NURS 3325 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (UPDATED SOLUTIONS)

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NURS 3325 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS • Question 1 The majority (more than 50%) of older adults will become senile (defective memory, disoriented, demented) during old age. Answer Tru 0... out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: False - Contrary to popular sterotype, dementia is not a normal part of aging or inevitable. Statistics will vary depending on the study, but most estimate that approximately 2-3 percent of older adults in their seventies experience some form of dementia, 5-10 percent of older adults in their eighties, and may jump to between 20-30 percent of older adults in the nineties. These statistics include mild as well as severe forms of dementia. Research concerning not only the treatment but prevention of dementia is ongoing and promising. • Question 2 Most older adults have no desire or capacity for sexual relations. In other words, most older adults are typically asexual. Answer Tru 4 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: False - Contrary to myth and stereotype, sexuality continues to be an important aspect of an older adult's life. People continue to be sexual beings and enjoy sexual relationships through late adulthood. For the minority of older adults who experience physical problems that may limit their sexual expression, treatments are available. It is also important to remember that sexuality is not just a biological function. Sexuality includes the expression of feelings and self in a variety of ways in an intimate relationship and encompasses many aspects of one's gender. • Question 3 Chronological age is the most important determinant of someone's age Answer Tru 4 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: False - Individuals age in many different ways and the least important of those is chronological age. Chronological age is simply the number of years since one's birth. More important is functional age--how well one is able to function in their social environment. Three factors that make up functional age are psychological age, social age, and physiological/biological age. We have all met individuals who biologically are nearing the end of their life-span but psychosocially are independent, creative, vibrant, and well able to meet life's challenges. • Question 4 Most older adults have difficulty adapting to change. In other words, they tend to be set in their ways Answer Tru 0 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: False - Older adults are no more rigid than younger adults. This tends to be a relatively stable personality characteristic. Thus, individuals who are rigid and have difficulty adapting to change in young adulthood will probably have these same difficulties when they become older. • Question 5 Physical handicaps are the primary factors limiting the activities of older adults Answer Tru 0 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback : False - The primary handicap that older adults experience is the result of age stereotying and ageism. Both age stereotyping and ageism have a negative impact on the older adult. They serve to limit the activities and opportunities available to the older individual. For example, an older adult might be discouraged from attending college ("What's the point? You can't be interested in starting a new career.") or from dressing in a particular way ("People your age don't dress like that."). Ageism and age stereotyping may result in age discrimination. For example, a person may be fired from their job simply because of their age. Although age-discrimination is illegal in the United States for most jobs, it is difficult to prove. • Question 6 Declines in all five senses normally occur in old age Answer Tru 0 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: Mostly True - For the most part, all five senses decline in old age for individuals living in the United States. Some normal age declines are viewed cross-culturally and clearly documented (e.g. the changes that occur in the visual system with age). There are numerous changes that occur with vision that are highly correlated with age. However, the dramatic declines that are recorded to occur in the auditory system may be due more to the cumulative effects of noise than to age. Most individuals living in low-noise cultures (e.g. nomadic cultures, simple agrarian cultures) do not exhibit a loss of hearing with age. Use your iPod carefully with an eye towards how much you want to hear in old age. • Question 7 Older adults are incapable of learning new information. In other words, "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" Answer Tru 4 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback : False - Older adults are capable of learning new information (as demonstrated by the number of older adults who are highly computer literate and actively involved on the WWW). There is some research that states that older adults may take a little longer to learn new information and may use different learning strategies (probably the result of generational differences). Research on memory (obviously highly related to ability to learn) is highly contradictory concerning changes with age. Research has clearly demonstrated, however, that the memory performance of healthy older adults can be improved with memory training. Thus, an older adult who is concerned about their memory might want to consider a memory training course/seminar. Finally, individuals who note a decline in memory during midlife should look to the largest contributer to temporary memory problems - stress! With increased stress, memory abilities do show a dramatic, but temporary, decline. • Question 8 Physical strength tends to decline in old age Answer Tru 4 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: True - Physical strength does tend to decline with age. Of course, exercise can counteract and limit the amount of loss. Thus, someone who is 65 and exercises regularly may be (probably will be) in better shape and have greated physical strength that a 40 year-old couch-potato. • Question 9 Intelligence tends to decline with old age Answer Tru 4 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback : Mostly False - Most older adults do not experience any decline in intellectual abilities with age. In fact, some forms of intelligence have been hypothesized to increase with age. However, some older adults do exhibit decline. There are several factors which may account for this decline. First, some diseases may lead to intellectual declines (e.g. cardiovascular diseases). Thus, the intellectual decline is the result of disease not age. Second, individuals who live in deprived environments demonstrate a loss of intellectual abilities (e.g. poverty, lack of intellectual stimulation). Of course, problems such as impoverished environments impact the intellectual performance of children as well. Third, if you don't use it, you lose it. Exercise any intellectual ability that you would like to keep! • Question 10 The majority of older adults say that they are happy most of the time Answer Tru 4 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: True - The majority of older adults report high levels of life satisfaction. The more socially active an individual is, the higher their life satisfaction. Thus, the importance of remaining involved in informal, intimate activities. In addition health is correlated with life satisfaction. Individuals, of any age, who are in poor health are likely to experience lower levels of life satisfaction. Not only will exercise and eating a healthy diet facilitate long life but also a good quality of life. • Question 11 The vast majority of older adults will at some point end up in a nursing home Answer Tru 4 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback : False - Contrary to myth, most older adults do not reside in a nursing home (more appropriately called a long-term care facility). In fact, only about 5 percent of older adults in the United States reside in a long-term care facility; 24 percent for those 85 or older. In addition, care facilities are no long a place where one goes simply to die. One of the primary services these facilities provide is short-term care following hospitalization for a serious injury or illness. In addition, facilities may provide short term respite care; a non-well older adult living with family may reside briefly in the facility to give the care- giving family a much needed vacation. • Question 12 About 80% of older people say they are healthy enough to carry out their normal daily activities independently Answer Tru 0 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: True - The vast majority of older adults have no increased need to depend on others any more than they did at other points during their adult years. They might need more help if they decide to move the furniture or reading fine print in a dimly lit restaurant. One does not see great impairment except as a function of illness (someone has a stroke, and they will need care regardless of whether they are 30 or 80), injury, or very old age (as one moves closer to early their early nineties). Even those over 100 years of age may not need any significant assistance from friends or family. Not only are older adults not significantly more dependent than young adults, but they are also highly capable of engaging in professional activities, work, new career, etc. This is highlighted by the fact that since the late 1960s, volunteerism among older adults has quadrupled, from 11 percent to 40 percent. One out of three individuals over the age of 75 are involved in volunteer activities. • Question 13 4 out of 4 points Most older adults are rejected by their children Answer Tru s: e Fals e Response Feedback: False - Older adults are not rejected by their children simply as a function of their age. You will hear people say something like: "Mrs. Jones is 75 years old, living in a nursing home, and her children never visit. They have just tossed her away because she's old." Chances are Mrs. Smith and her children have other family issues that preclude close contact (e.g. they don't like each other; there is a history of familial abuse). In reality, studies have demonstrated that over 70 percent of older adults have a child living in close proximity (within 30 minutes). Over half of these individuals have visited with one of their children with two days prior to being surveyed. Close families do not fall apart simply because the parent has aged. • Question 14 In general, most older adults tend to be pretty much alike Answer Tru 4 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: False - In fact, the older adult population is the most diverse or heterogeneous age group. Development consists of an interaction of the individual (with all of their genetic and biological make-up) and the context within which they live. The older an individual gets, the greater the impact of the context. In other words, your life experience serves to change you in unique ways; you experience different people and life events, you make choices, and you learn. As all of this is different for everyone, each of these life experiences serves to increase people's diversity across the life-span. The only time older adults will demonstrate homogeneity is in response to disease. One should remember however that an individual suffering from Alzheimer's Disease at 77 will share similarities with another individual suffering from Alzheimer's Disease who is 34. • Question 15 The majority of older adults say that they are lonely Answer Tru 4 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: False - Loneliness is one of the greatest fears that people associate with old age. Yet, over two-thirds of older adults report being rarely or if ever lonely. This parallels the degree of loneliness experienced by young and middle adults. Often, this fear of lonliness is based on the thought of losing a spouse and subsequent isolation. This fear is not based on reality for most individuals. The majority of men remarry after the loss of a spouse. Women, however, are more likely to become involved in new social relationships and friendships with other widows. Research has also demonstrated that urban living is associated with higher levels of loneliness. Individuals within small- towns report lower levels of loneliness. • Question 16 4 out of 4 points Old age can be often characterized as a second childhood Answer Tru s: e Fals e Response Feedback: False - The life span is undirectional. Older adults are adults and should be treated as such even if the elder is incapacitated by illness. Additionally, myth asserts the reversal of roles between parent and child. Thus, the adult child caring for the non-well parent may say they have taken on the role of the parent and the elder has become the child. However, caring for a non- well parent is not the equivalent to role reversal. In fact, true role reversal is viewed as dysfunctional. • Question 17 Over 12% of the population of the United States is over the age of 65 Answer Tru 4 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: True - The percent of older adults in the United States has been steadily increasing. In fact, the percent of individuals over 65 in the U.S. has risen from less than 5 percent in 1900 to approximately 12.4 percent 2007, and is expected to reach 22.9 percent by the year 2050. In 2006, over 2.2 million individuals in the United States celebrated their 65th birthday. In that same year, there were 73,674 persons aged 100 or more! These changing demographics of the United States (as well as other places e.g. Europe, parts of Asia) will have dramatic effects on all facits of culture and society. For more information about demographics in the United States, visit the Administration on Aging's Profile of Older Americans website. • Question 18 Most older adults tend to be preoccupied with death Answer Tru 0 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: False - Death is an inevitable factor of life. Attitudes towards death are highly variable but some general trends can be noted in the United States. In general, older adults are less anxious and more matter-of-fact about death. As one moves through the life-span, they lose friends and family members, and begin to accept their own mortality. This enables the older adult to speak more freely about death and dying. Most young adults in the United States avoid thinking about or discussing death. Thus, if the topic of death is brought up by an older adult, they may be accused of being preoccupied with death. However, it is the younger adult who is preoccupied with not discussing death. • Question 19 Most older adults have incomes below the poverty level Answer Tru 4 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: False - The majority of older adults have incomes above the poverty level. However, this is somewhat deceptive as the Federal Poverty Line is lower for individuals 65 and over than for those under sixty-five. Currently, we have the wealthiest but also the poorest older adult population in U.S. history. For more information about demographics in the United States, visit the Administration on Aging's Profile of Older Americans website. Median income per month for in 2006: Men: $1958 Women: $1134 The figures above represent the median incomes per month for indivuals 65 or older based on gender. The median means that 50 percent of the individuals in each category have less than the median income per month. For example, over half of older women had an income of less than $1134 per month in 2006. From the Profile of Older Americans: Poverty One of every fourteen (7.0%) elderly Whites was poor in 2006, compared to 22.7% of elderly African-Americans, 12.0% of Asians, and 19.4% of elderly Hispanics. . Older women had a higher poverty rate (11.5%) than older men (6.6%) in 2006. Older persons living alone were much more likely to be poor (16.9%) than were older persons living with families (5.6%). The highest poverty rates were experienced among Hispanic women (40.5%) who lived alone and also by older Black women (37.5%) who lived alone. • Question 20 Older people tend to become more religious as they age. This is often a result of facing their own mortality Answer Tru 0 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: False - Level of religiousity tends to remain fairly stable across the life-span. Older adults do tend to be more religious than younger adults in the United States. However, as a cohort they have always been more religious reflecting the time and culture within which they were raised. • Question 21 Retirement is detrimental to an individual's health. "Six months ago he retired and now he's dead, retirement killed him" Answer Tru 4 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: False - Retirement does not kill people. For the vast majority of older adults, retirement is a positive experience. There is high retirement satisfaction particularly for those who planned for their retirement. Those who tend to die following retirement usually retired because they were not well in the first place. Thus, an individual has a heart attack and decides to retire. They have another heart attack shortly there after and die. Retirement did not kill this individual; heart disease killed him/her. • Question 22 Pain is a natural part of the aging process Answer Tru 4 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: False - Pain is not a natural part of the aging process. Rather it is a sign of injury or illness. As such, pain should not be ignored. Unfortunately, too often people will attribute pain too aging and wait too long to seek medical help with negative outcomes. A man goes to the doctor complaining of pain in his right knee. The doctor says to him,"You have to expect this. You are getting older". To which the man replys, "My other knee is just as old and it doesn't hurt." It is true that some individuals will experience more pain as they age but this in the result of the accumulation of injury or illnesses. Thus, the pain is again due to injury/illness and not age. • Question 23 The majority of older adults say that they feel irritated or angry much of the time. Answer Tru 4 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: False - Older adults are no more angry or irritated that younger adults. Inividuals who are angry or irritated a good portion of the time while younger will probably be individuals who are angry or irritated a good portion of the time in old age. • Question 24 Rarely does someone over the age of 65 produce a great work of art, science, or scholarship. Answer Tru 4 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback : False - The creative and scholarly work of older adults is truly amazing. One study, demonstrated that the sixties (age not decade) are the most productive years for historians, botanists, inventors, philosophers, and writers. Whether it is Goethe finishing Faust at 82, Michelangelo finishing the dome of St. Peter's or Cervantes writing Don Quixote in old age, the evidence for great works after 65 is clearly apparent. I. F. Stone authored of The Trial of Socrates while in his eighties. In his acknowledgements, he wrote,"Finally, I pour a libation to my Macintosh word processor. Its large fat black 24-point Chicago Bold type enabled me to overcome a cataract and write the book." - thus, shattering many of the myths concerning aging. • Question 25 With age comes wisdom Answer Tru 0 out of 4 points s: e Fals e Response Feedback: Mostly False - Wisdom is a very illusive concept. Few studies have been conducted concerning wisdom and age as wisdom is difficult to define. A few studies have sought to define the concept of wisdom and test for age differences. Research out of the Max Planck Institute in Berlin defines wisdom as an "expert judgement system in the fundamental pragmatics of life." Individuals possessing wisdom exercise insight, judgement, self-knowledge, and the ability to effectively manage their lives. Using this definition, the research has not found that older adults perform any better than younger adults. In other words, there are individuals both young and old who possess wisdom. It should be noted however that some of the highest scorers were older adults. [Show More]

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