reading guide 13 ch 16 and 18: emotional and social development in middle and late adulthood

never-married, childfree older adults

- almost all are aware of being different from the norm, and most have developed alternative meaningful relationships (especially extended family, nieces and nephews, friends and neighbors) - men are more likely to report loneliness, depression, and unhealthy lifestyles than women; women rely heavily on close female friends

sibilings

- closer bonds with sisters compared to brothers is typical - although siblings provide more social interaction for each other than they do direct assistance, sibling relationships are thought of as an important "insurance policy" in late adulthood

divorce, cohabitation, remarriage

- divorce among older adults is not common; those who do divorce feel relief and seldom express regret, although they can find it hard to separate their identity from that of their former spouse - remarriage rates are low for older adults, but those who do experience great stability in their relationships than younger remarried adults - most remarried older adults are generally very satisfied in their relationships; men usually report greater satisfaction than women - many seniors are now choosing cohabitation over remarriage, which is associated with stability and high relationship quality

Compared with younger people, older adults have a greater ability to maximize positive emotion and dampen negative emotion. What explains this late-life positivity bias?

- expert emotional self-regulation: use of constructive strategies to resolve interpersonal conflicts, especially effective emotion-centered coping - awareness of time left motivates them to focus on gratifying, meaningful experiences in the present - of course, some life situations can overwhelm an older adult's capacity to manage negative experiences

frequency and quality of contact between middle age children and their aging parents

- fewer aging adults live with their middle-aged children today compared to past generations due to greater independence of elders rather than neglect by children; co-residence in African American and Latino families is still common - many middle-aged adults, especially daughters, report positive changes in the quality of their relationship with their aging parents - many middle-aged adults are part of the sandwich generation—those taking care of young children and aging parents—because more generations of families are living longer, but with fewer younger members - daughters tend to provide more care to aging parents than sons, a gender difference that begins to decline as people move through middle adulthood; African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latino adults give more care to their aging parents than Whites - social support and community resources are strongly needed to relieve the stress of caring for an aging parent

grandchildren and great grandchildren

- grandparent - adult grandchild relationships vary greatly; degree of grandparent involvement during childhood strongly predicts quality of later relationship - although grandparents have less contact with their adult grandchildren over time, their affection for their adult grandchildren strengthens with age - most older adults describe their relationship with great grandchildren as somewhat limited, but they do welcome it with enthusiasm

planning for retirement

- half of middle-aged adults engage in no retirement planning at all and yet planning is associated with better retirement savings, adjustment, and satisfaction - planning for an active life has an even greater impact on happiness after retirement than financial planning - women and lower-paid workers need the most encouragement/support to participate in financial planning

friendships

- having friends is a very strong predictor of mental health among seniors - intimacy and companionship are basic to meaningful late-life friendships - late-life friends help shield each other from negative judgments stemming from stereotypes of aging - friendships link adults to the larger community - friendships help protect seniors from the psychological consequences of loss - older adults prefer older, established relationships over new ones, but friendship formation continues throughout life; older adults have more intergenerational friends, both same-gender and other-gender, than younger adults - women report closer relationships and have more secondary friends than men

job satisfaction

- increases in midlife, although this trend is stronger from men than women and for white-collar than blue-collar workers - factors that predict satisfaction are involvement in decision making, reasonable workloads, and good physical working conditions - although emotional engagement with work can be psychologically healthy, it can also lead to burnout

gender and race discrimination in the workplace

- inequalities in pay and promotion between women and men and between Blacks and Whites are significant; the glass ceiling refers to the many barriers to advancement experienced by women and people of color associated with stereotyping and discrimination

marriage

- late-life marriages involve fewer stressful responsibilities that can negatively affect relationships - perceptions of fairness increase as men participate more in household tasks - older couples engage in more joint leisure activities because they have more time, which enhances closeness - older married couples show greater emotional understanding and emphasis on regulating emotions in relationships - poor marriages take a greater toll on women than men, and even having very close friendships cannot reduce the negative impacts on adjustment

Your family is discussing the advantages and disadvantages of different living arrangements for an older adult relative of yours. Given the research findings on aging adults' experiences in different kinds of neighborhoods, communities, and/or housing, what are three suggestions you could offer?

- living in cities has the benefits of access to public transportation and proximity to social services, cultural activities, and, often times, to their children's homes; living in suburban or rural areas has the advantage of interacting with neighbors, a friendlier atmosphere, and less crime - staying in one's own home offers the greatest possible personal control for older adults; health or mobility problems make independent living a risk - generally speaking, residential communities for older adults have a positive effect on physical and mental health because they create an effective person-environment fit; that said, with no federal regulations to govern assisted living facilities, they vary widely in quality, and low-quality facilities are associated with high stress - nursing homes residents experience the most extreme restriction of autonomy and social integration of all; depression, anxiety, and loneliness are common among residents, especially those with physical but not mental impairments

marriage

- marital satisfaction is a strong predictor of psychological well-being - with their children now engaged fully in adult roles, many middle-aged adults begin working significantly to improve their marriages

divorce

- middle-aged adults adapt to divorce more easily than young adults - divorce leads to a significantly reduced standard of living for many women, which explains why the majority of adults living in poverty happen to be women supporting themselves or their families (known as feminization of poverty) - after divorce, people often reevaluate what they consider important in a healthy relationship, and place greater emphasis on equal friendship than on passionate love - women who divorce become more comfortable with uncertainty and self-reliant; very little is known about adjustment for men following divorce because most of them remarry in a short period of time

unemployment

- middle-aged adults who experience unemployment show sharper declines in physical and mental health than younger adults; for many, the experience is highly traumatic - people are typically not able to match the status or salary of previous positions - middle-aged adults remain jobless longer than younger adults, are overqualified for many positions, and often experience age discrimination

career change for middle-aged adults

- midlife career changes are usually not radical; they typically involve leaving one line of work for a related one - among blue-collar workers, midlife career changes are usually not freely chosen

middle-aged parent's relationships with their young adult children

- most parents adjust very well to their children's departure from home; only a small number have problems coping—although the parental role changes, its continuation is important to middle-aged adults - large cultural differences exist in the timing of children's departure; in the U.S., young people form low-SES homes and those with cultural traditions of extended family living together stay with their parents longer, as do children in countries like Spain, Italy, and Greece - the more grown children with problems, the poorer parents' well-being - through middle-adulthood, parents continue to give more assistance to their children than they receive - middle-aged adults, especially mothers, become kin-keepers (gathering the family and maintaining relationships)

Religion and Spirituality

- most people show stability in religiosity throughout adulthood - spirituality and faith can, in fact, advance to higher levels in late adulthood—from prescribed beliefs toward a more reflective approach that is at ease with mystery and uncertainty - involvement in organized and informal religious activities is very high among low-SES older people of color (as a source of social support in the face of stress) - women are more likely than men to say religion is important to them - religious involvement is associated with better well-being and longer survival

lesbian and gay couples

- most report happy, highly fulfilling relationships - a lifetime of effective coping with prejudice and discrimination strengthens lesbian and gay couples' ability to adjust to later life changes - health care providers who are unresponsive to their needs and states that do not recognize same-gender unions or marriages create painful circumstances in the face of late-life decisions and losses

negative life changes

- negative life changes evoke less stress for older adults than younger adults because of their better coping and acceptance - the impact of negative life changes is typically greater for women than men (due to lower incomes, being less likely to be married, etc.); thus women tend to report lower well-being when changes occur than men

relationship between physical and psychological health

- physical declines and chronic disease often lead to a sense of loss of control, and illness resulting in disability is a strong risk factor for depression - even more than actual physical limitations, perceived negative physical health predicts depression; and depression is often lethal, as people age 65 and older have the highest suicide rate of all age groups - mental health problems actually interfere more than physical disabilities with activities of daily living

relationships with adult children

- quality of interaction between elders and their adult children matters more than quantity - older adults give more support to their adult children than vice versa; when elders do need support, if it's moderate with lots of opportunities to reciprocate, the support fosters self-esteem and family connection - feelings of ambivalence undermine the well-being of both adult children and their aging parents

sibilings

- sibling contact and support decreases from early to middle adulthood; however, relationships often remain close - sister-sister relationships tend to be closer than brother-brother, although this gender difference is decreasing; as a general comment, good relationships between siblings get better and poor relationships get worse - sibling relationships in industrialized countries are voluntary; they are involuntary and basic to family functioning in village societies around the world

social support

- social support increases the odds of living longer - many older people place such a high value on independence that they do not want extensive help from others unless they can reciprocate; inability to reciprocate causes reduced self-efficacy and stress - forms of assistance that are not wanted or needed or that exaggerate older adults' weaknesses can undermine mental health and even accelerate physical disability, whereas help that increases autonomy enhances quality of life - older adults greatly benefit from support that offers affection, affirmation of their self-worth, and sense of belonging

grandparenthood

- the importance of being a grandparent follows closely behind the roles of parent and spouse; gratifying aspects of the grandparent role include being a valued elder, immortality through descendants, re-involvement with personal past, and indulgence of grandchildren - relationships are usually closer between grandparents and grandchildren of the same gender, especially maternal grandmothers and granddaughters - grandparents often perform essential activities in low-income families; they are less central to maintenance and survival in higher income families - in many cultures, grandparents are active in child-rearing - grandparents acting as primary caregivers in situations of serious family problems experience considerable strain

widowhood

- widowed elders make up a large percentage of older adults, especially women and people of color living in poverty and with chronic disease - profound loneliness is typical for the recently widowed; however, older adults have fewer long-lasting problems after a spouse's death than younger adults—many report a new-found sense of inner strength, greater appreciation of close relationships, and reevaluation of life's priorities - men show more physical and mental health problems than women and greater risk of death—they are less socially connected, less free to express their emotions or ask for help, and less involved in religious activities

friendships

- women tend to report having more friends, and more close relationships, than men; that said, the number of friends for both declines from middle to late adulthood - while family ties protect people from serious threats and losses, friendships provide pleasure and satisfaction

life review

-Calling up past experiences with the goal of achieving greater self-understanding. According to Robert Bulter, most older adults engage in life review as part of attaining ego integrity- a notion that has led many therapists to encourage life-review interventions. Although life review occurs more often among older than younger adults, many older people who are high in self-acceptance and life satisfaction spend little time evaluating their past. -about understanding and acceptance

What is the focus of Erik Erikson's generativity vs. stagnation stage?

1. Generativity involves reaching out others in ways that give to and guide the next generation. Generativity expands greatly in midlife, when adults focus more intently on extending commitments beyond oneself (identity) and one's life partner (intimacy) to a larger group-family, community, or society. Generativity brings together personal desires and cultural demands. The negative outcomes of this stage is stagnation. Once people attain certain life goals, such as marriage, children, and career success, they may become self-centered and self-indulgent. Adults with a sense of stagnation express their self-absorption in many ways-through lack of interest in young people, through a focus on what they can get from others rather than what they can give, and through taking little interest in being productive at work.

Throughout adulthood, people's personality traits are quite stable; however, there is considerable change in people's possible selves during middle adulthood, and even into late adulthood. What is this aspect of self-concept? How and why does is change so much at this time in life?

Adults in their early twenties mention many possible selves, and their visions are lofty and idealistic -being "perfectly happy". With age, possible selves become fewer in number, more modest and concrete, and less far-off in realization. Most middle-aged people no longer desire to be the best or the most successful in life. Instead they are largely concerned with performance of roles and responsibilities already begun- "being competent at work", "being a good father and husband". Researchers believe that positive selves may be the key to continued well-being in adulthood, as people revise these future images to achieve a better match between desired and attainable goals.

knowledge based

And at times, older adults-especially those who score high in openness to experience engage in knowledge-based reminiscence, drawing on their past for effective problems-solving strategies and for teaching younger people.

ego transcendence

As contemporaries die, facing the reality of death constructively through efforts to make life more secure, meaningful and gratifying for younger generations -about own mortality

How do the dependency-support and independence ignore scripts reinforce dependent behavior on the part of older adults at the expense of independent behavior, regardless of the person's competencies?

Dependency-support script, dependent behaviors are attended to immediately. In the second, the independence-ignore script, independent behaviors are mostly ignored. Notice how these sequences reinforce dependent behavior at the expense of independent behavior, regardless of the older person's competencies. Older adults dependency behaviors are attended to immediately while their independent behaviors are ignored. But permitting older adults to select areas in which they desire to help enables them to use their capacities fully in pursuit of their goals and creates an effective person-environment fit, which fosters psychological well-being. -example in class was independence-ignore script

self-focused

Engaged in to reduce boredom and revive bitter events, is linked to adjustment problems. Compared with young people, older adults less often engage in this ruminative form of reminiscence, and those who do are often anxious and depressed from dwelling on painful past experiences. -negative, bored and bitterness

other-focused

Extroverted people favor other-focused reminiscence directed at social goals, such as solidifying family and friendship ties and reliving relationships with lost loved ones -look at relationships/study relationships

ego differentiation

For those who invested heavily in their careers, finding other ways to affirm self-worth—through family, friendship, and community life. -all about the career

Erikson's integrity vs. despair stage?

Involves coming to terms with one's life. Adults who arrive at a sense of integrity feel whole, complete, and satisfied with their achievements. They have adapted to the mix of triumphs and disappointments that are inevitable part of love relationships, child rearing, work, friendships, and community participation. The negative outcome of this stage, despair, occurs when aging adults feel they have made many wrong decisions, yet time is too short to find an alternate route to integrity. Without another chance, the despairing person finds it hard to accept that death is near and it is overwhelmed with bitterness, defeat, and hopelessness. -integrity-looking back with a sense of satisfaction

autonomy

Middle-aged adults saw themselves as less concerned about others' expectations and evaluations and more concerned with following self-chosen standards.

environmental mastery

Middle-aged people saw themselves as capable of managing a complex array of tasks easily and effectively

self-acceptance

More than young adults, middle-aged people acknowledged and accepted both their good and bad qualities and felt positively about themselves and life.

continuity theory

Most aging adults strive to maintain a personal system- an identity and a set of personality dispositions, interests, roles, and skills-that promotes life satisfaction by ensuring consistency between their past and anticipated future. By using familiar skills and engaging in familiar activities with familiar people, older people integrate late-life changes into a coherent, consistent life path.

disengagment theory

Older people decrease their activity levels and interact less frequently, becoming more preoccupied with their inner lives in anticipation of death. Many older adults sustain aspects of their work, with some moving into new positions of prestige and power. And others develop new, rewarding roles in their communities.

We learn here that maltreatment of older adults is a serious public concern. Berk identifies the different types of elder maltreatment, as well as risk factors associated with characteristics of the victim, the abuser, their relationship, and social context. What are ways to address and prevent elder maltreatment?

Prevention programs offer caregivers counseling, education, and respite services, such as day care and in-home help for aging adults. Support groups help identify abusive acts, practice appropriate responses, and form new relationships. When elder abuse is extreme, legal action offers the best protection, yet it is rare. In nursing homes, improving staff selection, training, working conditions can greatly reduce abuse and neglect.

activity theory

Proposes that social barriers to engagement, not the desires of older adults, cause declining rates of interaction. Older people who lose certain roles and relationships try to find others in an effort to stay active. However, when health status is controlled, older people who have larger social networks and engage in more activities are not necessarily happier.

socioemotional selectivity theory

Social interaction in late life extends lifelong selection processes. Older adults, who face a shortened future, emphasize the emotion-regulating function of interaction, preferring high-quality, emotionally fulfilling relationships.

body transcendence

Surmounting physical limitations by emphasizing the compensating rewards of cognitive, emotional, and social powers

Discuss the decision to retire, adjustment to retirement, and involvement in leisure and volunteer activities. (Hint. I took this question directly from Berk p. 641. You can use her summary as a starting point, then rely on information from pp. 634-637 to fill in the gaps.)

The decision to retire depends on diverse factors, including affordability, heath status, nature of the work environment, opportunities to pursue meaningful activities, gender, ethnicity, and social retirement polices. Individual preferences shape retirement decisions. At the same time, older adults' opportunities and limitations greatly affect their choices. Because retirement involves giving up roles that are a vital part of identity and self-esteem, it is often assumed to be stressful process that contributes to declines in physical and mental health. Workplace factors-especially financial worries and having to give up ones job-predict stress following retirement. A sense of personal control over life events, including deciding to retire for internally motivated reasons is strongly linked to retirement satisfaction. Martial happiness generally fosters a favorable retirement transition. Meaningful leisure and volunteer pursuits are typically sustained or expanded during retirement. Involvement is related to better physical and mental health and to reduced mortality.

masculinity-femininity

The middle-aged person must better balance masculine and feminine parts of the self. For men, this means greater acceptance of "feminine traits" of nurturance and caring, which enhance close relationships and compassionate exercise of authority in the workplace. For women, it generally means greater openness to "masculine" characteristics of autonomy and assertiveness.

engagement separateness

The middle-aged person must forge a better balance between engagement with the external world and separateness. For men, and for women with successful careers, this may mean reducing concern with achievement in favor of attending more fully to oneself. But some women who have been devoted to child rearing or an unfulfilling job may feel compelled to move in the other direction, pursing a long-desired ambition

young-old

The middle-aged person must seek new ways of being both young and old. This means giving up certain youthful qualities, transforming others, and finding positive meaning in being older. Perhaps because of the double standard of aging, most middle-aged women express concern about appearing less attractive as they grow older. In the more individualistic U.S context, a youthful self-image seems more important for viewing oneself as self-reliant and capable of planning for an active, fulfilling late adulthood. -only has to do with physical body

Do the events of middle adulthood result in a midlife crisis for most people? What do research findings from studies like the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) survey tell us about middle-aged adults' approach to life events?

When MIDUS participants were asked to describe "turning points" (major changes in the way they felt about an important aspect of their lives) that had occurred during the past five years, most were positive, involving fulfilling a dream or learning something good about oneself. Overall turning points rarely resembled midlife crises. Even negative turning points generally led to a personal growth-for example, a layoff that sparked a positive career change or a shift in energy from career to personal life. Asked directly if they had ever experienced something they would consider a midlife crisis, only one-fourth of the MIDUS respondents said yes. And they defined such events more loosely than researchers do. Life evaluation is common during middle age. Most people make changes that are best described as turning points rather than drastic alterations of their lives. The few midlifers who are in crisis typically have had early adulthoods in which gender roles, family pressures, or low income and poverty severely limited their ability to realize personal goals at home or in the wider world.

destruction-creation

With greater awareness of mortality, the middle-aged person focuses on ways he or she has acted destructively. Past hurtful acts towards parents, intimate partners, children, friends, and co-workers are counter by an intensified desire to be generative, through charitable giving, community volunteering, mentoring young people, or fashioning creative products -somehow the person has wronged someone