Assessment Item 2: Option 2

Assessment Item 2: Option 2

Introduction

Ageing is one of the topics that have been of interest since years for researchers. There have been many studies in relation to ageing and aspects surrounding it while the scientific study of aging and adulthood has also emerged since the past century. Studies then provided with concepts such as normative ageing, positive ageing and successful ageing. The concept of successful ageing proposed by Rowe & Kahn (1987) has though received a lot of attention in the recent years in studies and researches. Various components are identified to be vital for successful ageing and reasons are also provided for considering them to be of importance for successful ageing. This paper also identifies some of the components essential for successful ageing and then move on to explain what I intend to do to age successfully.

Discussion

Successful ageing has been the subject of a lot of research since the past few decades and various aspects have been highlighted by researchers in relation to it. Two important models related to successful ageing include that of Rowe and Kahn (1998) and that of Baltes and Baltes (1990).

Models of Successful Ageing

The concept of 'successful ageing' provided by Rowe and Kahn in 1998 has received a lot of recognition in the recent years. This notion is thus associated with the wellbeing of old age people and has influenced the fields of nursing, social work, and social care. The researchers identified 'successful' old aged people to be those who remain healthy and socially engaged. According to their definition of successful ageing, the concept comprises of three components i.e. 'avoidance of disease and disability, maintenance of cognitive and physical function, and sustained engagement with life' (Rowe and Kahn, 1998). This implies that it is not just the low probability of disease and disease related disability, but also cognitive and physical functional capacity along with active engagement in life including maintaining their social relations and day to day activities, that are essential for individuals to be considered as aging 'successfully'.

Apart from Rowe and Kahn's concept of successful ageing, the model that has received a lot of recognition is that of Baltes and Baltes (1990) known as Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC). This model suggests successful ageing to be an adaptation process which employs strategies of selection, optimization and compensation. Though these are the components that people generally employ throughout their lives but at this age they are unique since people in old age tend to have a low level of biological, mental and social reserves and also lose some of their functions. The model basically requires from old age people to select the domains that they value more so that they are able to sustain and concentrate on them. It also requires engaging in behaviours that help in succeeding in those domains that they have selected. Lastly, according to this model it is required to use other means such as technology or mnemonics so that the set goals can be achieved ...