Transcript PERSON-ENVIRONMENT AND AGING

PERSON-ENVIRONMENT
AND AGING
What is it?
• Dynamic, interactive system
• Person and environment have to be
studied jointly
• A person’s behaviour is a function of both
the person and their environment –
especially the person’s perception of their
environment
Competence and environmental
press
•
Competence: best functional capacity of
an individual
Measured in five areas:
1. Biological health
2. Sensory-perceptual functioning
3. Motor skills
4. Cognitive skills
5. Ego strength
Competence and environmental
press
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Environmental press: demands placed
by the environment on each individual
• The demands can be:
1. Physical
2. Interpersonal
3. Social
Lawton and Nahemov’s model
• The less competent a person is, the more
impact the environment has
Kahana’s Congruence Model
• People search for environments that best
meet their needs
• Environments vary in their ability to meet
different people’s needs and demands
• Congruence is especially important when
options are limited
• This model is helpful in assessing longterm care facilities
Stress and Coping Theory
• Older adults’ adaptation to the
environment depends on
• Their perception of environmental stress
and
• Their attempts to cope
• Social systems and institutions may buffer
the effects of stress
Loss-Continuum Concept
• Aging seen as a progressive series of
losses that reduces one’s social
participation
• Therefore, home and neighbourhood
become more important
• Very important to help individuals maintain
competence and independence
• This model is more a practical guide and
not a theory
Concept of Everyday Competence
• Ability to perform behaviours essential for
independent living:
• Physical
• Psychological
• Social
Willis Model of Everyday
Competence
• Antecedents: individual (e.g. health, cognitive status)
and sociocultural (e.g. social policy, health care policy)
• Components: intraindividual (how a person experiences
their health, cognition) and contextual (how a particular
policy is implemented in each case)
• Mechanisms: variables that can affect expression of
competence, e.g. personal perception of selfcompetence or of control
• Outcomes: primarily physical and psychological wellbeing, the basic components of successful aging
What Is Optimal Aging?
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Avoiding disease
Engaged in life (as opposed to withdrawal)
Good cognitive and physical functioning
The last two more important: many seniors
with diseases age successfully
• Important: dignity and independence
Strategies
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Healthy lifestyle
Cognitive stimulation
Positive, optimistic outlook
Social network
Healthy finances
Importance of health promotion programs
adapted to all groups (SES, ethnicity, etc)
• Four levels of preventive intervention (see text)