Full Description
This collection of public press articles were chosen because they address the most relevant and current problems in the field of aging and they present a variety of divergent views on the appropriate solutions to these problems. The well-illustrated articles are written by gerontologists, educators, researchers, and writers, and provide an effective and useful perspective on today's important topics in the study of aging.
Contents
UNIT 1. The Phenomenon of Aging 1. Elderly Americans, Christine L. Himes, Population Bulletin, December 2001 The author points out the ever-growing number and percentage of the American population comprising persons 65 years of age and older. Further, she observes that those over 65 are living longer than previous generations. Currently those 85 and older are the fastest growing segment of the elderly population. 2. Great Expectations, Harvard Health Letter, December 1999 This article points out the dramatic increase in life expectancy in the U.S. population between 1900 and 1996. From 1900 to 1950 the biggest gains resulted from curbing the communicable diseases of young people. From 1950 to 1996 the increase in life expectancy is believed to be a result of success against the chronic diseases of middle- and older-aged persons. 3. A Study for the Ages, Nancy Shute, U.S. News & World Report, June 9, 1997 The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) has followed more than 2,000 volunteers between the ages of 20 and 90 in an attempt to delineate how healthy people grow older. The BLSA found that function losses that were once thought to be age-related, such as decreased mobility or memory lapses, can be slowed or stopped. Furthermore, many supposed indignities of aging turn out to be purely misconceptions. 4. The Centenarians Are Coming!!, Cynthia G. Wagner, The Futurist, May 1999 Cynthia Wagner examines the lives of people who live to 100 and beyond in an attempt to find the critical factors that allow them to outlive so many of their cohorts. 5. Will You Live to Be 100?, Thomas Perls and Margery Hutter Silver, AARP Modern Maturity, November/December 1999 After completing a study of 150 centenarians, Harvard Medical School researchers Thomas Perls and Margaret Hutter Silver developed a quiz to help you calculate your estimated life expectancy. 6. The Centenarian Boom: Providing for Retirement in a Long-Lived America, Henry J. Aaron, Brookings Review, Spring 2000 Some economists look at the ever-increasing numbers of people living to 65 and beyond as a major financial crisis for nations as they attempt to keep government pension programs running. Henry Aaron, on the other hand, believes that governments with sound fiscal policies will balance their own budgets so that voluntary savings and pension savings in the private and public sector will be available for investment and growth at home and abroad. UNIT 2. The Quality of Later Life 7. Women's Sexuality as They Age: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same, Patricia Barthalow Koch and Phyllis Kernoff Mansfield, SIECUS Report, December 2001/January 2002 The authors examine women's sexuality over the life cycle in an attempt to determine whether there are any changes in female sexuality as a result of aging or menstrual status. 8. Fighting Back, With Sweat, Jerry Adler and Joan Raymond, Newsweek, Fall/Winter 2001 The authors point out the numerous health advantages that accrue to those who are physically active and exercise on a regular basis. 9. All in Your Head, Richard Restak, AARP Modern Maturity, January/February 2002 The author compares the way the brains of younger and older persons process and integrate new information. He challenges many long-held beliefs about how the brains of older persons lose functions. 10. Late Life Widowhood, Selfishness and New Partnership Choices: A Gendered Perspective, Kate Davidson, Aging and Society, Volume 21, 2001 The reactions of widows versus widowers are compared with regard to how they responded following the death of their marital partner and whether they would or would not be likely to marry again. 11. Men and Women Aging Differently, Barbara M. Barer, International Journal of Aging and Human Development, Volume 38, Number 1, 1994 Gender differences in health, socioeconomic status, and social resources during later life are examined by Barbara Barer. Case studies illustrate how the timing of life-course events is different in men and women and results in differences in the problems they face in later life. 12. We Can Control How We Age, Lou Ann Walker, Parade, September 16, 2001 A Harvard study followed individuals from their teens into their eighties and as a result gives specific recommendations for what individuals can do to improve their chances of aging well. 13. Want a Longer Life? Connect, Tedd Mitchell, USA Weekend, September 8--10, 2000 Tedd Mitchell observes the negative effect that social isolation has on a person's health and longevity. Having close and trusted friends, being a member of a family, and being connected to warm and friendly social groups all have a positive influence on a person's health. UNIT 3. Societal Attitudes Toward Old Age 14. Images of Aging in America, Kathy Speas and Beth Obenshain, AARP Report by FGI Integrated Marketing, February 6, 1995 This AARP report summarizes Americans' knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes about aging and the elderly. The questions considered include: What do Americans know about aging and the elderly? What are the prevalent images of aging? What are Americans' perceptions of the aging process? and, What is the nature and extent of intergenerational conflict? 15. Eradication of Ageism Requires Addressing the Enemy Within, Becca R. Levy, The Gerontologist, October 2001 The author believes that in combating ageism we most often react to jokes, statements, and expressed views about older people. She believes that to eradicate ageism we must be aware of the often unconscious implicit feelings about old age that the individual harbors but of which he is most often unaware. 16. The Activation of Aging Stereotypes in Younger and Older Adults, Alison L. Chasteen, Norbert Schwarz, and Denise C. Park, Journal of Gerontology, Volume 57B, Number 6, 2002 The authors examine and compare a sample of younger and older adults in their stereotypic attitudes toward young and old persons. 17. Successful Aging: The Second 50, Joe Volz, Monitor on Psychology, January 2000 Psychologists' research is changing attitudes about what it takes to live the good and longer life. Research on aging is now shifting from what is required medically to prolong life to ensuring that a longer life is worth living. Psychological research is making significant inroads in the areas of memory and cognition. The research indicates that cognitive capacity more than physical disability is the critical factor in determining whether people can remain active while arriving at extreme old age. UNIT 4. Problems and Potentials of Aging 18. Healing the Heart, Avery Comarow, U.S. News & World Report, March 13, 2000 Avery Comarow explains the many new medical discoveries and inventions that are allowing doctors to more adequately treat heart problems. A host of new techniques from growing new arteries to destroying plaque with radiation are explained in this article. 19. Primary Care for Elderly People: Why Do Doctors Find It So Hard?, Wendy L. Adams et. al., The Gerontologist, Volume 42, Number 6, 2002 The authors observed that, on the whole, doctors felt confident in managing specific illnesses that were confronting their patients. They were, however, less confident in dealing with geriatric patients who often were experiencing multiple and compounding adverse medical events and cognitive impairment. 20. Giving Up and Replacing Activities in Response to Illness, Jennifer Duke, Howard Leventhal, Susan Brownlee, and Elaine A. Leventhal, Journal of Gerontology, Volume 57B, Number 4, 2002 Physical illness sometimes requires older persons to abandon some of their more physically demanding daily and recreational activities. The effect on the well-being of the individual is examined when replacing or failing to replace a more physically demanding activity following an illness. 21. The Disappearing Mind, Geoffrey Cowley, Newsweek, June 24, 2002 The author outlines the current scientific findings on the causes of Alzheimer's disease as well as where research is heading in terms of detecting and curing the disease. 22. Alzheimer's Disease as a "Trip Back in Time", Christopher J. Johnson and Roxanna H. Johnson, American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, March/April 2000 The authors of this article develop a nonlinear regression model to help caregivers working with Alzheimer's patients to understand the regularly occurring variations in the person's memory, behavior, and physical ability. UNIT 5. Retirement: American Dream or Dilemma? 23. Waiting Longer for Social Security, Alice Ann Love, Terre Haute Tribune-Star, November 30, 1999 In 1983 President Ronald Reagan and the U.S. Congress passed legislation increasing the age at which one qualifies for full retirement benefits from 65 to 67. This increase in the qualifying age began gradually after the year 2000. No people near the retirement age were immediately affected, and most voters were not even aware of the change. 24. Aging Employee Pool Posing Challenges, Diane Stafford, Terre Haute Tribune-Star, September 3, 2001 This article addresses some of the skill, knowledge, and labor losses that business and industry will face as the baby boomers retire. Diane Stafford suggests a number of solutions that employers might consider as they attempt to resolve these issues. 25. Applying Work-Role Attachment Theory to Retirement Decision-Making, Gary A. Adams, Julie Prescher, Terry A. Beehr, and Lawrence Lepisto, International Journal of Aging and Human Development, Volume 54, Number 2, 2002 The authors examine individuals' job involvement, organizational commitment, and career identification to determine if these variables were positively or negatively related to their retirement decisions. 26. 'You'll See More People Working': Hastert Pleased With Demise of the Earnings Limit, Elliot Carlson and Trish Nicholson, AARP Bulletin, April 2000 The Social Security regulations were changed by Congress in March 2000. Those who work after the age of 65 will receive no reduction in their Social Security checks. Prior to this change, people 65 through 69 lost $1.00 in Social Security benefits for each $3.00 they earned above the annual limit of $17,000. 27. Retirement Patterns and Employee Benefits: Do Benefits Matter?, Paul Fronstin, The Gerontologist, February 1999 This study explores the relationship between the provision of pension plans and retiree health insurance programs on early retirement decisions. The results indicate that postretirement pension benefits and the availability of retiree health benefits have a significant influence on a worker's planned age of retirement. 28. Work/Retirement Choices and Lifestyle Patterns of Older Americans, Harold Cox, Terrance Parks, Andre Hammonds, and Gurmeet Sekhon, Journal of Applied Sociology, Volume 18, Number 1, 2001 This article examines six different patterns of work, retirement, and leisure from which people of retirement age may choose. Measures of life satisfaction are given to participants in each of the six groups to determine who are the most satisfied with their lives. UNIT 6. The Experience of Dying 29. Preventing Late Life Suicide: National Institutes of Health Initiatives, Jane L. Pearson, Omega, Volume 42, Number 1, 2000--2001 The author examines the reasons persons 65 and older commit suicide at a rate that is twice the national average. Further, she delineates the current state of public health policies that attempt to prevent late life suicides. 30. Expectancy of Spousal Death and Adjustment to Conjugal Bereavement, Edward F. Donnelly, Nigel P. Field, and Mardi J. Horowitz, Omega, Volume 42, Number 3, 2000--2001 The authors examine whether the bereavement following the death of a spouse is shorter when the deceased has suffered from a long terminal illness and there is considerable time for the surviving marital partner to have anticipated and prepared for the death. 31. Start the Conversation, AARP Modern Maturity, September/October 2000 This article observes what is happening physically and emotionally to a dying person. It also investigates the critical decisions that must be made by the person or his or her caregivers. UNIT 7. Living Environments in Later Life 32. (Not) the Same Old Story, Chuck Salter, Fast Company, February 2002 Nursing homes are viewed as places where people go to die. Gerontologist Bill Thomas proposes changes in nursing home environments that would make them places where people live and enjoy their daily activities and friendships. 33. Elder Care: Making the Right Choice, John Greenwald, Time, August 30, 1999 The author compares the advantages and disadvantages of home care, congregate housing, and assisted living as choices that are available to older people. 34. Strength in Numbers, Kristin Davis, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, May 2002 The author discusses the advantage of forming family councils in long-term care facilities to bring about needed changes and improve the quality of care. 35. The City of Laguna Woods: A Case of Senior Power in Local Politics, Ross Andel and Phoebe S. Liebig, Research on Aging, January 2002 The authors investigate how a retirement community in Orange County, California, incorporated three adjacent senior-living facilities and several businesses to form Laguna Woods, a city almost exclusively populated by seniors. The city's incorporation allowed the residents to successfully block the building of a nearby airport. UNIT 8. Social Policies, Programs, and Services for Older Americans 36. Soaring Cost of Prescriptions Send Seniors South of Border, Marty Shevelove, The Arizona Republic, February 11, 2002 This article reports on the increasing number of senior citizens who travel to Mexico to purchase generic medications at greatly reduced costs. Although some generic medication prices have risen, the majority are sold at a fraction of prices found in American pharmacies. 37. "Should a Portion of Social Security Funds Be Invested in the Stock Market?", Henry Aaron and Robert J. Myers, AARP Bulletin, March 1999 As Congress and the nation worry about the financial solvency of the Social Security program once baby boomers begin to retire, a number of changes have been proposed. One proposal is to invest a portion of the Social Security funds in the stock market rather than in government Treasury notes. The pros and cons of this plan are presented in this article. 38. Raw Deal for Women?, Stan Hinden, AARP Modern Maturity, September 2001 Women's groups believe that women's retirement incomes could be threatened by reductions and related problems should a portion of the Social Security trust fund go into private investments. Their concerns are presented in this article. 39. Lawmakers Troubled About Nursing Home Abuse, Larry Margasak, Terre Haute Tribune-Star, March 4, 2002 Evidence is mounting that cases of nursing home patients being physically abused are often not reported to the police. Nursing homes depend on federal Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements for a large share of their funding. The Senate Special Committee on Aging is examining what changes in Medicare/Medicaid regulations could be made to guarantee that incidence of physical abuse of nursing home patients will be reported to the police. 40. Nursing Home Care Is Found Wanting, Carole Fleck, AARP Bulletin, April 2002 A federal study outlines nursing home deficiencies, which include inadequate staffing in 90 percent of the homes. In response to this and related studies, Capitol Hill lawmakers are stepping up their efforts to impose minimum standards on the industry.
