Deck 15: The Resiilience of Older Women

Question 1

Compared to their male counterparts, older women's health status is characterized as follows:

A) they are healthier.
B) they are more likely to face non-fatal chronic conditions.
C) they experience fewer days of restricted activity and disability.
D) they are less likely to take curative action when they are ill.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The issue of caregiving provides an opportunity for feminist researchers to:

A) control for the effects of gender.
B) recognize the interconnections between women's paid and unpaid work.
C) identify gender variations in the economic status of older persons.
D) both B and C.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Major determinants of older women's life satisfaction and their perceived quality of life are:

A) financial resources.
B) comparisons to the lives of others.
C) accessing medical care and cost of medical care.
D) political activity.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Among middle-aged women, the group least likely to have health care coverage is:

A) divorced women.
B) married women.
C) the poorest in each state.
D) middle-class women of color.

Question 5

The primary source of income for older women is:

A) Social Security.
B) private pensions.
C) SSI.
D) personal savings.

Question 6

Conversion laws have been useful in:

A) allowing workers to transfer from one insurance plan to another.
B) allowing workers to keep their insurance when changing jobs.
C) adding names of new dependents on health insurance plans.
D) allowing women to remain on their spouse's policy 3 years after divorce or widowhood.

Question 7

Which of the following statements is false regarding breast cancer and older women?

A) Medicare does not reimburse mammography screening costs.
B) Older women are less likely than younger women to get mammography check ups.
C) Physicians are less likely to refer older women for mammography.
D) The majority of women with breast cancer are over age 50.

Question 8

Postmenopausal zest:

A) was coined by Betty Friedan.
B) a renewed sense of living and time for oneself.
C) is a new medical term to describe endocrine problems that occur in menopause.
D) refers to the depression that occurs after menopause.

Question 9

From a feminist perspective, many of the problems faced by older women can be understood as:

A) the result of individual differences.
B) an outcome of their socialization.
C) due to gender-based differences in power and privilege.
D) cohort differences in family and societal roles.

Question 10

About what percent of the population aged 65-74 is female?

A) 35 percent
B) 55 percent
C) 75 percent
D) 95 percent

Question 11

Older women's health status is most affected by:

A) bad health habits during their younger years.
B) adverse effects of marriage.
C) adverse effects of poverty.
D) a lifetime of family caregiving.

Question 12

Structural reasons for economic differences between men and women include:

A) the methods used to calculate Social Security.
B) employment patterns that differ between men and women.
C) women's reduced access to other retirement income.
D) all of the above.

Question 13

The major reason that older women have less access to group health insurance of their own is because they:

A) are not as healthy as men.
B) visit doctors more often than men.
C) were less likely to be employed when young.
D) can rely upon their husbands' insurance even after a divorce.

Question 14

Social Security and pension plans in the United States have been most useful in eliminating poverty among:

A) divorced women.
B) never-married mothers.
C) older African Americans.
D) older men and couples.

Question 15

Regarding the use of HRT for the prevention of osteoporosis:

A) it can increase bone mass in the spine and hips by 3-5% in the first year.
B) benefits to bone mass are not seen after the second year.
C) benefits increase after age 75.
D) long-term use has been deemed safe.

Question 16

Regarding older women's' informal networks:

A) women respond to stressful events by "fight and flight" .
B) women respond to stressful events by "tending and befriending" .
C) women have larger nonkin networks than men.
D) women call on non-family networks to provide care for them.

Question 17

A divorced woman age 62 and over can receive Social Security upon divorce if:

A) she had been married at least 10 years prior to the date of divorce.
B) her former husband is age 62 or older.
C) her former husband is drawing Social Security.
D) she fits all three of the above characteristics.

Question 18

Among older women, the risk of poverty is greatest among:

A) women of color.
B) never-married women.
C) married women.
D) working women.

Question 19

Women over age 65 comprise ________ percent of the poor older population.

A) almost 25
B) almost 50
C) over 70
D) over 90

Question 20

Federal laws designed to protect spouses of private pension recipients:

A) cover all pension recipients.
B) do not apply to state government plans.
C) affect women of all ages.
D) cover women who are divorced from pension recipients.

Question 21

Which of the following statements is false when describing the social status of older women?

A) They have fewer chances to remarry than do men.
B) They have fewer close friends than older men.
C) They are more likely to be widowed than older men.
D) Those living alone are in greater need of social and health services.

Question 22

An older woman can depend on her husband's pension to support her, even if he dies before retiring.

Question 23

The majority of older women and men live with a spouse.

Question 24

Older women have long been the focus of gerontological research, serving as research subjects in early studies.

Question 25

Middle aged women are generally proactive about coping with the effects of menopause.

Question 26

The primary negative consequence of widowhood is low socioeconomic status.

Question 27

Older women of color are more than twice as likely as their white counterparts to live in multigenerational households.

Question 28

Osteoporosis is a concern for older women because of the associated risk of limiting their ADLs.

Question 29

Recent national and state legislation to increase minimum wage will have more economic repercussions for men across the life course than for women.

Question 30

Attempts to privatize Social Security will hurt older women more than men.

Question 31

Which of the following strategies will not help an older woman prevent osteoporosis?

A) maintain a lower-than-normal body weight
B) participate in a weight-bearing exercise program
C) consuming sardines, dry roasted soybeans, or leafy green vegetables
D) consume calcium supplements regularly

Question 32

A primary reason for older women's economic vulnerability is that most women did not work consistently for pay throughout their lives.

Question 33

Most physicians refer their older women patients for mammography, especially since Medicare pays for biennial visits.

Question 34

Compared to men, women have more social resources to draw upon in old age.

Question 35

Fortunately, the economic status of older women in the future will be substantially improved over the current cohort.

Question 36

Which of the following potential changes in Social Security will most likely benefit older women?

A) privatizing Social Security
B) more women entering the workforce after childrearing
C) earnings sharing plans
D) enforcing the Family and Medical Leave Act

Question 37

Which of the following regarding older women's' health is not true?

A) Women generally rate their health as better than men do.
B) Women have a higher level of functional impairment than men do.
C) Women who are among the oldest-old tend to self rate their health better than younger-old women.
D) Women experience more health and mental health difficulties as they age.

Question 38

Although women suffer from more chronic health conditions, most of these are not life-threatening.

Question 39

Which of the following changes in women's health is not physiologically related to menopause?

A) osteoporosis
B) heart disease
C) hot flashes
D) depression

Question 40

Recent studies have provided support for the popular belief that depression and loss of sexual desire result from the normal physiological changes brought about by menopause.

Question 41

Summarize the nonmedical approaches to menopause.

Question 42

Why do older women have limited opportunities to remarry?

Question 43

Why are older women one of the poorest groups in society?

Question 44

________ require insurance companies to allow women to remain in their spouse's group insurance for up to 3 years after divorce, separation, or widowhood.

Question 45

Why is there a need in gerontology to focus on the needs of older adult women?

Question 46

The majority of older women face osteoporosis. How does this affect their ability to perform their ADLs?

Question 47

A ________ is a requirement that a wife must agree to her husband's waiving survivor benefits.

Question 48

Women have a ________ incidence of chronic health problems than men.

Question 49

The average age of widowhood for women is ________ years.

Question 50

One remedy for gender inequalities in life time contribution to Social Security is ________, whereby each partner in marriage is entitled to a separate Social Security account regardless of which spouse is in the paid labor force.