Middle Adulthood Notes

Middle Adulthood (20-65 years)

• Falls between early adulthood (20-40 years) and late adulthood (65+ years).
• Characterized by aging, potential decline, and disability.

Announcements

• Rough draft/paper topic, media article, and two peer-reviewed articles due Friday of Week 7.

Middle Adulthood: Generativity vs. Stagnation

• Ages: 40-65 years.
• Relatively understudied as a developmental period.
• Key developmental task according to Erikson: Generativity vs. Stagnation.
• Generativity: procreativity, productivity, and creativity.
• Parenting.
• Community engagement.
• Work output and legacy.
• Erikson believed the virtue that helps middle adults complete and succeed in this developmental stage is “Care.”
• Period defined also by obvious aging and early periods of decline and disability (for many, but not all).

Aging

• Primary aging: biological factors, such as molecular and cellular changes, and oxidative damage.
• Wrinkles.
• Hair & nail changes.
• Muscle loss.
• Disabilities develop.
• Secondary aging: aging that occurs due to controllable factors, such as an unhealthy lifestyle, including lack of physical exercise, poor diet, etc.
• Risk factors for negative health outcomes, as well as cognitive/physical decline can be reduced.
• Access to resources to help adopt healthy lifestyles is NOT equitably distributed in the U.S.

Aging Introduces Disability

• Percentage by age with a disability:
  • 18-24 yrs: 9.5%
  • 25-34 yrs: 10%
  • 35-44 yrs: 14.4%
  • 45-54 yrs: 21.2%
  • 55-64 yrs: 34%
  • 65-74 yrs: 42.3%
  • 75+ yrs: 64%

Aging & Health (or Disease)

• Incidence of major chronic diseases increases with age:
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Cancer
  • Alzheimer's Disease (AD)
  • Influenza-associated hospitalization
• Incidence rates are normalized to the first data point.
• All of these are considered "life-style" diseases.

Social Determinants of Health

• 1 year of life gained with every mile traveled on either DC metro or New Orleans rail as you move away from predominantly non-white neighborhoods.
• Mortality from all cancers is higher in areas with a higher percentage of non-white residents compared to the city average.
• Good health is strongly socially determined.
• Health-Wealth Gradient:
  • Socioeconomic status influences health through:
    • Economic Stability
    • Education
    • Social & Community Context
    • Neighborhood & Environment
    • Health Care

Telomeres and Aging

• Middle-aged sedentary individuals experience increased adiposity and sarcopenia, systemic inflammation, oxidative damage, and shorter telomeres, leading to dysfunctional immune cells and senescence, lower nitric oxide levels, and reduced survival to COVID-19.
• Master athletes who are highly fit have healthy body composition, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant defenses, longer telomeres, preserved cell function, preservation of CD4+ cells, prevention of senescent T-cells, higher nitric oxide levels, and potentially improved survival if infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Power of Exercise

• Exercise is the best way to reduce negative effects of aging (e.g., delays telomere shortening).
• Exercise helps combat reduction in metabolism, as well as muscle loss.
• Exercise is also related to positive cognitive & brain health!
• Exercise is better than “brain apps” e.g. Lumosity.

Telomere Health and Aging

• Slow Telomere Shortening:
  • Meditate
  • Eat a healthy diet (Omega-3 fatty acids, Antioxidants, Vitamin D)
  • Wear sunscreen
  • Exercise
  • Be happy
• Speed Telomere Shortening:
  • Obesity
  • Psychological Stress
  • UV radiation
  • Smoking
  • Pollution/toxins
  • Disease
  • Oxidative stress

Midlife Crisis

• Mortality becomes a clear concept, leading to re-evaluations.
• Midlife transition is considered a time of re-evaluating previous commitments.
• Compare to early adulthood, when one often dreams of future events.
• Most people actually do not experience a midlife crisis (Vallient study of Harvard Longevity).
• Focus shift from “interesting work” to “my passion.”
• Emphasis on social connections and activities with meaning to others.

Generativity vs. Stagnation

• Erikson: Generativity vs. Stagnation.
• Establishment of family and career.
• Virtue: care of others.
• Identity shift in middle adulthood from "star" to "mentor" or "caregiver”.

The U-Bend of Happiness

• Self-reported well-being tends to decrease in early to middle adulthood but increases again in later life.

Positivity Bias

• Older adults tend to recall relatively more positive images and fewer negative images compared to younger adults.

  	Positive	Negative	Neutral
  18 to 29	3.75	3.8	2.5
  41 to 53	4	3.6	2.7
  65 to 80	3.1	1.7	1.3

Longevity

• Humans are the only ape to demonstrate longevity after the reproductive years.
• Experience and wisdom linked to improved well-being and satisfaction despite increased health problems if we can survive long enough.

Parenting

• A common developmental stage for many adults.
• US birth rate is decreasing.
• Majority of childless adults say they just don't want to have children.

Fertility Rates in the U.S.

• U.S. fertility hit an all-time low in 2019 and 2006.
• General Fertility Rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-44):
  • 2019: 58.3
• Completed Fertility (lifetime births per woman ages 40-44):
  • 2006: 1.86

Reasons for Not Having Children

• Among non-parents ages 18 to 49 who say it is not too/not at all likely they will have children:
  • 56% say they just don't want to have children.
• Among those who say 'some other reason:'
  • Financial reasons: 19%
  • No partner: 17%
  • Age: 15%
  • State of the world: 10%
  • Climate change/the environment: 5%
  • Partner doesn't want kids: 2%

Parenting Statistics

• Over 58% of all pregnancies unplanned.
• Approx. 85%+ adults become parents at some point in their lives.
• First-time mothers: Approx. 27.5 years.
• First-time fathers: Approx. 31.2 years.
• Are there “critical” or “sensitive” periods for parenting?
• Is there a best time to become a parent?
• When are we at our “parenting best”?

Critical and/or Sensitive Periods for Parenting

• Primate research indicates that the postpartum period is a critical period for establishing or dampening caregiving motivation.
• Primate kidnapping within first 2 weeks but not afterwards.
• Primate adoption possible within first 2 weeks, but not afterwards.
• Acceptance of infant if separated and reunited within first 2 weeks, but not if returned after 2 weeks or if taken and returned after the 2nd week.
• Hormonal changes underlying pregnancy (estradiol, progesterone, oxytocin) enhance caregiving motivation.
  • Increase interaction with fetus during late pregnancy.
  • Increased maternal feelings 20-24 weeks of gestation – release of Oxytocin.
• Lack of such hormonal changes predictive of “good-enough-parenting” or less, but not “Optimal parenting.”
• Fathers who have a drop in testosterone bond better; infant characteristics critical.

Child Abuse Statistics

• Number of cases of child abuse in the United States in 2022 by age: Higher for younger children and younger parents.
• Maltreatment is higher at lower socioeconomic status.
• Maltreatment is a social artifact.
• Taking away cash assistance from families for not meeting work requirements increases child welfare involvement.
  • +23.3% increase in substantiated neglect reports.
  • +13.4% increase in foster care entries due to neglect.
  • +12.7% increase in total foster care entries from 2004 to 2015.

Risk Factors for Insensitive Parenting & Problematic Child Outcomes

• Caregiver’s own early attachment history.
• Amount of stress in caregiver’s life.
• Mental illness.
• Social support available to caregiver.
• Social isolation – deprived of role models, resources, relief.
• Spousal/partner relationship.
• Poverty.
• Parenting effectiveness: A sociocultural construction.

Parenting: A Developmental Process

• The Six Stages of Parent Development:

  1. Image making
  2. Nurturing
  3. Authority
  4. Interpretive
  5. Interdependent
  6. Departure

Stages of Parenthood and Associated Tasks

• Stage 1: The Image-Making Stage (Planning for a child; Pregnancy)
  • Main Tasks and Goals: Consider what it means to be a parent and plan for changes to accommodate a child.
• Stage 2: The Nurturing Stage (Infancy)
  • Main Tasks and Goals: Develop an attachment relationship with child and adapt to the new baby.
• Stage 3: The Authority Stage (Toddler and preschool)
  • Main Tasks and Goals: Parents create rules and figure out how to effectively guide their children's behavior.
• Stage 4: The Interpretive Stage (Middle childhood)
  • Main Tasks and Goals: Parents help their children interpret their experiences with the social world beyond the family.
• Stage 5: The Interdependent Stage (Adolescence)
  • Main Tasks and Goals: Parents renegotiate their relationship with their adolescent children to allow for shared power in decision-making.
• Stage 6: The Departure Stage (Early adulthood)
  • Main Tasks and Goals: Parents evaluate their successes and failures as parents.

Influences on Parenting

• Parent Characteristics:
  • Examples: Personality, Developmental history, Mental health, Beliefs, Knowledge, Gender, Age
• Child Characteristics:
  • Examples: Temperament, Gender, Skills, Behavior, Age, Health
• Contextual & Sociocultural Characteristics:
  • Examples: Social network, Work Setting, Neighborhood, School, Culture