Chapter Questions
How is productive aging defined? What types of activities typically characterize productive aging?
What does it mean when a baby boomer says that they are spiritual, but not religious?
List three benefits of religious participation/religiosity for older adults.
What types of activities are included under the broad concept of civic engagement?
Identify some of the benefits of volunteerism for older volunteers and for the organizations they serve.
How would you respond to someone who says that older people become more politically conservative as they age?
Imagine that you were the director of an agency that depends largely upon older adults as volunteers. What factors should you consider in recruiting and retaining older volunteers?
What are some of the major challenges facing senior centers today? If you were the director of a senior center, what kinds of programmatic changes might you want to make?
What evidence would you cite to argue that older adults today are no longer as powerful a political constituency as they were in the past? What are some limitations of age-based organizations versus intergenerational alliances to influence policies and programs?
How do patterns of civic engagement often differ by race and gender?
Religion, religiosity, and spirituality, volunteering and senior center engagement all have benefits for physical and mental well-being. What reasons might explain why these different types of activities have similar benefits for elders?