Sociocultural Differences in Perspectives on Aging

ByAtlas Essays

In Sociocultural Differences in Perspectives on Aging assignment, respond to at least two colleagues who addressed cultures that are different from the ones you addressed.

  • Share an insight from reading your colleagues’ postings
  •  Describe how you might incorporate the cultural perspectives on aging described by your colleagues into your own social work practice.

 Be sure to support your Sociocultural Differences in Perspectives on Aging responses with specific references to the resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.

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Sociocultural Differences in Perspectives on Aging: Colleague 1: BM

Americans are living far longer than they have in the past, with the average age of death at approximately 77 years of age (Ryman, 2003).  This increase in years can possibly be attributed  to our advanced medical findings, ranging from research to cure, which have resulted in prolonging the lives of individuals who otherwise may not have lived as long.  With our citizens living longer, amenities for these individuals have also been revamped, including senior housing facilities and additional units included in nursing homes.  Furthermore, it is an unfortunate reality that the elderly population in our society is often considered as a burden (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 2016).  This can typically be heard when people refer to driving behind a senior citizen or shopping in the same stores.  Their habitually slower pace does not always align with our quick-paced, instantly-gratifying society, typical in the United States.  The mental and physical health of the elderly can also have an effect on society, with financial resources being allocated for this population, thus further prolonging their lives (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 2016).

In countries including Japan and China, however, the elderly are viewed with a much higher prestige than here in the United States.  Their role within their families, particularly as they age, becomes more ingrained, with the majority of the elderly living with their grown children and their children (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 2016).  This becomes the expectation.  In these cultures, the elderly are viewed as wise, possessing a knowledge that can only be obtained with years spent on the planet.  On the contrary if grown children consider a nursing home for their parents, they are actually considered uncaring and non-traditional (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 2016).  Additionally, the Indian culture reveres their elderly population, again often living in joint families.  The patriarch in these families is often the grandfather or great grandfather.  It is customary for the grandparents to have a direct hand in raising the grandchildren, including the child care and decision making regarding the children (Ryman, 2003).

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The difference between the United States and the other aforementioned viewpoints on aging can most likely be directly linked to the pace of society.  The United States prides itself on technology, economics and the resulting power.  While these are certainly aspects that have crafted America into the country it is today, some may argue that sense of family and the importance of forged relationships have been lost.  This would coincide with the different views our country holds on aging.  Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman (2016) referenced our elderly population as being a burden on society, simply because they cannot maintain the rigor of today’s world.  This is in sharp contrast to other cultures in which the elderly population is revered for their wisdom of experience.  This difference in viewpoint will certainly impact upon social work practice.  It would be essential for the professional to understand the cultural elements that come into play when dealing with the elderly.  A Chinese grandmother, for example, may have a very different story to share than an American grandmother who is being moved to a nursing home.  Cultural competence, yet again, plays such an integral role.

Sociocultural Differences in Perspectives on Aging Colleague 2: Sk

The concept of aging and how various society reacts to it may vary in a number of ways; the American culture views aging differently from the Japanese and Latinos. NCBI (2009) states aging in the U.S. occurs against the backdrop of cultural ideologies such as the Protestant work ethic and the American Dream, which define personal worth in terms of active engagement in work, individual achievement, and responsibility for control over one’s own actions. This perspective looks at the American culture as one that looks at the worth of a person in regards to their age and how they function as they age. Aging has more benign meanings in Japan than the U.S. Japanese conceptions of aging are rooted in Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist philosophical traditions that characterize aging as maturity; old age is thus understood as a socially valuable part of life, even a time of “spring” or “rebirth” after a busy period of working and raising children. The Japanese culture sees their elderly as a wealth of knowledge because they have gained so much experience which shows they do not look at what they have to contribute physically. Latinos are another group that their culture embraces their elderly and so they seek to make them an active part of their society because of the insights they have that is cruicial to the upbringing of the younger generations. In Latino cultures the elderly are believed to have inner strength. The elderly also consider themselves to be important members of the family and not ashamed to ask for help; Latino elderly continue to occupy a central role in the family and are treated with respect, status), and authority (MHAGING 2016).

These differences exist simply because of how these society view there elderly, industrialization, and how individuals can contribute to the advancement of their society. Zastrow, & Kirst-Ashman, (2016) states our society fears aging more than other societies do; industrialization resulted in a demand for laborers who are energetic, agile, and strong. With this industrialization more modern societies like the United States would embrace this change because it propels them on the economic ladder which is not possible with elderly working so they are better suited in settings that are far less demanding which unfortunately makes them redundant. Whereas Japanese and Latinos have advanced with the time they have not lost the concept that their elderly are valuable so they keep them as their wealth of knowledge instead of looking at them as not being valuable to their society anymore. Different perspectives on aging might impact social work practice significantly because the service the social workers will advocate for will be highly dependent on how these cultures view the need of help. In the Japanese and Latinos culture it is more likely for them to rely on their family for help and support in taking care of them when they are older so they will deem the social work agencies as interfering. This will affect the way they communicate with the social worker so it all comes down to the social worker being culturally competent which will allow them to be very empathetic and sensitive to these individuals in order to develop a good relationship. Elders in the American culture may not be as sensitive to working with the social workers because they are more cases of elderly living alone and without families so they need the help of social services. Suffice it to say that social worker have to be competent in any culture that they work with in order to advocate for services that will empower them in their later years.

Participation for MSN

Threaded Discussion Guiding Principles

The ideas and beliefs underpinning the threaded discussions (TDs) guide students through engaging dialogues as they achieve the desired learning outcomes/competencies associated with their course in a manner that empowers them to organize, integrate, apply and critically appraise their knowledge to their selected field of practice. The use of TDs provides students with opportunities to contribute level-appropriate knowledge and experience to the topic in a safe, caring, and fluid environment that models professional and social interaction. The TD’s ebb and flow is based upon the composition of student and faculty interaction in the quest for relevant scholarship. Participation in the TDs generates opportunities for students to actively engage in the written ideas of others by carefully reading, researching, reflecting, and responding to the contributions of their peers and course faculty. TDs foster the development of members into a community of learners as they share ideas and inquiries, consider perspectives that may be different from their own, and integrate knowledge from other disciplines.

Participation Guidelines

Each weekly threaded discussion is worth up to 25 points. Students must post a minimum of two times in each graded thread. The two posts in each individual thread must be on separate days. The student must provide an answer to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week. If the student does not provide an answer to each graded thread topic (not a response to a student peer) before the Wednesday deadline, 5 points are deducted for each discussion thread in which late entry occurs (up to a 10-point deduction for that week). Subsequent posts, including essential responses to peers, must occur by the Sunday deadline, 11:59 p.m. MT of each week.

Direct Quotes

Good writing calls for the limited use of direct quotes. Direct quotes in Threaded Discussions are to be limited to one short quotation (not to exceed 15 words). The quote must add substantively to the discussion. Points will be deducted under the Grammar, Syntax, APA category.

Grading Rubric Guidelines

Performance Category 10 9 8 4 0

Scholarliness

Demonstrates achievement of scholarly inquiry for professional and academic decisions.
  • Provides relevant evidence of scholarly inquiry clearly stating how the evidence informed or changed professional or academic decisions
  • Evaluates literature resources to develop a comprehensive analysis or synthesis.
  • Uses valid, relevant, and reliable outside sources to contribute to the threaded discussion
  • Provides relevant evidence of scholarly inquiry but does not clearly state how the evidence informed or changed professional or academic decisions.
  • Evaluates information from source(s) to develop a coherent analysis or synthesis.
  • Uses some valid, relevant, reliable outside sources to contribute to the threaded discussion.
  • Discusses using scholarly inquiry but does not state how scholarly inquiry informed or changed professional or academic decisions.
  • Information is taken from source(s) with some interpretation/evaluation, but not enough to develop a coherent analysis or synthesis.
  • Little valid, relevant, or reliable outside sources are used to contribute to the threaded discussion.
  • Demonstrates little or no understanding of the topic.
  • Discusses using scholarly inquiry but does not state how scholarly inquiry informed or changed professional or academic decisions.
  • Information is taken from source(s) without any interpretation/evaluation.
  • The posting uses information that is not valid, relevant, or reliable
  • No evidence of the use of scholarly inquiry to inform or change professional or academic decisions.
  • Information is not valid, relevant, or reliable
Performance Category  10 9 8 4 0

Application of Course Knowledge –

Demonstrate the ability to analyze, synthesize, and/or apply principles and concepts learned in the course lesson and outside readings and relate them to real-life professional situations
  • Posts make direct reference to concepts discussed in the lesson or drawn from relevant outside sources;
  • Applies concepts to personal experience in the professional setting and or relevant application to real life.
  • Posts make direct reference to concepts discussed in the lesson or drawn from relevant outside sources.
  • Applies concepts to personal experience in their professional setting and or relevant application to real life
  • Interactions with classmates are relevant to the discussion topic but do not make direct reference to lesson content
  • Posts are generally on topic but do not build knowledge by incorporating concepts and principles from the lesson.
  • Does not attempt to apply lesson concepts to personal experience in their professional setting and or relevant application to real life
  • Does not demonstrate a solid understanding of the principles and concepts presented in the lesson
  • Posts do not adequately address the question posed either by the discussion prompt or the instructor’s launch post.
  • Posts are superficial and do not reflect an understanding of the lesson content
  • Does not attempt to apply lesson concepts to personal experience in their professional setting and or relevant application to real life
  • Posts are not related to the topics provided by the discussion prompt or by the instructor; attempts by the instructor to redirect the student are ignored
  • No discussion of lesson concepts to personal experience in the professional setting and or relevant application to real life
Performance Category  5 4 3 2 0

Interactive Dialogue

Replies to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week, and posts a minimum of two times in each graded thread, on separate days.

(5 points possible per graded thread)
  • Exceeds minimum post requirements
  • Replies to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week, and posts three or more times in each graded thread, over three separate days.
  • Replies to a post posed by faculty and to a peer
  • Summarizes what was learned from the lesson, readings, and other student posts for the week.
  • Replies to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week, and posts a minimum of two times in each graded thread, on separate days
  • Replies to a question posed by a peer

Summarizes what was learned from the lesson, readings, and other student posts for the week.
  • Meets expectations of 2 posts on 2 different days.
  • The main post is not made by the Wednesday deadline
  • Does not reply to a question posed by a peer or faculty
  • Has only one post for the week
  • Discussion posts contain few, if any, new ideas or applications; often are a rehashing or summary of other students’ comments
  • Does not post to the thread
  • No connections are made to the topic
Minus 1 Point Minus 2 Point Minus 3 Point Minus 4 Point Minus 5 Point
Grammar, Syntax, APA

Note: if there are only a few errors in these criteria, please note this for the student in as an area for improvement. If the student does not make the needed corrections in upcoming weeks, then points should be deducted.

Points deducted for improper grammar, syntax and APA style of writing.

The source of information is the APA Manual 6th Edition
  • 2-3 errors in APA format.
  • Written responses have 2-3 grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors.
  • Writing style is generally clear, focused, and facilitates communication.
  • 4-5 errors in APA format.
  • Writing responses have 4-5 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors.
  • Writing style is somewhat focused.
  • 6-7 errors in APA format.
  • Writing responses have 6-7 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors.
  • Writing style is slightly focused making discussion difficult to understand.
  • 8-10 errors in APA format.
  • Writing responses have 8-10 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors.
  • Writing style is not focused, making discussion difficult to understand.
  • Post contains greater than 10 errors in APA format.
  • Written responses have more than 10 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors.
  • Writing style does not facilitate communication.
  • The student continues to make repeated mistakes in any of the above areas after written correction by the instructor
0 points lost -5 points lost

Total Participation Requirements

per discussion thread

 The student answers the threaded discussion question or topic on one day and posts a second response on another day. The student does not meet the minimum requirement of two postings on two different days

Early Participation Requirement

per discussion thread

 The student must provide a substantive answer to the graded discussion question(s) or topic(s), posted by the course instructor (not a response to a peer), by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT of each week. The student does not meet the requirement of a substantive response to the stated question or topic by Wednesday at 11:59 pm MT.

NOTE: To receive credit for a week’s discussion, students may begin posting no earlier than the Sunday immediately before each week opens. Unless otherwise specified, access to most weeks begins on Sunday at 12:01 a.m. MT, and that week’s assignments are due by the next Sunday by 11:59 p.m. MT. Week 8 opens at 12:01 a.m. MT Sunday and closes at 11:59 p.m. MT Wednesday. Any assignments and all discussion requirements must be completed by 11:59 p.m. MT Wednesday of the eighth week.

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