HDF 201 Exam

Generativity vs. Stagnation

Erikson's stage of social development in which middle-aged people begin to devote themselves more to fulfilling one's potential and doing public service

midlife transition

a period in middle adulthood when a person's perspective on his or her life may change significantly

midlife crisis

supposed phase of adulthood characterized by emotional distress about the aging process and an attempt to regain youth

Gould's Stage 5 of adult development

(35-43): individuals wish to rush to attain their goals, understand they may not have much time left; readjust goals

Gould's Stage 6 of Adult Development

(43-53): individuals settle down more and become more accepting of their life

Gould's Stage 7 of Adult Development

(53-60): individuals are more tolerant, accept prior experiences, are less negative

sandwich generation

Group of people who are caring for both their parents and their children.

empty nest syndrome

alleged period of depression in parents following the departure of their grown children from the home

boomerang children

young adults who return, after leaving home for some period, to live in the homes of their middle-aged parents

involved grandparents

actively engaged in grandparenting and have influence over their grandchildren's lives

companionate grandparents

more relaxed, and act as supporters and buddies to their grandchildren

remote grandparents

detached and distant, and show little interest in their grandchildren

ageism

prejudice or discrimination on the basis of a person's age

young old

65-74 years old

old old

75-84 years old

oldest old

85 and older

life expectancy

A figure indicating how long, on average, a person may be expected to live

primary aging

aging that involves universal and irreversible changes that, due to genetic programming, occur as people get older

secondary aging

The specific physical illnesses or conditions that become more common with aging but are caused by health habits, genes, and other influences that vary from person to person.

senescence

the natural physical decline brought about by aging

osteoporosis

A condition in which the body's bones become weak and break easily.

double standard of aging

the view that women's attractiveness and femininity decline with age, but men's attractiveness and masculinity do not decline

genetic programming theory of aging

theory that suggests that our body's DNA genetic code contains a built-in time limit for the reproduction of human cells

wear and tear theory of aging

An early theory of aging stating that aging is the result of the body wearing out from use.

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

explicit memory

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare"; declines in late adulthood

implicit memory

retention independent of conscious recollection; remains stable in late adulthood

autobiographical memory

the memory for events and facts related to one's personal life story; decreases in late adulthood especially for memories incompatible with the person's perception of themselves

short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten; remains stable in late adulthood

episodic memory

the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place; declines in late adulthood

semantic memory

a network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world; does not decline but may take longer to retrieve information in late adulthood

source memory

recall of when, where, and how information was acquired; declines in late adulthood

prospective memory

remembering to do things in the future; performance in late adulthood depends on nature of task that needs to be done

life review

the point in life, usually in late adulthood, in which people examine and evaluate their lives

ego integrity vs. despair

Erikson's stage in which individuals look back on their lives and evaluate past accomplishments and experiences, either resulting in satisfaction or despair

redefinition of self vs preoccupation with work role

Peck's first developmental task of late adulthood in which individuals must develop an identity outside of work as they move into retirement

body transcendence vs body preoccupation

Peck's second stage; a period in which people must learn to cope with and move beyond changes in physical capabilities as a result of aging

ego transcendence vs ego preoccupation

Peck's third stage; the period in which elderly people must come to grips with their coming death and accept that they cannot change their past self

disengagement theory

the theory that late adulthood marks a gradual withdrawal from the world on physical, psychological, and social levels

activity theory

theory of adjustment to aging that assumes older people are happier if they remain active in some way, such as volunteering or developing a hobby

continuity theory

a theory focusing on how people adjust to retirement by continuing aspects of their earlier lives

preparation phase

the first stage of widowhood that involves mentally and physically getting ready for the loss of a spouse; can last anywhere from years to weeks, and some do not get to experience this at all

grief and mourning phase

the second stage of widowhood after the loss of a spouse in which the widowed partner mourns the loss and may experience depressive symptoms

adaptation phase

the third stage of widowhood in which one starts over and accepts the loss of their spouse, returning to previous emotional states and involvement levels

honeymoon stage

immediately following the formal event of retirement, most people feel happy and peaceful initially as they experience the independence of retirement

disenchantment stage

In the aftermath of the honeymoon phase, emotional depression settles in as people come to realize that they have actually fully withdrawn from a constant and fulfilling social role in their lives.

reorientation stage

retirees rethink their situation, look at new options and take up new engaging activities

retirement routine stage

occurs when retirees come to grips with the realities of retirement and feel fulfilled in this new phase of life

termination stage

if an individual does not successfully reorient towards retirement, they may experience more health problems and have difficulty coping

continuers

use part-time or volunteer work to remain at least partially active in their preretirement work

adventurers

use retirement as a time to explore entirely new pursuits, perhaps including a new field of work or traveling

easy gliders

don't fret about retirement much and take each day as it comes

involved spectators

take more of a back-seat role in staying connected with their previous fields

searchers

trying different activities in search of a suitable way to spend their retirement

retreaters

take a step back to decide what to do next in retirement

disengaged

Depressed or uninvolved, unable to find a path forward through retirement

disintegrated and disorganized personalities

according to Neugarten, personalities who are unable to accept aging, and experience despair as they get older, often ending up in nursing homes or hospitalized.

Passive-dependent personalities

according to Neugarten, personalities who lead lives filled with fear of falling ill, fear of the future, fear of their own inability to cope.

defended personalities

according to Neugarten, personalities who seek to ward off aging and attempt to act young, exercising vigorously, and engaging in youthful activities that could lead to unrealistic expectations and disappointment.

integrated personalities

cope comfortably with aging and accept becoming older with a sense of dignity

usual aging

typical changes include increasing body fat, decreasing lean mass, rising blood pressure, declining bone mass, development of chronic diseases - these do not have to be the norm!

successful aging

pathway through late life that focuses on positive outcomes through health and social engagement to achieve well-being

generational inequity

the view that our aging society is being unfair to its younger members because older adults pile up advantages by receiving inequitably large allocations of resources

continuing care community

a community that offers an environment in which all the residents are of retirement age or older and need various levels of care

adult daycare facility

a facility in which elderly individuals receive care only during the day, but spend nights and weekends in their own homes

skilled nursing facility

a type of nursing home that provides the most intensive nursing care available outside of a hospital

immortality vs. extinction

Erikson's psychosocial task for the advanced old age, 75 years and older. Consists of Life review; accept death with a sense of integrity and without fear

elder abuse

the physical or psychological mistreatment or neglect of elderly individuals

optimal functioning

aims toward simultaneous life satisfaction in work, caring relationships, and within the self

functional death

the absence of a heartbeat and breathing

whole brain death

cessation of activity of the cerebral cortex and brain stem, determined by several criteria

persistent vegetative state

situation in which a person's cortical functioning ceases while brainstem activity continues

passive euthanasia

A situation in which a seriously ill person is allowed to die naturally, through the cessation of medical intervention.

voluntary active euthanasia

doctors or others act directly, at a patient's request, to end suffering before a natural end to life

childhood perception of death

lack of conception of death or a belief that the dead can come back to life

adolescent perception of death

understand what death is at an adult level but hard to relate personally (personal fable); often feel cheated when confronted with their own mortality

young adult perception of death

may also feel cheated when confronted with death, can cause intimacy development issues and questions towards future plans

middle adult perception of death

more realistic view of death and their own vulnerability; much higher fear of death and focus on the time they have left

late adult perception of death

realization that death is impending; less fear and more desire to know everything about their condition and when they will die

denial stage of dying

first stage of death which people use as a defense mechanism if they cannot believe they are dying

anger stage of dying

rage, "why me?" lashing out at healthy relatives and others out of despair

bargaining stage of dying

attempt to avert fate by being amiable and cooperative, especially in a religious sense by praying

depression stage of dying

occurs when they can no longer avoid great loss, can feel guilty

preparatory depression

intense sadness that occurs when getting ready for the death of a loved one

reactive depression

intense sadness in response to a loved one’s death -- may encompass guilt or shame

acceptance stage of dying

neither depressed nor angry; devoid of feeling and increasingly detached as death approaches

crisis intervention education

mostly targeted for children: teach them how to deal with death

routine death education

\-General education about death, taught in high schools and colleges

death education for members of the helping professions

death education taught in medical and nursing schools

loss-oriented coping

In the dual-process model of bereavement, coping focused on dealing with one's emotions and reconciling oneself to the loss.

restoration-oriented coping

in the dual-process model of bereavement, coping focused on managing daily living, rethinking one's life, and mastering new roles and challenges.

positive reappraisal

thinking of the loss in relatively positive terms, such as that the death brought an end to the person's suffering

negative reappraisal

constantly thinking about the death of a loved one and obsessing over it

common grief pattern

Little depression, after death of spouse depression increases for about 6 months and then settles back to normal gradually

resilient grief pattern

individuals have little depression before and after the death of their spouse

chronic grief pattern

mourner remains distressed for a long time

chronic depression pattern

High levels of depression before and after death of spouse

depressed improved pattern

high pre-loss depression is followed by a relatively quick and sustained decline in depression after the spouse's death

prolonged grief disorder

grief that involves enduring despair and remains unresolved over an extended period of time