Ageism in the third age

In the developed world, later life has brought more opportunities to contribute to society and pursue personal goals outside the role of paid work, combined with less stigma and greater recognition of the worth of older people. These values do not necessarily extend to the “oldest old” where some people in the fourth age (people 80 years old and over) continue to face increasing stigma and societal stereotypes from those in the third age (people 60–79 years old). Ageism between these two cohorts is rarely discussed in the literature. Potential ageism involves stereotypical perceptions of the oldest old and may prove detrimental to those transitioning from the third to the fourth age if a resultant resistance to maintain their engagement and independence into older age occurs. This chapter explores the subtleties of these inter-cohort ageist discourses particularly from a health and social care perspective and considers the implications for transitions of older people between the third and fourth age. It addresses the challenges and adjustments needed to ensure continuing and inclusive engagement in society, in order to support independence to grow old without the fear of discrimination

Opportunities to Learn Mathematics Pedagogy and Connect Classroom Learning to Practice: A Study of Future Teachers in the United States and Singapore

In this study, we conducted secondary analyses using the TEDS-M database to explore future mathematics specialists teachers’ opportunities to learn (OTL) how to teach mathematics. We applied latent class analysis techniques to differentiate among groups of prospective mathematics specialists with potentially different OTL mathematics pedagogy within the United States and Singapore. Within the United States, three subgroups were identified: (a) Comprehensive OTL, (b) Limited OTL, and (c) OTL Mathematics Pedagogy. Within Singapore, four subgroups were identified: (a) Comprehensive OTL, (b) Limited Opportunities to Connect Classroom Learning with Practice, (c) OTL Mathematics Pedagogy, and (d) Basic OTL. Understanding the opportunities different prospective teachers had to learn from and their experiences with different components of instructional practice in university and practicum settings has implications for teacher preparation programs

Adjusting to life after treatment: distress and quality of life following treatment for breast cancer

Clinical and anecdotal findings suggest that the completion of cancer treatment may be marked by heightened distress and disrupted adjustment. The present study examined psychological adjustment during the 3 months following treatment among 89 women with stages 0–III breast cancer. Participants completed measures of depression, cancer-related anxiety, cancer concerns, and quality of life at three time points: during treatment, 3 weeks following the end of treatment, and 3 months post-treatment. Post-treatment scores were suggestive of good psychological adjustment among the majority of women. Moreover, distress did not increase following treatment; longitudinal analyses showed no significant changes in depression or recurrence worry, while intrusive thoughts decreased, and quality of life improved. Younger age predicted greater distress across measures. A history of depression or anxiety predicted greater depressive symptomatology, while more extensive treatment predicted greater cancer-related anxiety. Despite the lack of distress endorsed on general depression and anxiety indices, participants reported moderate distress associated with cancer-related concerns, including physical problems, fear of cancer recurrence, and resuming normal life. In sum, while breast cancer survivors demonstrate good adjustment on general distress indices following treatment, some women are at risk for sustained distress. Moreover, significant cancer-related concerns are prevalent and may be important intervention targets

Impact of resilience enhancing programs on youth surviving the Beslan school siege

The objective of this study was to evaluate a resilience-enhancing program for youth (mean age = 13.32 years) from Beslan, North Ossetia, in the Russian Federation. The program, offered in the summer of 2006, combined recreation, sport, and psychosocial rehabilitation activities for 94 participants, 46 of who were taken hostage in the 2004 school tragedy and experienced those events first hand. Self-reported resilience, as measured by the CD-RISC, was compared within subjects at the study baseline and at two follow-up assessments: immediately after the program and 6 months later. We also compared changes in resilience levels across groups that differed in their traumatic experiences. The results indicate a significant intra-participant mean increase in resilience at both follow-up assessments, and greater self-reported improvements in resilience processes for participants who experienced more trauma events

Feeling older and wanting to be younger

Two samples of middle-aged women were compared using a questionnaire adapted from Rossi (1980). One sample ( N = 20) consisted of women who felt older than and desired to be younger than their own age. The second sample ( N = 19) was comprised of women who felt and desired to be their own age. Statistically significant differences between the groups were that women who felt older reported more physical changes of aging, less satisfaction with their life context, and more worries than the women who felt their chronological age. Results of this study suggest that current life stress contributes to middle-aged women's perceptions of feeling older and desiring to be younger than their own age.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42987/1/10823_2004_Article_BF00116678.pd

The choice of self-rated health measures matter when predicting mortality: evidence from 10 years follow-up of the Australian longitudinal study of ageing

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Self-rated health (SRH) measures with different wording and reference points are often used as equivalent health indicators in public health surveys estimating health outcomes such as healthy life expectancies and mortality for older adults. Whilst the robust relationship between SRH and mortality is well established, it is not known how comparable different SRH items are in their relationship to mortality over time. We used a dynamic evaluation model to investigate the sensitivity of time-varying SRH measures with different reference points to predict mortality in older adults over time.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used seven waves of data from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (1992 to 2004; N = 1733, 52.6% males). Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between three time-varying SRH measures (global, age-comparative and self-comparative reference point) with mortality in older adults (65+ years).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After accounting for other mortality risk factors, poor global SRH ratings increased mortality risk by 2.83 times compared to excellent ratings. In contrast, the mortality relationship with age-comparative and self-comparative SRH was moderated by age, revealing that these comparative SRH measures did not independently predict mortality for adults over 75 years of age in adjusted models.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We found that a global measure of SRH not referenced to age or self is the best predictor of mortality, and is the most reliable measure of self-perceived health for longitudinal research and population health estimates of healthy life expectancy in older adults. Findings emphasize that the SRH measures are not equivalent measures of health status.</p