Theories of Aging

Prepared by: Maria Dorina Aguirre, RN, MAN

Theories of Aging
Attempt to explain the phenomenon of aging as it occurs
over the lifespan

Aging is viewed as a total process that begins at

conception

Senescence: a change in the behavior of an organism with

age leading to a decreased power of survival and
adjustment
Types of Theory in Older Adults

●Biologic
●Sociologic
●Psychologic
●Moral/Spiritual
Biologic Theories:

Concerned with answering basic questions

regarding the physiological processes that occur
in all living organisms as they chronologically
age
Foci of Biologic Theories
Explanations of:

1) deleterious effects leading to decreasing function of the organism

2) gradually occurring age-related changes that are progressive over time

3) intrinsic changes that can affect all member of a species because of

chronologic age
ALSO:

● All organs in any one organism do not age at the

same rate
● Any single organ does not necessarily age at the
same rate in difference individuals of the same
species
Biologic Theories: Divisions
Stochastic
Explain aging as events that occur randomly and accumulate over
time

Nonstochastic
View aging as certain predetermined, timed phenomena
Stochastic Theories are:

● Error Theory
● Cross-Linkage Theory
● Wear & Tear Theory
● Free Radical Theory
Error Theory
● Originally proposed in 1963 : Leslie Orgel
● Basis:
1)errors can occur in the transcription in any step of the protein
synthesis of DNA

2) error causes the reproduction of an enzyme or protein that is not an

exact copy

3) As transcription errors to occur, the end product would not even

resemble the original cell, thereby compromising its functional ability
cont’d

● More recently the theory has not been supported by

research
● Not all aged cells contain altered or misspecified
proteins
● Nor is aging automatically or necessarily accelerated if
misspecified proteins or Enzymes are introduced into a
cell
Free Radical Theory

● Free radicals are byproducts of metabolism--can increase as

a result of environmental pollutants
● When they accumulate, they damage cell membrane,
decreasing its efficiency
● The body produces antioxidants that scavenge the free
radicals
● Proposed by Denham Harman: 1945
cont’d

● In animal studies, administration of antioxidants postpones the

appearance of diseases such as cardiovascular disease and CA
● Free radicals are also implicated in the development of plaques
associated with Alzheimer’s
Cross-Linkage Theory

● Proposed by Johan Björkstein in 1942

● Some proteins in the body become cross-linked, thereby not
allowing for normal metabolic activities
● Waste products accumulate
● Result: tissues do not function at optimal efficiency
● Some research supports a combination of exercise and dietary
restrictions in helping to inhibit the cross-linkage process
● Glycosylation theory of aging.
Wear & Tear Theory

● Was first introduced by Dr. August Weismann, a German

biologist
● Proposed first in 1882
● Cells simply wear out over time because of continued use--
rather like a machine
● Would seem to be refuted by the fact that exercise in OA’s
actually makes them MORE functional, not less
Nonstochastic Theories:

● Programmed Theory
● Immunity Theory
Programmed (Hayflick Limit) Theory

● Based on lab experiments on fetal fibroblastic cells and their

reproductive capabilities in 1961
● Cells can only reproduce themselves a limited number of times.
● Life expectancies are seen as preprogrammed within a species-
specific range
● Cells can only replicate and divide 40-60 times before it cannot
divide anymore and will break down by programmed cell death
or apoptosis
Immunity Theory

Immunosenescence:

● Age-related functional diminution of the immune system

● Lower rate of T-lymphocyte (“killer cells”) proliferation in
response to a stimulus & therefore a decrease in the body’s
defense against foreign pathogens
cont’d

● Change include a decrease in humoral immune response, often

predisposing older adults to:

1)Decreased resistance to a tumor cell challenge and the

development of cancer
2) Decreased ability to initiate the immune process and
mobilize defenses in aggressively attaching pathogens
3) Increased susceptibility to autoimmune diseases
Immunity Theory

● Immunosenescence: Age-related functional

diminution of the immune system
● Lower rate of T-lymphocyte (“killer cells”) proliferation
in response to a stimulus & therefore a decrease in
the body’s defense against foreign pathogens
EMERGING THEORIES OF AGING

● Neuroendocrine Control (Pacemaker) Theory

● Metabolic Theory/Caloric Restriction
● DNA-Related Research
Neuroendocrine Control /Pacemaker Theory

● Examines the interrelated role of the neurologic and endocrine

systems over the life-span of an individual
● There is a decline, or even cessation, in many of the
components of the neuroendocrine system over the lifespan
● Aging Clock Theory
● Developed by Vladimir Dilman
cont’d

Research has shown

1) the female reproductive system is controlled by the
hypothalamus. What are the mechanisms that trigger changes?
2) adrenal glands’ DHEA hormone (Dehydroepiandrosterone)
3) melatonin (from pineal gland)--a regulator of biologic rhythms
and a powerful antioxidant. Declines sharply from just after
puberty
Metabolic Theory of Aging (Caloric Restriction)

● Proposes that all organisms have a finite amount of

metabolic lifetime and that organisms with a higher
metabolic rate have a shorter lifespan”. (p. 24)
● Rodent-based research has demonstrated that caloric
restriction increases the lifespan and delays the onset of
age-dependent diseases
DNA-Related Research

Major Developments:

● Mapping the human genome (“…there may be as many as

200 genes responsible for controlling aging in humans”)
● Discovery of telomeres
● Gene responsible for aging: GATA6 (GATA binding protein
6)
SOCIOLOGIC THEORIES OF AGING

● Disengagement Theory
● Activity/Developmental Task Theory
● Continuity Theory
● Age Stratification Theory
● Person-Environment Fit Theory
SOCIOLOGIC THEORIES OF AGING

● Changing FOCUS of Sociological considerations of aging:

● 60’s focus on losses and adaptation to them
● 70’s broader global, societal, and structural factors
influencing lives of OA’s
● 80’s-90’s exploration of interrelationships between OA’s and
their physical, political, environmental & socio economic
milieu
Disengagement Theory
● Cumming & Henry--1961
● Aging seen as a developmental task in and of itself, with its own
norms & appropriate patterns of behavior “appropriate” behavior
patterns involved a mutual agreement between OA’s and society
on a reciprocal withdrawal.
● No longer supported
Activity Theory (Developmental Task Theory)

● Havighurst, Neugarten, Tobin ~1963

● “Activity is viewed by this theory as necessary to maintain a
person’s life satisfaction and a positive self-concept”.
cont’d

Theory based on assumptions:

1) it’s better to be active than inactive

2) it is better to be happy than unhappy
3) an older individual is the best judge of his or her own success in
achieving the first two assumption
Continuity Theory

● Proposed by Robert Atchley- 1989

● How a person has been through life, how that person will
continue through the remainder of life
● Old age is not a separate phase of life, but rather a
continuation and thus an integral component
Age Stratification Theory

● Matilda White Riley--1985

● Society consists of groups of cohorts that age collectively
● The people & Roles in these cohorts change & influence each
other, as does society at large
● Thus, there is a high degree of interdependence between older
adults & society
Person-Environment Fit Theory

● Lawton, 1982
● Individuals have personal competencies that assist in dealing
with the environment:
●ego strength
●level of motor skills
●individual biologic health
●cognitive & sensory-perceptual capacities
Person-Environment Fit Theory

● As a person ages, there may be changes in competencies &

these changes alter the ability to interrelate with the
environment
● Significant implications in a society that is characterized by
constantly changing technology
PSYCHOLOGIC THEORIES OF AGING

● Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs

● Jung’s Theory of Individualism
● Erikson’s Eight Stages of Life
● Peck’s Expansion of Erikson’s Theory
● Selective Optimization with Compensation
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human
Needs

Maslow-1954

● Each individual has an innate

internal hierarchy of needs that
motivates all human behaviors”.
Depicted as a pyramid; the
ideal is to achieve self-
actualization, having met all the
“lower” level needs successful
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs

“Maslow’s fully developed, self-actualized person displays high

levels of all of the following characteristics: perception of reality;
acceptance of self, others, and nature; spontaneity; problem-
solving ability; self-direction; detachment and the desire for
primacy; freshness of peak experiences; identification with other
human beings;
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs

● Satisfying and changing relationships with other people; a

democratic character structure; creativity; and a sense of
values.
● Only about 1% of us are truly ideal self-actualized persons
Jung’s Theory of Individualism

● Carl Jung--1960
● origins are Freudian
● Self-realization is the goal
of personality
development
● as individual ages, each is
capable of transforming
into a more spiritual being
Erikson’s Eight Stages of Life

1993

Stages throughout the life course. Each

represents a crisis to be resolved.

For OA’s:

40 to 65 (middle adulthood): generativity

versus self-absorption or stagnation

65 to death (older adulthood): ego integrity

versus despair
Erikson’s Eight Stages of Life

● “Self-absorbed adults will be preoccupied with their personal

well-being and material gains. Preoccupation with self leads
to stagnation of life”
● “Unsuccessful resolution of the last crisis may result in a
sense of despair in which individuals view life as a series of
misfortunes, disappointments, and failures”.
Peck’s Expansion of Erikson’s Theory
● Erikson’s last two stages are expanded to 7
● The final three of the developmental tasks for
old age:
● Ego differentiation versus work role
preoccupation
● Body transcendence versus body
preoccupation
● Ego transcendence versus ego preoccupation
Selective Optimization with Compensation
● Baltes--1987
● Individuals develop strategies to manage losses of
function that occur over time
Selective Optimization with Compensation

● 3 Interacting Elements:
● selection: increasing restriction of one’s life to fewer
domains of functioning
● optimization: people engage in behaviors to enrich their lives
● compensation:developing suitable, alternative adaptations
Based on information in: Madison, H.E. (2002).“Theories of Aging”.
In Lueckenotte, A.G. (ed), Gerontologic Nursing. St. Louis: Mosby.
F UT U
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