Contemporary Issues Facing Aging Americans: Implications for Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling. (Contemporary Issues in Aging)
2003; University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences; Volume: 69; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0022-4154
AutoresCharlotte G. Dixon, Michael Richard, Carolyn W. Rollins,
Tópico(s)Retirement, Disability, and Employment
ResumoOver a decade ago, the Journal of Rehabilitation featured several articles on aging and disability. At that time, a number of salient issues were facing rehabilitation professionals as they prepared to meet the needs of older persons with disabilities. These issues included determining the future direction of geriatric rehabilitation (i.e., research, training, service), establishing a unified agenda for the aging and disability communities, and the increased incidence of aging among persons with disabilities (Kemp, Brummel-Smith, & Plowman, 1989; Lewis, 1989; Zola,. 1989). As rehabilitation and mental health counselors transition into the 21st Century, many of these concerns have given way to seemingly more perplexing issues such as dwindling social security income, increased life expectancy, the phenomenal growth of the aging population, long term care needs, age discrimination and the like. A large portion of the literature regarding aging Americans have focused on the impending retirement of the Boom (e.g., those persons born in the United States between 1946 and 1964) and the impact of their retirement on various aspects of American life (i.e., social security, employment, long term care, etc.) (Dennis & Migliaccio, 1997; Thomas, 1999; Wellner, 1999). Persons 85 and older constitute the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population and are projected to double to more than 70 million by 2030 (Administration on Aging, 2000). Minority persons, who constitute the fastest growing segment of the elderly population, are expected to increase more than 500% by the middle of the next century (Scharlach, Fuller-Thomson, & Kramer, 1999). For example, the Hispanic elderly population is projected to increase sevenfold between 1990 and 2050, while the African American elderly population is projected to increase by more than 200%. According to the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (NAAAA) (1999), the number of baby boomers are currently estimated at 76 million and constitute one of the most educated and publicized generations in the country. Aging Americans are a very heterogenous group possessing significant within group differences. For example, the elderly of today and those of tomorrow, (the Baby Boom generation) constitute two significantly different cohort groups. Consequently, contemporary issues facing aging Americans will impact these groups very differently. For example, persons who are now in their 60s were born in the early 1930s; a time when the United States was coming out of a the Depression. They may remember World War II as part of their adolescent years, the beginning of the space race as they entered into young adulthood, experienced the turmoil of the 60s, Viet Nam, the Civil Rights and Women's Right Movement as middle-aged adults. Many of these persons grew up expecting to work in the family business when they came of age. Within this same cohort are also those persons who were expected to enter through the back door, drink from the colored fountain, and not expected to look their counterpart in the eye. For this latter group, their experiences may have included overt racism and discrimination, encounters with groups such as the Klu Klux Klan, being denied admission to all white institutions of higher learning and limited access to employment opportunities. Members of the baby boom generation are now ranging in age between 35 and 53 and have considerably different life experiences from their older cohorts. Members of this cohort experienced the 1960s as teenagers. Some likely were the flower children, and Viet Nam war veterans, protesters and draft dodgers. Some marched with Martin Luther King, Jr., were followers of Malcolm X, watched Jackie Robinson and other African American athletes break barriers and gain entry into professional sports. Others matured alone with musical groups such as the Beatles, the Monkeys and the Jackson Five and were introduced to desegregated high schools, culturally and/or ethnically diverse peers during college or military service. …
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