Successful Aging
The term successful ageing has been used by various medical professionals to refer to different aspects. To provide a more involving, comprehensive factual definition, successful ageing refers to an individual’s perception of a favourable adaptation or niching to various changes, e.g. functional, physiological, financial etc. which are associated with time. Successful ageing is, therefore, a result of an individual’s capacity to fit in a given environmental demand. Consequently, it occurs as a result of the individual managing to successfully select and shape his habitat for it to align with the individual’s personal goals, capacities, needs and longings. Successful ageing is related to health and wellbeing (Glicken, 2013).
Factors affecting successful ageing
Various determinants influence an individual’s ability to age successfully. One such factor is gender. Gender is social differences that arise as a result of one being male or female as compared to sex which has to do with the physical, biological differences. Various researches conducted throughout the years have confirmed that indeed gender has played a role indetermination of life expectancy and prosperous ageing in both men and women. This has occurred as a result of lifestyle differences among genders. Smoking and alcohol consumption have been seen to have a direct effect on successful ageing and mortality. Statistics have shown that these habits, which are more common in males, have resulted in premature ageing and high mortality rates. In contrast, consumption of junk foods which is much more common among the women has led to the increment of obesity cases among women which goes against the goals of successful ageing (Carmel, 2019).
Racial differences have also contributed to the achievement of successful ageing. Studies conducted over the years have established that racial disparities have influenced the prevailing of depression among the older population. The conclusions made from these studies is that race-related stress has been mainly associated with African- American adults. This has been because growing up. These adults were exposed t many cumulative experiences of racism, thereby resulting in limited resources, healthcare, housing, employment etc. All these factors have acted as a hindrance in the achievement of successful, productive ageing among the African American adults (American psychological association, 2020).
Also, another factor which has contributed to the achievement of successfully ageing is genetics. Studies have shown that genes have contributed to exceptional longevity. Research carried out on a group of old citizens confirmed that successful ageing is associated indeed overlapped with susceptibility genes for disorders relating to the cardiovascular system, psychiatric disorders as well as oxidative stress (The reis group, 2005).
What can be done to increase the likelihood of successful ageing?
Factors which when adhered to will result in successful ageing include regular exercising and avoiding sedentary lifestyle as much as possible. This can be achieved by visiting the gym regularly. Also, maintaining proper nutrition will contribute to successful ageing. Obtaining adequate sleep is also very essential as well as having a proper perspective towards life in general, the community as well as oneself. Maintaining a social network is also very important; this will be achieved by learning new skills, volunteering etc. (Rybolt, 2016).
Intergenerational conflict
This connotation refers to the tension, strain, antagonism; disagreements present between the older and the younger generation over factors which constitutes to equal distribution of resources across different age groups. Examples of intergenerational conflict include the conflict which arises in employment whereby young people blame older people for not being employed. In comparison, older people blame young people when they lack employment opportunities on the basis that they are outdated, also occurs in using technology whereby young people blame older people for refusing to adopt new technological advances. At the same time, older adults blame young people for using too sophisticated techniques (SAGE, 2020).
How racial and gender bias threatens the wellbeing of older adults
Women have been known to outlive women in general. Socioeconomic status has been seen to have a gender-specific effect on the well being of the older population. More specifically, older men have been associated with a high monthly earning as compared to their female counterparts. This has led to a significant increase in their physical functioning and low physical functioning. On the other hand, older women have been characterized by a higher educational level, thereby having a high social operation and a low physical one as compared to the males (Park, 2010).
Relating to gender bias, African American older adults have been seen to have a lower probability of achieving wellbeing in their golden years than their Caucasian counterparts. This has been attributed to racism cases where African American older adults became victims of high racial prejudice when growing up. As a result, they grew up with limited resources and unfair treatment in terms of employment, health acre housing etc. this has led to an increase in cases of racial-related stress among the African American thereby reducing their likelihood to live long fulfilling lives.
REFERENCES
American psychological association. (2020). American Psychological Association (APA). https://www.apa.org/pi/aging/resources/african-american-stress.pdf
Carmel, S. (2019, October 10). Health and wellbeing in late life: Gender differences worldwide. PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6795677/
Glicken, M. D. (2013). Successful ageing. ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full-text articles and books. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/successful-aging
Park. (2010). Gender differences as factors in successful ageing: A focus on socioeconomic status. – PubMed – NCBI. National Center for Biotechnology Information. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19703332
The reis group. (2005, December 12). New research examines the genetics of successful ageing. EurekAlert!. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-12/g-nre121205.php
Rybolt, B. (2016, August 29). Eight tips for successful ageing. Summit Medical Group. https://www.summitmedicalgroup.com/news/living-well/8-tips-successful-aging/
SAGE. (2020). SAGE reference – Intergenerational conflict. SAGE Knowledge – Home. https://sk.sagepub.com/reference/dictionary-of-multicultural-psychology/n123.xml