In this article, we are going to be looking at aging process and all you need to know about it.
Aging is part of life course continuum, its beginning is not clearly demarcated at any specific point in time, it does not start at any chronological point rather it is the accumulation of some characteristics with increasing age that helps one to identify the elderly.
The peak of physical maturity is reached during a younger adulthood, but the peak of psychological maturity with regards to the aspect or wisdom, creativity, spirituality and emotional growth is likely to be reached at an older age of life. This implies that the older one gets the wiser they become.
Old age is a continuum and is determined to a small degree by age related changes and to more significant degree by pathological conditions, risk factors and other factors that affects one’s wellness and functioning. Most elderly people will be extremely healthy and maintain a high level of independent functioning through out their old age until their death, while others will have a significant degree of physical, mental or psychological impairment for brief or long period of their lifetime.
Aging
The only objective definition of aging is that it is the universal process that begins at birth and it is applied to young and old people. Legally an elderly person is a person of sixty-five years of age or above. The age of sixty-five is used not because of the actual physiological, psychological or sociological changes, but because it is the age of retirement in most countries of the world.
Certain events that commonly occur between the ages of 50 and 65 years foster the sense of one’s aging. These events include menopause, experiencing the death of parents and friends, being one of the oldest at work and having to face physical restrictions as well as retirement from work. All these events make the individual to become more philosophical in approach to life.
Definition of Aging
As aging occurs, certain changes are seen to affect most people, although it is very clear that they are individual differences I the precise changes that occurs in aging. Due to these individual differences, many academic disciplines try to define aging as they understand it. Let us take a look at some of the definitions of Aging
1. Biological Definition of Aging
Aging according to this concept is referred to the changes in structure and functions of the body that occur over the life span. This includes all the changes that occur in an individual due to biological activities of the cells, tissues, organs and the system of the body over the life span.
2. Functional Definition of Aging
Aging according to this school of thought refers to the capacities of individual function in the society when compared with those of others of the same age. Here societal productivity is used to define the age of an individual. This implies that it is the society that determines whether one is elderly or not.
3. Psychological Definition of Aging
Aging according to this school of thought is referred to behavioural changes, alteration in self-perception and reactions to the biological changes that occur in the body of the individual over time. In this case it is the attitude of the individual that determines his/her age.
4. Sociological Definition Of Aging
Aging according to this school of thought is referred to the roles and social habits of the individual in the society. This definition is closely related to functional aging.
Read Also: Abraham Maslows Theory of Basic Human Needs
Aging Process
Aging is a developmental stage and like any other developmental stage, it is a linear process. This implies that one does not suddenly become old at age 65, rather a series of change will begin before 65 years that will eventually make the individual old at the age of 65.
It is the same rate a 35-year-old individual ages, that an 85-year-old individual ages. W hat makes an 85-year-old aging looks faster is the amount of psychological, social and biological losses that occurs to that individual.
The age at which many people retire from active employment is also when other life-events such as physical illness begin to make their appearance with greater frequency.
Aging is defined as a progressive unfavorable loss of adaptation and a decreasing expectation loss of life with the passage of time that is expressed in measurement as decreased viability and vulnerability of normal forces of mortality.
Biological Aging Process
This refer to the gradual decline in healthy functioning which occurs in an organizing and which ultimately leads to death. Biological aging could be primary or secondary aging. The primary aging is the inborn and is based on hereditary factors while the secondary aging is caused by trauma and disease. In both cases cells die or produce less efficient mutations or develop alteration in the chemical structure of their enzymes.
Sociological and Psychological Aging Process
The changes which occur in physical and psychological state in the aging individual are closely related to sociological factors. Some individuals psychological deal constructively with the changes of aging while some do not. The status of old people appears to depend on their value to the society. In a situation like traditional African society where their long experience in life can provide useful information for later generations and where only a few people can survive beyond middle age, their positions are assured.
We hope this information was helpful, feel free to ask your questions in your comment section below.