Kathleen Stassen Berger

Part VIII
Theories of Late Adulthood Coping with Retirement Friends and Relatives The Frail Elderly

Chapter Twenty-Five

Late Adulthood: Psychosocial Development

Prepared by Madeleine Lacefield Tattoon, M.A.

Late Adulthood: Psychosocial Development

the range of possibilities for life after age 65 is vast, greater than at any earlier age people in late adulthood take comfort in:
family pleasure in their daily routines current events
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Theories of Late Adulthood

Self Theories
theories of late adulthood that emphasize the core self, or the search to maintain ones integrity and identity

Theories of Late Adulthood

Integrity Versus Despair
the final stage of Erik Eriksons developmental sequence, in which older adults seek to integrate their unique experience with their vision of community

Theories of Late Adulthood

Identity theory
Eriksons fifth stage, identity versus role confusioneach new experience, each gain or loss, requires a reassessment of identity identity is challenged in old age the usual pillars of self-concept crumble
appearance, health and employment
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Theories of Late Adulthood

Selective Optimization
this concept is central to self theories individuals can set goals, assess their own abilities, and figure out how to accomplish what they want to achieve despite the limitation and declines of later life

Theories of Late Adulthood

Stratification Theories
theories that emphasize that social forces, particularly those related to a persons social stratum or social category, limit individual choices and affect the ability to function in late adulthood as past stratification continues to limit life in various ways
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Theories of Late Adulthood

Stratification by Age
as they grow older, people may be consigned to their own places and activities industrialized nations segregate older people

Theories of Late Adulthood

Stratification by Age
disengagement theory
the view that aging makes a persons social sphere increasingly narrow, resulting in role relinquishment, withdrawal, and passivity

activity theory
the view that elderly people want and need to remain active in a variety of social spheres with relatives, friends, and community groups and become withdrawn only unwillingly, as a result of ageism
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Theories of Late Adulthood

Stratification by Gender
feminist theory draws attention to gender separation a disproportionate number of the elderly are female everywhere older women are segregated and as a result poorer than old men
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Theories of Late Adulthood

Ethnic Discrimination
critical race theory sees ethnicity and race as social construct whose practical utility is determined by a particular society or social system long-standing ethnic discrimination and racism results in stratification, shaping experience and attitude throughout the life span:

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Theories of Late Adulthood

Better to Be Female, Non-European, and Old?
African and Hispanic Americans are often nurtured and respected within their families and churches Asian and Hispanic elders often outlive European American contemporaries

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Theories of Late Adulthood

Dynamic Theories
focus on the transformations of late adulthood and on how individuals react to such events dynamic theories theories of psychosocial development that emphasize change and readjustment rather than either the ongoing self or the impact of stratificationeach persons life is seen as an active, ever-changing, largely self-propelled process, occurring within specific social contexts that they themselves are constantly changing continuity theory the theory that each person experiences the changes of late adulthood and behaves toward others in much the same way he or she did in earlier periods of life
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Coping with Retirement

Deciding When to Retire
social scientists and political leaders have assumed that older adults wanted employment recent sociological and psychological research has found that most older adults want to stop working as soon as they are eligible

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Coping with Retirement

Retirement and Marriage
research says that it is best for both spouses to retire together neither is satisfied if the other is still working and making family decisions

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Coping with Retirement

Aging in Place
refers to a preference of elderly people to remain in the same home and community, adjusting but not leaving when health fades

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Coping with Retirement

Continuing Education
retirement offers the time and opportunity to take classes 1 out of 4 U.S. adults age 66 and older were enrolled in continuing education in 2005

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Coping with Retirement

Volunteer Work
is suitable for elderly people who have adequate pensions or other sources of income volunteering allows the elderly to gain status and to find new meaning

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Coping with Retirement

Religious Involvement
studies show that religious involvement of all kinds correlates with physical and emotional health as well as long life

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Coping with Retirement

Political Activism
the elderly are more politically active frequently write to their elected representatives vote in off-year elections identify with a political party join groups that lobby
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Coping with Retirement

AARP
a U.S. organization of people aged 50 and older, which advocates for the elderlyit was originally called the American Association of Retired Person, but now only the acronym AARP is used, to reflect the fact that the organizations members do not have to be retired
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Friends and Relatives

social convoy
collectively, the family members, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers who move through life with an individual

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Friends and Relatives

Long-Term Marriages
a spouse buffers against the problems of old age and extends life personal happiness increases with the quality of the marriage or intimate relationship mutual respect

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Friends and Relatives

Losing a Spouse
widowhood among elderly is common and problematicespecially the first two years after death women tend to marry older men and live longer than men

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Friends and Relatives

Relationships with Younger Generations
older adults live to see two or more generations of younger family members more adults are having one childmany children will have no aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, or sisters

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Friends and Relatives

Adult Children
engagement and interaction are common between older adults and their grown children intergenerational relationships are affected by many factors in general
assistance arises both from need and from the ability to provide personal contact depends mostly on geographical proximity affection is influenced by the pairs history of mutual love and respect sons feel stronger obligation; daughters feel stronger affection
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Friends and Relatives

Adult Children
as parent grow older, every family needs to adjust to changing conditions and circumstance renegotiating relationships filial responsibility
the idea that adult children are obligated to care for their aging parents

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Friends and Relatives

Grandchildren
ongoing grandparent-grandchild relationships usually reveal one of three approaches to grandparenting
remote grandparents companionate grandparents involved grandparents

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Friends and Relatives

Friendship
quality, not quantity, of friendship is crucial having at least one close confidant acts as a buffer against many forms of lost status, poor health and reduced companionship

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The Frail Elderly

frail elderly
people over age 65 who are physically infirm, very ill, or cognitively impaired

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The Frail Elderly

activities of daily life (ADL)
actions that are important to independent living, typically consisting of five tasks of self-care; eating, bathing, toileting, dressing, and transferring from a bed to a chairthe inability to perform any of these tasks is a sign of frailty

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The Frail Elderly

instrumental activities of daily life (IADL)
actions that are important to independent living and that require some intellectual competence and forethoughtthe ability to perform these tasks is even more critical to selfsufficiency than ADL ability
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The Frail Elderly

Instrumental Activities of Daily Life (IADL)

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Caring for the Frail Elderly

The Demands of Family Care
often caregivers of the elderly are themselves elderly caregivers often experience substantial stress sometimes caregivers feel fulfilled by their experiences designated caregivers are often chosen less for practical reason than because of cultural expectation respite care an arrangement in which a professional caregiver relieves a frail elderly persons usual family caregiver for a few hours each day or for an occasional weekend
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Caring for the Frail Elderly

Elder Abuse
analysis of elder abuse is complicated because three distinct elements contribute to the problem:
the victim the abuser the setting

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Caring for the Frail Elderly

Long-Term Care
assistant living
provides some of the privacy and independence of living at home, along with some medical supervision

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