It is almost given that as the field of behavior analysis grows, its understanding of the environmental and biological causes of problem behavior, the professional and social importance of those findings also needs to be established. As of late, research only tends toward brief analyses of behavior in highly artificial settings. Although necessary for identifying the reinforcers, stimulus controls and establishing operations associated with problem behavior, much current research is of questionable social validity.
On the other hand, problem behavior always conform to aging in which different issues of living arises. Apparently, all countries of western civilization have had declining birth rates for a considerable time and therefore aging populations. The discovery of this fact is a result of the development of the science of demography, i.e., the study of the growth, the distribution, and the composition of populations. French, English, Swedish, American and other demographers have assembled a wealth of information regarding the present and probable future development of the size and age composition of various population groups. (Burgess, Ernest W., 1960) In the course of these demographic analyses it has been pointed out repeatedly that population decline may lie ahead of this country in the not too distant future and that in any case all countries with declining birth rates show trends of absolute and relative increase in the higher age brackets. Declining death rates in the higher age groups have worked in the same direction, though less spectacularly, and have accentuated the increase in the numerical strength of the aged in these countries. (Burgess, Ernest W., 1960).
Apparently, Davis A., & Dollard J. (1940) believes that the family is the first institution with which an individual comes into contact. In its context primary needs are met, other needs created, basic capacities developed, first roles defined, and first status experiences provided. Because of this strategic position the family is the most important influence upon the individual's behavior. Also, during the whole course of his life it provides most of the commonly accepted satisfactions of his basic needs. It is therefore of utmost importance for the student of social adjustment in old age to know how the structure of this institution meets or creates needs of people in their advancing years, how it is geared to the changes in capacities and predispositions which accompany the aging process, and the extent to which it offers opportunities for need satisfaction in the form of role and status assignments to its aged members.
Organization
From the issues of problem of living, there are organizations who are dedicated to the spirit of graceful living. In the case of Christian Care Communities, it strives to offer a continuum of care in its retirement communities. One of their programs is the adult day care and rehabilitation services who meet the special needs of many of the older adults. Basically, their mission is to provide a natural, secure, comfortable and beautiful setting with the feel of understated elegance and endless opportunities for residents to enjoy an active retirement. According to the interviewed personality named Allison Walter Danville, the organization constantly strives to enhance the quality of life, while offering care and security for all residents. Furthermore, Allison Walter believes that the organization has a wide range of services that help persons with developmental disabilities live as independently as possible, enjoy life to its fullest, and become integrated members of their local communities. Through all of the organization’s programs, from residential support services to community employment, participants are encouraged to work with staff to set personal goals and develop plans to meet them.
With regards to problems encountered by the organization in relation to problem of living, Christian Care added a new area of service to its ministry by reaching out to individuals with acquired brain injuries. This virtually unserved population is in need of a variety of care options, and Christian Care is committed to developing services that will support them and allow them to live fulfilling lives as independently as possible.
Finally, further research is needed into the development of theoretical approaches that move beyond dichotomous notions of successful/unsuccessful or healthy/unhealthy aging and old age. By acknowledging that losses as well as gains, and limits as well as potentials, are a critical part of the aging process (Baltes & Carstensen, 1996), these newer perspectives make room for questions about the meaning and significance of aging and old age.
Social Policy
Basically, aging populations can have a major impact on the socio-economic development potential of societies, particularly when the dependency rates among the elderly are high", the Secretary-General states. Among the variables affected are the allocation of national budget resources, the availability of manpower, and general patterns of consumption, investment and savings.
In connection with the economic implications of increases in old-age dependency, some intersting figures emerge. For example, the per capita public costs for elderly persons in the major industrialized countries are estimated to be as much as three times higher than those incurred for young people. The share of spending on income maintenance, old-age security, health care and education rose from approximately 10 per cent of gross domestic product during the early 1950's to approximately 25 per cent in the early 1980's, with most of the increase going to old-age security and health care costs. Between 1960 and the present, in fact, social expenditure has grown twice as fast as the total GDP in the seven major countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as a result of the increasing number of elderly in the population and improvements in coverage and benefits.
Apparently, the aging of populations has special significance for rural economic conditions and productivity, since the impact of aging is often intensified by extensive urban migration among young people, leaving the burden of agriculture to the very old and very young.
Economic analysts have often expressed the view that USA could substantially reduce the burden of economic transfers to the elderly by keeping them in the work force longer. However, the economic situation of the early 1980's made it hard to expand employment opportunities for older people, and in many countries, the trend towards lowering the legal retirement age has continued, in the belief that it will open up job opportunities for the young.
Discussions
From the point of view of needs, Erikson, E. H. (1968) stated that living in a family group is a potential and usual form of securing many satisfactions. The family is the main source of physical care for its members. In our society it furnishes the generally accepted satisfaction of the sex needs of the individual. The family provides the satisfaction of his needs for intimate contacts and thus for emotional security in its most permanent and reliable form. It usually gives economic security to one of the marriage partners and the children. It provides living quarters for its members. In connection to this, feeling of belongingness tends to become an important feeling for an individual particularly of those who are in old age.
On the other hand, Erikson, E. H. (1968) argued that securing the material means for satisfying needs is one of the essential forms of human behavior. The division of labor which characterizes societal living, however, assigns the economic function as a social role only to certain categories of people, usually on the basis of sex and age. In our society this function has been long considered primarily a male role correlated with physiological and mental maturity. It still is preponderantly centered in the person of the husband and father, who enjoys the status of the family head because of the importance of this role. When other members of the family group engage in economic activities, their own status increases and that of the family head declines. In spite of the considerable inroads which have been made into this traditional arrangement as a result of the increasing social equalization of men and women, the husband and father is still the general provider in most families. Nevertheless, more and more women are engaging in economic activities, and the impact of old age on this social role therefore creates problems of adjustment for them as well. Because of the competitive and materialistic nature of our culture, making a living is a notably time-absorbing function. Through conditioning many individuals experience a derived need to devote their time mainly to performing this function. It necessitates the utilization of their capacities more than any other of their social roles, and through the relation between biological and mental factors plays a part in their physiological and mental health. It is therefore particularly important to determine how the role of making a living is affected by age changes and the types of adjustment which they necessitate.
Moreover, the study of the impact of aging upon the social role of making a living requires consideration of the four basic components of human behavior: needs, capacities, predispositions, and opportunities. (Goleman, D.,1984) In more specific terms, research interest should be concerned with changes in the financial needs of the aging individual, changes in his capacities which are prerequisite for performing the role of provider, changes in his attitudes toward economic functioning, and in his opportunities for doing so. In view of the nature of our economic system, however, it does not seem feasible to consider problems for research in this order. Plans for research on the adjustment problems of older people arising from changes in their economic roles must take account of the fact that our culture does not provide work for all persons who need, are able, and want to work. Economic opportunity may be of more weight in determining whether a man works than his needs, his capacities, or his attitudes. (Granovetter, M., 1985). A person may need employment, may be able and willing to undertake it, and still not succeed in finding it. Opportunity for work therefore often tends to be the crux of most problems of adjustment in the economic sphere. Consequently we shall consider first the social opportunities of older persons for making a living.
Of course, no person can take advantage of an opportunity for work if he is not able to perform the functions implied; the second problem for investigation therefore is the impact of old age on the capacities of older people for earning a living. (Hagestad, G. O. & Neugarten, B. L., 1985). The desire to work, however, may continue beyond such time as opportunities and capacities persist. In other words, attitudes toward retirement may remain negative while lack of opportunity or declining capacity makes retirement necessary. On the other hand, a person may want to retire while he still has both opportunity and capacity to work. The degree to which changes in attitudes toward retirement are positively correlated with the changes in opportunities and capacities which are associated with aging should be determined if possible. There is, of course, a need for income as long as life is maintained, independent of opportunities, capacities, and any positive predisposition toward making a living. Adjustment to a change in income usually has to be made by the older person upon retirement, and societal adjustments may be involved in the provision of a new source of income.
Furthermore, Kardiner A. ( 1945) believes that the culture assumed that acceptance of the social role of earning a living which the society assigns to people is normal behavior for mature individuals and that they are consequently adjusted to it. However, declining capacities in old age or social arrangements which require cessation of economic functioning at some point finally make the performance of this role unfeasible or impossible, and so the aging individual is confronted with the problem of voluntary or enforced retirement. It is therefore important to determine whether the attitudes of elderly people toward work undergo changes which facilitate their adjustment to retirement. It may appear unnecessary at first to ask this question in cases of voluntary retirement. It would seem that a person who relinquishes his job of his own accord thereby demonstrates a change in his predispositions toward work and economic activities which is favorable to retirement. However, he may not have been aware of the force of habit, he may find time hanging heavy on his hands, or contrary to his expectations he may find that he cannot satisfy his needs on his diminished income, or that retirement has brought him a status loss which he finds difficult to bear. For this reason research should be concerned with the attitudes of old people toward voluntary as well as enforced retirement.
Conclusion
In this paper, the psychological analysis of adjustment to aging has been discussed in terms of these objectives: describing the problems of aging and the adjustive reactions to them; explaining these reactions in relation to causal factors in the individual's past experience and in present situations; and evaluating the adjustive "significance of the individual's reactions to his problems through the measurement of adjustment. The discussion has emphasized that all problems of aging are significant to the individual only insofar as they affect the manner and degree of satisfaction of his basic needs for health and comfort, self-expression, affection, recognition, and emotional security, and their derivatives in the form of needs for specific types of satisfactions.
The psychological analysis of adjustment to aging described in this paper may be thought of as providing a general pattern of analysis applicable to the study of any of the adjustment problems. This proposition does not contradict the general emphasis on assigning equal importance to societal adjustments. Such societal rearrangements may be much more effective than any sum total of efforts at individual adjustment. The fact remains, however, that the function of these societal rearrangements in a democratic society is necessarily limited to providing new opportunities for satisfying needs of individuals. It is possible to study and plan such rearrangements meaningfully only from this view, and the understanding of them has to be derived from an understanding of individual adjustive behavior, as outlined above.
References:
Baltes, M., & Carstensen, L. (1996). The process of successful aging. Ageing and Society, 16, 397-422.
Burgess, Ernest W. (1960). Aging in Western Societies. University of Chicago.
Davis A., & Dollard J. (1940). Children of bondage: The personality development of negro youth in the Urban south. Washington, D.C. (cited after Thomae, 1969)
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton.
Goleman, D. (1984). The Aging Mind Proves Capable of Lifelong Growth, New York Times, February 21.
Granovetter, M. (1985). Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness. Am. J. Sociol. 91:481-510
Hagestad, G. O. & Neugarten, B. L. (1985). Age and the life course. In Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences,. ed. R. H. Binstock, E. Shanas, pp. 35- 61. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Kardiner A. ( 1945). Psychological frontiers of society. New York: Columbia University Press.
On the other hand, problem behavior always conform to aging in which different issues of living arises. Apparently, all countries of western civilization have had declining birth rates for a considerable time and therefore aging populations. The discovery of this fact is a result of the development of the science of demography, i.e., the study of the growth, the distribution, and the composition of populations. French, English, Swedish, American and other demographers have assembled a wealth of information regarding the present and probable future development of the size and age composition of various population groups. (Burgess, Ernest W., 1960) In the course of these demographic analyses it has been pointed out repeatedly that population decline may lie ahead of this country in the not too distant future and that in any case all countries with declining birth rates show trends of absolute and relative increase in the higher age brackets. Declining death rates in the higher age groups have worked in the same direction, though less spectacularly, and have accentuated the increase in the numerical strength of the aged in these countries. (Burgess, Ernest W., 1960).
Apparently, Davis A., & Dollard J. (1940) believes that the family is the first institution with which an individual comes into contact. In its context primary needs are met, other needs created, basic capacities developed, first roles defined, and first status experiences provided. Because of this strategic position the family is the most important influence upon the individual's behavior. Also, during the whole course of his life it provides most of the commonly accepted satisfactions of his basic needs. It is therefore of utmost importance for the student of social adjustment in old age to know how the structure of this institution meets or creates needs of people in their advancing years, how it is geared to the changes in capacities and predispositions which accompany the aging process, and the extent to which it offers opportunities for need satisfaction in the form of role and status assignments to its aged members.
Organization
From the issues of problem of living, there are organizations who are dedicated to the spirit of graceful living. In the case of Christian Care Communities, it strives to offer a continuum of care in its retirement communities. One of their programs is the adult day care and rehabilitation services who meet the special needs of many of the older adults. Basically, their mission is to provide a natural, secure, comfortable and beautiful setting with the feel of understated elegance and endless opportunities for residents to enjoy an active retirement. According to the interviewed personality named Allison Walter Danville, the organization constantly strives to enhance the quality of life, while offering care and security for all residents. Furthermore, Allison Walter believes that the organization has a wide range of services that help persons with developmental disabilities live as independently as possible, enjoy life to its fullest, and become integrated members of their local communities. Through all of the organization’s programs, from residential support services to community employment, participants are encouraged to work with staff to set personal goals and develop plans to meet them.
With regards to problems encountered by the organization in relation to problem of living, Christian Care added a new area of service to its ministry by reaching out to individuals with acquired brain injuries. This virtually unserved population is in need of a variety of care options, and Christian Care is committed to developing services that will support them and allow them to live fulfilling lives as independently as possible.
Finally, further research is needed into the development of theoretical approaches that move beyond dichotomous notions of successful/unsuccessful or healthy/unhealthy aging and old age. By acknowledging that losses as well as gains, and limits as well as potentials, are a critical part of the aging process (Baltes & Carstensen, 1996), these newer perspectives make room for questions about the meaning and significance of aging and old age.
Social Policy
Basically, aging populations can have a major impact on the socio-economic development potential of societies, particularly when the dependency rates among the elderly are high", the Secretary-General states. Among the variables affected are the allocation of national budget resources, the availability of manpower, and general patterns of consumption, investment and savings.
In connection with the economic implications of increases in old-age dependency, some intersting figures emerge. For example, the per capita public costs for elderly persons in the major industrialized countries are estimated to be as much as three times higher than those incurred for young people. The share of spending on income maintenance, old-age security, health care and education rose from approximately 10 per cent of gross domestic product during the early 1950's to approximately 25 per cent in the early 1980's, with most of the increase going to old-age security and health care costs. Between 1960 and the present, in fact, social expenditure has grown twice as fast as the total GDP in the seven major countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as a result of the increasing number of elderly in the population and improvements in coverage and benefits.
Apparently, the aging of populations has special significance for rural economic conditions and productivity, since the impact of aging is often intensified by extensive urban migration among young people, leaving the burden of agriculture to the very old and very young.
Economic analysts have often expressed the view that USA could substantially reduce the burden of economic transfers to the elderly by keeping them in the work force longer. However, the economic situation of the early 1980's made it hard to expand employment opportunities for older people, and in many countries, the trend towards lowering the legal retirement age has continued, in the belief that it will open up job opportunities for the young.
Discussions
From the point of view of needs, Erikson, E. H. (1968) stated that living in a family group is a potential and usual form of securing many satisfactions. The family is the main source of physical care for its members. In our society it furnishes the generally accepted satisfaction of the sex needs of the individual. The family provides the satisfaction of his needs for intimate contacts and thus for emotional security in its most permanent and reliable form. It usually gives economic security to one of the marriage partners and the children. It provides living quarters for its members. In connection to this, feeling of belongingness tends to become an important feeling for an individual particularly of those who are in old age.
On the other hand, Erikson, E. H. (1968) argued that securing the material means for satisfying needs is one of the essential forms of human behavior. The division of labor which characterizes societal living, however, assigns the economic function as a social role only to certain categories of people, usually on the basis of sex and age. In our society this function has been long considered primarily a male role correlated with physiological and mental maturity. It still is preponderantly centered in the person of the husband and father, who enjoys the status of the family head because of the importance of this role. When other members of the family group engage in economic activities, their own status increases and that of the family head declines. In spite of the considerable inroads which have been made into this traditional arrangement as a result of the increasing social equalization of men and women, the husband and father is still the general provider in most families. Nevertheless, more and more women are engaging in economic activities, and the impact of old age on this social role therefore creates problems of adjustment for them as well. Because of the competitive and materialistic nature of our culture, making a living is a notably time-absorbing function. Through conditioning many individuals experience a derived need to devote their time mainly to performing this function. It necessitates the utilization of their capacities more than any other of their social roles, and through the relation between biological and mental factors plays a part in their physiological and mental health. It is therefore particularly important to determine how the role of making a living is affected by age changes and the types of adjustment which they necessitate.
Moreover, the study of the impact of aging upon the social role of making a living requires consideration of the four basic components of human behavior: needs, capacities, predispositions, and opportunities. (Goleman, D.,1984) In more specific terms, research interest should be concerned with changes in the financial needs of the aging individual, changes in his capacities which are prerequisite for performing the role of provider, changes in his attitudes toward economic functioning, and in his opportunities for doing so. In view of the nature of our economic system, however, it does not seem feasible to consider problems for research in this order. Plans for research on the adjustment problems of older people arising from changes in their economic roles must take account of the fact that our culture does not provide work for all persons who need, are able, and want to work. Economic opportunity may be of more weight in determining whether a man works than his needs, his capacities, or his attitudes. (Granovetter, M., 1985). A person may need employment, may be able and willing to undertake it, and still not succeed in finding it. Opportunity for work therefore often tends to be the crux of most problems of adjustment in the economic sphere. Consequently we shall consider first the social opportunities of older persons for making a living.
Of course, no person can take advantage of an opportunity for work if he is not able to perform the functions implied; the second problem for investigation therefore is the impact of old age on the capacities of older people for earning a living. (Hagestad, G. O. & Neugarten, B. L., 1985). The desire to work, however, may continue beyond such time as opportunities and capacities persist. In other words, attitudes toward retirement may remain negative while lack of opportunity or declining capacity makes retirement necessary. On the other hand, a person may want to retire while he still has both opportunity and capacity to work. The degree to which changes in attitudes toward retirement are positively correlated with the changes in opportunities and capacities which are associated with aging should be determined if possible. There is, of course, a need for income as long as life is maintained, independent of opportunities, capacities, and any positive predisposition toward making a living. Adjustment to a change in income usually has to be made by the older person upon retirement, and societal adjustments may be involved in the provision of a new source of income.
Furthermore, Kardiner A. ( 1945) believes that the culture assumed that acceptance of the social role of earning a living which the society assigns to people is normal behavior for mature individuals and that they are consequently adjusted to it. However, declining capacities in old age or social arrangements which require cessation of economic functioning at some point finally make the performance of this role unfeasible or impossible, and so the aging individual is confronted with the problem of voluntary or enforced retirement. It is therefore important to determine whether the attitudes of elderly people toward work undergo changes which facilitate their adjustment to retirement. It may appear unnecessary at first to ask this question in cases of voluntary retirement. It would seem that a person who relinquishes his job of his own accord thereby demonstrates a change in his predispositions toward work and economic activities which is favorable to retirement. However, he may not have been aware of the force of habit, he may find time hanging heavy on his hands, or contrary to his expectations he may find that he cannot satisfy his needs on his diminished income, or that retirement has brought him a status loss which he finds difficult to bear. For this reason research should be concerned with the attitudes of old people toward voluntary as well as enforced retirement.
Conclusion
In this paper, the psychological analysis of adjustment to aging has been discussed in terms of these objectives: describing the problems of aging and the adjustive reactions to them; explaining these reactions in relation to causal factors in the individual's past experience and in present situations; and evaluating the adjustive "significance of the individual's reactions to his problems through the measurement of adjustment. The discussion has emphasized that all problems of aging are significant to the individual only insofar as they affect the manner and degree of satisfaction of his basic needs for health and comfort, self-expression, affection, recognition, and emotional security, and their derivatives in the form of needs for specific types of satisfactions.
The psychological analysis of adjustment to aging described in this paper may be thought of as providing a general pattern of analysis applicable to the study of any of the adjustment problems. This proposition does not contradict the general emphasis on assigning equal importance to societal adjustments. Such societal rearrangements may be much more effective than any sum total of efforts at individual adjustment. The fact remains, however, that the function of these societal rearrangements in a democratic society is necessarily limited to providing new opportunities for satisfying needs of individuals. It is possible to study and plan such rearrangements meaningfully only from this view, and the understanding of them has to be derived from an understanding of individual adjustive behavior, as outlined above.
References:
Baltes, M., & Carstensen, L. (1996). The process of successful aging. Ageing and Society, 16, 397-422.
Burgess, Ernest W. (1960). Aging in Western Societies. University of Chicago.
Davis A., & Dollard J. (1940). Children of bondage: The personality development of negro youth in the Urban south. Washington, D.C. (cited after Thomae, 1969)
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton.
Goleman, D. (1984). The Aging Mind Proves Capable of Lifelong Growth, New York Times, February 21.
Granovetter, M. (1985). Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness. Am. J. Sociol. 91:481-510
Hagestad, G. O. & Neugarten, B. L. (1985). Age and the life course. In Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences,. ed. R. H. Binstock, E. Shanas, pp. 35- 61. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Kardiner A. ( 1945). Psychological frontiers of society. New York: Columbia University Press.
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