Chapter Twenty-Three
Late Adulthood:
Biosocial Development
PowerPoints prepared by Cathie Robertson, Grossmont College
Prejudice and Predictions
• Prejudices about late adulthood
are held by people of all ages,
including children and the very
old
Ageism
• Ageism—a term that refers to
prejudice against older people
because of their age
• Why is ageism so strong?
– cultural emphasis on growth, strength, and
progress
– veneration of youth
– increasing age segregation
Gerontology
• Gerontology—study of old age
• Geriatrics—The medical
specialty devoted to old age
• Two Different Perspectives
– doctors in geriatrics view aging as an
illness
– gerontologists view aging as socially
constructed problem
Gerontology, cont.
• Contrary to popular belief, many
developmentalists now view aging,
like all other periods, as marked
by gains as well as losses
Demography
• A reason ageism is decreasing is
that there are more aging
individuals
– 7 percent of world’s population now
over 65 years
– 13 percent in developed nations such
as United States
Demography, cont.
• Changing shape of demographic
pyramid
– the population stack has shifted from a
pyramid to a square
– reflects changes in recent decades—
fewer births and increased survival
• By 2030 the proportion of those
over 65 is projected to double
worldwide—to 15 percent
Dependents and
Independence
• Dependency ratio—ratio of selfsufficient, productive adults (those
between ages 15 and 65) to
dependents—children and the elderly
– the greater the number of dependents
compared to workers, the higher the
dependency ratio
Dependents and Independence, cont.
• What are some of the problems
cultures may face as baby
boomers age?
– crisis in geriatric medicine
• Medicare, Social Security, and quality
private health insurance in jeopardy?
• entire tax and caregiving burden may
fall on shrinking middle cohort
Reasons Not to Worry
• Technology and science combining to allow
more production with fewer workers
• Inverse ratio between birth rates and
longevity
• Most people over 65 are not dependent
– only 5 percent in nursing homes or hospitals
– elderly married couples take care of each other
– in other nations, elderly live with their children
Young, Old, and Oldest
• Distinctions based on age, health,
and social well-being
– young-old—healthy and vigorous, financially
secure, active in family and community life
– old-old—have major physical, mental or social
loses, but still have some strengths
– oldest-old—dependent on others for almost
everything
Young, Old, and Oldest, cont.
• Some gerontologists like the
following terms better
– optimal aging
– usual aging
– impaired aging
Anti-Aging Measures
• Aging has many causes
–
–
–
–
wear and tear
cellular accidents
declining immune system
programmed senescence
Calorie Restriction
• Mammals can almost double their
life span if they eat half as much
food throughout adulthood
– proven for mice and rats; probably true for
monkeys, chimps, and dogs
– true for humans—probably but must be
carefully done
• Pack more nutrients into fewer
calories
Calorie Restriction, cont.
• Older people take drugs that are
considered harmless, but do affect
nutritional requirements
• Mammals with reduced calorie
intake are stronger, more vital, and
younger in their appearance as long
as they consume adequate vitamins
and minerals
Prejudice and Delusion
• Calorie restriction may arise from
prejudice and delusion
• An important question: what
impact would calorie restriction
have on the quality of life?
– would people be constantly hungry,
agitated, irritable?
Primary Aging in Late
Adulthood
• Primary aging—all irreversible and
universal physical changes over time
• Secondary aging—physical illnesses
or changes common to aging but
caused by individual’s health habits,
genes, and other influences
Primary Aging in Late Adulthood, cont.
• People vary in their selective
optimization with compensation—
the choosing of healthy activities
that compensate for primary
aging being experienced
Changes in Appearance
• Appearance changes as time
passes
– in ageist society, people who look old are
treated as old
– children quick to see the elderly as oldfashioned
The Skin and Hair
• Wrinkles, hair changes
– hair becomes grayer
– hair all over body becomes thinner
Body Shape and Muscles
• Alteration in overall body height,
shape, and weight
• With weight loss may come muscle
loss
– reduces flexibility
• Self-perception can lead to a
feeling of fragility and a fear of
falling
Body Shape and Muscles, cont.
• Falls do occur
– injuries may require medical treatment
– exercise a very effective preventative
• weightlifting should be part of the
exercise routine
• Flexibility is one of the best
predictors of vitality
Dulling of the Senses
• Sense Organs
– Until a century ago, sensory losses
could be devastating
– Today, they do not have to be
debilitating
Vision
• Only about 10 percent of elderly see
well
• Cataracts—shrinking of lens, causing
vision to be cloudy, opaque, and
distorted
– by 70, 30 percent have some visual loss due
to cataracts
Vision, cont.
• Glaucoma—optic nerve damage,
causing sudden and total blindness
– 1 percent of people in 70s; 10 percent in 90s
• Senile macular degeneration—retinal
deterioration
– 4 percent under 75; and 18 percent over 75
Hearing
• Presbycusis—age-related hearing
loss
– 40 percent over 65 experience it
• Tinnitis—buzzing or ringing
– 10 percent of elderly experience it
Compensation for Sensory
Loss
• Compensation, not passive acceptance, is
crucial
• Adjustment means finding balance
between maintaining normal activities
and modifying routines to fit diminished
capacities
– new technology available
– specialists help connect techniques, technology, and
people
– personal determination helps
Compensation for Sensory Loss, cont.
• Critical factor is recognition of
the problem and willingness to
change
• Attitudes make sensory
impairments less isolating
Compensation for Sensory Loss, cont.
• Younger adults and social practices
have not caught up
– medical insurance may not pay for devices or
counseling
– elderspeak—way of speaking to elderly that
resembles baby talk
• simple, short sentences
• exaggerated emphasis
• slower rate, higher pitch, and repetition
Major Body Systems
• Primary and secondary aging combine to
make all major body systems slower and
less efficient, eventually causing death
• Exercise/physical activity is beneficial
– helps maintain strength of heart muscle and lungs
– lack can lead to heart attack
– improves overall quality of life
Compensation for Aging
Organs
• Compensation entails
–
–
–
–
medical technology
specialist advice
personal determination
cultural accommodation
Compression of Morbidity
• Compression of morbidity—
increasing time for better quality
of life without diseases or
disability and once morbidity
occurs, reducing amount of time
remaining before death
Compression of Morbidity, cont.
• Healthier person likely to be
– intellectually alert
– socially active
• Medical science has made
compression of morbidity
possible
– still, each individual must do his or her
part
Theories of Aging
• Many Theories of Aging (300)
– we will look at two
• Wear and Tear
• Genetic Aging Theory
Wear and Tear Theory
• Compares body to machine
• Body wears down because of accumulated
exposure to inadequate nutrition,
disease, pollution, and other stresses
– women who are never pregnant live longer
– overweight people tend to sicken and die younger
– today there are replacement “parts”
• Wear out our bodies by living our lives
Genetic Aging
• What makes entire body age?
– focus on whole body rather than
individual parts
• Some theorists propose that
aging is the normal, natural
result of the genetic plan for
the species
Life Expectancy
• Genetic programming to reach biological
maturation at fixed times and
genetically programmed to die after a
fixed number of years
• Maximums and Averages
– maximum life span (humans 115)
– average life expectancy
• affected by culture, historical and
socioeconomic factors
Selective Adaptation
• Epigenetic theory provides some
explanations for primary aging
• Early adulthood: only nongenetic
events are likely to cause death
• Genetic diseases that affect
older people may be passed on
from generation to generation
Cellular Aging
• Cellular Accidents
– accumulation of minor accidents that occur during
cell reproduction cause aging
– mutations occur in process of DNA repair
• instructions for creating new cells become
imperfect
• cellular imperfections and declining ability to
detect and correct them can lead to harmless
changes, small functional loss, or fatal damage
Free Radicals
• Some of body’s metabolic processes can
cause electrons to separate from their
atoms and can result in atoms with
unpaired electron—oxygen free radicals
– can produce errors in cell maintenance and repair,
leading to cancer, diabetes, etc.
• Antioxidants—compounds that nullify the
effects of oxygen free radicals by
forming a bond with their unattached
oxygen electron
– vitamins A, C, and E, mineral selenium
Errors in Duplication
• Hormonal changes triggered in brain that
switch off the genes promoting growth
• The Hayflick Limit
– genetic clock—according to one theory of aging, a
regulatory mechanism in the DNA of cells that
regulates the aging process
– cells stop replicating at a certain point
• Evidence for genetic regulation from
diseases producing premature aging
The Immune System
• Diminished immune system is
weakened
• Two types of attack cells reduced in
numbers
– B cells in bone marrow, which create
antibodies that attack invading bacteria and
viruses
– T cells, which produce substances that
attack infection
Research on Immune
Deficiency
• Scientific support for the immune system
theory comes from research on
HIV/AIDS
– HIV can be latent for many years, but eventually
becomes AIDS
• Individuals with weakened immune
systems do not live as long as those with
stronger immune systems; thus, immunity
not simply result of aging
Who Cares About Living
Longer?
• Most people are not interested in
living longer
– evidence for lack of interest found in daily
habits of many adults
– in research budgets, less money spent on
preventing aging than on treating diseases
– people would rather have better quality of
life than lengthen it
The Centenarians
• People 100 years of age or
older
Other Places, Other Stories
• Remote regions where large
numbers of people have unusual
longevity have been found in
– Georgia, Russia
– Pakistan
– Peru
Other Places, Other Stories, cont.
• Regions share 4 characteristics
–
–
–
–
diet is moderate, mostly veggies and herbs
work continues throughout life
family and community are important
exercise and relaxation part of daily life
• But birth records of these regions
not verifiable
The Truth About Life
After 100
• Habits and culture allow for
better aging
• Increasing numbers are reaching
this age
– some in very good health
– centenarians have shorter period of
morbidity before death