Transitions in Adulthood - Retirement from Work - Research Paper Example

Transitions in adulthood (retirement) Retirement from work is a transitional phase of life when an individual exit from a role and figure out new roles in life. Transition during retirement is an intense phase irrespective of the position held by the individual at workplace as the CEO of a company or as a normal worker, an individual begins to withdraw from the past and shift towards a new way of life. A research by Schlossberg indicates that retirees follow different kinds of paths to evolve during the transition process. Some continue their life in a slightly altered way from their previous work life while others adventure and experiment new activities and yet some others take life easily and try to face it as it comes. Certain other set of retirees try to find a place in the sun, some live the life of an involved spectator, some others move into retreat and some combine these paths of life. Retirees have an individual psychological portfolio that acts as a bridge to connect the past work life and future retired life. The portfolio includes the individual’s relationships, identity and meaningful involvement in the given living environment (Goodman et al 2006 p.51) Line of inquiry Psychological researches claim that there is a great significance for transitions in adulthood especially in the event of retirement because it notifies the beginning of another phase of life where there is a decline in activities and roles played together with changes in socio economic and physical status that can impact the psychological well being of the individual. Psychological theories There are several perceptions by psychological researches that have evolved into theories over time. A number theories have evolved about old age and retirement because one single theory cannot explain all aspects of social gerontology. Two theories have gained prominence due to its closer evaluation to demonstrate how intensely held values have an impact on all ageing theories and these theories bring out question regarding the meaning of retirement. Disengagement theory Disengagement theory is one of the earliest detailed efforts that explain the transition of an individual into old age, in the modern society. Disengagement theory views old age as a period when the older individual and the society undergoes a mutual separation as it is the condition when a person retires from work. The disengagement from work is considered as a normal and natural process reflecting the biological sequence of life. The disengagement process is considered as a functional change that serves the individual and the society. Disengagement theory has a close relation to modernization theory. Modernization theory assumes that the elderly has to hold less status when the society turns efficient and modern, and therefore it is natural for old people to disengage. Disengagement theory is evolved out of extensive research known as Kansas City Studies of Adult Life which was a ten year long study on transition from adulthood to old age. The disengagement assumption is not based on empirical research but it is compiled as a theory that describes facts that turn up the way it is (Moody, H.R. 2006 p.8) Gerontologists however have criticized disengagement theory because it was evolved in the 1950’s when the social circumstance were different from the present state. Though the original disengagement theory is not much accepted, the pattern describes certain basic attributes of old people, for instance, the behaviour related to retirement. There is a rise in the number of old people who do not display the basic behaviours of disengagement or withdrawal from the society as they become old. Further, disengagement cannot be called as a global phenomenon of behaviour that is inevitable or natural when individuals grow old. The assumption that retirement is functional, which means useful, is a terms which is of advantage to the organisation and not of advantage to the individual because old people wish to undergo flexible retirement. This is one reason why mandatory retirement at a specific age was ended due to a Congress initiative in 1986. The concept behind disengagement theory is complex to explain about the actual behaviour of old people. For instance, when individuals grow old they tend to partially disengage from certain activities like work and spend more time for other selective activities like leisure and family. During life after retirement, healthy people usually engage in a number of activities and total disengagement is not common among all old people. The increase in age is usually combined with decline in physical ability, health and social networks. Individuals who age successfully tends to compensate and adjust to the losses by viewing the changes of old age from a wider perspective. This attitude is sometimes called wisdom. Researchers of Kansas City Study found that when the age of an individual increases there is a trend for greater interiority which means an increase in attention to the psychological world. Adults reach an extreme condition in their interest towards activities and achievements. When they approach old age, they tend to detach from these activities and are indulged in ego transcendence as if the y expected a predictable loss during their later life. While analyzing old age from this perspective, disengagement does not necessarily explain the outward behaviour of people but it refers to the inner attitude of an individual towards life. Additionally, there is no evidence to suggest that all old people are involved in a specific psychological disengagement stance because some people are ambivalent with respect to their attachments and activities. Therefore, the ability of a person to detach from any engagement at any age depends on individual differences. During the life after retirement, some people prefer disengagement while some others prefer to continue with their active life. Activity Theory Activity theory of aging argues that when people are more active they are likely to be satisfied with life (Moody, H.R. 2006 p.9) The theory assumes that the way a person thinks depends on the activities and roles in which the individual engage. According to activity theory most of the old people continue with their life by engaging in activities and roles in which they were engaged earlier since they have the same values and requirements in life. Continuity theory of aging Activity theory is supported by continuity theory which states that when people grow old they are inclined to continue with the same personality, habits and style of life which they developed during their adulthood. According to continuity theory and activity theory, a decline in social interaction is evident when the person has disability or poor health rather than when the functional requirement of society to detach old people from their roles take place in the form of retirement. Certain aspects of activity theory are supported by a number of researches that suggest social engagement, continued exercise and productive roles contribute to life satisfaction and good mental health. Research also shows that perceived social integration or informal activity is significant in encouraging subjective well being. It may be said that expectations and attitudes of the old person regarding detachment or activity is of more significance than formal participation models. The activity of an old person depends on the attitude and it is not exclusively based on the external physical behaviour. In case age limitations or retirement makes it impossible for a person to remain active, activity theory claims that the person will find alternatives for their previous activities to remain engaged. This is one reason why social activities are encouraged by government by setting up long term care and senior centres to keep old people active. The sentiment to keep old people active is hostility to retirement which is widely accepted. However, active involvement is plausible only for the young old when compared due to the old-old due to biological limitations that cannot be overwhelmed through voluntary attempts. Though there have been several measures to keep old life active there are several barriers for social engagement during old age. For instance, remarriage is easier for men than for woman and there are several age related discriminations in the labour market (Moody, H.R. 2006 p.10). Concepts and issues Erikson’s psychosocial theory conceptualizes that personal development reaches a complex stage due to physical aging. At the same time, it is not right to assume that most of the older people are infirm, sickly or senile. Research shows that only around five percent people older than sixty five years are admitted to nursing home and that older people have the mental capability similar to an average young man. Old people score well in intellectual tests because they are intellectually active and continue to work. A research by Warner Schale in 2005 indicates that old people are mentally sharp if they continue to be healthy, live in a favourable setting, is involved in intellectually active activities like reading and possess a flexible personality (Coon,D. & Mitterer,J.O. 2008 p.109). Old people tend to be mentally active when they maintain the processing speed for normal activities and are satisfied with accomplishments in life (Coon,D. & Mitterer,J.O. 2008 p.110) It is perceived that psychological preparations are required by the prospective retiree to deal with post retirement days. A person may not fully realise that the office, colleagues, familiar sights and even coffee breaks will be missed after retirement. Old people may even have sleep disturbance, depression and loss of appetite on retirement (Sell, C.M. 1991 p.236) Retirement can be confusing if a person has not planned the post retirement life. The options include spending time for leisure, religious activities, living with children or to involve in volunteer activities. Research shows that more than 48 percent retirees do not wish to leave their job. Retirement is stressful when the person has some other difficulty like financial insecurity or illness (Sell, C.M. 1991 p.237) Off late there is a change to the conceptualization of retirement that coincides with transitions into adulthood and has psychological significance to the individual’s family, work and leisure. Other than psychological and physical transitions that occur during old age, a discrete transition occurs when the person moves from a full time work to a part time or unpaid work. This gives rise to multiple retirements. In terms of gender, retirement of a man, who is the dominant breadwinner of the family results in the encroachment of woman’s personal and domestic space (Arber et al. 2003 p.31) While men view that there will be a new method of dividing domestic labour and would generate new ideas about the person’s masculinity. Therefore retirement of a person has an impact on the wife and husband relationship. A research by Cliff in 1993 indicates adjustments made by both genders in dealing with domestic division of leisure and labour to avoid one person getting into the role of others. In contrast, a research by Hilbourne in 1999 reveals that the division of domestic labour at home is a minor factor in retirement but major focus is on interpersonal relationships and emotional factors. It was found in Hilbourne’s research that more women are concerned about the impact of their husband’s retirement on their marriage. Though gender does not have much relevance, these are certain current and prospective notions about retirement. While these may be considered as old concepts of retirement, the conventional retirement patterns indicate the emergence of new identity among old people. This idea is evolved from the influence of higher education and the degree of achievement, access to pension schemes, betterment in the standard of health and changing consumer culture. Under these circumstances, retirement is viewed from a different framework where the lifestyle is based on leisure undergoes a change. Social fragmentation and differentiation based on occupational levels thus leads to an increasingly polarised group within the over-fifties where some follow hedonistic lifestyle while others lead a lonely and financially poor life (Arber et al. 2003 p.32) Research and Evidence A research was conducted on psychological well being and retirement transitions among 458 married women and men. The research revealed that there is a relationship between the psychological well being and retirement transition which must be considered from a temporal life course perspective. Retirement is a milestone for most of the old people because it also means that they are passing into the later stages of life. Therefore, it is not only an objective transformation but also a subjective development in the course of life with much significance for socio-psychological transformation which has a relation to psychological and physical well being. Retirement may lead to a decrease in well being because individuals do not continue to have occupational attachment or social network of colleagues. Since there are many attributes that affect life after retirement, the empirical research collected from the investigations is inconsistent. Critical examination of the research While some researchers have found a negative association between life satisfaction and retirement and a positive relation to psychological difficulty, other researchers have concluded that there are no psychological changes related to life satisfaction and retirement, physical health and psychological difficulty and there is a reduced level of stress. The contradiction in evidence can be overcome by longitudinal dynamic analysis to know more about the differences between groups of non-retirees and retirees and their actual experience about retirement transition. Earlier research on retirement transition was purely based on men’s retirement. Recent research gives emphasis to the retirement of both men and women and their spouses. A longitudinal analysis conducted over prospective retirees and retirees during the period 1994-1995, 1996-1997 and 1998 -1999 revealed that there temporal changes and gender differences based on contextual variables. Men have a better morale than women on retirement and women report comparatively higher symptoms of depression than men. It is also found that men have more income adequacy when compared to women though the income adequacy parameter has dramatic changes over the first two waves of investigation. Further, a subjective increase in the health of both men and women is found together with a decline in marital satisfaction due to marital conflict and marital quality. Post retirement men show more personal control than women though there is a decrease in personal control with the passage of time after retirement (Kim, J.E. & Moen, P. 2002 p.212 -222). It may be noted that individuals face transitions in adulthood especially after retirement based on the socioeconomic and cultural settings and there is a decline in some aspects of their psychological well being in the course of the transition. The most significant principle of life space theory is that developments in life is a life long process and that the various stages of aging is the outcome of not only age specific factors but are indicators of the lifespan conditions. A second principle of the theory is contrary to traditional assumptions of child psychology that emphasises development as a positive factor in the composition and function of behaviour and states that life span development is a multidirectionality of development. It is assumed as per multidirectionality that there are negative as well as positive changes throughout life in adaptive capacity for a specific function and in the personality of all behaviours. These changes are related to the intelligence of the person which is exhibited during adulthood and later during old age. The intelligence to adapt to changes remains stable in the person in the long term and in certain cases the ability to adapt begins to decline from early adulthood. The extreme assumption of theories of multidirectionality is the gain loss dynamic and the contention that development is a combination of losses and gains. The theory claims that there is no pure gain associated with the adaptive capacity of an individual and there is no absolute loss. There has also been research to determine whether the ontogenetic process involves any negative factors and outcomes (Magnusson, D. 1997 p.431) Based on various factors of psychological functioning ranging from fundamental intelligence to mental health, it is theorised that the natural aging process is not only biological but it is also based on the culture in which the human being lives. Lifespan theory also states that the extent of psychological functioning during old age and age related transitions in adaptive capacity is deeply influenced by transactions and interactions in the cultural setting evolved as a result of constraints and opportunities that arise from the cultural-environmental perspective and how the individual adapts to these influences while moving into old age (Magnusson, D. 1997 p.434) Conclusion It may be concluded that the assumptions of various psychological theories are true though the assumptions cannot be completely true in all cases because transition in adulthood is influenced by various factors in the social, economic and cultural perspectives and the changes in the living style of people can have either a positive or a negative impact on life after retirement. Reference Arber,S., Davidson,K. & Ginn, J.2003 Gender and ageing: changing roles and relationships New York: McGraw-Hill International Coon,D. & Mitterer,J.O. 2008 Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior Kentucky: Cengage Learning Goodman, J., Schlossberg,N.K. & Anderson, M.L. 2006 Counseling adults in transition: linking practice with theory New York: Springer Publishing Company Kim, J.E. & Moen, P. 2002 Retirement Transitions, Gender, and Psychological Well-Being The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences Vol.57 p.212-222 Available: http://psychsoc.gerontologyjournals.org/cgi/content/full/57/3/P212 Magnusson, D. 1997 The Lifespan Development of Individuals: Behavioral, Neurobiological, and Psychosocial Perspectives: A Synthesis New York: Cambridge University Press Moody, H.R. 2006 Aging: concepts and controversies California: Pine Forge Press Sell, C.M. 1991 Transitions through adult life Michigan: Zondervan Read More