Adult Life Span

Adult development Issues faced in adulthood Aging

Adult Development Erikson: Psychosocial Development Intimacy vs Isolation Generativity vs. Stagnation Integrity vs. Despair

Adult Development Levinson: Season’s of a Man’s Life The “Dream” Deflation of the Dream Change of time perspective

Adult Development Vaillant: Adaptation to Life (1977): Study of Healthy Adults Aging Well (2002): How we grow old - happily or in misery - is more under the control of ourselves, rather than our genes and upbringing

Critical Issues Adults Face Changing Family Roles Normal Aging Menopause Alzheimer’s Bereavement

What is a “traditional” family in the U.S.?  single parent families  birth rate for mothers aged  Both parents working full time. High divorce rate

zTThe percentage of babies born to unmarried British, Canadian and American women (1/3 of whom were teens) has more than quintupled since Percentage of births to unwed mothers Year JapanBritainUnited StatesCanada

50% of marriages in the U.S. end in divorce Negative effects of divorce related to degree of conflict and not necessarily to divorce itself.

Effects of Maternal Employment Positive effects for daughters Positive effects for daughters Negative effects for sons Negative effects for sons

Menopause increased depressive symptoms for women associated with: increased depressive symptoms for women associated with:  physical inactivity, inadequate income, use of estrogen/progesterone combination, and presence of climacteric symptoms (trouble sleeping, mood swings, or memory problems).  Menopausal status not associated with depressive symptoms.

Aging Sociological Issues: current change in demographics Sociological Issues: current change in demographics Physiological and cognitive changes associated with aging Physiological and cognitive changes associated with aging

Adulthood- Cognitive Changes Cross-Sectional method suggests decline Longitudinal method suggests more stability Age in years Reasoning ability score Cross-sectional method Longitudinal method Cross-sectional method suggests decline Longitudinal method suggests more stability

Adulthood- Cognitive Changes Verbal intelligence scores hold steady with age, while nonverbal intelligence scores decline (adapted from Kaufman & others, 1989) Intelligence (IQ) score Age group Nonverbal scores decline with age Verbal scores are stable with age Verbal scores Nonverbal scores

Adulthood- Social Changes Multinational surveys show that age differences in life satisfaction are trivial (Inglehart, 1990) Percentage “satisfied” with life as a whole Age group

u Number of caregivers is growing u Many over 60 have living parents u Women provide most of the care u Average woman spends more years caring for elderly than children u Caring for grandchildren is increasing Caregiving

Adulthood- Social Changes Kubler-Ross (1969) proposed that the terminally ill pass through a sequence of five stages –denial of the terminal condition –anger and resentment (Why me?) –bargaining (with God or physicians) for more time –depression stemming from impending loss –acceptance of one’s fate

Bereavement Normal grief may involve a number of physical symptoms. Insomnia Appetite changes Weight loss Psychomotor retardation

Which of the following changes can be viewed as a normal part of aging? 1. Decreased cognitive capacity 2. Increased depression 3. Increased fears of illness 4. Increased agitation 5. Decreased performance speed

Studies have shown that college students with poor psychological adjustment are most likely to: 1) Develop more physical problems as middle-aged adults. 2) Outgrow the psychological problems. 3) Have improved sibling relationships during their college years. 4) Value psychological health and promote health when they marry. 5) Develop good work habits to compensate for feelings of inferiority.