Transcript Slide 1
Life Span Development
Middle Adulthood:
Biosocial Development – Ch. 20
Psychosocial Development – Ch. 22
July 22, 2004
Class #13
Middle Adulthood
Biosocial development halfway
between beginning and end of
adulthood
Variations in aging, influenced by
genes
income
ethnicity
life
style
Primary and Secondary Aging
Primary aging—inevitable age-related changes
Secondary aging—age-related changes that are
the consequence of a person’s behavior or
society’s failure to eliminate unhealthy
conditions
drinking
smoking
eating
lack of exercise
Looking Old
Hair turns gray and thins
Wrinkles appear and skin becomes dry
Body size (people get shorter) and shape
change (fat pockets settle on various
parts of body)
As people age, they can either accept or
try to change their appearance
The Senses
Vision
more likely to need corrective lenses
Hearing
some
hear much better than others
none hear perfectly
hearing acuity also differs by sex, with men
suffering greater loss
Vital Body Systems
Systematic declines make people
more vulnerable to disease
Flu shot recommended for middleaged people who have had illness or
medical condition that depletes organ
reserve
U.S. death rate during period of
middle age has been cut in half
The Sexual-Reproductive
System
Changes occur in the sexual
reproductive system during middle age
sexual
responses slower
reproduction less likely
Menopause
Occurs between ages 42 and 58
marked
decrease in the production of
estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone
primary factors in exact age are genes and
chance factors before birth
can
also occur earlier because of health habits,
particularly cigarette smoking and malnutrition
Menopause
Perimenopause, or Climacteric
extends
from 3 years before to 3 years after
cessation of menstrual cycle
timing of periods is erratic
unpredictable ovulation, with several ova
released sometimes, and at other times none
can
result in “change of life” baby
Menopause
Symptoms of the Climacteric
lower
estrogen, osteoporosis, inability to
reproduce
hot flushes, hot flashes, cold sweats
(vasomotor instability)
mood changes for some women
psychic consequences extremely variable
Hormonal Replacement Therapy
HRT
treatment
to compensate for hormone
reduction
usually involves estrogen and progesterone
Hormonal Replacement Therapy
Women’s Health Initiative revealed
long-term use (10 years or longer) of
HRT increases risk of
heart
disease
stroke
breast cancer
Osteoporosis
Male Menopause?
Do men undergo menopause?
Males
decline in sperm production and motility, as
well as lower testosterone levels
No dramatic andropause
though men can suffer from sudden, stressrelated shifts in hormone levels
the opposite can also occur: a rise in selfesteem
Male Menopause?
Even with the help of new drugs, like
Viagra, most men will experience a decline
in sexual desire and speed of intercourse
as they age
Worry about aging bodies and life
changes can magnify the sexual
consequences of aging
Measuring Health
4 Measures of Health
death,
disease, disability, and
vitality
Mortality and Morbidity
Mortality—the number of deaths
each year per 1,000 people in a given
population
Morbidity—the rate of diseases of all
kinds, chronic and acute, in a given
population
Disability and Vitality
Disability
inability
to perform activities that most
others can
more costly to society than either
mortality or morbidity
Vitality
how
healthy and energetic one is—
physically, socially, and emotionally
The Burden of Poor Health
Quality-Adjusted Life Years
(QALYS)
years
of full vitality
useful in evaluation of the costs and
benefits of various medical
interventions
for
example, clean water, immunizations,
and adequate nutrition all improve quality
and length of life
The Burden of Poor Health
Disability-adjusted life years
(DALYS)
each
year lost to premature death and
each fraction of full quality of life due
to disability reduces a person’s DALYS
Burden of disease—total reduction in
vitality caused by a disease-induced
disability in a given population. An
example would be obesity of
Americans.
Health Habits Over The Years
Health habits are relevant through all of
life, but most crucial during 35-65 for
reassessment and improvement
many
middleagers improve their health
habits
individual and environmental variations can
affect who gets healthier—choices are
crucial
Tobacco
More than 1/4 of middle age
nonsmokers are former smokers
1/4
currently smoke
Quitting by age 65 is too late for some
smokers
death
rates are about the same as they
have been in the past
Tobacco
Smoking increases rate of most other
serious diseases including
cancer
of the bladder, kidney, mouth,
stomach
heart disease
stroke
pneumonia
emphysema
All smoking diseases are dose- and
duration-sensitive
Tobacco
Secondhand smoke is dangerous
Worldwide tobacco use is expected to
cause more deaths in 2020 than any
other single condition
Smoking influenced by social norms
Alcohol
Adults who consume alcohol in moderation
(nor more than two servings a day) tend to
live longer than those who never drink
helps
reduce heart disease
More alcohol consumption comes with
notable risk
Alcohol
Alcohol is a depressant yet we often feel
lively after a couple of drinks…
It
gives this feeling by slowing down the brain
centers that control judgments and inhibitions
Curious Effects
Memory
Sex
Hangover
Alcoholism
Refers to one’s dependence on alcohol that
seriously interferes with one’s life
Most common and costly form of drug abuse in
U.S.
Aproximately 7% of adults 18 and over (10M
people)
Traditionally more common (about 2 to 1)
among males but recent research suggests that
women are closing this gap
Detrimental Effects
Life span of average alcoholic is 12 years shorter
than the norm
Alcoholism ranks as the third leading cause of
death in U.S.
More than one-third suffer at least one
coexisting mental disorder
Organic impairment such as brain shrinkage
occurs in a high proportion of alcoholics
About 20% attempt suicide
About 10% are successful
Detrimental Effects
Associated with about half of deaths and major
injuries suffered in motor vehicle accidents
Associated with about half of all murders
Associated with about one-third of all assaults
and rapes
Associated with about one-third of all arrests
Alcohol-related accidents are the leading cause
of death among college-aged individuals
Symptoms of Alcohol Dependence
Use alcohol to boost self-confidence and to relax
around others
Drink to forget their problems or to relieve stress
Often are the ones who want “one more” drink
even when their friends have stopped drinking
After friends have left they drink with new
friends…often close the bar…stay past last call
Get drunk without planning to
Have blackouts
Symptoms of Alcohol Dependence
Lie about their drinking, try to hide it,
sneak drinks at work or school
Drink in the morning to cure a hangover
May begin to have financial, work, or
family problems
Complete loss of control
Treatments
Rehab Centers
Alcoholics Anonymous
Treatment centers where the addict is supervised 24/7
Supervised detoxification period to eliminate drugs from our
bodies system
Self-help group
Little research because of members anonymity but indications
are most don’t stick to it
Need to go to regular meetings for it to work
90 meetings in first 90 days and then at least once per week
after that
Antabuse
A type of aversion therapy where usually a pill is taken that will
cause the patient to become sick whenever they drink alcohol
Obesity and Overweight
According to the World Health
Organization,there is a worldwide epidemic of
obesity and overweight
Excess pounds cut down 3 years of life
65 percent of U.S. population between 35 and
65 years of age are overweight
increased significantly for
both sexes,
in every decade
in every cohort
in every ethnic group
Obesity and Overweight
In almost every nation, people
weigh more than they did a few
decades ago
Being overweight increases risk
of every cause of disease, as well
as of disability and death
Losing Weight
3 factors make weight loss difficult
environmental
factors
more
easily alterable than evolutionary or genetic
causes
evolution
homeostastis
makes people who lose weight crave
food to protect against starvation
genes,
which regulate
metabolism
fat
accumulation
Exercise
Needed to attain and maintain a
healthy weight
Burns calories, decreases appetite, and
increases metabolism
Reduces ratio of body fat to body
weight
Enhances cognitive functioning
Ethnic Variations and Health
Women outlive men in every nation of the world
Well educated, financially secure people live
longer than people of same age, sex, and
ethnicity with less education and money
income and education lead to access to
services
People in cities live longer than do people in the
countryside
The Influence of Ethnicity on Health
Some immigrants are healthier than
long-time residents of same age and
ethnicity because
only
hardiest individuals emigrate
health habits of immigrants are better
immigrants have optimistic outlook
immigrants have family communication
and support
Three Causes of Ethnic
Variations in Health
Genetic risks
Specific health care behaviors
Social context factors including
stress, prejudice, and poverty
Genetic Risks
Each individual has particular genetic
risks to be aware of
family
history can make some risks
apparent
medical tests sometimes confirm genetic
influences
but genes act epigenetically—that is,
genes and lifestyle interact
Doctors and Patients
Health Care System
in
United States, works less well for
minorities and for the poor
minorities and the poor less likely to
seek preventive care
when they do get care, it is less than it
might be
The Social Context
People in poorer nations experience
higher rates of almost every disease,
injury, and cause of death
Psychosocial Development – Ch. 22
Personality Throughout Adulthood
Personality
continuity
provides
is a major source of
coherence and identity
The Big Five
Several researchers have found evidence
for the existence of five basic dimensions
of personality through factor analysis
5 factors are independent of one another
Everyone can be placed along a
continuum for all 5 factors/traits
The Big Five
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Emotionality (also referred to as
Neuroticism)
Intellect (also referred to as Openness)
What researchers say…
From a review of literature the following are
some of the important characteristics of the five
factors:
The factors are dimensions, not types, so people vary
continuously on them, with most people falling in
between the extremes
The factors are stable over a 45-year period
beginning in young adulthood
The factors and their specific facets appear heritable
The factors are considered universal
Knowing one's placement on the factors is useful for
insight and improvement through therapy
What Are These Five Factors?
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Bold versus timid
Outgoing versus introverted
Talkative versus silent
Friendliness versus indifference to others
A docile versus hostile nature
Compliance versus hostile noncompliance
Conscientiousness
Responsible versus irresponsible
Hardworking versus lazy
Cautious versus rash
What Are These Five Factors?
Neuroticism
Adjustment versus anxiety
Level of Emotional stability
Dependence vs. independence
Openness
Reflection of an inquiring intellect
Flexibility versus conformity
Rebelliousness versus Subduedness
Developmental Changes in Personality
Environment generally reinforces basic
temperament
significant
changes can make people act
differently
death
etc.
of a spouse, divorce, illness, career change,
Gender Convergence
Gender convergence—a tendency for
men and women to become more
similar as they move through middle
age
Gender crossover—the idea that each
sex takes on the other sex’s roles and
traits in later life.
Gender Convergence
These ideas are partly biosocial, “shadow
side,” and cultural
Barnett
and Hyde (2001) believe that this
change is historically-based
the
past century witnessed changes every decade
and gender roles changed
today’ middle-aged generation is probably less
likely to converge since male-female differences in
personality less apparent
The “Midlife Crisis”
A period of unusual anxiety, radical
reexamination, and sudden
transformation widely associated with
middle age, but probably more related to
developmental history than to
chronological age
The “Midlife Crisis”
The idea was promoted by Sheehy (1976)
and Levinson (1978), but no large study
has found such a crisis
Why then do people talk about it as if it
really existed?
myth
may allow adults to cope with
disappointment, frustration, sadness caused
by aged-related changes
Family Relationships in Midlife
Family is most important support system
If one’s own family is not doing that job,
“fictive kin” may be found
treated
as family by this group
Social convoy—group of people who form
relationships with an individual through
which they guide and socialize that person
as he or she moves through life
Partners
Having an intimate relationship is a source
of happiness, comfort, and self-respect;
for 70 percent of middle-aged Americans,
this achieved with a spouse
For some divorced, widowed, or nevermarried middle-aged adults, intimacy may
be achieved by cohabitation
Marital Happiness
Not all people are in good/happy
relationships
relationship
may be destructive
but worldwide, spouse abuse far more
common among younger married couples
than among middle-aged spouses
Marital Happiness
Often regain some of closeness of
early marriage
less
stress from kids
higher incomes
more time together
Studies in various cultures show that
marital happiness in midlife is true
In general, marriage relationships
likely to get better over time
Divorce and Remarriage
Not all couples become closer
after
years of marriage, divorce has more
impact
reduces
income, weakens family ties when longterms social bonds especially needed
Most divorced remarry within 5 years
Remarriage offers benefits to both men
and women
Second marriages end in divorce more
often than first marriages do
The Marriage Market for
Middle-Aged Adults
Marriage is likely to benefit middleaged adults
Middle-aged women are at a
disadvantage for marrying, remarrying
beginning
at aged 45, there are more
women than men
men tend to marry younger women
Other Relatives
Kinkeeper—the person who takes primary
responsibility for celebrating family
achievements, gathering the family
together, and keeping in touch with family
members who live far away
most
likely to be middle-aged
most are women, but men also can take the
role
Aging Parents
Relationship with Parents
improves
with time
Familism—the idea that family members
support one another because family unity
is more important than individual freedom
and success
stronger
with ethnic minorities
Siblings
Siblings often become closer to each
other in the second half of life than in
early adulthood
They help one another with problems with
teenage children, stressful marriages, and
family contacts
Siblings
Childhood Echoes—the relationship in
middle and late adulthood is
influenced by family values instilled in
childhood
closeness
can also be affected by
childhood rivalries, but these may be put
aside at this point
Adult Children
Relationship with Children
improves
with maturity of children
Seven-nation survey: 75 percent of
middle- aged parents communicated with
adult children several times a week
Adult Children
Forms of Parental Support
monetary
various services like babysitting
Some children return home, referred to
as “swollen nest”
Young adult children less likely to leave
home, especially if parents in good
health and they themselves are
financially needy
Grandchildren
Personality, ethnicity, national
background, and past parent-child
relationship affect nature of
grandparent-grandchild relationship as
does child’s age and personality
Bond closer if
grandchild
young
parent is first to have children
grandparent neither too young nor too old
to spend time/energy interacting
Types of Grandparents
Remote grandparents—respected and loved
emotionally
distant grandparents
Involved grandparents—active in day to day
life, live near, see often
Companionate grandparents—independent, with
own lifestyle and household, choose how
generational interaction occurs
Most grandparents want to be companions
Immigrant Grandparents
Happily become involved, especially when
all speak a common language
Often live in the same household
Children seem to develop better when
they are cherished and guided by a large
family
Surrogate Parents
Surrogate parents—grandparents who
take over the raising of their
grandchildren as a result of their adult
children’s extreme social problems
if
parents too poor, too young, drug or alcohol
addicted, single, newly divorced, then—
possibility of surrogate parenting increases
Surrogate Parents
Grandparents furnish stability, guidance,
and patience
Responsibility takes a toll if it lasts too
long
can
impair health and well-being
After Adult Children Divorce
More than one in three grandparents
witness divorce of an adult child
Grandparents typically provide extra help
when their newly divorced child receives
custody of children
If their adult child does not have
custody, they may be shut out
grandparents
in such situations may sue for
visitation rights
Work in Middle Adulthood
90 percent of men and 75 percent of
women in the United States are
employed
Worldwide, work is a welcome part of
life
Most jobs provide more joy than stress
Overall Trends
Meaningful work becomes more important as an
individual ages
salary and benefits tend to rise with seniority
lower rates of
absenteeism
being fired or quitting
seeking a new job
Many middle aged workers have worked for the
same employer for more than five years
There may be unexpected job loss as a result of
downsizing and restructuring or relocation of
company
Dealing with Job Stress
Some people addicted to long hours and
hard work, or “workaholism”
Both men and women are physically and
psychologically healthier if they have
multiple roles
Stress in one area of life can be
relieved by support from other areas
Scaling Back
Begin to deliberately balance work life with
other concerns
Place limits on work hours or responsibilities
One partner may work part-time or at a less
critical and lower paying job
Or partners may take turns; one focuses on
employment, the other on child care
Rethinking and shifting toward retirement
Retirement
Planning and actual event usually occur in
middle age
Retirement generally anticipated with
more joy than dread
The decision to retire is usually mutual,
since both husband and wife are working
Main planning consideration is financial