Aging In America

This article, “What is Successful Aging,” was an interesting read that focused mostly on what is viewed as successful aging, the variables that determine successful aging, and how we as a society are trying to enhance the process today.

‘Last Vegas’ is a film about longtime friends Paddy, Archie, Billy, and Sam. They are four older men who reunite in Las Vegas to celebrate Billy’s upcoming marriage. While in Vegas they find themselves having to come to terms with issues related to losses in old age. The four main characters experience different variations of themes related to aging including fear, role loss, death of a spouse, loss of health, issues with informal caregiving, and issues with intimate relationships and friendships. The issue of losses in aging is a recurring theme found in aging theories, and this will be examined, along with coping and adjustments that are made related to role losses.

In 1946-1964 there were approximately 76 million people in the United States people that were born during the era known as the Baby Boomers. During this 18 year span there was an average eleven thousand babies born every day. It is suspected that a large percentage of Baby Boomers were sparked from World War II Veteran’s returning home and creating lives as they assimilated back into society. Prior to 1964 birth control was not available by prescription, therefore large families were a natural result.

Many people in the United States and other industrialized countries are living longer. The life expectancy at birth now is 81 years old. Although this is an important achievement, it is important for social workers to understand the affects that increase longevity have on the individual, family life and social work practice. (https://www.nia.nih.gov). There are many negative stereotypes associated with older adulthood. These negative stereotypes arise from the assumption that late adulthood is considered to be the closing period of life span. Some of the commonly held beliefs about late adulthood include the belief that older adults are less active, do not have goals, are retired and are unable to learn new things. Social workers

Every human on earth is born with the desire for some type of human connection and as one grows the need becomes even more profound. This need is portrayed in the film The Yellow Wallpaper when a woman with a evident mental disorder is isolated causing that disorder to intensify. Although, one's mental well being is not the only victim when it comes to social isolation. In the article, “The Dangers of Social Isolation”, Traci Watson explains how the lack of human connection in a person's life can put them at a higher risk of death. Every person needs some type of human connection to maintain a mentally and psychically stable life.

Living arrangements are very important in this development. Retirement, a main change that occurs during this period, is a step that involves living arrangement, change in life style, and possible change in social interaction. Teas and Benignton discuss this retirement stage when living arrangement change and many elders should cope with such change. The idea of retirement has been a recently new accepted life style during late adulthood due to the life expectancy increase and the rise of urban America (1982, pg. 21). Living arrangements do not necessary depict one’s well-being. An elderly could live in a retirement center, nursing facility, or alone with relatives and be in good health or in bad health (Papalia, Feldman, & Martorell, 2012, pg. 541-542). Chronic illness and psychical change will be occurring during late adulthood yet, another focus will be psychological development, which is heavily influenced by the social environment in which one elderly lives and thus brings out the importance of finding good living arrangements. This is a huge factor in many other life stages as well. For instance, “the state of the job market may determine when offspring choose to leave home… [or] when we retire may depend on the provisions of our pension plan. The social environment is no more immune to the passage of time than is the human body” (Teas and Benignton, 1982, pg. 12). Teas and Benignton discuss the industrial and political world developed the idea that the old are less valuable employees then the youth (1982, pg.17). The late adulthood stage needs to express the importance of self-sufficiency, individualism, and even privacy in the psychosocial development. During this time in one’s life they are possibly experiencing great loss of individualism. Kaufman discusses the observation of family members of the elderly who feel they must be the decision

Yes, I am aware of how rapidly the aged population is growing. Working for the Center for Senior Care has given me the sight to how much the population has grown. I believe it is due to health care and the many different teams of doctors, Social Workers and agencies that specialize in the health and wellbeing of our aged population

Ortman, J. M., Velkoff, V. A., & Hogan, H. (2014). An aging nation: The older population in the

A large collection of evidence has been accumulating over the past two decades, revealing the impact that social factors have on health at both individual and population levels [1]. This is not to say that medical has no impact on health outcomes, rather that evidence suggests medical care is not the only contributor when determining who is more vulnerable to becoming injured or ill [2]. This has been highlights in an early study by McKeown [3], who attributed the large increase in life expectancy since the 19th century to be due to a change in living conditions. Although advances in medical care would likely have made significant contributions towards

Aging in American to me means that we are learning something new about ourselves and the world, by living one moment at a time. We are learning and trying new experiences. I want to look back at my life and have no regrets. Since people are living longer, I would use that time to go out and do things that I have always wanted to do before but never had a chance. I would be a grandmother and mother

Sometimes people would rather walk away from their problems instead of facing them. Isolation is a way of feeling protected for some people due to their fear of being hurt because of bad experiences. Walking away and isolation are effective ways of avoiding problems, however, it will not change the reality of life and the good or bad that comes with it. In the movie, "The Village" directed by Shyamalan, the elders isolated themselves and their families in order to be protected from the real world but at the end, the movie shows the audience that people need each other in order to be happy or safe.

Long life has always been considered a blessing. Today, the people of the United States are enjoying the benefit of living much longer than ever before in history. However, there is a flipside to this coin of longevity. The population of the United States is aging at an unprecedented rate. “In 2010, 40 million people age 65 and over accounted for 13 percent of the total population in the United States.” (An Aging Nation) These numbers are expected to double by 2050, with one in every five Americans older than 65. Experts agree that this “Graying of America” will have enormous effects on society. Consequently, society must find ways to adapt to its changes and challenges.

A study commenced by Terry.P.Haines recruited from Southern Health Hospital facilities, Victoria, Australia in 2009 between the months of March and June after receiving ethical approval from the Southern Health Human Research committee. The study aimed to identify factors and pathways explaining as why older adults take risks that may lead to falls in hospitalized setting. Thus, the aim of the study were addressed using qualitative, phenomenological, constructive approach that was exploratory and descriptive. The participants were from inpatient medical and rehabilitation wards (n=16) and health professionals (n=33). Semi- structured, in depth interviews and focus groups were used to generate qualitative data

Recent headlines in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee told how police discovered a 79-year-old man who hadn’t eaten in days. He finally called 911 to reach out for help. The responding officers bought him $160 worth of groceries. While the compassionate response was amazing, the thought of this poor man being that disconnected from his surrounding community, that he could go this long uncared for, is devastating. No one should live in that much isolation.

It has been suggested that having healthy social relationships can lengthen a life span. Just talking to someone an hour a day can reduce stress that maybe causing you physiological and psychological pain.