Test 3: Chapter 12

Describe how relations with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren change during late adulthood.

Across cultures, contact with children continues to be frequent through late adulthood, and there may be a role reversal between parents and children, with parents now depending on their children for care and support. Although grandparents and grandchildren often decrease their frequency of contact as the grandchildren become busy with the tasks of adult life, feelings of closeness and affection established earlier remain strong for most. Relations with great-grandchildren tend to be less close than with grandchildren, and contact is less frequent.

Describe the changes in vision, hearing, taste, and smell in late adulthood.

Changes to the cornea, lens, retina, and optic nerve in late adulthood may lead to cataracts, macular degeneration, or glaucoma. Hearing typically declines in late adult- hood, although hearing aids may help compensate for this decline. Taste and smell also decline, which can have a negative impact on the diet and health of older adults.

Identify three lifestyle practices that have a positive influence on health.

Eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and avoiding unhealthy practices, such as cigarette smoking and excess alcohol consumption, all have a positive effect on health in late adulthood.

Distinguish between Erikson's theory and Carstensen's socioemotional selectivity theory of late adulthood

Erikson proposed that late adulthood is a period when the central challenge is ego integrity versus despair. Ego integ- rity means looking back on one's life and accepting the out- come of it, whereas despair entails regrets and bitterness about the course of one's life, and a conclusion that it has not gone well and now cannot be changed. Carstensen's socioemotional selectivity theory states that older adults maximize their emotional well-being by becoming increas- ingly selective in their social contacts. Carstensen argues that in late adulthood, knowledge-based goals fade in importance as people leave the workplace and no longer have daily responsibilities as coworkers and parents, caus- ing relationship goals to become more emotion-based.

Describe the changes in sleep patterns that occur during late adulthood.

In late adulthood many people take longer to fall asleep, wake up more often during the night, and sleep less deeply. Many older adults also experience sleep apnea. Changes in sleep patterns are due both to normal aging and to psychological and medical conditions.

Explain how the brain changes during late adulthood, and identify the symptoms and risk factors for Alzheimer's disease.

In late adulthood the brain actually shrinks and total brain mass declines. Declines also take place in certain neurotransmitters, such as acetylcholine and dopamine. The earliest symptom of Alzheimer's disease is a loss of memory for recent events and familiar names and tasks. Personality is often negatively affected, along with the ability to control bodily functions. A specific gene known as the ApoE gene indicates risk for Alzheimer's disease, but not everyone with the gene develops the disease. Diets high in fats and sugars increase the risk of developing the disease, and maintaining a high level of cognitive activity appears to be a protective factor against it.

Compare cultural views toward older adults, and distinguish between the three substages of late adulthood.

In many Asian and traditional cultures, status is based partly on age, and older adults are treated with respect and authority. Depictions of late adulthood are becoming more positive in the West as well, as shown in advertise- ments. Developmental psychologists divide late adult- hood into three substages: young-old (age 65-74); old-old (age 75-84); and oldest-old (age 85 and up). Adults in these substages may differ based on how they perform activities of daily living (ADLs), so gerontologists today often refer to the concept of functional age.

Describe the effects of intervention studies on cognitive decline, and explain how older adults adapt to physical and cognitive changes.

Intervention studies show that regular mental exercise enhances mental abilities and slows the cognitive decline that takes place with primary aging. This could include activities such as crossword puzzles, playing card games, watching educational television, and reading books. The most successful adaptation to declining physical and cog- nitive abilities in late adulthood involves selective optimi- zation with compensation (SOC).

Describe how leisure activities, community involvement, religious involvement, and media use change in late adulthood.

Leisure activities in late adulthood tend to be a contin- uation of things adults had enjoyed earlier in life. Many older adults travel, but most of older adults' leisure time is spent watching television, reading, and visiting family and friends. Volunteering, involvement in civic organizations, and religious participation are high during late adulthood. Television use is also high, and Internet use can enhance the health care and social lives of older adults.

Explain how romantic relationships and sexuality change during late adulthood.

Marital satisfaction increases from middle adulthood to late adulthood and reaches its highest point of the entire life span. Many people, especially women, lose their spouse during late adulthood, a painful and difficult transition for most. Rates of remarriage are low but tend to be more successful in late adulthood than at earlier ages. There are wide cultural variations in views of the accept- ability and appropriateness of sexual activity in late adult- hood. Sexual activity depends crucially on physical health. A U.S. study reported that frequencies of kissing, hugging, and sexual touching and caressing were higher than rates of intercourse in late adulthood.

Identify the major health problems associated with late adulthood, and list some treatment options.

One common chronic health problem of late adulthood is arthritis, a disease of the joints that especially affects the hips, knees, neck, hands, and lower back. There is no cure, but medication and surgery can be used to treat the pain. Loss of bone mass continues in late adulthood, causing the risk of osteoporosis to rise, mostly for women. Osteoporosis can be delayed or even reversed with a com- bination of regular bone-strengthening exercise (such as weightlifting) and a calcium-rich diet. Rates of hyperten- sion, or high blood pressure, rise in late adulthood due to primary and secondary aging.

Explain why late adulthood is a time of positive emotions and high self-esteem.

Positive emotions and self-esteem rise during late adult- hood, because older adults tend to be more accepting of their past and present selves than young or middle adults are. Gender differences in self-esteem diminish or disap- pear by late adulthood.

Describe how attention and memory change during late adulthood.

Several different types of attention decline in late adult- hood, including selective, divided, and sustained atten- tion. Memory declines vary based on the type of memory involved. There is relatively little decline in procedural memory and semantic memory, but declines are steeper in working memory, long-term memory, episodic memory, and source memory.

Identify the signs of physical aging in late adulthood, and differentiate the impact of primary and secondary aging on appearance.

Signs of physical aging include graying and thinning hair, age spots, decrease in body weight, and possible loss of teeth. Many of these changes are due to primary aging, although secondary aging influences such as sun exposure and diet have an effect as well.

Describe variations in retirement, and identify the impact of retirement on older adults.

The decision about precisely when to retire is based on a variety of factors, especially financial considerations, phys- ical health, and job satisfaction. Many older Americans enter retirement gradually, through bridge jobs that do not require full-time hours. Most older adults adjust well to retirement, but adults who were forced into retirement are less happy with retirement than those who retired by choice. People who choose to retire generally experience improvements in their physical and mental health follow- ing the transition, whereas people who retired involun- tarily tend to decline.

Define the old-age dependency ratio, and explain its impact on developed countries.

The old-age dependency ratio (OADR) is calculated by dividing the number of persons age 65 or older by the num- ber of persons age 20-64 and multiplying by 100. The OADR in developed countries is rising because of decreasing fer- tility rates and increased life expectancy, due largely to medical interventions. Countries such as Japan face strains on their social welfare systems due to the rising OADR.

Compare cultural differences in living situations during late adulthood.

There is great variety in living situations for older adults: Some live independently, others live with children, and still others live in assisted living facilities or nursing homes. In Asian cultures, where filial piety is strong, older adults have traditionally lived with their children, although this pattern may be changing.

Define wisdom, and summarize research on the impact of age and culture on wisdom.

Wisdom is defined by Baltes as "expertise in the conduct and meaning of life," and wisdom research has focused on rating responses to hypothetical questions. Research on responses to hypothetical situations has found that wis- dom is as likely to be found among the young as among the old. Wisdom accumulated by late adulthood may be more valuable in a culture where social change is slow than in a culture where change is rapid, because if it is slow, the life experiences of elders may be more relevant to the current experiences of people of younger ages.

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