GERO 200 Lecture 11: GERO 200 Lecture 11 (2/6/17)
Document Summary
Most older adults are in good mental health. Optimists have better health in old age. Declining mental health is not part of normal aging. Vast majority of 65+ have good mental health. Age-related changes in mental health involve correlations between age and mental health status. Depression is most common psychopathology with about 8-20% having minor depression and 1% having clinical depression. High cognitive performance associated with education, strenuous activity, peak pulmonary flow, and strong sense of self-efficacy. Education provides motivation for lifelong learning and mentally stimulating activities. Memory stages: sensory, paying attention, storing after encoding. Cognition: thinking about situations and awareness of the world around us. How well we think of something our senses pick up. Memory complaints are common among older adults. Complaints aren"t related to performance, most are from those with best memory skills. Memory complaints are thought to be a product of self-appraisal than performance.
