A guide to middle and late adulthood - Assignment Example

? A Guide to Middle and Late Adulthood Put Here Put School Here A Guide to Middle and Late Adulthood The process of aging can be intimidating atany stage of life. As we develop, there are different processes that are affected (Allemand, Zimprich, & Hendricks, 2008). Much of the public focus is placed on the biological or physical aspects of aging, as well as the cognitive developments that take place. The term cognitive refers to your thinking abilities, and it’s not uncommon to hear someone call these into question as we enter our later years (Ball et al., 2002). The most under looked aspect of aging is the socioemotional process. This term refers to changes in our social lives and emotional responses as time passes. We will examine each of these aspects of aging, the challenges that often accompany transitions into middle and late adulthood, as well as some activities that can be undertaken to lessen the impact of these challenges. The Stages of Development Psychologist Erik Homburger Erikson developed a list of eight stages that a healthy human should pass through during life. He proposed that we face a crisis during each of these stages, and must conquer this issue productively in order to move on to the next (the term “mid-life crisis” is a misuse of this concept (Aldwin, 2001)). The most important periods in our discussion are middle adulthood and late adulthood. Middle adulthood falls in the range of 40 to 65 years, and the main struggle associated with this stage is between generativety and stagnation. This refers to the need to contribute to the following generation. This is not necessarily accomplished through having children, and direct contact with younger people may not even be essential to gaining a strong sense of generativety. Without finding some way to feel that you are contributing to society and/or the next generation, there is a risk of stunting personal growth. This is what is known as stagnation in Erikson’s model. After the age of 65 years, we are considered to be in late adulthood. Erikson quite dramatically described the crisis of this stage as ego integrity vs. despair. In this context ego integrity is a complicated concept, but we can loosely understand it as a general sense of satisfaction with life as it is and as it has been lived. Of course, despair is a good description of what it must feel like to be unsatisfied with life at such an experienced age. Retrospect is the tool we use to evaluate life during the last stage of our development, and if we are not happy with our evaluation, then despair and hopelessness may become serious risk. Challenges of Middle Adulthood The changes of middle life come in many forms. Physical differences may begin to arise as the body becomes worn. Sensory functioning (typically centered on vision and hearing) will normally worsen by the mid forties. Physical strength and coordination tends to decline around this age, but on the upside, sexual activity can be as frequent and as lively as in earlier adulthood. Additionally, both men and women undergo a series of physical changes involving the lowering of certain types of hormone production during this time frame known as menopause in women, and sometimes man-o-pause in men. Cognitive changes go both ways during middle adulthood, with some developments being gainful and others lessening (Carlson et al., 2008). Socioemotional growth is often positive during middle and late adulthood, while support and social networks tend to be stronger. Middle adulthood may also bring the challenge of being in a “sandwich generation” (Chassin, Seo, Presson, & Sherman, 2009). This term refers to a situation where someone is responsible for dependent children and dependent parents at the same time, often leading to physically, emotionally, and financially draining circumstances that add to the challenge of aging. There are a multitude of activities that can act as buffers for the changes that occur during middle life. Physical activities of all types are a healthy choice to maintain muscle coordination and strength, but challenging activities can be especially useful in combating the feeling that life has become boring or stagnant, which in turn becomes a risk for depression (Covinsky, Yaffe, Lindquist, Cherkasova, Yelin, & Blazer, 2010) Team sports are a good option to keep up physical health as well as social connections. Challenging sports as well as hobbies can be great tools for sharpening your cognitive abilities. Reading frequently is another way to stay mentally bright, but don’t expect television to do you much good. Joining social groups and taking part in family activities are excellent options for building upon and maintaining socioemotional health, as well as keeping in touch with people who are important in your life. If you feel confident with a particular skill, becoming a local instructor can be a great activity to deal with the need for generativety. Challenges of Late Adulthood The passage into late life continues some of the challenges of middle adulthood, while introducing some of its own. Late adulthood sees the continued deterioration of physical and cognitive processes. Age brings a natural degeneration process of bodily tissues, including those of the brain. This atrophy (wasting) of cellular structure is largely responsible for muscle weakening, skin drying and wrinkling, hair loss, and the loss of sensory abilities. It may also be the cause of cognitive decline such as memory loss, slowed processing, and some types of dementias. Socioemotional health is tricky to assess in late adulthood. It is believed that life events such as retirement leads to a decline in social activity, but evidence suggests that the result may actually be increased social activity due to a growing reliance on others (Cornwell, Laumann, & Schumm, 2008). Another view of decreasing social activity with later age describes the increased alone time as a desirable thing because it signifies the shedding of responsibilities and stress. This is known as disengagement theory. Successful aging is a concept that centers on maintaining the appropriate types of activities throughout life. Even if the disengagement theory is correct, it is recommended that some activity be maintained to ward off physical and psychological impairment. The continuation of physical, cognitive, and social activities throughout the transition between middle and late adulthood is known to promote good physical and cognitive well-being through continuity (Laditka et al., 2009). Staying active in the community is important for keeping social connections, though maintaining independence is also an important factor to many aged people. A balance must be found in order to maximize the benefits of social and individual activities. Almost inevitably, aging will result in some sort of limitation, be it cognitive, physical, or social (Von Bonsdorff, & Rantanen, 2010). While it is healthy to accept our limitations as they occur, another approach may also be taken to fill the void. Selective optimization is the process of compensating for deficits in one area by focusing on other skill types. For example, if your knees are too bad to continue physical activity at the pace you are used to, then rather than simply losing activity time, you can instead substitute another type of physical activity that is easier on your knees, or instead turn to a cognitive activity (crosswords, etc.) or social activity (sitting in a park). In this way, pessimism can be turned to optimism (or avoided all together) and being active will remain an important part of your life (Ryff & Singer, 2009). Conclusion The process of aging is unavoidable, but it is not inherently negative. There are many positive consequences of growing older, such as refining certain skills, and learning which things in life are really important to you and/or bring you the most happiness. The wisdom that comes with experience is easy to take for granted, but it is not something to be underappreciated. As we age, we will experience physical, cognitive, and socioemotional changes that will sometimes lead to the loss of an ability. The limitations that may occur as you move into the later stages of life can be disheartening, but with the right mindset and an active lifestyle, you can compensate for many of these barriers without having to experience the feeling of sacrifice. In fact, many people consider aging to be an extremely satisfying process. References Aldwin, C. M. (2001). Stress, coping, and health at midlife: A developmental perspective. In M. Levenson & M. Lachman (Eds.), Handbook of midlife 2.54development (pp. 188-214). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Allemand, M., Zimprich, D., & Hendriks, A. A. (2008). Age differences in five personality domains across the life span. Developmental Psychology, 44(3), 758- 770. Ball, K., Berch, D. B., Helmers, K. F., Jobe, J. B., Leveck, M.D., Marsiske, M., … Willis, S. L. (2002). Effects of cognitive training interventions with older adults. 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