Talking sweetly to the elderly — a dangerous practice

The following excerpts are from John Leland, In ‘Sweetie’ and ‘Dear,’ a Hurt for the Elderly, NY Times, Oct. 7, 2008:

Professionals call it elderspeak, the sweetly belittling form of address that has always rankled older people: the doctor who talks to their child rather than to them about their health; the store clerk who assumes that an older person does not know how to work a computer, or needs to be addressed slowly or in a loud voice.  * * *

Now studies are finding that the insults can have health consequences, especially if people mutely accept the attitudes behind them * * *

In a long-term survey of 660 people over age 50 in a small Ohio town * * * researchers found that those who had positive perceptions of aging lived an average of 7.5 years longer, a bigger increase than that associated with exercising or not smoking. The findings held up even when the researchers controlled for differences in the participants’ health conditions. * * *

To study the effects of elderspeak on people with mild to moderate dementia, * * * researchers videotaped interactions in a nursing home between 20 residents and staff members. They found that when nurses used phrases like “good girl” or “How are we feeling?” patients were more aggressive and less cooperative or receptive to care. If addressed as infants, some showed their irritation by grimacing, screaming or refusing to do what staff members asked of them.