PS377- Adult Development and Aging PDF

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Summary

Dr. Nicky Newton...

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Adult Development and Aging January 10th, 2019

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There is no one way of aging Aging is the same as developing Variety of change in biological, psychological, and social aspects of our lives- everyone changes at their own rate Inter-individual difference in intra-individual change Theory and practice

Demographics of Aging ● ● ●

Currently more older people than younger people in Canada There have never been as many older adults in industrialized countries as there are now Numbers increased dramatically in the 20th century (better health care, lowering of women mortality during childbirth)

The Lifespan Perspective ●

Four key features (Baltes, 1987)

1. Multi-directionality: development involves both growth and decline, at different rates 2. Plasticity: capacity not predetermined of fixed- improvement is possible although limited 3. Historical Context: development occurs within a particular set of circumstances (ex. Historical time and culture in which we’re born/grow up 4. Multiple Causation: variety of forces; biological, psychological, sociocultural and life cycle Lifespan Development ● ● ● ●

P & M Baltes (1990): maximize gains and minimizing losses: SOC model Selection: focus resources towards a limited number of possible developmental trajectories Optimization: acquire and invest in goal relevant means to maximize gains Compensation: processes that minimize losses by changing lost goal relevant means that threaten functionality

Generativity ●

“… The establishment, the guidance, and the enrichment of the living generation and the world it inherits”

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Adaptive strength/virtue: care (for family, community)

Ego Integrity ● ● ●

Coming to terms with the life on has lived Ego integrity balances integrity with despair, creating an adaptive strength/virtue: wisdom Although dominates older adulthood, pre worked in earlier life through loss of loved ones, relationships, injury, disease, etc…

Diversity of Older Adults ● ● ● ●

Older women out number older men in all ethnic groups in Canada Number of older visible minorities in Canadian population increased in the last two decades Older adults educational levels continue to improve’ Better educated people tend to love longer, mostly because of higher incomes giving access to better health care and more healthful lifestyles

Definitions of Age ●

Chronological age

1. Biological Age: how well vital, or life limiting organ systems function 2. Psychological Age: the functional level of psychological abilities people adapt to changing environmental demands 3. Sociocultural Age: the roles individuals adopt in relation to other members of society and culture to which they belong

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Developmental Influences ● ● ●

Normative Age-Graded: biopsychosocial forces that are highly correlated with chronological age (ex. Social clock) Normative History-Graded: events most people experience at the same time (events may be biological, psychological, or sociocultural- ex. Baby boom) Non-Normative: random events important to an individual, not experiences by most people (ex. Winning lottery, losing both your parents at age 2)

Issues in Studying Adult Development ● ● ● ●

Nature vs. Nurture Stability vs. Change Continuity vs. Discontinuity: smooth progression over time vs. Series of abrupt shifts Context-Specific vs. Universal: one path or many paths to development

Types of Developmental Effects ● ● ●

Age Effects: differences caused by under-lying biopsychosocial processes Cohort Effects: differences caused by experiences and circumstances unique to the generation to which one belongs Time of Measurement Effects: different stemming from sociocultural, environmental, or historical events (era)

Designs for Studying Development ● ● ●

Cross Sectional Design: developmental differences identified by testing people of different ages at different times Longitudinal Design: same individuals are observed/tested repeatedly at different points in their lives Sequential Design: both combined

Take-away Points ● ● ● ●

Different people age ate different rates Lifespan development theories (ex.SOC; Erikson stage theory) Forces of development (bio, psycho, social) Types of development effects/influences...