Lecture

Late Adulthood

Aging Quiz

1. Most adult children can’t wait to ship their aging parents off to a “home.” 2. Most people over 65 are in nursing homes or other institutions. 3. Most people over 65 are financially insecure. 4. Comparing younger and older people at one point in time will tell us

what the younger people will be like when they are old. 5. Nuclear families in today’s society have little contact with kin. 6. Aged drivers have fewer accidents per driver than those under age 65. 7. Most people have the same career for a lifetime. 8. The shock of retirement often results in deteriorating physical and

mental health. 9. Over three-fourths of the aged are healthy enough to carry out their

normal activities. 10. Those who are most able in their youth decline the fastest in old age. 11. Women live longer than men because they don’t work as hard. 12. In general, old people tend to be pretty much alike.

Ageism

Ageism is prejudice against others because of their age, especially prejudice against older adults.

Older adults may be perceived as incapable of thinking clearly, learning new things, enjoying sex, contributing to the community, and holding responsible jobs.

Yet, variability.

The Young Old, the Old Old, and the Oldest Old

Developmentalists distinguish between subperiods in this stage, although definite age boundaries are not yet agreed upon.

The young old are 65-74 years of age. The old old are 75 years and older. Some distinguish the oldest old as 85 years and older. Many experts prefer to make the distinction based on functioning, rather than age. Functional age: A person's actual ability to function -> the young old = those who

regardless of their actual age are vital and active.

The Oldest Old

The oldest old are much more likely to be female. They have a much higher rate of morbidity and a greater incidence of disability

than the young old. They are much more likely to be living in institutions. A substantial portion function effectively, and the majority continue to live in the

community. Forty percent say they have no activity limitation.

Longevity: Life Expectancy and Life Span

Life span - the upper boundary of life, the maximum number of years an individual can live.

The maximum life span of human beings is approximately 120 years of age. Life expectancy - the number of years that will probably be lived by the average

individual born in a particular year. The life expectancy of individuals born today in Canada is 78.6 years.

Sex Differences in Longevity

Today, life expectancy for females is 82, males 76. Beginning at age 25, females outnumber males, and the gap continues to grow. By the time adults are 75 years of age, more than 61% of the population is female. These differences are due to health attitudes, habits, lifestyles, and occupation. Biological factors play a role, too, as females outlive males in virtually all species.

Variations in Life Span: Factors

Quality of the health care system Quality of food Genetic predispositions Health habits Geographic location Psychological variables: Optimism. Self-esteem.

Concept: Active life expectancy

Biological Theories of Aging

Programmed Theories Cellular Clock Theory

Hormonal Stress Theory Damage theories

Free-Radical Theory

Cellular Clock Theory

Leonard Hayflick’s view that cells can divide a maximum of about 75-80 times and that, as we age, our cells become increasingly less capable of dividing.

Thus, Hayflick places the upper limit of the human life span at about 120 years. Recent research has shown that telomeres are DNA sequences that cap

chromosomes, and that each time a cell divides, telomeres become shorter and shorter.

Age-related telomere erosion has been found to be linked with an impaired ability to recover from stress and an increased rate of cancer formation.

Hormonal Stress Theory

Aging in the body’s hormonal system may lower resilience to stress and increase likelihood of disease.

With age, hormones stimulated by stress that flow through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system remain elevated longer than when we were younger.

These prolonged, elevated levels of stress-related hormones are associated with increased risks for many diseases including heart disease and cancer.

Free-Radical Theory

States that people age because inside their cells normal metabolism produces unstable oxygen molecules known as free radicals.

These molecules ricochet around the cells, damaging DNA and other cellular structures.

This damage can lead to a range of disorders, including cancer and arthritis.

The Aging Brain

Recent research has shown that adults continue to grow new brain cells throughout their lives.

Even in late adulthood, the brain has remarkable repair capability. Across the years from 60 to 90, adults with higher levels of education show

significantly less atrophy of the cerebral cortex than do those who have fewer years of schooling.

Physical Appearance

The changes are most noticeable in the form of facial wrinkles and age spots. We get shorter when we get older. Our weight usually drops after we are 60, most likely due to muscle loss.

Sensory Development

Vision Hearing Smell and Taste Touch and Pain

Vision

Any decline in vision that began in early or middle adulthood becomes more pronounced.

Dark adaptation is slower. Visual field becomes smaller.

Hearing

Hearing impairment may begin in middle age, but doesn’t become an impediment until late adulthood.

Seventy-five percent of individuals aged 75-79 experience some type of hearing problem.

Smell and Taste

Most older adults lose some of their sense of smell, taste, or both. Smell and taste losses often begin around 60 years of age.

Touch and Pain

Studies have shown that with aging, individuals could detect touch less in the lower extremities than in the upper extremities.

For most older adults, this decline is not a problem. Older adults are less sensitive to pain and suffer from it less than younger

adults. This can be harmful if it masks injury and illness that need to be treated.

Sexuality

In a study of more than 1,200 elderly people, almost 30% had participated in sexual activity in the past month.

In the absence of disease, sexuality can be lifelong, though aging does induce some changes.

Orgasm becomes less frequent in males, and more direct stimulation is needed for erection.

About Alzheimer’s Disease The most common form of dementia. It is a progressive, irreversible disorder that is characterized by gradual

deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and eventually physical functioning.

As Alzheimer’s disease progresses, deterioration and shrinking of the brain occurs.

Approximately 2.5 million people over the age of 65 in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s disease.

Causes Efforts to identify the cause of Alzheimer’s have not yet been successful. Alzheimer’s disease may have a genetic basis in some individuals.

Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease

Brain scans such as an MRI. Certain spinal fluids give reasonably good clues of early signals of Alzheimer’s

disease. Recently a sophisticated urine test called the neural thread protein has predicted

the occurrence of Alzheimer’s in some individuals 2 years before the symptoms appear.

Psychological Tests

Stages There is a predictable, progressive decline in physical, cognitive, and social

functioning when individuals have Alzheimer’s disease. Once diagnosed, most patients live approximately 8 years. They progress from early problems of memory loss and declining intellectual

function to later stages in which hospitalization in a near vegetative state ensues.

Caring for Individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease

Psychologists believe the family can be an important support system for Alzheimer’s patients.

However, family support can have costs for the family, who can become emotionally drained by the extensive care required for a person with Alzheimer’s disease.

Depression has been reported in 50% of family caregivers for Alzheimer’s patients.

Cognition in Late Adulthood: Cognitive Mechanics The hardware of the mind; the neurophysiological architecture of the brain. Involve the speed and accuracy of the processes involving sensory input, visual

and motor memory, discrimination, comparison, and categorization. Due to the strong influence of biology, heredity, and health on cognitive

mechanics, their decline with age is likely.

Cognitive Pragmatics The culture-based software programs of the mind. Include reading and writing skills, language comprehension, educational

qualifications, professional skills, and also the type of knowledge about the self and life skills that help us to master or cope with life.

Because of the strong influence of culture on cognitive pragmatics, their improvement into old age is possible.

Memory and Aging

Some, but not all, aspects of memory decline in older adults. The decline occurs primarily in episodic and working memory, not in semantic

memory. Successful aging does not mean eliminating memory decline, but reducing it and

adapting to it. Younger adults are outperformed in prospective memory tasks.

Memory Beliefs Findings have shown a relationship between positive and negative beliefs about

one’s memory and actual memory performance.

Wisdom Baltes: Wisdom involves: Factual knowledge Procedural knowledge Understanding of relevance of context Understanding of relevance of values Recognition that it is impossible to know in advance how any decision will

ultimately affect one's life Research shows no age differences in wisdom.

Creativity

Some highly creative individuals (composers, artists) reach their peak in late adulthood.

Gene Cohen: Around age 50: Creative individuals enter a reevaluation phase -> intensification

of the will to create and produce. 60s: Liberation phase -> willing to take risks. 70s: Summing-up phase -> cohesive, meaningful story 80s: Encore phase -> desire to complete unfinished works or to fulfill desires

that have been put aside in the past.

The Terminal Drop Hypothesis

The terminal drop hypothesis states that death is preceded by a decrease in cognitive functioning over approximately a 5-year period prior to death.

Thus the negative findings for older adults in some investigations that compare older adults with younger adults may be due in part to age from death rather than simply age from birth.

Erikson’s Theory: Integrity Versus Despair

Erikson’s eighth and final stage of development, experienced during late adulthood.

Involves reflecting on the past and either piecing together a positive review or concluding that one’s life has not been well spent.

If the older adult has developed a positive outlook in each of the preceding periods, then retrospective glances and reminiscence will reveal a picture of a life well spent (integrity).

Negative reflections of the past lead to despair.

Robert Peck’s Reworking of Erikson’s Final Stage

Differentiation Versus Role Preoccupation Body Transcendence Versus Body Preoccupation Ego Transcendence Versus Ego Preoccupation

Differentiation Versus Role Preoccupation

Peck’s developmental task in which older adults must redefine their worth in terms of something other than work roles.

Peck believes older adults need to pursue a set of valued activities so that time previously spent in an occupation and with children can be filled.

Body Transcendence Versus Body Preoccupation

Peck’s developmental task in which older adults must cope with declining physical well-being.

For those whose identity has revolved around their physical well-being, the decrease in health and deterioration of physical capabilities may present a severe threat to identity and feelings of life satisfaction.

Ego Transcendence Versus Ego Preoccupation

Peck’s developmental task in which older adults must recognize that while death is inevitable and probably not too far away, they feel at ease with themselves by realizing that they have contributed to the future through the competent rearing of their children or through their vocation and ideas.

Activity Theory

States that the more active and involved older adults are, the more likely they will be satisfied with their lives.

Researchers have found strong support for activity theory, as when older adults are active, energetic, and productive, they age more successfully and are happier.

Disengagement Theory

States that to cope effectively older adults should gradually withdraw from society.

Older adults develop increasing self preoccupation, lessen emotional ties with others, and show decreasing interest in society’s affairs.

By following these strategies of disengagement, it was believed that older adults would enjoy enhanced life satisfaction.

These were the prevailing beliefs about older adults early in the 20th century.

The Successful Aging Paradigm

John Rowe and Robert Kahn Good physical health Retention of mental abilities A continuing engagement in social and productive activities. An individual's subjective sense of life satisfaction.

Selective Optimization with Compensation Theory

Paul Baltes’ theory states that successful aging is linked with three main factors: selection, optimization, and compensation.

Selection is based on the concept that older adults have a reduced capacity and loss of functioning, which require a reduction in performance in most life domains.

Optimization suggests that it is possible to maintain performance in some areas through continued practice and the use of new technologies.

Compensation becomes relevant when life tasks require a level of capacity beyond the current level of the older adult’s performance potential.

Career issues in late life

The normal retirement age is 65 in Canada. Phases of Retirement (Robert Atchley) Remote phase Near phase Five phases occur after retirement:

Honeymoon phase: Many individuals feel euphoric. Disenchantment phase: After the honeymoon stage older adults

often fall into a routine. Reorientation phase: Retirees develop more realistic life

alternatives. Stability phase: Stable choices and behaviors. Termination phase: The retirement role is replaced by the sick or

dependent role.

Adjustment to Retirement Older adults who are healthy, have adequate income, are active, are better

educated, and have extended social networks adjust better to retirement. Cultivating interests and friends unrelated to work improves adaptation to retirement. It is important to plan financially for retirement, and to consider other areas of your

life as well. Individuals who retire involuntarily are more unhealthy, depressed, and poorly

adjusted than those who retire voluntarily.