The Factors and Paradigms That Have Significant Impact on the Aging Process - Coursework Example

 Change is intrinsic part of life which can be easily observed through evolving pattern of human body and human behaviour. The various biological stages of human being are vital ingredients of social construction of identity that not only have wider ramifications for human race but they also help to trace and analyze the human behaviour under normal and excruciating circumstances. Indeed, while mortality of human life is the only uncontested universal truth, the man’s desire to have a long life becomes the critical factor for ensuring the same through myriad means. Social scientists and psychologists have tried to find the social and biological imperatives which become the motivating elements at various stages of man’s life. The cause and effect of various socio-psychological paradigms guide man’s actions and decisions. Therefore, it is difficult to say that ‘it is inevitable that the later years will be a time of loss, deterioration and decline’ in a man’s life. The paper would be primarily evaluating the factors and paradigms that have significant impact on the aging process and influence the normative and cognitive behaviour of old people. Aging and old age are evolving natural phenomenon that cuts across gender, race, colour and nationality. People attaining the age of 65 years are considered to have entered into the realm of ‘old age’! In the past, the average life expectancy of people was not more than 65 years of age. But in the recent times, elderly population is increasing at a fast rate, especially in UK, US and advanced nations. Life expectancy has crossed 80 years of age that has brought in whole new set of issues which need to be addressed urgently. More people are living beyond the time when they can be considered economically independent or productively employed. Psychologists and social scientists have categorized old age as follow: Young old 65 – 75 years Old old 75 – 85 years Oldest old 85+ years Ward et al. (1984) asserts that 20% of the population is between the age group (60-69) while whopping 65% is above 80 years of age. The welfare of growing number of aged has become a huge concern because aging brings about a huge plethora of new changes and issues which need to be addressed for aged population to live with dignity. The physiological and cognitive changes brought about by aging are the prime causes of concern for the individuals and the government. The general physical decline vis-à-vis various body parts and organ which may be followed by diseases are common feature of growing old. The greying and loss of hair, wrinkle and agility are but few of the significant features that herald aging. The older people are also prone to illness, vision and hearing impairment, joint pain etc. Such changes bring often promote insecurity amongst the people in their later age. Women especially often try to ward off advent of aging and aging signals through cosmetic surgery, face-lifting etc. The cognitive changes are primarily concerned with the memory and sensory impairment. Schaie (1990) says that IQ declines with age but Horn & Hofer (1992) asserts that crystallized intelligence that is mainly related to knowledge and ability has little or no impact of age. This is the most important factors that provide the elderly population with the power to guide the young. The cognitive theory tries to rationalize the working of conscious and unconscious thoughts of a man and co-relate them with his subsequent actions and reactions. The perception of object reality is interpreted and understood through cognitive processing and subsequent attention span of the memory. Therefore, weakening of the same may result at loss of memory and in extreme cases, dementia, Alzheimer etc. The sociological changes of aging are major paradigms that significantly impact the psyche of people who are in the threshold of aging. The most important feature that characterizes human being is their specific identity within a societal framework. The social identity provides man with a distinct attribute and facilitates establishment of social status that physically represents him. Therefore social identity of a man is a vital representation of his self. Aging process facilitate changing role of man in the social arena. In old age, he not only loses the title of ‘wage earner’ but the changing role may impact his psyche of well being because of various socio-psychological paradigms which may make him dependent on other people. The most distressing aspect of advancing age is the loss of relationship vis-à-vis family members and acquaintance that deprives them of the emotional and normative support. The physiological changes resulting in reduced agility of body and mind often results in depression. It is observed that the elderly population is more prone to psychological problems like depression which compounds the problems of their physical frailty (Stuart Hamilton, 2000). The illnesses at old age also become major factor of discontent and pessimist attitude. Another factor that adversely impacts aging are the lack of finances at old age also inculcates insecurity amongst the old people who have to rely on the state welfare. The recessive trend and the increased cost of living has further increased the burden not only on the individuals but also on the government who need to come up with innovative programs and policies to address the needs to the increasing segment of aged people. But the advantages of aging cannot be discounted. Old age bestows people with the knowledge and experience that need to be exploited by the younger generation to gain insight into the opportunities and scope. People grow physically, emotionally and intellectually with age (Berk, 2000). Gerontology or the study of aging also promotes the theory of nature v nurture. Through the process of aging, one is able to analyze human behaviour as per the socio environmental factors but it has also promoted the scientific intervention in the analysis of human behaviour. The external factors that have considerable influence on the behaviour are important criteria that determine the behavioural pattern under different circumstances. The social identities in the current times have provoked wide ranging percolating effects that are increasing becoming complex and difficult to manage especially in the era which is rapidly transforming into pluralistic society. The wisdom of older generation is the most facilitating agent to promote understanding and should be utilized to promote peaceful existence. Indeed, if one looks more deeply into the pros and con of the situation, one would find that in the contemporary times, the advantages of aging far outweigh the disadvantages! The various programs and policies of government to alleviate the problems of the aged greatly facilitate the people to live a fuller life. The government’s initiatives in forging public-private partnership for effective implementation of the concepts and precepts of the four components of the healthcare vis-à-vis finance, insurance, quality and delivery system have become a reality. In UK, Partnership for Older People Projects (POPP) is the programme devoted to the welfare of the elders (DOH). New partnerships with local agencies are sought to adhere to the wishes of the older people so that they have more active role in the communities and to have access to services which treat them with respect and dignity. The program aims to reduce hospitalisation and residential care stay. The pilot project is already running in Leeds, Northumberland, Worcestershire, Luton and few other places where it is proving a great success. Mental health needs are important elements of living with dignity. The various factors like coping with the loss of loved ones, isolated living and losing self worth are the main reasons for the psychological syndromes like depression that is increasing becoming common among the old people. Government and community have initiated action plans that can help the older generation to overcome their loss. Innovative measures of confidence building are being encouraged through promotion of activities that are designed to inculcate mutual trust and self worth. The government and private companies are encouraging their proactive participation to utilize their skills and competence for the benefit of the society so that, they not only become more mentally alert but also capable of contributing towards the development process of the society. The well being of older generation has become a priority with the government because increasing population of aged necessitates more innovative approach and strategic modules of health promotion. Age is a major biological determinant that is vulnerable to diseases, more popularly known as old age diseases. Loss of memory, weakening of body-organs’ functioning etc are parts of aging process. Medical intervention, early care and change of lifestyle are being encouraged as it goes a long way in delaying the process or diseases. Indeed, age is a very sensitive issue and widely associated with myriad forms of health related diseases and difficulties. The socio-economic conditions of the people have the capacity to aggravate or delay the chances of age related diseases. The rich can take appropriate measures like better diet and nutrition to maintain better health. But lack of nutrition and poor health conditions may become accessory to early aging. Smoking, drugs, fast food etc are external factors that are widely observed to contribute towards diseases like cancer, stroke, cardiac diseases and obesity that may act as catalyst to bring forward age related problems. The preventive actions and creating awareness against the harmful external factors are increasingly used to inculcate healthy lifestyle and arrest age related disabilities and diseases. Most interestingly, in the contemporary times, the increasing popularity of the alternative medicines can be easily assessed by the fact that the according to Eisenberg et al., the expenditure of complementary and alternative medicine in U.S has considerably increased and is nearly $30 billion (Eisenberg, 1998). The alternative approach to healthcare is increasing being adopted by the baby boomers and GenX to meet the challenges of the increasing cost of traditional health module. The main reason is that the efficacy of the healing is strictly holistic in approach and often treats the disease, not as an isolated event but as part of the wider perspectives that takes into account the physical, mental and social aspect of the individuals. Indeed, the precepts and concepts of holistic approach have prompted psychologists and scholars to have a fresh perception towards aging. Gerotranscendence theory primarily describes an ‘alteration of consciousness in old age’ (Jonson & Magnusson, 2001). Tornstam (1992) asserts that in the western society, people’s worth is assessed by their performance related criteria vis-à-vis productivity, effectiveness and independence and therefore adversely measures the old people. He argues that old age is qualitatively different from mid life and therefore, needs more realistic approach to judge them. He further states that ‘as we age and to the extent that this ‘‘natural’’ process is unobstructed, our consciousness changes and becomes cosmic and detached. Consequently, old people’s minds become essentially different from the minds of younger generations’ (ibid., 1989, p 60). Hence, older people have different and more wizened perceived value towards issues and elements that may be widely different to the mainstream population. Many scholars regard that successful aging is primarily concerned with continuity of ‘mid life’ ideals and activities (Roscow, 1967; Havens, 1968). But the ground realities are vastly different because of the changing socio-physiological paradigms that make it difficult for the older people to keep the same pace in life. Jung’s theory of Gerotranscendence promotes acceptance of the changes gracefully by the older people because aging is fundamentally a natural progression towards maturity and wisdom (Jung, 1930). It heralds a change which must be perceived positively because it encompasses invaluable experience of life. Older people often adopt more spiritual and philanthropic approach and embrace changes with wisdom. Thus, old age can be correctly interpreted as the age of wisdom. The implicit and explicit use of knowledge gained by the older generation, become strong motivators for change and development. Undoubtedly, it can be refuted that ‘it is inevitable that the later years will be a time of loss, deterioration and decline’. Old age is the golden period of one’s life when the person is able to use his time to pursue things that he might not have had time for in his mid life. Longfellow correctly interprets age when he says: ‘For age is opportunity no less Than youth itself, though in another dress, And as the evening twilight fades away, The sky is filled with stars invisible by day’ (H. W Longfellow) (2058) Reference Berk, L.E. (2007). Development through the lifespan. (4th edn) New York: Allyn and Bacon - Pearson International Edition. DOH. (2004). Annual Report. Available from: [Accessed 23 March, 2010]. Eisenberg DM, Davis RB, Ettner SL, Appel S, Wilkey S, van Rompay M, Kessler RC. (1998). Trends in alternative medicine use in the United States, 1990-1997 - Results of a follow-up national survey. Jama-Journal of the American Medical Association 1998, 280:1569-1575. Havens, B, J. (1968). An investigation of activity patterns and adjustments in an Aging population. The Gerontologist, 8, 201-206. Horn J, L & Hofer, S. (1992). Major abilities and development in the adult period. In R J Sternberg and C A Berg (eds) Intellectual development (pp 44-99). Cambridge. England. Jonson, Hakan & Magnusson, Jan Arne. (2001). A new age of old age? Gerotranscendence and the re-enchantment of aging. Journal of Aging Studies, 15, 317-331. Roscow, I. (1967). Social Integration of the Aged. NY. Free Press. Stuart-Hamilton, I. (2000). The psychology of ageing. (3rd edn). London: Jessica Kingsley. Esp. Chs 1-3. (earlier editions are okay too) Schaie, K.W., & Willis, S.L. (2002). Adult development and ageing. 5th ed. New York: HarperCollins. Tornstam, L. (1989). Gero-transcendence; a reformulation of the disengagement theory. Aging: Clinical and Experimental Research, 1 (1), 55–63. Tornstam, L. (1992). The quo vadis of gerontology; on the gerontological research paradigm. The Gerontologist, 32 (3), 318–326. Ward, R; LaGory, M and Sherman, S. (1984). The Aging Experience: An Introduction to Social Gerontology. 2nd Ed. NY: Harper & Row. Read More