**SAMHSA\'s National Mental Health Information Center**

![](media/image1.png){width="2.9166666666666665in"
height="0.4375in"}**Older Americans Month\
May 2000**

**Aging Quiz**

**True or False?**

1.  Older people can often be organized to work toward solutions to
    their own problems.

2.  A less expensive and often adequate alternative to nursing homes for
    older people who need care is an adult residential care facility.

3.  Older adults can take care of themselves, which is why there is no
    protective services program for older people, comparable to those
    provided for children.

4.  Older people are all alike.

5.  The older you get, the less you sleep.

6.  The majority of older adults will become senile (defective memory,
    disoriented, demented) during old age.

7.  Most older adults have difficulty adapting to change; they are set
    in their ways.

8.  Older adults are incapable of learning new information; you can\'t
    teach an old dog new tricks.

9.  The majority of older adults say that they are happy most of the
    time.

10. Most older adults are rejected by their children.

11. The majority of older adults say that they are lonely.

12. Old age can be best characterized as a second childhood.

13. Most older adults tend to be preoccupied with death.

14. Retirement is detrimental to an individual\'s health. \"Six months
    ago he retired and now he\'s dead\--retirement killed him.\"

15. Rarely does someone over the age of 65 produce a great work of art,
    science, or scholarship.

*Based on [Social Work Careers
Quiz](http://www.abacon.com/socwk/quiz/older.html) from Allyn & Bacon
Publishers, a quiz from the [University of
Illinois](http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/wims/wims4c.html), and a quiz by
Linda Woolf at [Webster
University](http://www.websteruniv.edu/~woolflm/myth.html).*

**Multiple Choice**

1\. What is the maximum life span for humans?

100 years\
110 years\
120 years\
125 years

2\. What is the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population?

Those under age 5\
Those between ages 35 and 45\
Those between ages 55 and 65\
Those over age 85

3\. What was the life expectancy at birth in the U.S. at the turn of the
20th century?

18 years\
31 years\
47 years\
73 years

4\. What is the life expectancy at birth in the U.S. today?

64 years\
76 years\
80 years\
83 years

5\. What portion of your physical health in later life is due to
heredity?

One-quarter\
One-third\
One-half\
Two-thirds

6\. What percentage of Americans over age 65 live in nursing homes?

5 percent\
10 percent\
20 percent\
30 percent

*Based on a quiz from the [Mayo
Clinic](http://www.mayohealth.org/mayo/9907/htm/aging1q.htm).*

**Answers: True or False**

1.  True. Organizations such as the American Association of Retired
    Persons and the National Council on Aging are large and effective
    groups that provide vehicles for older people to help themselves.

2.  True. Boarding homes or adult residential care facilities often
    provide adequate care for older adults who cannot care for
    themselves for lower costs and with less restriction on the older
    person\'s freedom.

3.  False. Adult protective services is an important program designed to
    help older people who are abused, neglected, and exploited, which is
    a growing social problem in the United States.

4.  False. Because they have had so many different life experiences,
    older people tend to be more different than alike.

5.  False. In later life, it\'s the quality of sleep that declines, not
    the number of hours. Older people may have waking periods at night,
    but they tend to nap more during the day.

6.  False. Contrary to popular stereotype, dementia is not a normal part
    of aging or inevitable. Statistics will vary depending on the study,
    but most estimate that approximately 2-3 percent of older adults in
    their seventies experience some form of dementia, 5-10 percent of
    older adults in their eighties, and may jump to between 20-30
    percent of older adults in the nineties. These statistics include
    mild as well as severe forms of dementia.

7.  False. Older adults are no more rigid than younger adults. This
    tends to be a relatively stable personality characteristic. Thus,
    individuals who are rigid and have difficulty adapting to change in
    young adulthood will probably have these same difficulties when they
    become older.

8.  False. Older adults are capable of learning new information (as
    demonstrated by the number of older adults who are highly computer
    literate and actively involved on the WWW). There is some research
    that states that older adults may take a little longer to learn new
    information and may use different learning strategies (probably the
    result of generational differences). Research on memory (obviously
    highly related to ability to learn) is highly contradictory
    concerning changes with age. Research has clearly demonstrated,
    however, that the memory performance of healthy older adults can be
    improved with memory training (unless suffering from dementia).
    Thus, older adults who are concerned about their memory might want
    to consider a memory training course/seminar.

9.  True. The majority of older adults report high levels of life
    satisfaction. The more socially active an individual is, the higher
    the life satisfaction. Thus, it is important to remain involved in
    informal, intimate activities. In addition, health is correlated
    with life satisfaction. Thus, individuals of any age who are in poor
    health are likely to experience lower levels of life satisfaction.

10. True. Older adults are not rejected by their children simply as a
    function of their age. You will hear people say something like
    \"Mrs. Jones is 75 years old, living in a nursing home, and her
    children never visit. They have just tossed her away because she\'s
    old.\" Chances are Mrs. Smith and her children have other family
    issues that preclude close contact, e.g., they don\'t like each
    other. In reality, studies have demonstrated that over 70 percent of
    older adults have a child living in close proximity (within 30
    minutes). Over half of these individuals have visited with one of
    their children within two days prior to being surveyed. Close
    families do not fall apart simply because the parent has aged.

11. False. Loneliness is one of the greatest fears that people associate
    with old age. Yet, over two-thirds of older adults report being
    rarely or if ever lonely. This may parallel the degree of loneliness
    experienced by young and middle adults. Often, this fear of
    loneliness is based on the thought of losing a spouse and subsequent
    isolation. This fear is not based on reality for most individuals.
    The majority of men remarry after the loss of a spouse. Women,
    however, are more likely to become involved in new social
    relationships and friendships with other widows. Research has also
    demonstrated that urban living is associated with higher levels of
    loneliness. Individuals within small towns report lower levels of
    loneliness.

12. False. The life span is unidirectional. Older adults are adults and
    should be treated as such even if the elder is incapacitated by
    illness. Additionally, myth asserts the reversal of roles between
    parent and child. Thus, adult children caring for unwell parents may
    say they have taken on the role of the parent and the elders have
    become the children. However, caring for an unwell parent is not the
    equivalent of role reversal. In fact, true role reversal is viewed
    as dysfunctional.

13. False. Death is an inevitable factor of life. Attitudes toward death
    are highly variable but some general trends can be noted in the
    United States. In general, older adults are less anxious and more
    matter-of-fact about death. As they move through the life span, they
    lose friends and family members and begin to accept their own
    mortality. This enables the older adult to speak more freely about
    death and dying. Most young adults in the United States avoid
    thinking about or discussing death. Thus, if an older adult brings
    up the topic of death, he or she may be accused of being preoccupied
    with death. Rather, it is the younger adult who is preoccupied with
    not discussing death.

14. False. Retirement does not kill people. For the vast majority of
    older adults, retirement is a positive experience. There is high
    retirement satisfaction, particularly for those who planned for
    their retirement. Those who tend to die following retirement usually
    retired because they were not well in the first place. For example,
    an individual has a heart attack and decides to retire. He has
    another heart attack shortly thereafter and dies. Retirement did not
    kill this individual; heart disease killed him.

15. False. The creative and scholarly work of older adults is truly
    amazing. One study demonstrated that the 60s (age, not decade) are
    the most productive years for historians, botanists, inventors,
    philosophers, and writers. Whether it is Goethe finishing Faust at
    82, Michelangelo finishing the dome of St. Peter\'s, or Cervantes
    writing Don Quixote at 68, the evidence for great works after 65 is
    clearly apparent. I.F. Stone authored *The Trial of Socrates* while
    in his 80s. In his acknowledgments he wrote, \"Finally, I pour a
    libation to my Macintosh word processor. Its large fat black
    24-point Chicago Bold type enabled me to overcome a cataract and
    write the book,\" thus shattering many of the myths concerning
    aging.

**Answers: Multiple Choice**

1.  120 years. In most species, maximum life span is approximately 6
    times the length of time from birth to maturity. Apply this to
    humans, and 120 years would be a maximum life span. However, some
    species of fish routinely live 140 years. The oldest living organism
    is a 4,862-year-old pine tree. Since these species do not appear to
    have a genetic built-in limit to aging, humans may not either. But
    it may be centuries before humans routinely live to be 120 or older.

2.  Those over age 85. Thanks in part to advances in preventive medicine
    and health care, more and more people are living into their 80s,
    90s, and beyond. Today, there are roughly 61,000 people age 100 or
    older (centenarians) in the United States. By the middle of the 21st
    century, that number could increase to 600,000.

3.  47 years. Until fairly recently, people did not live through middle
    age, let alone beyond age 65. Infectious diseases were rampant,
    medicine was primitive, and nutrition was poor at best. A woman born
    in 1841 could expect to live to age 42, and a man to 41.

4.  76 years. Many people now reach the later years and continue to
    thrive. Each day in the United States, about 5,000 people reach age
    65, and about 3,600 people age 65 and older die. This net increase
    of 1,400 people a day is changing the makeup of U.S. society.

5.  One-third. Research has dispelled the notion that one\'s genes are
    destiny. Certain key habits help people age well, including getting
    regular exercise, eating a balanced diet, maintaining a positive
    attitude, avoiding tobacco products, and limiting alcohol intake.

6.  5 percent. Although many people assume that loss of independence is
    an inevitable part of aging, most people do not lose it or do not
    lose all of it. Even among people age 85 or older, only about one in
    five lives in a nursing home.