Elder Abuse and Living Arrangements in Late Adulthood Essay

Late adulthood is a period of various biological changes which shag impact on an individuals health and ability to function as easily in society. The stereotypical changes of this stage argon paler less pliant skin resulting in wrinkles, thinning hair gradually turning from grey to white, weaker bones, muscle loss, and vision and hearing impairments e. g. cataracts and difficulty with word discrimination. There argon changes to the creative thinker also, such as the loss of dendrites which suit of clothess a reduction in brain weight and volume and slower synaptic speeds resulting in slower reaction measure (Bee 1998, p. 53). Their immune system slows down as swell, becoming less effective, and making them to a greater extent prone to illness (Fernandez 2010, p. 794). Alzheimers disease is the roughly common caexercising of derangement and is a change in the brain structure due to the tangling of dendritic fibres in the brain causing severe memory loss and constitution chang es (Bee 1998, p. 459). Overall, the elderly are more likely to produce a inveterate illness and disabilities which whitethorn impact upon their ability to bathe, walk, feed themselves, prepare meals, shop, dress themselves, and so far expire in openly (Bee 1998, p. 56). This stage of flavor is characterised by a number of speech patternes and is a time of reflection. An individuals changing work status, in picky when they retire, can be a source of stress as work is a major component of adult spiritedness and they now suck to specify other activities to fill their day. There is also the uncertainty of their financial future and whether they will have enough to red-hot comfortably off (Fernandez 2010, pp. 853-855).Their health or partners health may be another source of stress for them, especially if it results in a caring role being rent to complete everyday tasks and the knowledge that their life is coming to an end (Fernandez 2010, pp. 867-868). Fernandez (2010, p. 851 ) states that late adulthood is a time of smell back and taking stock of where weve been, what weve accomplished, and whom we have touched. This results in a process called Life Review which is gradually looking back at past experiences analysing and evaluating them to develop more secure and complex egotism fantasys (Bee 1998, p. 02). Social interaction is an important part of life, continuing on in late adulthood and is associated with good health and life satisfaction. The elderly have general contact with family, finding strong emotional and practical support through them, especially adult children, and tend to have lower directs of institutionalisation with couples and relatives providing a high level of care and assistance to each other (Bee 1998, pp. 484-490). Friendships play an important role in late adulthood, with many enjoying time with friends more than with family (Fernandez 2010, p. 43). They provide companionship, intimacy, acceptance, opportunities for laught er, sharing of activities, cogitate to a larger community, and protection from the psychological consequences of loss (Berk 1998, p. 609). In late adulthood where and with whom individuals are going to plump is an issue they face. There are a number of options available to the elderly such as mobile homes, age segregated villages/communities, institutions, with family, or in their own home (Kalish 1975, pp. 97-99).Deciding which option is the most fitted for an individual can be influenced by a variety of things, such as health, disability, socio-economic status (SES) and culture. Mobile homes such as caravans suit those looking for a low cost and in drawal arrangement, however, those that have a mobility affecting disability or very poor health may not be suited to this option as they are usually small and on outskirts of towns (Kalish 1975, p. 98). Age segregated villages/communities include retirement homes that provide independent living arrangements or some support depending on the individuals needs (Johnson 1960, p. 7). They tend to be in semi-isolated areas (making it hard for those with serious health issues to access medical tutelage), and are quite expensive ( merely those of high SES tend to be able to afford them) (Kalish 1975, pp. 98-99). The most common institution for the elderly is a nursing home, which cares for those who need wide attention due to severe physical or mental disabilities (approximately 5% of the aged population) (Kalish 1975, p. 99). Some residents are unable to feed, dress or bathe themselves, are incontinent or unaware of where or even who they are (Kalish 1975, p. 9). Medicare subsidises some of the costs, but not enough, meaning some individuals are still unable to skip the costs (Kalish 1975, p. 99). Family members provide the most long term care, whether that is a spouse, partner or adult children (Berk 1998, p. 575). It is more common for an elder of an eastern culture to live with their children and extended famil y, even if healthy, than for an elder from a western culture. Most individuals, even with a moderate disease or health problem, dont live with relatives, but in their own house (Bee 1998, pp. 82-483). Living in their own home provides the greatest personal control, but those living alone are a good deal poverty stricken and have unmet needs (Berk 1998, p. 601). This is where the Government and charity organisations help they both provide small homes at low costs in suitable areas, as well as providing services such as home help (cleaning mainly), home visiting, and Meals on Wheels (Johnson 1960, p. 48). Elder tread is a very substantial and serious issue that occurs during the late adulthood stage of life.There are many different types of elder abuse, including physical abuse (use of physical force resulting in injury, pain or impairment), sexual (non-consensual sexual contact), emotional/psychological (inflicting anguish, emotional pain or distress), neglect (failure to fulfil o bligations or duties to an elder), financial exploitation (im befitting use of an elders funds, property or assets), and medical abuse (failing to provide adequate medical treatment or misusing medications) (Biggs 1995, pp. 6-37). It can also be intentional (conscious and deliberate attempt to inflict harm) or unintentional (inadvertent action resulting in harm, usually due to ignorance, inexperience, lack of desire or inability to provide proper car) (CSAPs Prevention Pathways 2004). Stereotypically, it is nursing home residents that are more likely to be abused, as they are believed to be vegetables, and Kalish (1975, p. 9) states that health care professionals sometimes recognize feeding the resident using the expression, watering the vegetables which highlights this view and often leads to elder abuse as a way of degrading the elder and punishing them for needing attention and help. Unfortunately many nursing staff receive little or no in-service training and receive a very po or wage, so they savour out of their depths and do not enjoy the tasks required of them, which increases the risk of elder abuse as they feel frustrated, especially if the elders abilities are declining and need more care (Kalish 1975, p. 00). This leads to very few long term facilities providing intellectual or sensory stimulation. The more staff fail to stimulate the residents, the more they have to do for them, and the more the residents sink into despondency, creating more stress and frustration for the carers becoming a viscous cycle (Kalish 1975, p. 100). The lack of stimulation itself, could be a form of unintentional neglect, as their intellectual needs are not being met.Despite the stereotypical view of nursing homes, it is in fact those who live in their own homes or with family who are abused the most, and it is the family that are usually the abusers, especially sons (Biggs 1995, p. 41). Victims of psychological or physical abuse tend to be physically well but have emot ional problems while the abusers tend to have issues with alcohol and/or mental illness and live with the victim and are usually dependent on them (Biggs 1995, p. 43).Victims of neglect are usually very old and mentally or physically impaired with very little social support, and the abuser suffers chronic and continuing stress (Biggs 1995, p. 43). Those who are unmarried with limited support are at more risk of being financial exploited, with the abuser having financial problems or dependent on the victim for finances and accommodation (Biggs 1995, p. 43). In 1993 the Commonwealth Government established the Working Party on the Protection of Frail sometime(a) People in the Community to protect the rights of residents in nursing homes (Biggs 1995, p. 53).Interestingly, mandatory reporting legislation that America has was rejected by most states in Australia at first and it wasnt until July 2007 that compulsory reporting of unlawful sexual contact or unreasonable use of force was br ought in, but this still doesnt hide all elder abuse and only applies to residents of an Australian Government subsidised aged care facility (Aged Rights protagonism Service 2012). Erik Erikson was a German analyst who developed an eight stage psychosocial development theory this essay will focus on his last stage, ego integrity versus despair (Fernandez 2010, p. 21). The basic concept of this stage is the question Was my life meaningful? and involves looking back on ones life to determine this. The hope is that the individual will cope to terms with and accept who they are and have been, the choices they have made, and the opportunities they have gained and lost, and their impending death and thus achieve the virtue of wisdom (Bee 1998, p. 501). If they dont gravel to terms with their life they develop despair, where they feel dissatisfied with their life and feel it is too late to change it (Berk 1998, p. 88). For example, someone who has very poor health and is reliant on oth ers to help care for them may feel like a burden and have a sense of hopelessness resulting in them continuing to live alone as they do not wish to put others out. While someone else may view it as theyve lived a long healthy life up until now and they have a loving family who is willing to help them in their old age, leaving them with a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction, and will jubilantly move in with relatives.Another example might be living in a retirement home, some elderly may come to dislike the age segregation and feel like society has pushed them to the outskirts to die, while others may feel stronger social connections, higher morale and a general higher life satisfaction due to the close proximity of others of similar age. Eriksons theory is valuable in providing a guideline by which to understand this stage, but is it as clear cut as having integrity or despair?Maxine Walaskay classified elderly into one of four categories, integrity achieved (aware of their agein g and accept the life lived) despairing (negative evaluation of life) foreclosed (content with their current life but resist self exploration) and dissonant (just beginning to evaluate their life) (Bee 1998, p. 501). Walaskays classification fronts to say that not all individuals in this life stage look back on their life and evaluate it, that those in the foreclosed category base it on where their life is at now, so it would seem that Eriksons theory does not apply to everyone in this life stage.Stress as a transaction theory looks at a stimulus only becoming a stressor when it is perceived that way by the individual, and whether they believe they have the resources to cope. In terms of elder abuse it would focus on the increasing addiction of the elder and a burden of care giving as the cause of stress thus increasing the risk of abuse (CSAPs Prevention Pathways 2004).It proposes that on that point are factors influencing the risk of elder abuse in terms of elder related (physi cal or emotional dependency, poor health, impaired mental status and a difficult personality), structural related (emotional strain, social isolation and environmental problems) and carer related factors (life crisis and burn out or exhaustion) (Biggs 1995, p. 25). For example an institutionalised residents dementia worsens making them more reliant on the carer, leading to more stress as the carer may not feel they have the capabilities to handle increased roles and this may cause them to abuse the resident.Another example could be an only child suffering extreme financial distress due to gambling debts, who lives with their mentally impaired mother and feels they cannot pay their own debs so they fraudulently use their mothers funds. This theory looks at the relationship between the dependency of the elder and the stress this creates resulting in abusive behaviour, which research has been unable to prove (Biggs 1995, p. 30).According to this theory, by reducing the level of care gi ving stress, the likelihood of elder abuse would reduction as well, but this doesnt take into account other factors that may be attributing to the abuse such as power roles (being physically and mentally more powerful and degrading and abusing the elder as a way to exert and maintain that power), and even a history of violence (if the elder was abusive ahead in their life and the abused becomes their carer, such as a wife or child, then the carer may have learnt that behaviour and carry it on by abusing the elder).There are many biological, psychological and social factors that impact individuals in the late adulthood stage of life, which can contribute to issues they face such as the influence of an individuals health, ability to function effectively in society and social networks on where and with whom to live and the occurrence of elder abuse. The two theories, Eriksons ego integrity versus despair and the stress as a transaction theory help provide some guidelines to examine t he issues of living arrangements and elder abuse faced by individuals in this stage of life. 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