Social Work Concepts: Gerontology

Introduction
History
Aging demographics
Sub-fields

Introduction

The study of the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive, and biological aspects of ageing is known as gerontology. Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov coined the term in 1903, derived from the Greek geron, "old man," and -o, -logia, "study of." The field differs from geriatrics, which is the branch of medicine that focuses on the treatment of existing disease in older adults. Gerontologists work in biology, nursing, medicine, criminology, dentistry, social work, physical and occupational therapy, psychology, psychiatry, sociology, economics, political science, architecture, geography, pharmacy, public health, housing, and anthropology.

Because gerontology is multidisciplinary, there are a number of sub-fields that overlap with it. There are policy issues involved in government planning and nursing home operation, as well as research into the effects of an ageing population on society and the design of residential spaces for older people that facilitate the development of a sense of place or home. Dr. Lawton, a behavioural psychologist at the Philadelphia Geriatric Center, was among the first to recognise the need for living spaces designed specifically for the elderly, particularly those suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The field is still in its infancy as an academic discipline. In 1975, the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology established the first gerontology PhD, master's, and bachelor's degree programmes.

History

Several physicians wrote on gerontology issues in the mediaeval Islamic world. Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine (1025) provided guidance for the care of the elderly, including diet and remedies for ailments such as constipation. Ibn Al-Jazzar Al-Qayrawani (Algizar, c. 898–980) was an Arabic physician who wrote about the aches and conditions of the elderly. His scholarly work focuses on sleep disorders, forgetfulness, memory enhancement, and causes of death. Ishaq ibn Hunayn (died 910) also wrote works on forgetfulness treatments.

Modern pioneers such as James Birren began organising gerontology as a separate field in the 1940s, later becoming involved in the establishment of a US government agency on ageing – the National Institute on Aging – programmes in gerontology at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles, and as past president of the Gerontological Society of America (founded in 1945).

With the over-60 population expected to account for 22 percent of the world's population by 2050, assessment and treatment methods for age-related disease burden – the term geroscience – emerged in the early twenty-first century.

Aging demographics

The world's population is expected to age rapidly over the next several decades. In 1900, there were 3.1 million people in the United States who were 65 or older. This population, however, continued to grow throughout the twentieth century, reaching 31.2, 35, and 40.3 million people in 1990, 2000, and 2010, respectively. Notably, the "baby boomer" generation began to reach the age of 65 in the United States and around the world in 2011. Recently, the population 65 and older has grown faster than the total population in the United States. Between 2000 and 2010, the total population increased by 9.7 percent, from 281.4 million to 308.7 million. During the same time period, however, the population aged 65 and up increased by 15.1%. It is estimated that by 2025, 25% of the population in the United States and Canada will be 65 or older. Furthermore, it is predicted that by 2050, the number of people aged 60 and older will outnumber children aged 0 to 14 years for the first time in US history. The number of people aged 85 and up (the oldest-old) is expected to grow from 5.3 million to 21 million by 2050. Adults aged 85–89 years made up the largest proportion of the oldest-old in 1990, 2000, and 2010. The most significant percentage point increase among the oldest-old occurred in the 90- to 94-year-old age group, which increased from 25.0 percent in 1990 to 26.4 percent in 2010.

With the ageing population rapidly increasing, social work education and training specialised in older adults, as well as practitioners interested in working with older adults, are in high demand.

Gender differences with age

In the United States, there has been a significant disparity in the number of men and women among the elderly. Women outnumbered men in the older population in every year of age between 2000 and 2010. (e.g., 65 to 100 years and over). The sex ratio, which is a measure of the male-female ratio in a population, is calculated by dividing the number of males by the number of females and multiplying by 100. As a result, the sex ratio is the number of males for every 100 females. In 2010, the 65-year-old population had 90.5 males for every 100 females. This was an increase from 1990, when there were 82.7 males for every 100 females, and from 2000, when the sex ratio was 88.1. Despite the fact that the gender gap has narrowed, women continue to have a longer life expectancy and lower mortality rates at older ages than men. For example, according to the 2010 Census, there were roughly twice as many women as men living in the United States at the age of 89. (361,309 versus 176,689, respectively)

Geographic distribution of older adults in the United States

The number and percentage of older adults in the United States vary across the four census-designated regions (Northeast, Midwest, West, and South). In 2010, the South had the highest proportion of people aged 65 and up, as well as those aged 85 and up. However, the Northeast has the highest proportion of adults aged 65 and older (14.1 percent), followed by the Midwest (13.5 percent), the South (13.0 percent), and the West (13.0 percent) (11.9 percent ). In comparison to the Census of 2000, all geographic regions experienced positive growth in the population of adults aged 65 and up, as well as adults aged 85 and up. The West experienced the fastest growth in the population of adults aged 65 and older (23.5 percent), increasing from 6.9 million in 2000 to 8.5 million in 2010. Similarly, the West (42.8 percent) experienced the fastest growth in the population aged 85 and older, increasing from 806,000 in 2000 to 1.2 million in 2010. It is worth noting that Rhode Island was the only state to see a decrease in the number of people aged 65 and older, falling from 152,402 in 2000 to 151,881 in 2010. In contrast, from 2000 to 2010, all states saw an increase in the population of adults aged 85 and up.

Sub-fields

As with many disciplines, the field of gerontology has subdivided into multiple specific disciplines focused on increasingly narrow aspects of the ageing process over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Biogerontology

Biogerontology is a subfield of gerontology that studies the biological ageing process, its evolutionary origins, and potential interventions. The goal of biogerontology is to prevent age-related disease by intervening in ageing processes, or even to eliminate ageing altogether. Some argue that because ageing meets the criteria for disease, it is disease and should be treated as such. Aubrey de Grey stated in 2008 that with adequate funding and the involvement of specialists, there is a 50% chance that in 25-30 years humans will have technology that will prevent people from dying of old age, regardless of their age at the time. His idea is to use modern technology to repair inside cells and between them all, allowing people to live until technology progress allows for deeper damage to be cured. The term "longevity escape velocity" was coined to describe this concept.

Social gerontology

Social gerontology is a multidisciplinary subfield that studies or works with older adults. Social gerontologists may have degrees or training in social work, nursing, psychology, sociology, demography, public health, or a variety of other social science disciplines. Social gerontologists are in charge of educating, researching, and advocating for the larger causes of older people. There is some overlap with demography because issues of life span and life extension require numbers to be quantified. Those who study human life span demography differ from those who study social demographics of ageing.

Social theories of aging

Several ageing theories have been developed in order to study the ageing process of older adults in society, as well as how these processes are interpreted by men and women as they age.

Activity theory

Cavan, Havighurst, and Albrecht developed and expanded on activity theory. According to this theory, social interactions influence older adults' self-concept. Substitutions for lost roles must be made for older adults to maintain morale in old age. Retirement from a job or the death of a spouse are two examples of lost roles.

Because it promotes well-being on multiple levels, activity is preferable to inactivity. Because of improved general health and prosperity in the older population, staying active is more feasible now than it was nearly six decades ago when Havighurst proposed this theory. The activity theory is applicable in a stable, post-industrial society that provides many opportunities for meaningful participation to its older members. Weakness: Some elderly people are unable to maintain a middle-aged lifestyle due to functional limitations, a lack of income, or a lack of desire. Many older people lack the resources to remain active members of society. On the other hand, some elders may insist on continuing activities in their later years that endanger themselves and others, such as driving at night with low visual acuity or doing housework while climbing with severely arthritic knees. They are denying their limitations and engaging in risky behaviours as a result.

Disengagement theory

Cumming and Henry developed the theory of disengagement. According to this theory, older adults and society are estranged from one another. Retirement from the workforce is an example of mutual separation. One key assumption of this theory is that as people get older, they lose "ego-energy" and become more self-absorbed. Furthermore, disengagement leads to higher morale maintenance than attempting to maintain social involvement in older adults. This theory is heavily criticised for including an escape clause, namely, that older adults who remain engaged in society are ineffective age adjusters.

Gradual withdrawal from society and relationships preserves social equilibrium and encourages self-reflection in elders who are no longer bound by societal roles. It provides a systematic means for the transfer of knowledge, capital, and power from the older generation to the younger generation. It allows society to continue functioning even after valuable older members die.

Age stratification theory

According to this theory, older adults born at various times form cohorts that define "age strata." The strata differ in two ways: chronological age and historical experience. This theory makes two claims.

1. Age is a mechanism that regulates behaviour and thus determines access to positions of power.

2. Birth cohorts have an impact on the process of social change.

Life course theory

Consider the implications for how societies might function when age-based norms vanish—a result of the deinstitutionalization of the life course—and suggest that these implications pose new challenges for theorising ageing and the life course in postindustrial societies, also reflecting the life course focus. Over the last several decades, dramatic reductions in mortality, morbidity, and fertility have so upended the organisation of the life course and the nature of educational, work, family, and leisure experiences that it is now possible for individuals to age in novel ways. Other life stages' configurations and content are changing as well, particularly for women. As a result, theories of age and ageing will need to be rethought.

Cumulative advantage/disadvantage theory

According to this theory, which was developed in the 1960s by Derek Price and Robert Merton and expanded on by several researchers including Dale Dannefer, inequalities tend to become more pronounced as people age. This theory's paradigm can be expressed in the adage "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer." Early life advantages and disadvantages have a significant impact on the rest of one's life. However, advantages and disadvantages in middle adulthood have a direct impact on future economic and health status.

Environmental gerontology

The field arose in the 1930s as a result of early studies on behavioural and social gerontology. Research in the 1970s and 1980s confirmed the importance of the physical and social environment in understanding the ageing population and improving the quality of life in old age. Environmental gerontology research indicates that older people prefer to age in their immediate surroundings, whereas spatial experience and place attachment are important for comprehending the process.

According to some studies, the physical-social environment of the elderly is related to their longevity and quality of life. To be more specific, the natural environment (such as natural therapeutic landscapes and therapeutic gardens) promotes active and healthy ageing in the workplace.

Jurisprudential gerontology

Jurisprudential gerontology (also known as "geriatric jurisprudence") is a branch of gerontology that studies how laws and legal structures interact with the ageing process. The field was founded by legal scholars in the field of elder law who discovered that investigating legal issues concerning older people without a broader inter-disciplinary perspective does not provide the best legal outcome. Using theories such as therapeutic jurisprudence, jurisprudential scholars critically examined existing legal institutions (for example, adult guardianship, end-of-life care, or nursing home regulations) and demonstrated how law should pay more attention to the social and psychological aspects of its operation.

References

1. Harris, D.K. (1988). Dictionary of Gerontology (https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofgero000 0harr). New York: Greenwood Press. p. 80 (https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofgero0000h arr/page/80). ISBN 9780313252877.
Metchnikoff, Elie (1903). The Nature of Man: Studies in Optimistic Philosophy (https://www.w orldcat.org/title/nature-of-man-studies-in-optimistic-philosophy/oclc/173625). Translated by Mitchell, P Chalmers. New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons. OCLC 173625 (https://ww w.worldcat.org/oclc/173625).
Grignolio, Andrea; Franceschi, Claudio (2012-06-15). "History of Research into Ageing/Senescence" (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9780470015902.a002 3955). eLS. doi:10.1002/9780470015902.a0023955 (https://doi.org/10.1002%2F978047001 5902.a0023955). ISBN 978-0470016176.