Chapter 15 Late Adulthood Psychosocial Development PDF

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Rebecca Gurneys Lifespan Psychology notes ...

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Chapter 15: Late Adulthood Psychosocial Development 

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Theories o Self Theories  Theories of late adulthood that emphasize the core self, or the search to maintain one’s identity and integrity  Erikson  Integrity versus despair o 8th stage o Older adults seek to integrate their unique experiences with their vision of community  Compulsive hoarding: urge to accumulate things as one gets older (e.g. old papers, pieces of furniture, and mementos)  Preserve themselves  Continuity theory: each person experiences changes of late adulthood and behaves toward others in a way that is consistent with his or her behavior in earlier periods of life  Selective optimization with compensation: people try to maintain balance in their lives by looking for the best way to compensate for physical and cognitive losses and to become more proficient in activities they can already do well  Positivity effect: the tendency for elderly people to perceive, prefer, and remember positive images and experiences more than negative ones o Stratification Theories  Emphasize that social forces, particularly those related to a person’s social stratum, or social category, limit individual choices and affect a person’s ability to function in late adulthood as past stratification continues to limit life in various ways  Disengagement theory: the view that ageing makes a person’s social sphere increasingly narrow, resulting in role relinquishment, withdrawal and passivity  Activity theory: elderly people want and need to remain active in a variety of social spheres - - with relatives, friends, and community groups - - and become withdrawn only unwillingly, as a result of ageism Activities o Work  Paid  Allows for generativity  Work because they need the money  21% of men and 31% of women over 65 were still working  Depression, drug abuse, and family stress are correlated with unemployment  Not working

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Originally thought people will work as long as they can in the work force, but found that people retired sooner when they were no longer required to quit at age 65  Volunteer work  Volunteering aids well-being  Healthy elders are more likely to be volunteers  Best in moderation - - volunteer for 2 hours a week for 1 organization o Home  The complexity of hobbies and home repair activities correlates with lower rates of dementia  Age in place: remaining in the same home and community in later life, adjusting but not leaving when health fades  Naturally occurring retirement community (NORC): a neighborhood or apartment complex whose population is mostly retired people who moved to the location as younger adults and never lef o Continuing Education  About 1 out of 5 U.S. adults age 66 and older was enrolled in some kind of continuing education in 2005  Elderly want to expand their knowledge where younger adults want skills for a job  Elderhostel  Education program designed for the elderly  Most meet when traditional students are on break o Religion  Although church attendance decreases, faith and praying increases  Religious identity is more important for older members of minority groups → elderly black women are less likely to commit suicide than elderly European American men 1:50 o Politics  Elderly are more politically active than people of any other age  60% of voters in nonpresidential U.S. elections were over age 65  Elderly are more likely to keep up with the news  AARP  Originally American Association of Retired Persons  U.S. organization of people age 50 and older that advocates for the elderly  Protects Social Security Friends and Relatives o Long-Term Partners  Married older adults are healthier, wealthier, and happier than unmarried people of their age  Older couples have learned to disagree  Retirement is better if both people retire at the same time  Death of a Spouse 

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Widowhood o The average married woman experiences 4 to 10 years of widowhood o Loss of mate, reduction in status, income, social activities, identity o Enjoy their independence and tend not to remarry  Widowers o Find it difficult to seek help o More likely to end up in a nursing home o High risk for suicide o Interested in dating and remarrying o Younger Generations  Adult Children  Filial responsibility: the obligation of adult children to care for their aging parents o Younger generations believe more strongly in it than older adults  Grandchildren  4 Approaches to Grandparenting: o Remote grandparents: emotionally distant, but respected o Companionate grandparents: entertain and “spoil” their grandchildren o Involved grandparents: active in the day to day lives of their grandchildren o Surrogate grandparents: raise their grandchildren because the parents are unable to do so  Most grandparents are companionate  Surrogate grandparents have more illness, depression, and marital problems o Friendship  As the number of unmarried elderly adults increases, the size of their social networks is likely to increase  Having a partner and children is good, but no essential for late-life happiness  Older mother had more regrets concerning their children than nonmothers had about the absence of children  Older adults need at least on close companion - - quality not quantity is crucial Frail Elderly o People over age 65, and ofen over age 85, who are physically infirm, very ill, or cognitively disabled o Activities  Activities of daily life (ADLs): physical and cognitive tasks of self-care to maintain independence  Eating  Bathing  Toileting 

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 Dressing  Transferring from a bed to a chair  Instrumental activities of day life (IADLs): require intellectual competence and forethought  EX: paying bills, driving car, feeding chickens, cultivating the garden  Inability to perform IADLs makes people frail even though they can perform ADLs o Caring  In the U.S. the caregiver is usually the spouse or the eldest daughter  Problems:  The sibling that is the caregiver wants help  Care receiver and caregiver disagree on schedules and menus  Public agencies rarely provide services unless there is an emergency  Nursing Homes  Last resort  Characteristics to look for: o Provisions for independence o Individual choice o Privacy  Expensive $75,00 – over $200,000 a year

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