UNIT 5 PSYC 241

Middle Age - Early and Late ages

Early middle - 40-55 years

Late middle - 55-65 years

Middle Age - Definitions

* changes in sensory abilities, stamina, and sexuality
* peak time for mental abilities
* transitions in career and family roles

Middle Age - Common Stressors

* children transition to adults
* aging and death of parents
* changing health status

Late Age - Chronological Definitions

* young old - 65-74 years
* old old - 75-84 years
* oldest old - 85+ years

Late Age - Beyond Chronological Markers

* functional age
* subjective age
* successful vs impaired aging

Stereotypes of Aging: Ageism

stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination based on age

Longevity and Aging: Longevity

length of person’s life

Longevity and Aging: Life Expectancy

how long a person is statistically likely to live

Longevity and Aging: Life Span

the longest a species can live; humans 122 years

Longevity and Aging: Trends

* longer lives
* increase in fewer childhood diseases
* starting to reverse; ex. overdose

Vision: Presbyopia

* farsightedness
* cornea flattens
* lens lose flexibility
* muscle that permits lens to change shape weakens
* reading glasses

Vision

* ability to see in dim light declines
* night vision reduced
* color discrimination becomes limited

Vision: Declines

* cataracts
* glaucoma
* macular degeneration

Hearing: Presbycusis

* “old hearing”
* apparent in 50s
* first limited main pitch sounds
* late adulthood, extends to all sound frequencies

Hearing

* background noise interferes with hearing
* impacts successful aging
* hearing aid underused

Skin

* less tact
* loss of elasticity
* thinner in late adulthood
* women’s ages sooner
* hormones at work
* sun exposure
* smoking

Muscles

* strength, joints, bones
* cartilage becomes less flexible
* endurance decreases
* cardiovascular system
* slower metabolic rate

Sarcopenia

age related loss of muscle mass

Bones

* density peaks mid 30s
* loss increases in 50s
* height decreases as disks in the spinal column collapse
* loss on 1+ inch by 60
* lifestyle factors can slow changes

Menopause

* influenced by heredity and lifestyle
* hot flashes
* irregular cycles
* sexual functioning
* most view positive

Perimenopause

3 years before and after

Menopause average ag

* 51 years
* can start between 42-58

Male Sexuality

* reproductive ability declines gradually
* testosterone deficiency

Mortality in Middle Adulthood

* cancer and heart disease
* increasing midlife mortality rate
* response to opioid epidemic

Cancer

* 15% of middle aged adults will develop
* gender effects
* lifestyle factors

Cardiovascular Disease

* 2nd most common
* high blood pressure
* high blood cholesterol
* heart attack

Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Disease

* age
* diet
* smoking
* hypertension
* men more likely to have
* women more likely to die (heart attack)

Diabetes

* disease marked by high levels of blood glucose
* by age 65, 25% of adults have diabetes in the US
* 5th leading cause of death 55-64

Prevalence

* multiple factors
* genes
* diet and exercise

Diabetes Risks

* heart attack
* stroke
* cognitive declines
* depression

Changing Nutritional Needs

* metabolism slowing down
* maintaining healthy weight
* avoid smoking
* consuming more Vitamin B, Magnesium, antioxidants, Omega-3, fatty acids

Stress and Health

* fight or flight
* effects of chronic stress
* varied sensitivity to stress
* risk factors for stress sensitivity

Hardiness Resilience

* have a sense of control, orientation toward positive growth, and commitment to life choices
* ability to adapt to life’s changing demands
* individuals who display hardiness tend to have high sense of self-efficacy

Mortalities in Late Adulthood

* heart disease
* cancer
* respiratory diseases
* stroke
* Alzheimer’s disease

Common Illnesses

* cardiovascular disease
* cancer
* respiratory diseases
* changes in immune system

Minorities and Racial Differences in Health

* Risk of osteoporosis
* risk of diabetes
* influence of socioeconomic status and education

Dementia

* aging brain
* neurological disorder
* deterioration of mental functioning

Alzheimer’s Disease

* General cognitive decline
* personality and behavior changes
* motor complications
* sever dementia
* death
* grows with age

Vascular Dementia

* multi-impact dementia
* 2nd most common
* caused by strokes, blockages of blood vessels in brain

Parkinson’s Disease

* chronic, progressive disease
* onset: damage to dopamine neurons

Lewy Body Dementia

* as common as vascular dementia
* visual hallucinations
* fluctuating cognitive symptoms
* sleep disorders

Delirium

* reversible, dementia symptoms caused by psychological or behavioral factors
* symptoms of depression and anxiety in older adults

Common Causes of Delirium

* psych factors
* medications
* nutrition
* dehydration

Fluid Intelligence

* basic processing abilities
* working memory
* processing speed
* discovering patterns

Crystallized Intelligence

accumulated knowledge acquired through experiences and learning

Flynn Effect

* suggest people get “smarter” with each generation
* IQ scores have increased over years and generations

Expertise

* elaborate & integrated knowledge base
* with age, most adults develop and expand expertise
* peaks in middle adulthood

Encapsulation

* fluid intelligence and processing that’s dedicated to specific knowledge making it easier to access and use
* Cognitive performance stable in area of expertise

Selective Optimization with Compression

* as people age, select valued parts of functioning, find ways to off set age-related declines, so they can adopt and maintain or improve abilities
* expertise that enables mid-aged and older adults to compensate for declines in processing speed and memory

Job Satisfaction

* increase with age
* professors have higher satisfaction than blue-collar workers

Age Discrimination

* gender affects
* women more than men
* first become apartment age 50

Planning for Retirement

* most not ready
* adults with a more positive outlook are more likely to have better financial plan

Attention

* older adults more difficult for dividing attention
* selective attention (turning out others)

Memory

* working memory begins to decline
* proactive interference - previous information interferes with new information
* Episodic ☝️Sematic 👇

Wisdom

* expertise in conduct meanings of life
* real-world problems

Erikson: Generativity

* guide the next generation
* committed beyond self
* realized child relearning

Erikson: Stagnation

* self-centered
* lack of involvement with concern with young people

Mid-life Crisis?

* people enter a time of self-doubt and stress
* 10%-20% of adults experience

Gender Identity in Middle Adulthood

* can change during adulthood
* females → more assertive, confident
* males → sensitive, dependent
* adopt to more traditional roles when becoming parents

The Big 5 (McCrae & Costa)

* openness
* conscientiousness
* extroversion
* agreeableness
* neuroticism

Openness

* open to experience
* creative experience

Conscientiousness

* responsible
* test oriented
* planful

Extroversion

* social outgoingness
* high activity

Agreeableness

* trusting, cooperative, helpful
* caring towards others

Neuroticism

* negative emotionally
* moodiness
* fear, worried

Friendships

* important for females, well-being and self esteem
* women friendships more intimate
* effect of time limitations

Marriage and Divorce in Middle Adulthood

* 80% of adults get married
* Divorce common first 10 years

Parenting Adolescents

* early adolescence - increases in conflict
* emotional impact on parents

Adult Children and the Empty Nest

* moving out Is an important experience for parents and children
* negative interactions very stressful for parents
* midlife parents give more assistance than they receive

Caring for Elderly Parents

* midlife adults gain appreciation of parents’ sacrifices
* daughters report closer relationships

Sandwich Generation

providing financial and martial support to aging parents and young children (15%)

Grandparenthood

* late 40s, early 50s
* timing influences experience
* involvement associated with adolescent well-being

Subjective Age - Middle

identify with younger selves

Subjective Age - Late

* most adults feel younger than age
* don’t categorize as “being old”
* important buffer against stereotypes
* impact of context

Erikson: Ego Integrity

* feel whole, complete, satisfied
* serenity and contentment
* associated with psychosocial maturity

Erikson: Ego Dispair

* feel decisions were wrong
* bitter for unaccepting of wrong death

Reminiscence & Life Review

* telling stories from one’s past
* life review
* reflection on past, permitting greater self-understanding
* assignment of meaning to life

Religion Health and Aging

* religiosity increases across lifespan
* positively associated with health behaviors, health outcomes, well-being
* ethnic / cultural differences

Friendships

* quality increases, quantity decreases
* teens more meaningful than young adulthood
* often share values, activities, and some demographics

Siblings

* share long-term common history → reminiscence
* reported as close friends, regardless of geographic distance
* provide emotional support and at times, physical help
* widowed adults rely even more on siblings

Marriage and Cohabitation

* satisfaction increases
* less conflict, more humor and respect
* increasingly common, positive outcomes for older adults

Divorce

* less likely compared with young couples
* adjustment more difficult
* women often face financial hardship
* remarriage is less likely older childhood
* men more likely to remarry

Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren

* tend to have less contact as family moves away
* most older adults find the role fulfilling
* fosters sense of longevity
* 1/3 rate relationships as close
* factors of proximity, positive relationships to parents & grandparents, and helping out

Elder Maltreatment

* acts or omissions of care that cause harm to person
* occur within context of trusting relationship

Elder Maltreatment - Prevalence

* 6-10% of older adults report abuse in the last month
* generally believed to be under-reported
* those disadvantaged are more likely to be victimized

Elder Maltreatment - Prevention

* dealing with caregiver stress and burnout
* respite services

Disengagement Theory

assumes natural decline in social interaction as older adult anticipates end of life

Mutual Decline

by both individual & society’s demands to making aging smoother

Activity Theory

* declines in social interaction are a function of social barriers to engagement
* older adults attempt to engage in civic and social activities to boost morale and satisfaction
* then more active the better

Continuity Theory

* older adults work to maintain continuity and consistency in self despite changes due to aging
* desire to maintain their habits and lifestyle, adapting as needed
* effort to minimize losses and optimize strengths to maintain sense of self

Socioemotional Selectivity Theory

* increased awareness of time (limited time left)
* selecting “out” relationships that are not as important or that are “downers”
* emphasizing relationships that are important meaningful

Neighborhoods

* rural vs urban
* 1/4 of US adults live here

Aging in Place

* preference to age in own
* sense of control
* importance of support systems

Residential Communities

designed to meet physical and social needs

Nursing homes

* poorer outcomes
* importance of sense of control and social interactions

Deciding to retire

* financial readiness
* health status
* working conditions

Adjusting for Retirement

* common honeymoon phase
* mostly adjust positively

Influences on Retirement Adjustment

positive health, financial security, social integration

Clinical Death

absence of heartbeat

Persistent Vegetative State

appears awake, is not