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Gender
Issues In Psychology (PSY -
512)
VU
Lesson
32
GENDER,
HEALTH, AND AGING
If you
analyze these cases, and
compare them, you will
realize that some problems
are common to the
four
people
we are talking about. Problems
like reduced control over
life, and some physical
ailments are found in
most
people. In terms of psychological
well being, the spouses in
case 3 are better off than
the first two cases.
Companionship
and social support are
two significant variables in the well
being and adjustment of an
old
person.
The purpose of our
discussion on `gender and
aging' is twofold
i.e.,
a)
To
see the similarities, pertaining to
aging, between the
genders.
b)
To see
how genders differ in terms
of age-related changes and
their reactions to
those.
"Aging"
refers
to the biological changes that
take place with the passage
of time. These changes are
inevitable
and
irreversible. The pace at which
these changes may take
place many vary. Regular
exercise and wise
eating
i.e.,
getting the required nutrients and avoiding
damaging substances have
been seen to slow down the
process
of
aging.
There
are individual differences in the
pace of and extent to which people
may age and feel aged.
The concept
of
the age at which people may feel or look
aged has changed over the
past decades. In the early
1900's, in
most
parts of the world, the average
life expectancy used to be
somewhere 35-45. Today more
and more
people
can expect to enter their
80s and 90s. On average
people do live 70-75 years of
age. The average
life
span
of an American today is 75 years. With a
prolonged life expectancy,
scientists are also focusing
upon
improving
the quality of life and
preventing and as well as
managing the effects of
aging.
The
Effects of Aging
The
major characteristic of aging is a
decreased efficiency of the function of the
bodily organs. The speed
at
which
one could walk or jog 15
years, or even 5-10, years
ago is not the same at age
70. One can not carry
the
weight
that one could carry some
time back.
At
age 85 the average human
heart pumps 3.5 liters per
minute; whereas it used to pump
6.9 liters per minute.
At
age 20, the average amount of
blood flowing through the
kidneys was 0.6 liters per
minute, while it goes
down
to only 0.3 liters per
minute at age 85. The amount
and the type of food that
one could eat and
digest
also
changes with age.
However
regular exercise can delay
these changes. Considering individual
differences, one can see
that there are
cases
when people aged 70 are better
than people aged 50 in terms of the
functioning of their heart
and other
organs.
Aging has two types of
effects:
i.
Physiological
effects
ii.
Psychological
effects
Physiological
/Biological Effects
a)
Effects on
the sensory process:
_
The
efficiency of the sense organs is
reduced, resulting into poor
visual acuity, hearing
impairment
or loss, less effective kinesthetic
sense, and less sensitive
olfaction and
gestation.
Besides
problems like cataract may
also develop. The problems of
vision and hearing
are
however
correctable.
b)
Manual
dexterity and muscular movement is
affected.
c)
The
immune system gets weaker
and the body gets attacked
by disease and infection
easily; besides, it
takes
longer to recover.
d)
The
endocrine activity also solves
down and the release of many
hormones is either inhibited or
stopped,
or the hormones are released in
insufficient amounts. In females,
menopause is a major milestone.
e)
Many
diseases like arthritis, Multi-infarct
Dementia, Alzheimer's disease and
Parkinson's disease
are
possible
to develop in old age.
f)
Hypertension
and Cardiovascular disease
are common in old
person.
g)
Some
cancers are more prevalent in
older persons e.g. cervical,
breast or prostate
cancer.
h)
Bone
fractures are also a common happening in
old age, especially old
women.
85
Gender
Issues In Psychology (PSY -
512)
VU
Changes
in Appearance
Some
prominent and some not so
prominent changes take place
in peoples appearance. The
face of the person
is
the most affected region; however the
whole body may show the
age of the person. The hair
line recedes,
and
the hair turns grey, and
then white. Tooth decay
and tooth loss happens; it
not only affects the shape
of
the
mouth but also affects the
shape of the type of food one
can eat. The skin is dry
and wrinkled. A
person's
height
may be shortened due to a
decay of cushioning between the
vertebrae.
Psychological
effects of Aging
Learning:
Most
old people can learn new
things but not as readily and as
fast as a young person.
However
there may be limitations in
terms of what they can learn. A
__________ involving fine
dexterity and
eye
hand coordination may take
longer.
Attention
and Concentration
Some
research evidence shows that
the old people can not
concentrate on a task for as
long as young person
can
do.
Memory
Old
people may experience weakened
memory especially short-term memory. In
case of certain diseases
like
Alzheimer's
the loss may be
sever.
Intelligence
There
is some evidence that old
people can not perform as
good as a young person on I.Q
tests, suggesting
that
old people are less
intelligent. However it is a debatable
issue, because there is some
other evidence too
that
suggests that younger people can
perform better on these test
because these tests involve
skills that they
are,
or have been learning at
school.
Self-esteem,
Personality and self
concept
There
is a likelihood that as a consequence of
inability to perform certain
tasks that one could do earlier,
and as
a
result of other people's
negative attitude an old
person may begin to feel worthless,
feeling "not needed",
and/or
become cynical or cranky.
But
there is research evidence
available suggesting quite the opposite.
In one study (Field, and
Millsap, 1991) it
was
seen that older adults
over a period of 14 years,
had become more cheerful, open-minded,
and frank. There
was
no change in the self esteem or
satisfaction with life of
more than 50 % of these as they
entered late
adulthood.
Significant increases were found in
nearly one third of the
subjects. Some other studies
have shown
that
older and younger people have
equally high self-esteem;
some studies even suggest
that older people
have
higher
self esteem than younger people
(Bengston, Reedy and Gordon,
1985).
These
findings appear to be in quite a
contradiction with what people generally
believe about older people.
Research
suggests that this attitude
has to do with the person's perception of
own age, and many
old people
perceive
their age to be less than what it
actually is. Also if they
have lived fulfilling,
satisfying, and
successful
lives,
and are independent too,
there is no reason why they should
have a low self
esteem.
Empty-nest
Syndrome
Old
people may experience the empty-nest
syndrome. Empty nest feeling is what
one feels when the
children
have
left home forever, for
their careers, marriage, or freedom.
The old parents may feel
lonely, bored,
depressed,
and emotionally robbed. But
all parents do not feel the
same. A number of variables determine
their
reaction
to the empty nest; e.g. their
own career and occupation,
their financial position, social support,
health
and
fitness, presence of the spouse,
and proximity of children.
Losing
the spouse
Loss
of a spouse in old age is a
trauma. Besides feeling lonely, it
involves a variety of other practical
problems
too.
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