Adulthood and Old Age

1. Adulthood and Old Age Chapter 5

2. Adulthood • What is adulthood like? • Period when opposite factors affect lives • Can be a time when a person matures fully into what he or she is • Can be a time when life closes in and what was once possibility is now limitation

3. Physical Changes • Aging is the result of normal wear and tear on the body • Process of physical decline is slow and gradual • Middle Aged Adults • Hair starts turning gray and begins to thin • Old Age • Muscles and fat that have built up over the years begins to break down • People lose weight, become shorter, develop more wrinkles

4. Health Problems • Most common causes of death may be the caused by a fast moving lifestyle of young adults • Heart Disease • Cancer • Cirrhosis of the liver • Sexual Activity does not automatically decline with age • The ability to comprehend new material and think improves years and experience

5. Levinson’s Theory of Male Development • Transition periods occur at age 30, 40, 50, and 60 • Each transition lasts about 5 years

6. Levinson’s Theory of Male Development • Ages 22-28 • Considered by society and himself to be a novice in the adult world • Conflict between the need to explore adulthood and the need to establish a stable life structure VS.

7. Levinson’s Theory of Male Development • The Age-Thirty Crisis • Questions about the choices of marriage partner, career and life goals are reopened • Many feel that any part of life that is unsatisfying or incomplete needs to be changed now because soon it will be too late

8. Levinson’s Theory of Male Development • Settling Down • Men begin actively carving out a niche in society concentrating on “making it” in the adult world • 36 – 40 • Men strive to attain the seniority and position in the world that he identified as his ultimate goal

9. Levinson’s Theory of Male Development • The Midlife Transition • What have I done with my life? What have I accomplished? What do I still wish to accomplish? • Generativity – desire to use one’s wisdom to guide future generations • Parenting or mentoring • Adults may choose to hang on to the past • Take part in the same sports or hobbies that they have always known

10. Levinson’s Theory of Male Development • Middle Adulthood • Late 40s is a time when true adulthood is achieved • Understands and tolerates others, is sensitive towards others • Able to have balance between friends and privacy • If someone avoids this life crisis it will come at a later time in life (usually their 50s) with a more forceful approach

11. Female Development • Empty Nest Syndrome • May occur after the last child leaves home • Does not have to be traumatic • Stable marriages make this event bearable • Depression • Most common in middle aged women • Early years a women has a sense of personal worth from various roles • Daughter, lover, wife, mother, and wage earner

12. Old Age • Fear of Growing Old • One of the most common fears in society • People see old age as being one step from the grave • Many people do not want to use the word “old” but prefer words such as “elderly” or “senior citizens”

13. Attitudes Toward Aging • Many people think chronological age is what makes people “old” • Ageism – prejudice or discrimination against the elderly • We think that old people suffer from poor health, live in poverty and are frequent victims of crime • We also think that the aged withdraw from life and sit around doing nothing

14. Changes in Health • Most people over 65 are in reasonably good health • The health of an older person is related to their health as a younger person • Everyone is subject to diseases – old and young • Major Causes of Death Among Old People • Heart Disease • Cancer • Strokes

15. Changes in Life Situations • Young people experience positive transitions • Graduation, marriage, parenthood • Older people experience negative transitions • Retirement, widowhood • adf

16. Changes in Sexual Activity • Majority of people over the age of 65 continue to be interested in sex • Healthy partners enjoy sexual activities into their 70s and 80s • Some do not engage in sexual activity for the following reasons: • Poor health • Death of a spouse

17. Adjusting to Old Age • Aging sometimes represent a loss of control over the environment • When older people are unable to maintain the things that they value most the quality of life suffers dramatically along with their self image • People with assertive personalities are better at coping with life changes • AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) – Group that speaks out and lobbies on social issues for older people

18. Changes in Mental Functioning • Changes in many of the mental functions occur as people age but intelligence and memory do not occur as much as people think • Crystallized Intelligence – ability to use accumulated knowledge and learning in appropriate situations • Fluid Intelligence – ability to solve abstract relational problems and generate new hypothesis

19. Senile Dementia • Senile Dementia – term that describes memory loss, forgetfulness, disorientation of time and place, decline in the ability to think, impaired attention, altered personality and difficulties in relating to others

20. Senile Dementia • Alzheimer’s Disease • Most common form of senile dementia • 4 million people affected • Neurological disease that is a gradual deterioration of cognitive functioning • Lose ability to comprehend simple questions and recognize friends and loved ones • Patients do not die from Alzheimer’s but from the weakened state • Not fully known what causes it and there is no cure

21. Dying and Death • Elisabeth Kubler-Ross • Thanatology – study of dying and death • Five Stages of psychological adjustment to death • Denial – This cannot be happening • Anger – people are likely to alienate themselves from others • Bargaining – people change their attitudes and attempt to bargain with fate • Depression – Short term • Acceptance – death feels appropriate and peaceful

22. Dying and Death • Kubler-Ross • Not all terminally ill patients go through the stages • Patients do not limit their responses to any stage and they can have recurring bursts of anger • Grieving Periods • In the 1800s a widow or widower was expected to grieve a long time • Today people are encouraged to get on with their lives • How long a person grieves depends on the person

23. Hospices • Discussing death is taboo in 21st Century America • In 1900 the average life span of someone was less than 50 years • Hospice – movement to restore the dignity of death • Make patient’s surroundings pleasant and comfortable • Improve the quality of life • Medicare includes arrangements for financing hospice services