Flashcards Theories of Aging

Psychosocial Theories of Aging

- Attempts to explain aging in terms of behavior, personality, and attitude change.

- Development is viewed as a lifelong process characterized by transition.

- Concerned with personality or ego development and the accompanying challenges associated with various life stages.

- How mental processes, emotions, attitudes, motivation, and personality influence adaptation to physical and social demands are central issues

Sociological Theories of Aging

Changing roles, relationships, and status within a culture or society impact the older adult's ability to adapt

Sociological Theories of Aging

- Activity Disengagement

- Subculture

- Continuity

- Age Stratification

- Person-Environment-Fit

- Gerotransendence

Activity Disengagement

Gradual disengagement from society and relationships. This separation is desired by society and older adults, and serves to maintain social equilibrium and promote internal reflection

Subculture

The elderly prefers to segregate from society in an aging subculture sharing loss of status and societal negativity regarding the aged. Health and mobility are key determinants of social status.

Continuity

Personality influences roles and life satisfaction and remains consistent throughout life. Past coping patterns recur as older adults adjust to physical, financial, and social decline, and contemplate death. Identifying with one's age group, finding a residence that is compatible with one's limitations, and learning new roles postretirement are major tasks.

Age Stratification

Society is stratified by age groups that are the basis for acquiring resources, roles, status, and deference from others. Age cohorts are influenced by their historical context and share similar experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and expectations of life course transitions.

Person-Environment-Fit

Function is affected by ego strength, mobility, health, cognition, sensory perception, and the environment. Competency changes one's ability to adapt to environmental demands

Gerotransendence

The elderly transform from materialistic/ rational perspective toward oneness with the universe. Successful transformation includes an outward focus, accepting impending death, substantive relationships, intergenerational connectedness, and unity with the universe

Psychological Theories

Explain aging in terms of mental processes, emotions, attitudes, motivation, and personality development that is characterized by life stage transitions

Psychological Theories

- Human Needs

- Individualism

- Stages of Personality Development

- Life Course/Life span development

- Selective optimization with compensation

Human Needs

Five basic needs (physiological, safety and security, love and belongingness, self-esteem, and self-actualization) motivate human behavior in a lifelong process towards need fulfillment

Individualism

Personality consists of an ego and personal and collective unconsciousness that views life from a personal or external perspective. Older adults search for life meaning and adapt to functional and social losses

Stages of Personality Development

Personality develops in eight sequential stages with a corresponding life tasks. The eight phase, integrity versus despair, is characterized by evaluating life accomplishments; struggles include letting go, accepting care, detachment, and physical and mental decline.

Life Course Development/Life Span Development

Life stages are predictable and structured by roles, relationships, values and goals. Persons adapt to changing roles and relationships. Age group norms and characteristics are an important part of the life course.

Selective Optimization with Compensation

Individuals cope with aging losses through activity/ role selection, optimization, and compensation. Critical life points are morbidity, mortality, and quality of life. Selective optimization with compensation facilitates successful aging.

Biological Theories of Aging

- Explain the physiological processes that change with aging

- How is aging manifested on the molecular level in the cells, tissues, and body systems

- How does the mind-body interaction affect aging

- What biochemical processes impact aging

- How do ones chromosomes impact the overall aging process

Biological Theories of Aging

- Does each system age at the same rate

- Does each cell in the in a system age at the same rate

- How does chronological age influence an individual who is experiencing a pathological disease process

- How does the actual disease, as well as the treatment, influence the organism

Biological Theories of Aging

A. Stochastic Theories

B. Nonstochastic Theories

Stochastic Theories

- statistical perspective

- identifies episodic events that happen throughout one's life that cause random cell damage and accumulate overtime, thus causing aging.

- Effects of aging are primarily due to genetic defects, development and environment, and the inborn aging process (Harman, 2006)

Stochastic Theories

- Free Radical Theory

- Orgel/Error Theory

- Wear and Tear Theory

- Connective Tissue/Cross Link Theory

Free Radical Theory

Membranes, nucleic acids, and proteins are damaged by free radicals, which causes cellular injury and aging

Orgel/Error Theory

Errors in DNA and RNA synthesis occur with aging

Wear and Tear Theory

Cells wear out and cannot function with aging

Connective Tissue/Cross Link Theory

With aging, proteins impede metabolic processes and cause trouble with getting nutrients to cells and removing cellular waste products

Nonstochastic Theories

- Views aging as a series of predetermined events happening to all organisms in a timed framework

- Programmed perspective that is related to genetics or one's biological clock

- Goldsmith (2004) suggests that aging is more likely to be an evolved beneficial characteristic and results from a complex structured process and not a series or random events

Nonstochastic Theories

- Programmed Theory

- Gene/Biological Clock Theory

- Neuroendocrine Theory

- Immunological Theory

Programmed Theory

Cells divide until they are no longer able to, and this triggers apoptosis or cell death

Gene/Biological Clock Theory

Cells have a genetically programmed aging code

Neuroendocrine Theory

Problems with the hypothalamus-pituitary-endocrine gland feedback system cause disease; increased insulin growth factor accelerates aging

Immunological Theory

Aging is due to faulty immunological function, which is linked to general well-being

Nursing Theories of Aging

- Wadensten (2002) and Wadensten and Carlsson (2003) studied 17 nursing theories that were generated from the 1960s to 1990s and found that none of the theorists discussed what aging is, nor did the theorists advice on how to apply their theory to caring older adults

- Two new theories emerged and are nurse authored

Nursing Theories of Aging

- Functional Consequences Theory

- Theory of Thriving

Functional Consequences Theory

- Environmental and biopsychosocial consequences impact functioning. Nursing role is risk reduction to minimize age-associated disability in order to enhance safety and quality of living

- Developed to provide a guiding framework that would address older adults with physical impairment and disability (Miller, 1990)

Theory of Thriving

Failure to thrive results from a discord between the individual and his or her environment or relationships. Nurses identify and modify factors that contribute to disharmony among these elements (Haight et al., 2002)