Later Adulthood Development - Essay Example

Later adulthood development: of Introduction As the director of nursing, it is essential to educate and enlighten the potential client families on the changes that they are likely to face, and the personality and social development measures to undertake and expect in their later adulthood. The late adulthood stage begins at the age of sixty-five years whereby, many of these adults gain different perspectives about life. Some of them are more comfortable with their life whereas others are disillusioned and bitter about it. It is crucial for the individuals who have attained this age group to clearly understand that old age does not limits ones mental or physical state (Brownie & Horstmanshof, 2012). Through various researches, it has been observed that many people at their late adulthood enjoy life and still carry out their normal daily activities. This report will explain deeper on the late adulthood stage, describing the roles and changes that the old people have in the society. Additionally, it expounds on the changes that they are likely to expect affecting their; living accommodations, retirement from their work, families, marriages, other peer relationships, and the social policies that will affect them. There are also many theories that are associated with this late adulthood period in which, they outline what to expect at this age. Examples of the theories include; the disengagement theory which states that the older people engage less on the societal duties and roles hence withdrawing much from the community (Pu & Chou, 2013). However, their withdrawal is positive to the nation since most of the young people are able to get employment opportunities. Additionally, it is advisable to maintain the activity theory, which states that even the old people should maintain activities, in order to live a healthy life. Changes in the roles and social position during the late adulthood Previously, in the disengagement theory, it is clear that the old aged in the society withdraw from their work and rest in their homes. However, as explained above in the activity theory, it is important to ensure that the old aged are working or engaging in a particular activity to live a healthy life. Consequently, must this old people to have their roles and duties to play in various social position in the society. First, the young people in their workplaces replace the old so that they can perform all the duties and roles they used to perform earlier (Pu & Chou, 2013). At this age, it would be advisable for the old aged people to consider giving back to their own community. Through research, most of the old people prefer offering assistance in various sectors in their community such as being helpers in the church. Additionally, their social position changes too: most of them prefer to volunteers as advisors of the younger people in the community. Engaging in these social activities has been proven vital since it fosters the old aged a sense of belonging and acceptance in the community and society. The social world however must also provide the society with these changes so that the elderly can engage in the new rewarding roles (Brownie & Horstmanshof, 2012). Additionally, by exposing them to the social world at this age, the old people are able to improve their interaction and engagement with the community members. However, it is observed that most of the elderly people are very careful since they maintain their satisfactory engagements and ignore the unsatisfying social ties. The continuity theory also advises that the elderly should maintain their activities to a certain level to ensure that there is consistency between their present life and their past life. Living accommodations such as accessibility from work to retirement It is the dream of every person that he or she will be able to afford everything in his or her old age without much struggling. Means of living accommodation refers to the things that ensure that an individual can live a good and independent life without depending on others (Lange & Meer, 2013). Consequently, all the old aged dream that even after they retire, they will still manage to rely on their selves especially in providing their basic needs without relying on other people for support. Due to this reason, many of the old aged individuals continue working for a short time to ensure that they have a smooth transition between their working and retirement period. However, some people continue working so that they can have the money to use whereas other enjoys the working environment. The work environment that most people enjoy is that they continue socializing with other community members remaining active even in their late ages. Additionally, some regulate their working hours by minimizing them so that they can slow and ease their retirement period (Brownie & Horstmanshof, 2012). Governments have come up with strategies that enable the old people have a smooth transition to their retirement period through the transition to retirement policies. This transition to retirement is beneficial since it prepares the mind of the elderly to begin a new life. However, many things determine the transition process of every individual. In most cases, a smooth transition is determined by the health of an individual, the financial circumstances, and the attitude of someone towards his or her retirement and the behavior or attitudes of their loved ones towards the transition process or his or her old age. Adjustments and transition from work to retirement There are various adjustments and transitions that the old age can employ in their life to have an enjoyable and comfortable life after retirement. However, the adjustments that are employed must be very positive to ensure that the old age have a successful retirement period (Firmino, 2013). The elderly have to initiate to living a simple life through avoiding spending much on unnecessary and unproductive things. The second transition and adjustment that an individual prefers to take is to ensure that they work lesser in their old age hours compared to their early age, to ensure that they adapt to the retirement period. Thirdly, important transitions that have to be undertaken by an individual are the retirement processes, relocation, and bereavements (Pu & Chou, 2013). The old however have to adjust and ensure that they have a positive attitude towards the retirement process. They also have to adjust to their regions of relocation. In this case, they have to live on smaller quarters to reduce their costs. They also have to adjust on the bereavement that affects them in their old age especially in case they lose they spouses in a time like this. Changes in marriage, family, and peer relationships The changes affecting individuals in their late adulthood differ between individual, and they mainly depend on how one reacts to this retirement (Brownie & Horstmanshof, 2012). The most commonly affected in this case include the individuals families, marriages and peer relationships. Peer relationships decrease since communication between the old people reduces, as most of them tend to live in far away quarters, mostly at the countryside, where they are able to enjoy and relax with their family members. Due to this shift, it is observed that their family relationships in most cases increase since they are able to spend most of their time with their loved ones. Consequently, the old are able to spend their time with their children, grandchildren and their spouses (Lange & Meer, 2013). Through research, it has been identified that most of the elderly people enjoy their retirement period since they are able to get the company from their family members. Marriages differ between individuals since some of them have financial difficulties that consequently affect their relationships. However, it is an advantage to most of them since they are able to spend more time with their spouses leading to stronger marriage bonds. Social policies that affect older adult Many social policies affect the old age in the society. The government in most cases should take responsibility and ensure that the old are able to have a prosperous life even after retirement. One, medical care is a major issue that affect the old people. The government should ensure that it comes up with subsidized healthcare and medical protections and services whereby the old are able to receive healthcare services at a subsidized price (Brownie & Horstmanshof, 2012). The older adults also face a tough financial time since they have fewer finances. Consequently, funding and financial assistance should be provided to the old age to ensure that they do not suffer in their period after retirement and in order to increase their living period. Additionally, they should also be respected in the society for them to feel acceptable and comfortable during their old age period. Conclusion Conclusively, all the old aged should be taken care of and respected in the community since they are our parents and grandparents. The old should be protected from experiencing a hard time since this would lead to them having a negative attitude towards their old age. They should also receive proper medical care to ensure that they live a longer life. In the end, many people will enjoy their old age and refer to it as the best time of their life. References Brownie, S., & Horstmanshof, L. (2012). Creating the conditions for self-fulfilment for aged care residents. Nursing Ethics, 19(6), 777-786. doi:10.1177/0969733011423292 Firmino, H. (2013). Improving quality of care: focus on liaison old age psychiatry. Mental Health In Family Medicine, 10(3), 153-158. Lange, E. E., & Meer, K. K. (2013). Prevalence, presentation and prognosis of delirium in older people in the population, at home and in long-term care: a review. International Journal Of Geriatric Psychiatry, 28(2), 127-134. doi:10.1002/gps.3814 Pu, & Chou, Y. (2013). The impact of self-rated health on medical care utilization for older people with depressive symptoms. International Journal Of Geriatric Psychiatry, 28(5), 479-486. doi:10.1002/gps.3849 Read More