| CODE | GDM5113 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | PsychoSocial Aspects of Ageing and Dementia: Theory and Research | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Gerontology and Dementia Studies | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Ageing is a psychosocially interesting phenomenon because although it is a virtually universal experience, it occurs within very diverse and complex social and power dynamic contexts, including socio-economic grouping, health status, access to financial resources, gender, ethnicity and geographical location. From a psychological standpoint, this study-unit examines the theoretical issues and research findings in the psychology of ageing with special reference to older persons with dementia. It provides a critical analysis of the process of ageing and how it affects lifelong psychological processes. This study-unit discusses if and how personality changes throughout the life course, seeking to understand the key processes associated with cognitive function and ageing, whilst also examining the interface between intellectual functioning and dementia. It describes and elaborates upon theoretical perspectives, concepts and issues on ageing, physical and health changes, cognitive functioning, relationships, personality and ageing, mental health problems in later life, and difficulties when testing older people as well as the psychological impact of caregiving. The sociological aspect of this study-unit rebuts the traditional grounding of ageing studies in problem assessing and addressing, and which as a result pathologises the experience of ageing. Instead, this study-unit will turn its attention to that interface between individual and social ageing. Whilst it acknowledges the Marxist agenda investigating ageing in capitalist/welfare systems, it is highly attentive as to how interlocking systems of inequality - ranging from social class, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality - shape and influence the experience of ageing and later life. Moreover, it embeds the study of later life in a humanist rationale on the basis that science alone cannot make an adequate moral, spiritual, and aesthetic sense of later life. The sociology of ageing, however, also underlines the fact that since older people also act on the basis of their personal interpretations, the investigation of subjective entities such as self-perception and meaning is also at the centre of ageing studies. This study-unit will also address the need to nurture a social consciousness about the subjugated position of older women, who not only have to mitigate against ageism as the case with their male peers but also against sexism. Using insights from the sociology of the body, the unit will also discuss the extent that ‘society needs dementia to be medicalized, as, if it is classified as a disease, it holds out the prospect of a cure for ageing and for death’. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit aims to appraise and discuss theoretical perspectives and empirical research about normal and pathological psychological ageing in the latter parts of the life course. It will consider current evidence and beliefs about older adult development to confer what might be possibly done to improve the emotional wellbeing of older persons in general and those with dementia as well as their carers. Topics to be addressed include changes in personality, cognitive and intellectual functioning, social relationships, personality, and emotional wellbeing. Age differences and changes in biological and psychological competencies and their interplay will also be presented. This study-unit also aims to deliver a systematic understanding of the interaction between human lives and shifting social structures with regard to ageing. It explores the diversity of individual and population ageing, and their consequences for life-course ageing of families, through life cycle and social change perspectives. This study-unit also focuses on the ethical issues surrounding the treatment of older persons in society, the nature of ageing welfare policies, as well as the controversies surrounding issues of socio-economic equity in healthcare in later life. It also seeks to offer students with an outline of the range of sociological perspectives of ageing, and themes will include: theories of ageing, societal views of ageing, myths surrounding aging, social ageing, social change and ageing, ageism and age discrimination, elder abuse, work and retirement, poverty and social exclusion, income security, intergenerational solidarity, and death and dying. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding On completion of this study-unit, students will attain a full understanding of the psychosocial processes that accompany the transition from adulthood to later life - namely to: - identify the behavioral, cognitive, and psychosocial process of human ageing; - contrast modern and contemporary research on adult development and ageing; - differentiate between normal and pathological ageing transitions; - recognise the impact of background context on the emotional wellbeing of older persons, and those with dementia; - classify the psychosocial needs of persons with dementia; - report the impact of pathological psychological processes on individual wellbeing and familial relationships; - illustrate how sociological theories of ageing inform scholars and practitioners in the field of ageing on how the phenomenon of human ageing arises in contemporary industrial societies; - explain how empirical sociological research on ageing provides an analytical framework for understanding the interplay between human lives and changing social structures in later life; - recognise how the life course of older persons differs substantially according to class standing, gender, ethnic background, and sexuality; - demonstrate how despite the fact that social policy promises to uphold the status of older persons as active citizens, political economical currents mitigate against such an objective; - describe how prejudices, stereotypes and myths surrounding ageing and later life are the result of specific vested interests of professional bodies. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - appraise key psychological and sociological theories, concepts, and research findings associated ageing; - apply concepts of developmental psychology to late adulthood and later life; - categorise the diverse ways in which psychologists contribute to scientific knowledge and clinical practice within the multidisciplinary field of ageing and dementia studies; - administer basic principles from developmental, biographical and social psychology to the study of ageing and dementia care; - depict the key distinctions between normal and pathological age-related changes following late adulthood; - list psychosocial challenges that older persons face in their attempt to engage in active ageing lifestyles; - employ sociological theories of ageing to explain diverse patterns and inequalities in individual and collective ageing, and their consequences for citizens to age successfully and productively; - operate psychosocial knowledge to plan and implement problem solving and social change strategies within the community and care homes to improve the quality of life of older persons with dementia; - express how dementia care is, ultimately, a social construction whose foundation rests on diverse sociological norms and values. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Schaie, K.W. and Willis, S.L. (2015) Handbook of the Psychology of Aging (8th Ed). Netherlands: Elsevier. - Quadagno, J. (2018). Aging and The Life Course. New York:McGraw-Hill. Supplementary readings: - Castel, A.D. (2019) Better with Age: The Psychology of Successful Aging. New York: Oxford University Press. - Erber, J.T. and Szuchman, L.T. (2015). Great Myths of Aging. UK: Wiley Blackwell. - Formosa, M. (2015). Ageing policy in Malta: Issues, policies and future trends. Malta: Book Distributors Limited. - Formosa, M. and Scerri, C. (2015) (eds.) Population ageing in Malta: Multi-disciplinary perspectives. Malta: Malta University Press. - Stuart-Hamilton, I. (2011) (ed.) An introduction to gerontology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. - Settersten, R.A. and Angel., J.L. (2011) (eds.) Handbook of sociology of aging. New York: Springer. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Online Learning | ||||||||||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Christian Borg Xuereb |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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