Case: American Female 70 years of age in 2004. Her name is Dorothy, the

seventh most popular baby girl's name in 1934. She female friends who are both older

and younger than her age. Nancy has been married to Charles for 50 years, having

married at the average age for their times (she was 20 and he was 23). They have the

average number of children for their time, with 3 children and now also have 4

grandchildren.

            Her husband Charles, the fifth most popular boys name in 1924, does have a

couple of close friends his age, but only acquaintances that are older or younger than his

current age. Wondering how many days are left ahead of them, they searched out the

following information:

            At 60 years old, the longevity for males is age 77.5, for females it is age 81.25.

            At 65 years old, the longevity for males is age 79, for females it is age 82.3.

            At 70 years old, the longevity for males is age 81, for females it is age 83.7.

            At 75 years old, the longevity for males is age 83.3, for females it is age 85.3.

            (Source: 1980 Commissioners Standard Ordinary Mortality Table)

Physical Changes.

            Dorothy had a tough time with menopause at age 54, and worries about her two

chronic health conditions. So she does study what she can and she recently read

something that matches her well: Jill Quadagno, (2002, page 314), lists the prevalence of

chronic conditions over 65 with notable ones being:

            Arthritis at 45.3% in the 65-74 age cohort and 52.4% over age 75.

            Hypertension at 39.2% ages 65-74 climbing to 42% over age 75.

            Hearing impairment between 65-74 is 25.5% and after 75 years of age 37%

            Heart disease for the 65-74 age group is listed at 26.8% and 36.4% for 75+.

            Charles has not been able to do thing like he used to. He just does not feel are

robust and he recently came across the following: Diane E. Papalia and associates, (1996,

page 11) gives late adulthood (65 years and over) chores including:

               1- "Slowing of reaction time affects many aspects of functioning."

               2- Adaptation is required due to the many losses often experienced

                   during this time of life.

               3- "Need arrives to find purpose in life to face impending death."

               4- Most people find ways to compensate for the declines in memory

                   and most people are mentally alert.

            She also says (page 27) that "...it is becoming harder to tell where middle age

 leaves off and old age begins."

            Charles certainly agrees with that last statement. Is he starting into old age? Inside

he does not think so, but his body, now with 4 chronic illnesses, seems to be giving him a

different message.

            Dorothy is also worried about Charles' health, so she has been doing some

research on her own. She finds the following information: Nancy Shute, (2001-2002),

says that in your 60s,

               1- High pitched frequencies are further eroded making conversations

                   more difficult.

               2- Due to less efficiency in the pancreas, blood sugar level rises

                   often moving into adult onset diabetes.

               3- Stiffness in the joints are noticeable in the morning due to the

                   wear and tear of the cartilage.

               4- Sexual daydreams for men nearly disappear.

            She notices that the words she just read do sound familiar, especially for Charles'

health. But what about the future? She reads further: Nancy Shute, (2001-2002), says that

in your 70s,

               1- Blood pressure ranges are 20-25% higher than they were in your

                   20s and artery walls are less flexible.

               2- Reaction time is slower as the brain ability to send messages to

                    the extremities slows.

               3- Due to brain changes, short-term memory and abilities to learn

                    new spoken material decline.

               4- Over 50% of men have signs of coronary artery disease.

               5- Sweat glands decline raising the risk of heat-stroke.

            Some of this information worries Dorothy. But she is even more frightened of

what her mother had: Alzheimer's Disease. She has had first hand experience with that

great trauma, and wonders if she has inherited it. So she studies further.

Cognitive Changes.

            Dorothy agrees with the following, as it makes sense to her: Robert C. Atchley,

(2000, pages 116-117), discussing Daniel Levinson's work places the late adulthood

transition from ages 60 to 65 as a period of boundary between middle adulthood and late

adulthood.

            But of more importance to Dorothy is finding the following information:

Jill Quadagno, (2002, page 189), lists the group percentage by age of people who get

Alzheimer's as less than one percent under age 75, but moving to 2.1% in the age group

75-79, up to 4.7% in the 80-84 year olds, then 10.8 in the 85-89 age bracket, finishing

with 24.8% in the 90-94 year old age category.

            The dementia figures are a bit higher. Beginning in the 65-69 age group, the

incidence of dementia is 1.4%, then it climbs to 2.6% in the 70-74 years, to 4.7% in the

group 75-79 years old, growing to 8.7% in the 80-84 age category, followed by 15.8% in

the 85-89 year olds, and finally 29.0% in the 90-94 year old population.

            She still does not know if she might inherit Alzheimer's' Disease, but she now

knows that it seems to be more possible the older she gets.

Social and Family Changes (the Social Clock).

            Dorothy still is very involved with her family, although Charles seems to be

disengaging. Sometimes the family seems to be less respectful and almost seem to talk

through her. She feels less appreciated than before and her advice is not as welcome.

Dorothy finds the following: In Becca Levy's (Levy, 2001) article on ageism, the concept

of "implicit ageism" is defined and elaborated. She asserts that:

         1- ageism operates "without conscious awareness or control,"

         2- society socializes each member with in its stereotypes of aging, and

         3- most ageism is negative.

            Levy also quotes from the research of her colleague, M.R. Banaji (Banaji, 1999),

that "95% of the participants had negative views of old people."

            Dorothy realizes the truth of ageism. It is like any other form of prejudice, is

based on the concept that all people of a certain age range will behave in the same

manner. It negates the uniqueness of individuals by "pre judging" members of artificial

categories to be nearly copies of each other. Even her family seems to be a part of this

tragedy.

Spiritual and Personal Growth and Identity.

            Dorothy, like many older women, now finds that religion and introspection are

vital in her life. She further recognizes the strains of her life:  Barbara H. Lemme, (2002,

page 62), reports that after age 60 or Later Life, their are a number of adjustments to

make, including: retirement and reduced income, decreasing physical strength, living

arrangements (especially if one's spouse has died), and making an affiliation with one's

own age group.

Multicultural Variations.

            Dorothy and Charles like to keep to themselves when it comes to "colored folks"

or certain religious orders. They remember well the days of segregation and are not sure

if they like the new ways of society. Perhaps the old ways were best. Then they come

upon an article that upsets them:

            William J. Hoyer and associates, (2003, page 171), charts suicide rates by age,

gender, and race. From the age group 65-74 and above, white male suicide rates climb

very dramatically with only a modest increase for non-white males and nearly no growth

in the rates form white women and non-white women. By age 85, his chart suggests that

nearly 60 older white men commit suicide out of 100,000 population. Non-white men top

off at about 18 / 100,000 in the 25-34 age range and are only about 10 / 100,000 in the

years 85+. At no time do the women exceed 9 / 100,000 in successful suicides.

            Why, they wonder, is this information suggesting that white males, who should be

a bit superior, are having a problem with suicide?

Employment and Career or Retirement Issues.

            Charles retired a decade ago and Dorothy retired about 5 years ago. They have

sufficient income for their needs, having worked at good jobs with pensions. Charles

work for the same employer his whole life. Dorothy had more than one employer, since

her work life was interrupted by children and adult care giving responsibilities for her

own mother. Her mother died 3 years ago and now they truly have an "empty nest."