The Activity Theory Of Aging

Activity theory of aging suggest that when elderly people interact with the community and include activities in their daily routine they are their happiest (Baird, 2011, p. 187). Ariel stated that “everyone need some form of release” (Lemmon, 1995).

Gerontology as a field of scientific study can be traced back to the late 1800s; a time when research primarily focused on the negative attributes of aging, such as health decline. It wasn 't until the introduction of social gerontology in 1983 that researchers began to more rigorously study the psychological and social aspects of aging. In recognizing that “successful aging depends not just on the prevention of disease and disability, but also on the attainment of peak physical and psychological functioning,” (Quadagno,

The idea of occupational balance can also be seen in older adulthood when, as a result of age, people lose their roles in life through being unable to perform the activities that make up that role. With the passing of time no longer taken up by meaningful activities these individuals become bored and ultimately depressed, quickly losing their sense of well-being. In the World Health Organisation’s Charter for Health Promotion, it suggests that in order to achieve the state of complete health it describes in its definition, it is necessary for individuals to be able to satisfy their basic needs, realise and achieve their goals, and cope within the changing world around them (Townsend and Polatajko, 2007).

The main definition of “aging successful” is said to be, “successful gaining includes three main components: low probability of disease and disease-related disability, high cognitive and physical functional capacity, and active engagement with life” (Rowe & Kahn, 433). The first component of low probability of disease-related disability does not only refer to the physical disease itself being present in the persons body, but also the severity of the risk of the factors of such disease(s). High cognitive and physical functional capacity depicts what the individual can do and not just what they do. Finally active engagement with life deals with how the individual interacts with others (interpersonal relations) and creating societal value without any return (productive activity) (Rowe & Kahn, 433). We are going to look into the lives of Roger Gentilehomme and Earl Blassingame and analyze if they are considered to be “aging well” based on variety of articles as well as personal opinion.

The Activity Theory was originally an idea that was proposed by Lemon Bengtson &Peterson this proposal was seen to have a much more hopeful and positive view on ageing in comparison to the disengagement theory by Cumming and Henry. The activity theory suggests that as people get older their ageing process will be more successful if they maintain their roles and responsibilities as they did when they were younger this is if they

The elderly population is growing rapidly and now makes up greater than thirteen percent of the United States population. (APA, 1994). With such a record growth, there are different aspects to aging that are still being analyzed. Many may think of reaching late life as a rite of passage, but many face this time with a different view. Through the movie "UP', we are granted an opportunity into view the struggles of an elderly widowed man by the name of Mr. Fredrickson and the challenges in which he faces in his later life. The movie, takes one on a journey through his sorrows and his triumphs until he realizes what the true meaning of happiness is.

All of these activities are positive provisions put in place to help individuals, who according to the activity theory are adjusting to age related changes. These provisions act as a strong positive influence/aid to elderly individuals who are seeking for fulfilled well-being. The outcomes include increased self esteem, satisfaction of participation and feeling like there unselfish goals are being met.

Adequacy: The Flood’s Theory of Successful Aging (Flood, 2005) was developed to addresses a nursing theory for care of the older adult regarding to the lack of nursing theory that offers clearly delineated guidelines for care of aging. Flood’s(2002) unique definition of successful aging among other explanations includes mental, physical, and spiritual elements of the aging person and emphasizing the individual's self appraisal. She used existing knowledge derived deductively from the Roy adaptation model, one of the most widely accepted nursing theory model, and integrated these ideas with Tornstam's sociological theory of gerotranscendence and literature related to the concept of successful

While there are many theories within the Social Work/Gerontology discipline that is relevant to this topic, the one theory that seems most relevant is Activity Theory. Activity Theory argues that older people continue to benefit society as well as themselves when they continue to be active as they age. The theory argues that a senior’s positive perception

The source of the activity theory lies on the need to stay occupied in actions persists into older life, but the connotation and the focal point alters. Older individuals have the similar requirements, desires, and motivations as with the individuals in their

Throughout this semester we have come across many psychological and social theories. From Vaillant’s aging well, to Erikson’s life stages, to Leont’ev’s activity theory, there is a lot to learn and to understand. For the purpose of this paper, I am going to focus on the Activity Theory of aging. After some thorough research on this topic I was able to come up with some great information about

The activity theory of aging argues that people become more satisfied with life the more active they are. It is assumed that the idea an individual has about itself is based on the activities or roles in which people engage. It has been recognized by the activity theory that the majority of older adults continue with their earlier established roles and life activities, because people’s needs and values continue to remain the same throughout their lives (Moody, 2012:11).

Aging is described as a sequential, irreversible, progressive, and non-pathological process of maturation in an organism and that translates to a gradual decline in the ability to perform activities optimally. Aging is an individual process that can be a period of stress for individuals especially following their retirement (Hiller & Barrow, 2015). The current study sought to understand the process and experience of aging from the perspective of elderly individuals. In discussing matters of aging and retirement, many assume that women are always eager to retire, and adjust well, as compared to their male counterparts (Bauger & Bongaardt, 2016). Many people assume that since women are generally made as homemakers, they are willing and happy to retire while men, whose nature is to be the main source of family income, find it hard to be out of work (Moody & Sasser, 2014). Indeed, there exists very little literature that sheds some light on this area, particularly on the attitudes of each gender towards retirement and process of aging. Given the significance of retirement to this life stage, the study sought to understand the emotions and views of individuals regarding their retirement through the lenses of (1) Physical health and wellbeing, (2) Friends, Family, and Community, (3) Work and leisure, (4) Finances and lifestyles, and (5) Living

There are numerous ways to define successful aging. The word “aging” usually has a negative connotation. However, when putting the word success behind it introduces positive aspects that can essentially promote a long-term developmental outcome for an individual. Happening around midlife and late adulthood, successful aging is simply when an individual has complete development and maintenance of control throughout life, has achieved in the selection of goals and purposes, as well as maximization of gains and compensations of failure. This is the complete and ultimate goal for those in their late adulthood and is quite fascinating to developmental scientist. Those who engross themselves with attempting to achieve a successful aging will most likely have characteristics which in turn encourage and advocate for things such as health, growth, and vitality, maintaining social encounters and productive activities, and lastly maintaining high physical and cognitive functioning. Two developmental scientist, Vaillant & Mukamal, have discovered the factors that predict satisfaction of life are those an individual is able to control. These factors include are health habits, marital stability, years of education, and coping strategies. On the other hand those factors that are out of an individual 's control can not predict the level of happiness or satisfaction with life. These include the length of life of a family member, early health status, parental SES, and family warmth in

The belief that people cope with life better by applying familiar strategies based on their past experiences is the continuity theory of aging. This paper will review this theory, as well as discuss an interview done with an elderly individual, and how the interview relates to the continuity theory.