Psychology and Aging: Understanding the Elderly
Psychology and Aging: Adulthood (Test)
– Definition and Meaning of the Word “Elderly” (Etymological)
Elderly: simply means having enough age.
Gerontologic: Old
Elder: A man who is too old and respectable.
The term “aging” is used by Salgado (1999) to describe the normal and vital process of “senescence” as a more advanced stage of old age characterized by loss and changes in the elderly.
Kaplan and Sadok (2000) use the synonyms “maturity” and “old age” and call senescence the aging process.
Concepts of Aging
A person may be several ages: psychological, mental, social, cultural, and economic.
Chronological Concept – is one that appears from our birth certificate and cannot be denied.
Biological Concept – is that of our biological body.
Personal Concept – is the one that the person determines for themselves, how their spirit feels about being at a certain age.
Gonzalo Ramirez (2002): “There are people who are 60 years old chronologically, biologically 30, mentally 40, culturally 50, and socially 80 years old.”
Aging
– Four stages of chronological aging:
1 – Middle-Age: 49-59 years; 2 – The Elderly: 60-74 years; 3 – The Old: Over 75 years; 4 – The Very Old: 90 years or more.
When Does Aging Really Begin?
Mediescência Phase I: A term rarely used, begins at 30 and goes to 49.
Pre-senescence, or Middle Aged: Starts at 40, for some 45 years, and goes until 59 or 65 years.
Mediescência in Phase II or Late Maturity: 50 to 65 years or 70 years, up to 75-80 years.
Senescence, Old Age, or Old Age: Goes from 65 years to some 60 to 70 years, until 75 to 80 years.
Old Age or Second Fourth: Goes from 65 years to 75 years for some, for others to 80 years.
Quality of Life in the Elderly
Quality of life in old age can be defined as the maintenance of health at its widest possible level in all aspects of human life: physical, social, psychological, and spiritual (WHO, 1991).
Depression in the Aged
The causes of depression are still unknown, but it is believed that several factors contribute, such as: physical, psychological, and social.
Socialization
Knowing how to enjoy moments of leisure, social interaction, and the development of hobbies and interests, all collaborate to keep the mind active and healthy. Integration is important for the elderly.
Glossary of Gerontology
Self-esteem is confidence in our way of thinking and tackling problems and the right to be happy. We need to have the feeling that we are worthy of our needs.
Autonomy is the quality of an individual to make their own decisions, based on their individual reason.
– Dementia is a disorder characterized by the development of multiple cognitive deficits, due to the direct physiological effects of an illness or other causes.
– Depression is a disorder that can be characterized by low self-esteem, feelings of prolonged sadness, irritability, lack of interest in daily activities, loss of pleasure, changes in sleep, problems concentrating, thoughts of death, feelings of worthlessness, and guilt. Depression can be caused by several factors such as chemical imbalance in the brain, genetic inheritance, psychological and emotional stressful situations.
Stress consists of a set of physiological reactions that are exaggerated in intensity or duration and can lead to an imbalance in the body. The reaction to stress is a necessary biological adaptation to new situations.
Ethics means what is good for the individual and for society, and their study helps to establish the nature of duties in the individual-society relationship. Ethics is theoretical, while morality is normative.
Geriatrics is a specialization of medicine that studies the elderly from their living conditions of normality and pathology. It is dedicated to the health of the elderly.
Gerontology is the science that studies the aging process of humans. Gerontology is the science that deals with old age and the phenomena that characterize it.
Disregard is the disassociation of one being over another, or dependence which was named for him.
Senility is the process of pathological aging. It is characterized by a gradual decline in the functioning of all body systems, cardiovascular, respiratory, genitourinary, endocrine, and immune systems among others. It refers to changes resulting from trauma and diseases that occur in the life cycle, causing damage to health.
Senescence is the aging of living beings, when the cells stop dividing and cannot replace other cells that for some reason failed to metabolize.
Old age is a personal process, natural, undeniable, and unavoidable for any human being, the evolution of life.