Deck 13: The Elderly

Question 1

The lowest proportion of people age 65 and over is found among

A) Latinos.
B) Native Americans.
C) African Americans.
D) Asian Americans.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The oldest person in the world documented by a birth certificate died in 1997 at _____ years old.

A) 112
B) 122
C) 143
D) 199

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Globally, the highest percentage of the population age 65 and older is found in the

A) North.
B) South.
C) East.
D) West.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

One of the factors that appear to account for the long lives of the Abkhasians is a diet

A) based almost entirely on meat.
B) that includes soft drinks at every meal.
C) with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.
D) free of alcohol.

Question 5

The relative value that a culture places on men's and women's ages is known as

A) gerotranscendence.
B) maturity.
C) gender age.
D) seeming old or not.

Question 6

Ageism

A) is prejudice directed only at the elderly.
B) is a positive development for today's elderly.
C) can be directed toward any age group, including youth.
D) has been largely eliminated today.

Question 7

The label preferred by older people is

A) over the hill.
B) mature rather than old.
C) today's youth.
D) old rather than mature.

Question 8

Life expectancy peaks at a world high of 83.9 years in

A) Japan.
B) the United States.
C) Canada.
D) Cameroon.

Question 9

In the years from 1900 to the present, life expectancy has

A) been greater for women.
B) been greater for men.
C) remained approximately the same.
D) doubled.

Question 10

In Colonial times in what is now the United States, old age

A) was stigmatized as a burden on society.
B) was regarded positively.
C) did not exist.
D) marked early retirement.

Question 11

_____ is the longest that a human has lived.

A) Aging
B) Life expectancy
C) Life span
D) Ninety-three

Question 12

Of all the people who have ever passed age 50 in the history of the world, _____ are alive today.

A) one-eighth
B) one-fourth
C) one-half
D) two-thirds

Question 13

_____ is the number of years that an average person (including newborns) can expect to live.

A) The graying of America
B) Life expectancy
C) Life span
D) 110

Question 14

Aging is

A) biologically defined.
B) socially constructed.
C) unrelated to society.
D) all in the mind.

Question 15

The United States is number _____ among the nations with the world's longest life expectancies.

A) one
B) three
C) twelve
D) twenty-one

Question 16

The growing percentage of older people in the U.S. population is

A) known as life expectancy.
B) a major problem.
C) referred to as the graying of America.
D) the life span.

Question 17

In China, traditionally the elderly were

A) scorned.
B) worshipped as gods.
C) given a very high status.
D) treated as just another population grouping.

Question 18

The theory of gerotranscendence maintains that as people age,

A) they tend to see things more as black and white.
B) they become less self-centered and begin to feel more at one with the universe.
C) their tolerance diminishes.
D) they become more judgmental of others.

Question 19

The oldest (documented) living person is _____ years old.

A) 100
B) 111
C) 116
D) 153

Question 20

_____ eroded traditional bases of respect for the elderly.

A) The Internet
B) The 21st century
C) Immigration
D) Industrialization

Question 21

About _____ of centenarians report no disabilities.

A) 5%
B) 15%
C) 25%
D) 91%

Question 22

Centenarian refers to

A) someone who is 100 or more years old.
B) a retired person.
C) our normal life expectancy today.
D) anyone beyond age 80.

Question 23

In the media, the elderly are

A) overrepresented.
B) presented.
C) underrepresented.
D) always presented in positive terms.

Question 24

Mohammed had been a science teacher for decades. When he retired, he taught science classes for the general public in the local senior center. This way of adjusting to changes in the lives of the elderly is called

A) continuity theory.
B) disengagement theory.
C) downsizing.
D) activity theory.

Question 25

According to _____, the young and old are opponents in a struggle that threatens to throw society into turmoil.

A) functionalism
B) the conflict perspective
C) most older Americans
D) symbolic interactionists

Question 26

Nursing home residents are

A) typical of the elderly.
B) generally quite competent at bathing, dressing, and eating.
C) universally well cared for.
D) not typical of the elderly.

Question 27

In nursing homes, sex

A) never takes place.
B) has been encouraged in some nursing homes, at least in England.
C) is impossible, since everyone is too old to be interested.
D) is part of a balanced life for residents.

Question 28

In the United States from 1967 to the present, poverty among children _____, and poverty among the elderly _____.

A) decreased; increased
B) decreased; decreased
C) increased; increased
D) increased; decreased

Question 29

The dependency ratio is

A) the number of retired people who support each worker.
B) how many dependents a person has.
C) the number of workers required to support each person 65 and above and 15 and below.
D) the proportion of elderly dependent on public assistance.

Question 30

About _____ times as many elderly women as elderly men outlive their spouses.

A) two
B) three
C) four
D) five

Question 31

_____ stress that old age has no inherent meaning.

A) Conflict theorists
B) Symbolic interactionists
C) Functionalists
D) All social scientists

Question 32

Approximately _____ of elderly men live with a spouse, and _____ of elderly women live with a spouse.

A) 21%; 62%
B) 53%; 51%
C) 72%; 45%
D) 88%; 34%

Question 33

Today there are about _____ Americans aged 100 or above.

A) 200
B) 500
C) 55,000
D) 2.1 million

Question 34

Out of every 100 centenarians, _____ are men

A) 2
B) 17
C) 38
D) 71

Question 35

_____ theory maintains that society is stabilized by having the elderly retire from their positions of responsibility so that the younger generation can step into their shoes.

A) Engagement
B) Disengagement
C) Continuity
D) Activity

Question 36

_____ is made up of people born at roughly the same time who pass through the life course together.

A) elderly group
B) population
C) continuity group
D) age cohort

Question 37

Research has shown that elderly people with a given health condition

A) live longer if they go to a nursing home than if they stay at home.
B) recover when they go to a nursing home.
C) live longer if they stay at home than if they go to a nursing home.
D) go to nursing homes primarily to have sex.

Question 38

According to _____ theory, satisfaction during old age is related to a person's amount and quality of activity.

A) activity
B) continuity
C) engagement
D) conflict

Question 39

Social Security and Medicare take approximately_____ of total government revenue.

A) one-fifth
B) one-third
C) one-half
D) three-fifths

Question 40

The Gray Panthers

A) are an organization that fizzled in the 1990s.
B) challenge institutions that oppress the poor.
C) enroll most elderly people.
D) work for the welfare of the old but not the young.

Question 41

How older people live and spend their time is

A) evolving.
B) the same as it has always been.
C) exclusively a matter of luck.
D) of no interest to researchers.

Question 42

What types of changes might make living to 200 or even 600 possible? Let your imagination go.

Question 43

About _____ of women aged 65 or older are poor, compared to _____ of men.

A) 5%; 2%
B) 11%; 6%
C) 20%; 11%
D) 33%; 41%

Question 44

Which four factors have sociologists identified that people consider in applying the label of "old" to themselves?

Question 45

When we avoid saying someone is dead, and instead say she has "passed on" or is "no longer with us," we are

A) trying to get closer to death.
B) speaking as harshly as possible.
C) using linguistic masks.
D) burying our head in the sand.

Question 46

Which of the following statements about elder abuse is true?

A) It has all but been eliminated.
B) Fewer than 4% of elderly people in the United States experience financial abuse.
C) Over 10% of the elderly are injured in physical abuse.
D) Most abuse is justified, because people simply run out of patience.

Question 47

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross studied how people reacted to news of an incurable illness from which they would die. She identified a sequence of five stages. Name the five stages.

Question 48

Which of the following is an example of creative aging?

A) Entering a nursing home
B) Directing a play
C) Watching television all day
D) Receiving hospice care

Question 49

How does the suicide rate of the elderly compare to that of adolescents?

Question 50

Unlike hospital care, the goal of hospice care is to

A) prolong life.
B) let people die in a modern hospital, with all its conveniences.
C) make the person's last days more meaningful.
D) make the patient well.

Question 51

Before industrialization,

A) death was managed by strangers.
B) the sick were cared for-and died-at home.
C) the use of technology to prolong life was ubiquitous.
D) few children saw a parent or sibling die.

Question 52

_____ is the view that old age is a time for personal development, greater creativity, and learning new skills and outlooks on life.

A) The decline of old age
B) Disengagement
C) Creative aging
D) Use of technology

Question 53

Evaluate activity theory.

Question 54

When death is expected, as opposed to unexpected as in an accident or suicide, family members

A) generally find it less stressful.
B) have no chance to say goodbye.
C) experience greater emotional shock.
D) have no time to get used to the idea that the individual is going to die.

Question 55

In old age, the least poverty is among _____ and the most poverty is among _____.

A) African Americans; Latinos
B) whites; Latinos
C) Latinos; Asian Americans
D) Asian Americans; African Americans