Unit 2

Overview

We are creating a foundation for our learning that moves from the individual level to the social and population levels. We will consider the demographic landscape, the contextual factors that influence individual development and aging in adulthood, and the biopsychosocial approach used to study and understand adult development and aging as introduced in Unit 1.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this unit, be comfortable in your ability to:

• Identify basic population-level aging demographics.
• Recognize the individual and social implications of population aging.
• Describe major diseases and risk factors associated with adult aging.
• Demonstrate a basic understanding of the building blocks of knowledge about adult aging.
• Reflect upon your own experience of age and aging.

Instructional Materials & Assignments

• Read 2.1 Chapter 2: Demography of Aging, by Whitbourne & Whitbourne, from the online text The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of adulthood and aging. U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell. (See if available through your library.)
• Read the Healthy Aging Fact Sheet 2018
• Read the Profile of Older Americans 2017 for more up-to-date demographic data.
• Read Where does Age Reside?
• Read "Building Blocks of Gerontological Knowledge," pages 21-26. (See if available through your Library.)
  • Sasser, J. R., & Moody, H.R. (2018). Gerontology: The basics. Abingdon, Oxon, U.K.: Routledge. ISBN (ebk): 978-351-11323-6
• Unit 2 Discussion: Adding More Layers & Making Connections

References

1. Whitbourne, S. K. and Whitbourne, S. B. (2012). (Ch. 2) Demography of Aging. In The Wiley‐Blackwell Handbook of Adulthood and Aging (eds S. K. Whitbourne and M. J. Sliwinski). doi:10.1002/9781118392966.ch2
2. Healthy Aging 2018. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ncoa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018-Healthy-Aging-Fact-Sheet-7.10.18-1.pdf
3. Sasser, J. R., & Moody, H. R. (2018). Gerontology: The Basics. Routledge.
4. Older Americans Profile 2017. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://acl.gov/sites/default/files/Aging%20and%20Disability%20in%20America/2017OlderAmericansProfile.pdf