PART 7

Middle Adulthood

Middle Adulthood

– years between ages 40 and 65

Presbyopia

– difficulty focusing on near objects

Myopia

– nearsightedness

Presbycusis

– gradual hearing loss

Basal Metabolism

– minimum amount of energy that your body needs to maintain vital functions while resting

Vital Capacity

– the maximum volume of air the lungs can draw in and expel – may begin to diminish at about age of 40

Menopause

– when a woman permanently stop ovulating and menstruating and can no longer conceive a child

Perimenopause (Climacteric)

– beginning of menopause; woman’s production of mature ova begins to decline, and the ovaries produce less estrogen

Hypertension

– high blood pressure, increasing important concern from midlife and the world’s leading preventable cause of early death

Type 2 Diabetes

– mature onset, the most common type; develops after age 30; glucose levels rise because the cells lose their ability to use insulin

Type 1 Diabetes

– juvenile-onset, or insulin-dependent, in which the levels of blood sugar rises because the body does not produce enough insulin

Osteoporosis

– bones become thin and brittle as a result of calcium depletion (due to falling of estrogen levels)

Mammography

– diagnostic x-ray of the breasts

Hormone Therapy

– treatment with artificial estrogen

Stress

– the damage that occurs when perceived environmental demands or stressors exceed a person’s capacity to cope with them

Fluid Intelligence

– ability to solve novel problems, such as problems that require little or no previous knowledge

Crystallized Intelligence

– ability to remember and use information acquired over a lifetime, such as academics

Specialized Knowledge or Expertise

– form of crystallized intelligence that is related to the process of encapsulation

Phased Retirement

– people reduce works hours or days, gradually moving into retirement over a number of years

Bridge Employment

– switching to another company or new line of work

Literacy

fundamental requisite for participation not only in the workplace but in all facets of a modern, information-driven society

Religion

– organized set of beliefs, practices, rituals, and symbols that increases an individual’s connection to a sacred or transcendent other

Religiousness

– degree of affiliation with an organized religion, participation in its rituals and practices

Spirituality

– involves experiencing something beyond oneself in transcendent manner

Need for Purpose

– goals and fulfillments

Need for Values

– enable people to decide whether certain acts are right or wrong

Need for a sense of efficacy

– belief that they can control their environment

Generativity

– involved finding meaning through contributing to society and leaving a legacy for future generations

Care

– widening commitment to take care of persons, products, and the ideas one has learned to take care for

Middle Adulthood (40-65 yrs)

Generativity vs. Stagnation

Care

Generativity vs. Stagnation

Stagnation

– disconnected from the communities because of their failure to contribute

Midlife Crisis

– changes in personality and lifestyle during middle forties

Turning Point

– psychological transition that involves significant change or transformation in the perceived meaning, purpose, or direction of a person’s life

Midlife Review

– involves recognizing the finiteness of life and can be a time of taking stock, discovering new insights about the self, and spurring midcourse corrections in the design and trajectory of one’s life

Developmental Deadlines

– time constraints on

Ego Resiliency

– the ability to adapt flexibly and resourcefully to potential source of stress

Identity Process Theory (IPT)

– physical characteristics, cognitive abilities, and personality traits are incorporation into identity schemas (Susan Krauss Whitbourne)

Assimilation

– interpretation of new information via existing cognitive structure

Accommodation

– involves changing cognitive structures to more closely align with what is encountered

Identity Assimilation

– involves holding onto a consistent sense of self in the face of new experiences that do not fit the current understanding of the self

Identity Accommodation

– involves adjusting the identity schema to fit new experiences

Identity Balance

– stable sense of self while adjusting their self-schemas to incorporate new information

Narrative Psychology

– views the development of self as a continuous process of constructing one’s life story

Generativity Scripts

– feature redemption and associated with psychological well-being

Social Convoy Theory

– people move through life surrounded by Social Convoys in whom they rely on assistance, well-being, and social support

Social Convoys

– circles of close friends and family

Socioemotional Selectivity Theory

– social interaction has 3 main goals: (1) it is a source of information; (2) it helps people develop and maintain a sense of self; and (3) it is a source of emotional well-being

Marital Capital

– the longer a couple is married, the more likely they are to have built up joint financial assets, to share the same friends, to go through important experiences together, and to get used to the emotional benefits that marriage can provide

Empty Nest

– occurs when the youngest child leaves home

Revolving Door Syndrome or Boomerang Phenomenon

– returning to parent’s home, sometimes with their own families

Filial Crisis

– adults learn to balance love and duty to their parents with autonomy in a two-way relationship

Sandwich Generation

– caught in squeeze between the competing needs of their own children and the emerging needs of their parents

Caregiver Burnout

– a physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that can affect adults who care for aged relatives

Respite Care

– giving caregivers some time off

Kinship Care

– grandparents that provides care but don’t become foster parents or gain custody, have no legal status and few rights