Chapter 17 Aging & Family Life

These are the topics I found interesting in Chapter 17:

Mental Health
The book mentions two types of Mental Health that aging individuals experience:

1. Depression- Overwhelming feelings of sadness and negativity that affect many aspect of a person's life such as working and eating. Approximately 15% of Americans ages 65 and older experience depression. Older individuals also experience other affective aspects that come along with depressions such as diarrhea, chest pains, nausea, and a disinterest in eating.
   Many factors play a role such as where a person has grown up and spent most of their time, their family history and genetics. Many family members do not detect depression within their older family members often mistaking it for sadness that comes along with aging (i.e. family members and friends dying, retiring, etc.)
   
2. Dementia- losing your mental abilities. 6% of individuals over the age of 65 and 50% of individuals over the age of 85 suffer from dementia. The most common form of Dementia is Alzheimer's Disease. Alzheimer's attacks a person's memory, the way they think and in result their behavior. This disease affects approximately 4.5 million elderly individuals in the United States. Most times Alzheimer's leads to death, and unless a cure can be found many believe that the rate of people developing Alzheimer's will rapidly increase. Medical expenses are skyrocketing and the damage done cannot be undone or repaired.

Grandparenting Styles
The text mentions five types of Grandparenting.

1. Remote or Detached- this style involves the grandparents living far away from their relatives with little to barely any interaction. The relationship becomes symbolic instead of forming a strong, interactive bond between the grandparent and their relatives. Many grandparents only see their grandchildren during the holidays or occasions such as reunions, weddings, etc. A small 3% of grandparents have a detached relationship with their grandchildren. Sometimes grandparents become closely attached to one grandchild, but remain distant with others. They may choose one child because of their "special" or individual qualities or spend time with the grandchildren they find pleasing and less likely to be bothersome.
   
2. Companionate & Supportive- this style is most common among grandparents and grandchildren. This is when a grandparent supports their grandchildren and plays an important or major role in their grandchild's life. They interact and visit with their grandchildren regularly and engage in activities that bond the pair. Although they play a major role, the text states that it's important to note that the grandparent does not take on an authoritative role. Those grandparents who are greatly present in their grandchild's life usually come from the mother's side of the family. They enjoy the time spent with their grandchildren, and they enjoy the fact that they are not responsible for the child once that time is over when their parents come to pick them up.
   
3. Involved & Influential- this style focuses on the influential role grandparents take on in their grandchild's role. They become a figure that greatly affects the child's life. They display and enforce authority over the child and sometimes display a sense of "tough love". African American grandmother's in particular tend to take on this style of grandparenting. They greatly desire to teach their grandchildren moral aspects of life they believe their grandchildren should know. These grandparents are often younger than most other grandparents. They may help a daughter after a bad marriage ends and care for the child when needed. Many black grandmothers believe they are the person that makes a difference in guiding the child down the right path avoiding negative aspects of life such as drugs, crime, etc.
   
4. Advisory & Authoritative- In this style the grandparent plays the role of an adivser. They play a major role in raising the child during the mother's young age. The grandmother will care for the child mainly until the mother is ready to take the responsibility. However, conflict can arise when the mother and grandmother disagree on how the child should be raised. The grandmother is not viewed as someone who is trying to ruin the relationship between the mother and child, but a person who is greatly concerned with the raising of the child and one who desires to help. Later on in life, the child will look to their grandparents for advice or tend to stray away from their family including their grandparents.
   
5. Cultural Transmitters- In this style the grandparents are those who represent the culture of the family. They instill within their grandchildren the values, morals, traditions, and lifestyle of their family's culture. The child learns cultural practices from their grandparents and the history of where their family came from. Among the Asian culture, grandparents live with their immediate family in the same household. Some of these families, however, like Japanese families do not instill cultural or ancient beliefs within their grandchildren because they have lived in the United States for many generations.

There were other aspects of the book that I found interesting, but I really wanted to focus on these two portions because they hold important and relative to my life. So here are my following questions:

1. How important do you think it is for our elderly and even our parents now to be aware of the aspects of depression and dementia?

• My grandmother died from Alzheimer's and since then the cause has become really important for me to want to learn more about it, and how it can be prevented or treated. I've learned of how it takes form in one of my neuroscience classes, and now I'm thinking that after a few years passing it's finally important for me to find time to support this cause and do what I can to help others. It deeply affected my grandfather and my aunts and uncles as well as myself. Especially, when she wouldn't remember who we were (my grandfather especially being her husband and being married for so many years).
  

2. How important do you think it is for cultures and traditions to be passed down from generation to generation? Do you think it would be possible for you to live with your grandparents the way most Asian families do?

• Because most of my family (aunts, uncles, cousins)is much older (30-50's or older) the cultures and traditions especially on my mother's side have been lost between generations. This has left me to know little about a culture I greatly value, and to learn about the culture myself. I also fear that by the time my siblings and I have children the culture will be completely lost. Have any of you experienced this?
  

3. Which grandparenting style do you like or think is most effective? Also, which style have you experienced with your own grandparents and do you think it was beneficial for your relationship with your grandparent?