Introduction
Aging is an inevitable natural process, which, however, passes differently in every person. An individual is influenced by diverse systems in the environment, such as changes in history, policy, and social institutions, as well as by their community, organizations, race, or social class. This paper investigates the aging of an older adult and the impact of systems on this process. Information for the analysis was obtained through the interview conducted in San Diego, CA. The format of the interview is a written transcript. The person involved in this interview is my coworker’s father. The interviewee is a 71-year-old male White Caucasian.
He is single, owns a home, and lives by himself. The paper is guided by the empowerment theory, which is expected to be useful for understanding the behavior and experiences of the interviewee. Empowerment theory is applicable in social work as a process that comprises the initiative and action of individuals aimed at taking over control in lives, gaining power, and broader access to social resources. Empowerment is crucial for elderly people who frequently experience inequality due to their physical or mental ailments.
Developmental Experiences
The interviewee is 71, which means he is in the period of late adulthood that is generally considered to begin after the age of 60 or 65 (Ashford, LeCroy, & Wiliams, 2017). The developmental task typical of this age is “integrity versus despair” (Ashford et al., 2017, p. 453). In this context, integrity means the ability of an individual to combine one’s experience and history with evaluation and acceptance of life. The process of aging presupposes becoming more reflective and introspective. Current satisfaction and the feeling of integrity in older adults depend on the extent to which their life has been rewarding and meaningful (Ashford et al., 2017).
Old age and aging are of interest to scholars and philosophers because the share of people older than 65 in American society is growing and is expected to be 88.5 million by 2050 (Ashford et al., 2017). Still, older adulthood is not a homogenous period and can be divided into three sub-periods such as young-old (aged 65-74), middle-old (75-84), and old-old (85+). Each of these sub-periods has its developmental peculiarities that predetermine people’s behavior and life on the whole.
BB, the interviewee, is 71 and thus belongs to the young-old sub period. People of this age are usually still active in the community and preserve relationships with family and friends. Some get involved in volunteer activities or dedicate time to adult education.
Moreover, some young-old adults are still employed part- or full-time both due to a strong personal desire to work and financial need. Individuals in this sub-period can be very sensitive about retirement. While some consider it as a way to new opportunities and freedom, others can lose meaning in life without work. On the whole, the majority of people in this age group preserve the ability of productive management of their talents.
People in late adulthood experience diverse changes that are typical of aging. For example, older adults observe the loss of memory, deterioration of intellectual function, decrease in mobility, and increase in disease rates. Changes occur in physical systems, in the brain, and in memory. However, negative changes that are part of normal aging can be partially prevented or at least postponed.
Thus, Erickson, Gildengers, and Butters (2013) investigate the impact of physical activity on brain plasticity in late adulthood and come to the conclusion that a greater amount of physical activity reduces cortical atrophy and improves both brain function and cognitive function. Also, the researchers provide evidence of a positive influence of physical activity on the natural capacity of the brain for plasticity. Moreover, physical activity has the potential to reduce the incidence of such neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric disorders like depression (Erickson et al., 2013).
BB has some traditional daily routines. He gets up and usually goes for a walk outside with a cup of coffee and has a habit of walking a lot. In summer, BB does a lot of yard work because he loves flowers and thus does a lot of planting. Traditionally, he goes for dinner with his friends. Also, he has tropical fish as pets and a part of daily routine. Judging by research evidence, BB has a chance for successful aging because his activity and involvement in different daily routines contribute to the preservation of brain plasticity. Also, the man has the talent to mix activity and rest because he combines dynamic actions such as walking and gardening with less active such as sitting and enjoying watching his tropical fish or going for dinner with friends.
BB identifies his developmental strengths and limitations. Thus, the interviewee considers that getting up in the morning and walk is one of his major strengths, and he is happy to stay active at his age. He says, “The strength I have is getting up every day and going for a walk, working in the yard, looking at the beautiful scenery.” Still, there are certain limitations, and the man is aware of them. First of all, BB admits that his joints do not function as well as before, and the “body does not work as good as it used to.” Also, the interviewee shares that remembering doing some things or simply following daily routines is already a challenge, which is another developmental limitation.
On the whole, BB admits that forgetting things or the names of people is one of the problems he experiences with aging. In fact, cognitive failures related to attention, inhibition, working memory, and executive control are frequent among older adults. Hitchcott, Fastame, Langiu, and Penna (2017) investigate cognitive failures among the aging population and conclude that such failures increase in old age, and some of them are interrelated with depressive symptomatology. In turn, depression can develop in older adults who do not follow successful aging patterns and experience problems in one or some of the successful aging dimensions.
Important aspects of aging are finding meaning and identity. The interviewee shares that are finding identity took him about 20 years, and he realized the significance of “stopping and smelling the roses,” which means that it is necessary to find pleasure in simple things and be able to stop in the endless pace of life to enjoy the moment. BB remembers his way to finding meaning and claims that he came to the importance of thinking positive and staying independent as meaning in life.
Normative aging patterns are observed in several dimensions. The first one is biophysical dimension, which comprises biophysical growth and development. In respect of aging, physical changes include reduction of strength as well as reduction of the rate of metabolism (Ashford et al., 2017). The interviewee also observes some physical deterioration, which is normal for his age. However, the man tries to stay active and thus contributes to maintaining his body healthier.
Although his joints are not as flexible as they used to be, BB does not complain of joint pain, which is frequent among older adults as well as foot pain. In late adulthood, chronic diseases make up a set of biophysical risks. The majority of old people have more than one chronic health condition, which decrease the quality of life. The interviewee does not speak in detail about his health problems but it is evident that he takes care of his health because he orders medication online to manage health condition. Psychological dimension involves age-related changes in cognitive development and information processing.
Cognitive decline is normal in aging people and the interviewee already observes some problems with memory. One of the psychological risks for older adults is cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and other dementias. Still, BB does not have any significant problems with mental health at the moment. Social dimension involves groups and families, which are vital for older adults. The focus here should be on the necessity of support provided by both family members and community. This support is particularly important for individuals who retire because community can involve older adults for some volunteering positions.
Macro Theory and the Person’s Life
A macro theory used in this paper is that of empowerment. It roots back to the need to empower people who were oppressed due to certain reason and did not have equal opportunities with other individuals. As related to the problem of aging, the theory of empowerment can be applied for developing a tool for providing older adults with opportunities and resources that they lose because of age as well as physical or mental impairments.
In the context of this paper, empowerment theory will be used to contribute to understanding of the impact of the systems in the environment on the interviewee. Empowerment theory mainly deals with human empowerment through providing social action for individuals who lack access to necessary resources and aims to achieve social justice (Turner & Maschi, 2014). As related to people in late adulthood, empowerment can include provision of services necessary for daily routines, development of interventions that help people take control over their lives and follow the patterns of successful aging (Shearer, Fleury, Ward, & O’Brien, 2010). It can be achieved through broader access to social resources for older adults on the whole and those with serious health problems in particular.
BB, similarly to other people, is inevitably influenced by diverse systems in the environment. Changes in history have had the most general impact on BB because he has already lived a long life and historic alterations caused changes in the life of society and its members throughout the world. The influence of social institutions is not evident from the interview. For example, although BB went to church with his mother, he did not become religious. At the same time, his work as a social institution was a significant part of his life because he worked for the state for more than 20 years.
The empowerment theory can be used for further analysis of BB’s experiences. First of all, society on the whole and its particular current issues empower critical thinking of the interviewee. For example, BB is strongly disturbed with the problem of weapon and shootings at schools and is eager to discuss this issue. The community also has some empowering potential because the man has friends among the community members and they go to dinner together.
Therefore, it can be stated that community stimulates the activity of the man. The impact of race and ethnicity on the life of the man is not explicit in his life story because as a white Caucasian man he was not likely to be oppressed or discriminated. At the same time, social class is meaningful in the life of a person. BB worked for the state and probably had a worthy income because he can afford a house even living alone. Also, working experience taught the man to stay active and this habit is useful for him.
Another aspect of empowerment related to BB’s experiences is the use of technology. The majority of older adults are not familiar with digital technology and do not have necessary skills to operate devices (Hill, Betts, & Gardner, 2015). Nevertheless, technology has a potential to facilitate older adults thus empowering them. The use of technology to order medication or remind about some arrangements or daily routines empowers the interviewee and provides him with certain benefits compared to those individuals who do not apply information technology.
Conclusion
On the whole, aging is a complicated natural process that is under the impact of many factors. When a person enters a period of late adulthood, he or she experience changes in diverse dimensions such as biophysical, psychological, and social. One of the key concepts to consider in late adulthood is the developmental stage of integrity versus despair. In this respect, it is important to find meaning and identity to contribute to successful aging and approach normative patterns of aging.
The man interviewed for this work managed to find both identity and meaning and can be considered an example of successful aging. He is in a functional age and tries to stay active and follow his daily routines. The interview was a useful experience of communication with an older adult whose life has been rich in events. It was surprising that a person in late adulthood lives alone but BB does not look his age and it is evident that he enjoys what he does.
Another surprising fact was much physical activity in his daily routine. The man takes long walks and works in yard, which is good for him because activity in late adulthood stimulates brain function. One more discovery was the awareness of BB about information technology, which is not typical for people of his age. Thus, the man orders medication online and makes use of reminders that are good for people who observe problems with memory.
On the whole, I suppose this experience will positively influence my career in social work because I had an opportunity to apply the knowledge obtained during the course to practice and check my ability to analyze information discovered in an interview. Probably, I will focus my work on individuals in late adulthood because it is both challenging and interesting to help people overcome age limitations and make use of opportunities they still have.
References
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Erickson, K I., Gildengers, A. G., & Butters, M. A. (2013). Physical activity and brain plasticity in late adulthood. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 15(1), 99-108.
Hill, R., Betts, L., & Gardner, S. (2015). Older adults’ experiences and perceptions of digital technology: (Dis)empowerment, wellbeing, and inclusion. Computers in Human Behavior, 48, 415-423. Web.
Hitchcott, P., Fastame, M., Langiu, D., & Penna, M. (2017). Cognitive failures in late adulthood: The role of age, social context and depressive symptoms. PLOS ONE, 12(12), e0189683. Web.
Shearer, N., Fleury, J., Ward, K., & O’Brien, A. (2010). Empowerment interventions for older adults. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 34(1), 24-51. Web.
Turner, S., & Maschi, T. (2014). Feminist and empowerment theory and social work practice. Journal of Social Work Practice, 29(2), 151-162. Web.