is not an exact copy
as transcription errors to occur, the end product would not even resemble the original cell, thereby compromising its functional ability
What are the basis of error theory?
Cross-Linkage Theory
Some proteins in the body become cross-linked, thereby not allowing for normal metabolic activities thus waste products accumulate
Result: tissues do not function at optimal efficiency
Wear & Tear Theory
Proposed first in 1882
Cells simply wear out over time because of continued use--rather like a machine
reflects a belief that organs and tissues have a preprogrammed amount of available energy and wear out when the allotted energy is expended.
Programmed theory
Immunity theory
What are the biologic theories in nonstochastic?
Programmed (Hayflick Limit) Theory
Based on lab experiments on fetal fibroblastic cells and their reproductive capabilities in 1961
Cells can only reproduce themselves a limited number of times
Life expectancies are seen as preprogrammed within a species-specific range
Biological clock for humans was estimated at 110-120 years
Immunity theory
Immunosenescence: Age-related functional diminution of the immune system
Lower rate of T-lymphocyte (“killer cells”) proliferation in response to a stimulus
Change include a decrease in humoral (antibody-mediated) immune response
These changes leave the individual more vulnerable to diseases
decreased resistance to a tumor cell challenge and the development of cancer
decreased ability to initiate the immune process and mobilize defenses in aggressively attaching pathogens
increased susceptibility to auto-immune diseases
In immunity theory, Older adults oftenly predispose to:
Sociologic Theories
Focused on the roles and relationships within which individuals engage in later life
Disengagement Theory
Activity/Developmental Task Theory
Continuity Theory
Age Stratification Theory
Person-Environment Fit Theory
What are the sociologic theories?
Disengagement Theory
of aging states that "aging is an inevitable, mutual withdrawal or disengagement, resulting in decreased interaction between the aging person and others in the social system he belongs to.
Activity Theory (Developmental Task Theory)
Activity is viewed by this theory as necessary to maintain a person’s life satisfaction and a positive self-concept”
Theory based on assumptions:
it’s better to be active than inactive
it is better to be happy than unhappy
an older individual is the best judge of his or her own success in achieving the first two assumptions
Continuity Theory
Proposes that how a person has been throughout life is how that person will continue through the remainder of life
Old age is not a separate phase of life, but rather a continuation and thus an integral component
As people age, they try to maintain or continue previous habits, preferences, commitments, values, beliefs, and all the factors that contributed to their personalites.
Age- stratification Theory
Society consists of groups of cohorts that age collectively
the people & roles in these cohorts change & influence each other, as does society at large
the interaction between individual aging people and the entire society is not stagnant but remains dynamic
Person-Environment Fit Theory
Individuals have personal competencies that assist in dealing with the environment:
ego strength
level of motor skills
individual biologic health
cognitive & sensoryperceptual capacities
Psychologic Theories
This theories of aging are influenced by both biology and sociology.
According to Cunningham, as people age, adaptive changes help them cope with or accept some of the biologic changes.
It includes not only behavior changes but also developmental aspects related to the lives of older adults
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs
Jung’s Theory of Individualism
Erikson’s Eight Stages of Life
Selective Optimization with Compensation
What are the psychologic theories of aging?
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs
each individual has an innate internal hierarchy of needs that motivates all human behaviors
These human needs have different orders of priority
When people achieve fulfillment of their elemental needs, they strive to meet those needs on the next level, continuing on until the highest order of needs was reached.
asserted that failure to grow leads to feelings of failure, depression, and the perception that life is meaningless.
Jung’s Theory of Individualism
According to Carl Jung (1960), this theory means a person’s personality is visualized as oriented either toward the external world(extroversion) or toward subjective, inner experiences (introversion).
There is an occurrence of midlife crisis in which this is a period of emotional, and sometimes behavioral, turmoil that happens the onset of middle age
Erikson’s Eight Stages of Life
According to Erickson, the developmental task at this time is ego integrity versus despair.
He proposed this theory of psychological development that reflects cultural and societal influences.
People who attain ego integrity view life with a sense of wholeness and derive satisfaction from past accomplishments.
Selective Optimization with Compensation
Proposed by Baltes in 1987 wherein he has conducted a series of studies on the psychological processes of development and aging from life span perspective and formulated a psychological model of successful aging
Selection
Optimization
Compensation
In Selective Optimization with Compensation, Process of adaptation consists of three (3) interacting elements:
Selection
refers to an increasing restrictions on one’s life to fewer domains of functioning because of an age-related loss
Optimization
reflects the view that people engage in behaviors to enrich their lives
Compensation
results from restrictions caused by aging, requiring older adults to compensate for any losses by developing suitable , alternative adaptations
Kohlberg’s Universal Ethical Principle
moral theory
has formulated a theory of moral development based on his interviews with young persons. Though he did not study older adults, parallels could be drawn between his highest stage of moral development, Universal Ethical Principles, and Maslow’s highest level of Selftranscendent needs.
Preconventional morality
stage of morality
before age 9, children show morality to avoid punishment or gain reward
Conventional morality
stage of morality
By early adolescence, social rules and laws are upheld for their own sake
Postconventional morality
stage of morality
affirms people’s agreed-upon rights or follows personally perceived ethical principles
Moral / Spirituality
Human beings seek to explain and validate their existence in the world and occurs through their development as moral and spiritual thinkers.
Acknowledge the spiritual dimension of a person and support spiritual expression and growth
Human beings seek to explain and validate their existence in the world and occurs through their development as moral and spiritual thinkers.
Acknowledge the spiritual dimension of a person and support spiritual expression and growth
Spirituality synthesizes a person’s contemplative experience. Illness, a life crisis or even the recognition that days on earth are limited may cause a person to contemplate spirituality
Senescence
a change in the behavior of an organism with age leading to a decreased power of survival and adjustment
chronologically age
Physiological processes that occur in all living organisms as they
internal or external stressors
Complex biological processes in which changes at molecular, cellular, and organ levels result in a progressive, inevitable and inescapable decrease in the body’s ability to respond appropriately to
Stochastic
explain aging as events that occur randomly and accumulate over time
Nonstochastic
view aging as certain predetermined, timed phenomena
Immunosenescence
Age-related functional diminution of the immune system
