Introduction

Ageing is a universal, intrinsic, progressive and deleterious process. In general

it is also be defined as the wearing of the structures and functions that reach a
peak or plateau during development and maturations of the individuals.
Aging represents the accumulation of changes in a human being over time,
encompassing physical, psychological, and social changes. Reaction time, for
example, may slow with age, while knowledge of world events and wisdom
may expand.
Aging is associated with changes in dynamic biological, physiological,
environmental, psychological, behavioral, and social processes. Some age-
related changes are benign, such as graying hair. Others result in declines in
function of the senses and activities of daily life and increased susceptibility to
and frequency of disease, frailty, or disability. In fact, advancing age is the
major risk factor for a number of chronic diseases in humans.
The following paragraph will talks about the biological, social and
psychological theories that on my own opinion, it greatly affect our geriatric
population.
Biological theory (Environmental Theory)

There are environmental effects on Age-associated diseases and changes in

organ function. Aging is not, in and of itself, a disease. However, this biologic
changes associated with aging can reasonably be expected to be associated with
parallel changes in susceptibility to disease. For some diseases, such as those for
which early antigenic stimulation produces lifelong immunity, resistance
usually increases and incidence falls with age. For other diseases, such as those
reflecting cumulative, chronic exposures, rates might increase with age.
Susceptibility to disease changes throughout the human life cycle and is
believed to be a function of many factors, including changes in the immune
system and in the rate of cellular division. Thus, exposures to carcinogens or
neurotoxins in in old age might produce stronger responses than those occurring
in the middle stages of life. Although there are reasonable theoretical grounds
for expecting some disease patterns to be normal functions of age. This
determine both the natural occurrence of diseases with aging and changes in
immune response and in metabolic throughout the life cycle.
For example, in response to bacterial infections or wounds, inflammation is an
essential part of the recovery and healing process. However, low-level chronic
inflammation that appears in the absence of clinically diagnosed infection may
increase the susceptibility to and rate of progression of age-related pathologies.
Chronic inflammation may also contribute to frailty in ways that are
independent of overt disease.
Other factors that I think that greatly effects aging is exposure to possible
carcinogens.
Cancer itself is caused by changes to certain genes that alter the way our cells
functions. Some of these genetic changes occur naturally when DNA is
replicated during the process of cell division. But other are the result of
environmental exposures that damage DNA. These exposures may include
substances, such as the chemicals in tobacco smoke or radiation, such as
ultraviolet rays from the sun.
Though people can avoid some cancer- causing exposures, such as tobacco
smoke and the sun’s rays. But other ones are harder to avoid, especially if they
are in the air we breathe, just like if the location of the house the elderly is
staying is near to a factory that emits a fume that is from Asbestos, Benzene,
Benzidine, 1,3-Butadiene, Coal Tar and Coal-Tar Pitch or Coke-Oven
Emissions. Even in the water we drink, such as the soda, carbonated drinks, the
food we eat, those process food, can goods, frozen preserve food. And also even
on the materials we use to do our jobs, like the plastics, this are all contributing
factors that many studies have shown a relation of environmental factors that
highly affects the natural aging process.

This image shows how environmental exposure to carcinogens affects an

individual.
Sociological Theory (Continuity Theory)
In Social theories of aging, it is said that aging are expected progression from
midlife to older life based on social factors. The social theories attempt to
explain how certain people age well. We are not talking about how some people
don’t get wrinkles or gray hair as they get older, but we are talking about who
don’t despair or become despair.
Continuity Theory talks about on how to
maintain the same relationship and
activities as they were, when young. In
which I believed this shows an interesting
social adaptation in our geriatric
populations.

This continuity theory of normal ageing

states that older adults is usually to
maintain the same activities, behaviors,
relationships, as they did in their earlier
years of life. This theory is one of the three
major psychosocial theories which describes how people developed in old age,
how a person has been throughout life is how that person will continue through
the remainder of life.
Old age is not a separate phase of life, but rather a continuation and this an
integral component. For examples, Elders attend to continue with important
activities, to perceive activities as continuous. Though successful ageing is
characterized by how much continuity the elder has with activities.
Continuity can be internal or external. Internal continuity comes from those
aspects of a person's personality such as temperament, emotions, and
experiences which are unique to the individual. While internal continuity
connects the elderly to your past. In the other hand external continuity comes
from the environment, physical and social, and includes the roles each of us is
involved in and the jobs we perform. Friendships and phasing out of
employment are examples of maintaining external continuity in older ones.
Phasing out of employment means that there will be more time for family and
friends and volunteer pursuits. Internal continuity is lost in a patient with
Alzheimer who loses awareness of oneself, but external continuity allows
adaptation to changing environmental demands.
The premise of continuity theory is that elders adapt to changes by using
strategies to maintain continuity in their lives, both internal and external.
Internal continuity refers to the strategy of forming personal links between new
experiences and memories of previous ones and external continuity refers to
interacting with familiar people and living in familiar environments. According
to the continuity theory, a person's personality, behaviors, and preferences will
remain similar into old age.
Psychological Theory
Psychological theory are used to provide a model for understanding human
thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. This theory is very useful to describe an
elderly’s behavior and predict a future behavior.
A number of theories have been proposed to explain and predict various aspects
of human behavior. Some of these theories have stood the test of time and
remain well-accepted today. Each theory has helped contribute to our
knowledge base of the human mind and behavior.
According to Erik Erikson’s theory on the stages of human development,
achieving wisdom later in life involves revisiting previous crises and renewing
psychosocial accomplishments. However, few studies have used Erikson’s
theory as a framework for examining how older adults self-manage physical and
mental health changes that commonly occur later in life.
In older adulthood, a stage where “the life cycle weaves back on itself”,
challenges in both daily living and major life transitions can be optimized by
integrating skills learned earlier in life. This integration, or repurposing of skills,
allows older adults to reapply wisdom learned in other contexts and maintain
autonomy in decision making rather than relinquish tasks to others. According
to Erikson and colleagues (1986), the ultimate goal is to overcome the last stage
of developmental crisis, integrity versus despair, to achieve wisdom.
Older adults often experience physical and cognitive decline, which may lead to
limits in mobility. While many community-dwelling older adults experience
minor declines in physical health and cognition, approximately 50% of adults
ages 65 and older are reported having a disability, and more than a third have a
severe disability. However, older adults with all levels of decline (both naturally
occurring and clinical) need to manage aspects of their health and health-related
services to maintain or improve their overall wellbeing.
Erikson’s theory on the stages of human development provides a framework for
understanding older adults’ interest and capability for engaging in self-
management
For elderly self-management, this refers to the “day to day tasks that they must
undertake to control or reduce the impact of disease on physical health status.
Such as relocation of residence, just like from staying from a busy city, they
tend to move in a less demanding environment, like moving to a rural area. This
is a major life transition that may be considered a self-management activity for
older adults who believe that a change in their environment will improve their
living situations.
Although integrity versus despair and disgust are most often associated with
later life, Erikson believed that the previous stages of development are renewed
in late adulthood and mature forms of these psychological achievements are
integrated “into a comprehensive sense of wisdom”
 For instance, adults develop a mature sense of competence when they must
adapt their sense of industriousness from previous work experiences to their
post-employment environment during retirement, where existing knowledge and
skills may be transferred to newfound hobbies, volunteer work, and/or caring
for disabled family members. However, Erikson acknowledged that physical
and cognitive changes occurring later in life create limitations on competence,
which may constrain older ones ability to self-manage health and disability.
These restrictions may also offer opportunity for older ones to replay earlier
developmental tensions. For example, to address the earlier Eriksonian stage of
initiative versus guilt, older ones may renew their sense of purpose by
“initiating” participation in new activities to counteract a sense of guilt that may
come with imposed inactivity. As an activity, self-management may provide
occasion for mastery and renewed purpose. Also overcoming the crisis of
integrity versus despair is not an easy task for older adults, making it very easy
for them to become frustrated with the daily demands that contribute to
maintaining integrity. For example the significant challenge and continuous
effort that a person in his nineties may experience in the simple task of trying to
locate his glasses. Despite such challenges, Eriksonian theory suggests that
when older adults experience declines in their physical health and/or cognitive
abilities, their renewed sense of purpose may result in engaging in self-
management to remain autonomous, rather than passively allowing family,
friends or professionals to manage their services and care for them. Similarly,
the renewal of competence indicates that older adults’ previous experiences may
be transferred to the task of self-management.
Conclusion:

Much of what we know about human thought and behavior has emerged thanks
to various theories. Just as the behavioral theories demonstrated how
conditioning can be used to learn new information and behaviors. Some theories
have fallen out of favor, yet all have contributed tremendously to our
understanding of human thought and behavior. As a person grows older and
enters into the retirement years, the pace of life and productivity tend to slow
down, granting a person time for reflection upon their life.

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 The
continuity
theory of
normal
ageing
states that
older adults
is usually