Misconceptions Of The Elderly Research Paper

Ageism and stereotypes of older people can have an important impact on their physical health, mental health and overall wellbeing. Negative stereotypes of older people being dependent and decrepit can be internalized and become self-fulfilling. These ageist thoughts and stereotypes can lead to older people not seeking health care in general and to not get treatment appropriate for their illness or medical condition due to their age and not based on any other factor.

The popular culture perceives sexuality among the elderly people as if it doesn’t exist or that the elderly are not as interested as they were in their younger years. The younger generations don’t even want to think about it because of the possible visualization may shock them and they find it disgusting. I’m sure I’m not the only one as a kid that I found adult expressing their intimacy with each other gross. But as I grew, I found that expressing your feelings just shows love and care for that person. Sexuality among the elderly does exist, and from articles that I’ve read to include our reading material, studies show that people in there 70’s and 80’s remain sexually active (Greenberg, Bruess, Oswalt, 2013). There are some sexual problems that increase and sexual activity rate goes down a bit but it doesn’t put a complete stop just because of aging. The desire and interest remains high. It may not be appealing to younger people but they will find that it’s a natural change once they reach that age.

The truth about how sex among older adults is portrayed in the media and popular culture is simply that it is not portrayed very often in these mediums. Preadolescents and adolescents tend to receive much of the sexualization that is used in these mediums while the elderly tend to never get portrayed doing these types of activities. This can be attributed to the media's presentation of the perfect human specimen, man or woman; of which most elderly people do not satisfy as they have wrinkles, sagging skin, more skin marks (moles, freckles) and overall are not attractive by the media's standards. Older people have the life experience and intelligence to ignore such impositions and therefore, it does not affect their sexual lifestyle. To the

Vulnerability is defined as susceptibility or increased risk for health problems (DeChesnay, 2008).  A group of individuals are considered at higher risk for illness when their physical, emotional, psychological, or social health, is compromised (Aday, 2001).  There are many leading causes for why a population is considered at higher risk; socioeconomic, age, gender, demographics, personal, and cultural backgrounds are some of the key factors (Aday, 2001; Sebation, 1996). Individuals can become vulnerable at any time because of change in life circumstances, placing them at higher risk. One group

Over the last fifty years there have been many changes to the sexual attitudes and behaviors in the United States. Going back through the early 1900’s misinformation was abundant when it came to the sexuality of the baby boomers and other older adults. Often when thoughts come to mind it is humorous to the younger generation when the notion of aging individuals engaging or enjoying sex. It is brought up in conversation disdainfully in media.

Television and film do a wonderful job of widowing parents or creating a life so intertwined with their children that is their identity. When we do witness the actions around sexuality and the aging it is almost never serious, often leaving one to think that that the elderly engaging in any sexual contact will prove perverted, dangerous or lethal (Dan Sewell). Much like advertisements for products incite us to buy them, the views of sexuality and senior citizens we see in the media carries into real life, leaving the elderly to be labeled as either asexual or are met with phrases like "dirty old man" or cougar, simply for having a desire that exists within all of us. Being of the community and seeing these perceptions does not make it easy to be open about feelings regarding the topic on any level, exacerbating any existing esteem issues that could be onset of aging (Melanie

As people continue to live life and grow older, it is inevitable that they will age. Aging has many effects on an individual’s physical health, emotional well-being, and cognition. Key developmental changes occur in vision and hearing; both begin declining as people age (Weiten, 2014). The deterioration of these senses can be seen in Young@Heart during the scene where a few members are joking around in a car. The driver was Lenny, an ex-World War II pilot, because he was the only one out of the group who could still see properly (Walker, 2008). The vision of every other member in the car had worsened to a point where it impacted their functioning in daily life by limiting their ways of transportation.

Myth: Older Adults Are Not Interested in Sex and Do Not Engage in Sexual Activities

As we begin to enter an aging America many positive effects will foreshadow, like having more experienced workers, changing perceptions of how we think of the aged and aging, them being active in the community, and obtaining their place in society. In observing the history and how far we have come along with regards to our views, government funding’s, and where they will live can only improve as future elderly come into existence. So much as 40 years into the future there perhaps will be modifications to reduce working hours to 4 days a week. Changes like this would shift our demographic work style that would ease us into our older years and living longer and happier lives. This growing demographic that’s estimated in the future will play a

Maurleen, great post. I like that you choose the elderly population and that you choose this culture. It seems that there have been some successful studies with this culture. While these seem to be helpful suggestions specifically for this culture; I think that these would be helpful for the whole geriatric population. These are great suggestions for getting more physical activity. This does seem like a high goal for this population, but it would also be dependent upon the current physical activity status. I really like the one about walking around the grocery store a couple of extra times. I know in our town the grocery store seems to be a big social place for this population anyway.

We need to make older people feel more comfortable and treat them with more respect. Older people should not feel like they need to hide their true feelings and instead should be encouraged to engage in sexual expression and enjoy their lives for as long as possible. Sex is universal and all people, regardless of their age, should be able to proudly and comfortably be engaging in it without any judgements, or stigmas being made about them. These articles have made it very clear that sexual activity is still present in later life. Society and its unrealistic, untrue beliefs need to be eliminated and they need to start accepting that it is normal and natural to still be sexually active when one is 65 years and older. “Sexuality encompasses partnership, activity, behavior, attitudes, and function” (Lindau et al., 2007). Older people have a right to their sexual expression and we need to learn to accept it and be more comfortable with

With many Baby boomers now entering their senior years, there seems to be a lot more attention on the elderly. In western society, the elderly are seen as less valuable than their younger counterparts. This assumption has led to many misconceptions; A common misconception that has been very prominent is that the elderly are stuck in their ways and cannot change. This particular misconception ties into the very first chapter that we learnt about in class. When it comes to evaluating personality theories, we must first think about the philosophical assumptions that have risen. Philosophical assumptions allow for people to make certain assumptions about how those around them operate and also how they, themselves came to be. If we know

Hello, Marianna. I enjoyed reading your post. Stereotyping the elderly people should be avoided in their care. What hurt me the most is when I hear staff stereotyping the older adults. Sometimes, this can impact the way they provide care. We should serve as a good role model and give the best quality care that they deserve. I agree elderly patients should be fully informed of their risk of any intervention and procedure. They are a higher risk of post-op complications due to their age. A detailed preoperative assessment is vital to identify their risks and to plan interventions that could minimize post-op complications. Health care providers should We should always remember to treat the elderly population with dignity and respect. Great Post.

Regardless of age, broaching the topic of sex with someone other than your partner can be highly uncomfortable. In healthcare, patients are just as uneasy bringing up the subject as the healthcare workers. People proceed with hesitance and caution, wondering whether or not it is okay to talk about sex. When it comes to the older adult population, addressing the topic of sex can seem rather taboo. Younger generations view the geriatric population as asexual, preferring to make the assumption that those who are of older age do not engage in any sort of sexual activity. However, as evidenced by Gott and Hinchliff (2003b), the attitudes and thoughts of older adults regarding the role and value of sex in their own lives, remain loosely explored. Healthcare workers need to understand the reality that sexuality perseveres throughout the lifespan and that it is an important factor that needs to be addressed when considering health and the aging process.

There are many myths and perceptions that people believe about older adults in our society that are mostly negative and untrue. Often times, their reality is the complete opposite of what is believed of them. It is assumed that older adults do not like the outdoors and are not as outgoing as younger people. While in reality, they like to travel the world. They also use the Internet more than is assumed and take on challenges like going back to school. This has prompted some learning institutions in different parts of the world to offer courses that the elderly can do. Seeing elderly people do things such as go back to school shows that learning is a lifelong process. Age does not dictate whether or not you can go back to school. It also does not dictate that your brain stops working