Reference no: EM132617667

Discussion: Your initial discussion thread is due and you have to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses.

Theories of Aging the Life Course

After completing this week's reading, address the following:

• In Chapter 1, it presents that gerontologists are increasingly interested in life course and intersections of identity in relation to aging and later life outcomes. Explain why this is important.

• In this course, we discuss those who are over the age of 55. In Chapter 3, the concepts of the young old, and old old, as well as the oldest old are presented. Describe who fall under each of these terms.

• The Chapter 1 reading covers the various ways gerontologists perform research. Present at least three reasons why it is important for research to be performed on the demographic of those aged over 55.

• Now it is your turn to perform some research of your own! Contact a person who would fall into one of the categories of old age (i.e., young old, old old, or oldest old) and interview them about how their lives have changed since they reached the milestone of being an older adult. In your post, include a brief synopsis of what you learned with regard to that person's activities which may link to some of the concepts presented in Chapter 2: living arrangements, housing, illnesses, relationships (with partners and family), social support networks, specifics associated with race, gender, or sexual orientation, and employment situation. Based upon your Chapter 3 reading, which theory (or theories) provides the best theoretical framework for understanding the process of aging for the person that you interviewed? Be sure to support your answer. This part of the discussion should be a minimum of 300 words.

Your initial full post should be at least 600 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references. The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. For help writing a great discussion post, see this video guide. Respond to at least two of your classmates' posts.