Middle Adulthood Psychosocial
What does the "sandwich generation" mean?
People are in a stage where they have both relationships with adult children and relationships with aging parents.
What is functional age?
-Age that indicates the actual competence and performance of older adults. The competence and performance of older adults based of physical, cognitive, and social functioning. May be higher or lower than chronological age- they are correlated
What happens to the brain overall during this time?
•Total brain mass declines effecting the hippocampus, cerebellum and frontal lobe.
Erikson theorized that this stage in life is accompanied by the crisis ego-integrity vs despair. Explain what this means.
He refers to the idea that when looking back on life people will associate it with either :
Ego integrity: looking back on one’s life and accepting it for the better or worse
or
Despair: entails regrets and bitterness about the course of one’s life
This is the act of ceasing medical intervention that would prolong a person's life.
Passive euthanasia
What trends do we see in marital satisfaction during middle adulthood?
-Rising levels of marital satisfaction likely due to their children entering emerging adulthood and leaving home.
- An increase in Companionate love (High intimacy/ High commitment)
What happens to memory during this time?
There is a general maintenance in
-Procedural memory: Memory for how to perform tasks or activities
-Semantic memory: Memory for meaning of words and factual information
Declines in
-Working (short-term) memory:Memory for information that is currently the focus of your attention
-Episodic memory: Memory for personal recollections
-Source memory: Memory for where a piece of information was acquired
The idea that older adults pursue emotional goals more than they pursue knowledge goals and that they maximize their emotional well being by being selective in their social contacts are components of which theory?
Carstensen’s socioemotional selectivity theory (SST)
What type of euthanasia is controversial and not legal in every state?
Active euthanasia: taking steps to hasten death
generativity vs. stagnation (7th stage)
Generativity: Motivation to contribute to the well being of generations to come
-Increases from 30s through 50s
-Parenthood and grandparenthood
-Mentor, teacher, leader
Stagnation: Focusing on one’s narrow self-interest without concern for the good of others now and in the future
What is the difference between primary and secondary aging?
Primary: inevitable biological aging
Secondary: due to disease lifestyle behaviors
-Decline in physical functioning due to lifestyle behaviors. Like unhealthy diet, insufficient exercise, substance abuse, and environmental issues like pollution, and smoking
What are the main factors that influence Alzheimers?
-genes
-diet
-exercise
-cognitive activity
Name the most common living arrangements in late adulthood.
-Home
Most people prefer to live independently
-Nursing home
Extensive medical care
-Assisted living facility
Separate apartments with some support
-Hospice care
Severe disabilities
What changes in the trends of death have we seen throughout history into modern times?
Throughout most of history the major cause of death was infectious diseases and infancy was the life stage with highest mortality. Modern death differs depending on stage and infancy is no longer as dangerous of a time. For adolescents, emerging adults, young adults automobile accidents, homicide and suicide are common causes of death. Middle adults and especially older adults die more often due to heart disease, cancer and suicide.
What generally happens to someone's perception of self during this time?
Self-acceptance and self-understanding increases and overall people tend to feel more positive about themselves and their lives than younger adults. This comes with an increases in psychological well-being and life satisfaction.
What are some chronic conditions that typically arise during this time?
-Arthritis: Disease of the joints effects their long term use
-Osteoporosis: bones becoming brittle
Majority happens to women, estrogen
-Most common visual impairment is cataracts (50% of people have them in their 80s)
What are the common brain diseases that occur during this time?
-Dementia: Neurological condition that entails losses in cognitive functioning severe enough to interfere with daily life
- Alzheimer’s disease: type of dementia that involves structural decline
What are some of the characteristics of emotional well-being during this time?
People report high emotional well-being, lower depressive symptoms, lower rates of loneliness. In addition people generally report that positive emotions increase sharply in late adulthood, negative emotions decline steadily and self esteem increases.
According to free radical theory aging is due to the accumulation of cell-damaging free radicals. What role do antioxidants play in helping to minimize free radicals?
Free radicals are unstable molecules that cause damage to DNA and other cell structures. Antioxidants absorb the extra electron in free radicals making them more stable.
What are some characteristics associated with job peaks and job losses during this stage of life?
-With job peaks we see job satisfaction, lower absenteeism and fewer job changes.
With job losses we see higher rates unemployment most likely due to the fact that is is more difficult to get a job after been terminated or laid off, especially if someone has been at the same job for most of their life. We also see work burnout during this time when people lack job satisfaction.
During this time we see a decline in the functioning of all of the senses, what are the major factors that can contribute to a decline in vision?
Vision declines can be due to many different conditions such as
- cataracts: hardening of lens
- macular degeneration: lost of clarity on the retina
-glaucoma: increased pressure in the eye
What happens to attention during this stage of life?
Declines in:
-Selective attention: Ability to tune out irrelevant information
-Divided attention: Ability to keep track of more than one information source simultaneously
-Sustained attention: Ability to concentrate on a task for an extended period of time
According to the SOC model what is the key to successful aging and how can it be accomplished?
The key to successful aging in SOC model is to know your limits, and to find ways to enjoy life within those limits. This can be accomplished by selecting and optimizing their best abilities while compensating for declines and losses.
What are the key components of cellular clock theory and how do telomeres relate?
The theory holds that there is an intrinsic limit to the number of times cells can replicate themselves. According to the Hayflick limit cells can replicate themselves approximately 50 times. Telomeres relate because they are the cell DNA at the end of chromosomes. They become slightly shorter with each cell replication and eventually they are so short that replication can no longer occur. Stress can cause premature shortening of the telomeres.