Exam 15: Aging and the Elderly

What is age stratification?

Following the ideas of Karl Marx, Steven Spitzer suggests that capitalist societies

Life expectancy is about 50 years in the lowest-income countries today.

What is caregiving? Who provides most caregiving to elderly people in Canada?

The elderly population of Canada has been increasing rapidly.

What are the basic ideas behind a social-conflict theory of aging?

In what ways does Canadian society separate death from life? Why do we do this? What approach to death and dying would be more beneficial? Why? Consider the work of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in developing answers to these questions.

Compared to the "young old," the "old old" in Canada

What effect did industrialization have on life expectancy in the United States and Western Europe?

What effect did industrialization have on life expectancy in high-income countries?

What are the basic ideas behind disengagement theory and activity theory?

Disengagement theory is guided by the symbolic-interaction approach.

Ageism is the belief that the oldest people are the wisest and should have the most power.

Should doctors give more complete care to younger patients than older patients? Might your feelings change on this as your parents approach old age? As you approach old age?

Euthanasia refers to providing comfort and care to a person who has a terminal illness.

How can older people help younger people with their problems? Make reference to the specific case of Aboriginal elders here.

Of all age categories, people over the age of 65 have the highest poverty rate.

Quick Quiz: Short Answer Question -What is the poverty rate among elderly people in Canada? How has it changed in recent decades?

The "old-age dependency ratio" refers to the ratio of elderly people to working adults.

By 2050, the elderly population of Canada will exceed the population of the entire country in 1900.