Life Span Development
Middle Adulthood:
Biosocial Development – Ch. 20
Psychosocial Development – Ch. 22
July 22, 2004
Class #13
Middle Adulthood
Biosocial development halfway
between beginning and end of
adulthood
 Variations in aging, influenced by

 genes
 income
 ethnicity
 life
style
Primary and Secondary Aging
Primary aging—inevitable age-related changes
 Secondary aging—age-related changes that are
the consequence of a person’s behavior or
society’s failure to eliminate unhealthy
conditions
 drinking
 smoking
 eating
 lack of exercise

Looking Old
Hair turns gray and thins
 Wrinkles appear and skin becomes dry
 Body size (people get shorter) and shape
change (fat pockets settle on various
parts of body)
 As people age, they can either accept or
try to change their appearance

The Senses

Vision


more likely to need corrective lenses
Hearing
 some
hear much better than others
 none hear perfectly
 hearing acuity also differs by sex, with men
suffering greater loss
Vital Body Systems
Systematic declines make people
more vulnerable to disease
 Flu shot recommended for middleaged people who have had illness or
medical condition that depletes organ
reserve
 U.S. death rate during period of
middle age has been cut in half

The Sexual-Reproductive
System

Changes occur in the sexual
reproductive system during middle age
 sexual
responses slower
 reproduction less likely
Menopause

Occurs between ages 42 and 58
 marked
decrease in the production of
estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone
 primary factors in exact age are genes and
chance factors before birth
 can
also occur earlier because of health habits,
particularly cigarette smoking and malnutrition
Menopause

Perimenopause, or Climacteric
 extends
from 3 years before to 3 years after
cessation of menstrual cycle
 timing of periods is erratic
 unpredictable ovulation, with several ova
released sometimes, and at other times none
 can
result in “change of life” baby
Menopause

Symptoms of the Climacteric
 lower
estrogen, osteoporosis, inability to
reproduce
 hot flushes, hot flashes, cold sweats
(vasomotor instability)
 mood changes for some women
 psychic consequences extremely variable
Hormonal Replacement Therapy

HRT
 treatment
to compensate for hormone
reduction
 usually involves estrogen and progesterone
Hormonal Replacement Therapy

Women’s Health Initiative revealed
long-term use (10 years or longer) of
HRT increases risk of
 heart
disease
 stroke
 breast cancer

Osteoporosis
Male Menopause?
Do men undergo menopause?
 Males
 decline in sperm production and motility, as
well as lower testosterone levels
 No dramatic andropause
 though men can suffer from sudden, stressrelated shifts in hormone levels
 the opposite can also occur: a rise in selfesteem

Male Menopause?
Even with the help of new drugs, like
Viagra, most men will experience a decline
in sexual desire and speed of intercourse
as they age
 Worry about aging bodies and life
changes can magnify the sexual
consequences of aging

Measuring Health

4 Measures of Health
 death,
disease, disability, and
vitality
Mortality and Morbidity
Mortality—the number of deaths
each year per 1,000 people in a given
population
 Morbidity—the rate of diseases of all
kinds, chronic and acute, in a given
population

Disability and Vitality

Disability
 inability
to perform activities that most
others can
 more costly to society than either
mortality or morbidity

Vitality
 how
healthy and energetic one is—
physically, socially, and emotionally
The Burden of Poor Health

Quality-Adjusted Life Years
(QALYS)
 years
of full vitality
 useful in evaluation of the costs and
benefits of various medical
interventions
 for
example, clean water, immunizations,
and adequate nutrition all improve quality
and length of life
The Burden of Poor Health

Disability-adjusted life years
(DALYS)
 each
year lost to premature death and
each fraction of full quality of life due
to disability reduces a person’s DALYS

Burden of disease—total reduction in
vitality caused by a disease-induced
disability in a given population. An
example would be obesity of
Americans.
Health Habits Over The Years

Health habits are relevant through all of
life, but most crucial during 35-65 for
reassessment and improvement
 many
middleagers improve their health
habits
 individual and environmental variations can
affect who gets healthier—choices are
crucial
Tobacco

More than 1/4 of middle age
nonsmokers are former smokers
 1/4

currently smoke
Quitting by age 65 is too late for some
smokers
 death
rates are about the same as they
have been in the past
Tobacco

Smoking increases rate of most other
serious diseases including
 cancer
of the bladder, kidney, mouth,
stomach
 heart disease
 stroke
 pneumonia
 emphysema

All smoking diseases are dose- and
duration-sensitive
Tobacco
Secondhand smoke is dangerous
 Worldwide tobacco use is expected to
cause more deaths in 2020 than any
other single condition
 Smoking influenced by social norms

Alcohol

Adults who consume alcohol in moderation
(nor more than two servings a day) tend to
live longer than those who never drink
 helps

reduce heart disease
More alcohol consumption comes with
notable risk
Alcohol

Alcohol is a depressant yet we often feel
lively after a couple of drinks…
 It
gives this feeling by slowing down the brain
centers that control judgments and inhibitions
Curious Effects
Memory
 Sex
 Hangover

Alcoholism
Refers to one’s dependence on alcohol that
seriously interferes with one’s life
 Most common and costly form of drug abuse in
U.S.
 Aproximately 7% of adults 18 and over (10M
people)
 Traditionally more common (about 2 to 1)
among males but recent research suggests that
women are closing this gap

Detrimental Effects






Life span of average alcoholic is 12 years shorter
than the norm
Alcoholism ranks as the third leading cause of
death in U.S.
More than one-third suffer at least one
coexisting mental disorder
Organic impairment such as brain shrinkage
occurs in a high proportion of alcoholics
About 20% attempt suicide
About 10% are successful
Detrimental Effects





Associated with about half of deaths and major
injuries suffered in motor vehicle accidents
Associated with about half of all murders
Associated with about one-third of all assaults
and rapes
Associated with about one-third of all arrests
Alcohol-related accidents are the leading cause
of death among college-aged individuals
Symptoms of Alcohol Dependence






Use alcohol to boost self-confidence and to relax
around others
Drink to forget their problems or to relieve stress
Often are the ones who want “one more” drink
even when their friends have stopped drinking
After friends have left they drink with new
friends…often close the bar…stay past last call
Get drunk without planning to
Have blackouts
Symptoms of Alcohol Dependence
Lie about their drinking, try to hide it,
sneak drinks at work or school
 Drink in the morning to cure a hangover
 May begin to have financial, work, or
family problems
 Complete loss of control

Treatments

Rehab Centers



Alcoholics Anonymous





Treatment centers where the addict is supervised 24/7
Supervised detoxification period to eliminate drugs from our
bodies system
Self-help group
Little research because of members anonymity but indications
are most don’t stick to it
Need to go to regular meetings for it to work
90 meetings in first 90 days and then at least once per week
after that
Antabuse

A type of aversion therapy where usually a pill is taken that will
cause the patient to become sick whenever they drink alcohol
Obesity and Overweight
According to the World Health
Organization,there is a worldwide epidemic of
obesity and overweight
 Excess pounds cut down 3 years of life
 65 percent of U.S. population between 35 and
65 years of age are overweight


increased significantly for




both sexes,
in every decade
in every cohort
in every ethnic group
Obesity and Overweight
In almost every nation, people
weigh more than they did a few
decades ago
 Being overweight increases risk
of every cause of disease, as well
as of disability and death

Losing Weight

3 factors make weight loss difficult
 environmental
factors
 more
easily alterable than evolutionary or genetic
causes
 evolution
 homeostastis
makes people who lose weight crave
food to protect against starvation
 genes,
which regulate
 metabolism
 fat
accumulation
Exercise
Needed to attain and maintain a
healthy weight
 Burns calories, decreases appetite, and
increases metabolism
 Reduces ratio of body fat to body
weight
 Enhances cognitive functioning

Ethnic Variations and Health
Women outlive men in every nation of the world
 Well educated, financially secure people live
longer than people of same age, sex, and
ethnicity with less education and money
 income and education lead to access to
services
 People in cities live longer than do people in the
countryside

The Influence of Ethnicity on Health

Some immigrants are healthier than
long-time residents of same age and
ethnicity because
 only
hardiest individuals emigrate
 health habits of immigrants are better
 immigrants have optimistic outlook
 immigrants have family communication
and support
Three Causes of Ethnic
Variations in Health
Genetic risks
 Specific health care behaviors
 Social context factors including
stress, prejudice, and poverty

Genetic Risks

Each individual has particular genetic
risks to be aware of
 family
history can make some risks
apparent
 medical tests sometimes confirm genetic
influences
 but genes act epigenetically—that is,
genes and lifestyle interact
Doctors and Patients

Health Care System
 in
United States, works less well for
minorities and for the poor
 minorities and the poor less likely to
seek preventive care
 when they do get care, it is less than it
might be
The Social Context

People in poorer nations experience
higher rates of almost every disease,
injury, and cause of death
Psychosocial Development – Ch. 22

Personality Throughout Adulthood
 Personality
continuity
 provides
is a major source of
coherence and identity
The Big Five
Several researchers have found evidence
for the existence of five basic dimensions
of personality through factor analysis
 5 factors are independent of one another
 Everyone can be placed along a
continuum for all 5 factors/traits

The Big Five
Extraversion
 Agreeableness
 Conscientiousness
 Emotionality (also referred to as
Neuroticism)
 Intellect (also referred to as Openness)

What researchers say…

From a review of literature the following are
some of the important characteristics of the five
factors:
The factors are dimensions, not types, so people vary
continuously on them, with most people falling in
between the extremes
 The factors are stable over a 45-year period
beginning in young adulthood
 The factors and their specific facets appear heritable
 The factors are considered universal
 Knowing one's placement on the factors is useful for
insight and improvement through therapy

What Are These Five Factors?

Extraversion




Agreeableness




Bold versus timid
Outgoing versus introverted
Talkative versus silent
Friendliness versus indifference to others
A docile versus hostile nature
Compliance versus hostile noncompliance
Conscientiousness



Responsible versus irresponsible
Hardworking versus lazy
Cautious versus rash
What Are These Five Factors?

Neuroticism
Adjustment versus anxiety
 Level of Emotional stability
 Dependence vs. independence


Openness
Reflection of an inquiring intellect
 Flexibility versus conformity
 Rebelliousness versus Subduedness

Developmental Changes in Personality

Environment generally reinforces basic
temperament
 significant
changes can make people act
differently
 death
etc.
of a spouse, divorce, illness, career change,
Gender Convergence
Gender convergence—a tendency for
men and women to become more
similar as they move through middle
age
 Gender crossover—the idea that each
sex takes on the other sex’s roles and
traits in later life.

Gender Convergence

These ideas are partly biosocial, “shadow
side,” and cultural
 Barnett
and Hyde (2001) believe that this
change is historically-based
 the
past century witnessed changes every decade
and gender roles changed
 today’ middle-aged generation is probably less
likely to converge since male-female differences in
personality less apparent
The “Midlife Crisis”

A period of unusual anxiety, radical
reexamination, and sudden
transformation widely associated with
middle age, but probably more related to
developmental history than to
chronological age
The “Midlife Crisis”
The idea was promoted by Sheehy (1976)
and Levinson (1978), but no large study
has found such a crisis
 Why then do people talk about it as if it
really existed?

 myth
may allow adults to cope with
disappointment, frustration, sadness caused
by aged-related changes
Family Relationships in Midlife
Family is most important support system
 If one’s own family is not doing that job,
“fictive kin” may be found

 treated

as family by this group
Social convoy—group of people who form
relationships with an individual through
which they guide and socialize that person
as he or she moves through life
Partners
Having an intimate relationship is a source
of happiness, comfort, and self-respect;
for 70 percent of middle-aged Americans,
this achieved with a spouse
 For some divorced, widowed, or nevermarried middle-aged adults, intimacy may
be achieved by cohabitation

Marital Happiness

Not all people are in good/happy
relationships
 relationship
may be destructive
 but worldwide, spouse abuse far more
common among younger married couples
than among middle-aged spouses
Marital Happiness

Often regain some of closeness of
early marriage
 less
stress from kids
 higher incomes
 more time together
Studies in various cultures show that
marital happiness in midlife is true
 In general, marriage relationships
likely to get better over time

Divorce and Remarriage

Not all couples become closer
 after
years of marriage, divorce has more
impact
 reduces
income, weakens family ties when longterms social bonds especially needed
Most divorced remarry within 5 years
 Remarriage offers benefits to both men
and women
 Second marriages end in divorce more
often than first marriages do

The Marriage Market for
Middle-Aged Adults
Marriage is likely to benefit middleaged adults
 Middle-aged women are at a
disadvantage for marrying, remarrying

 beginning
at aged 45, there are more
women than men
 men tend to marry younger women
Other Relatives

Kinkeeper—the person who takes primary
responsibility for celebrating family
achievements, gathering the family
together, and keeping in touch with family
members who live far away
 most
likely to be middle-aged
 most are women, but men also can take the
role
Aging Parents

Relationship with Parents
 improves

with time
Familism—the idea that family members
support one another because family unity
is more important than individual freedom
and success
 stronger
with ethnic minorities
Siblings
Siblings often become closer to each
other in the second half of life than in
early adulthood
 They help one another with problems with
teenage children, stressful marriages, and
family contacts

Siblings

Childhood Echoes—the relationship in
middle and late adulthood is
influenced by family values instilled in
childhood
 closeness
can also be affected by
childhood rivalries, but these may be put
aside at this point
Adult Children

Relationship with Children
 improves

with maturity of children
Seven-nation survey: 75 percent of
middle- aged parents communicated with
adult children several times a week
Adult Children

Forms of Parental Support
monetary
 various services like babysitting

Some children return home, referred to
as “swollen nest”
 Young adult children less likely to leave
home, especially if parents in good
health and they themselves are
financially needy

Grandchildren
Personality, ethnicity, national
background, and past parent-child
relationship affect nature of
grandparent-grandchild relationship as
does child’s age and personality
 Bond closer if

 grandchild
young
 parent is first to have children
 grandparent neither too young nor too old
to spend time/energy interacting
Types of Grandparents
Remote grandparents—respected and loved
 emotionally distant grandparents
 Involved grandparents—active in day to day
life, live near, see often
 Companionate grandparents—independent, with
own lifestyle and household, choose how
generational interaction occurs
 Most grandparents want to be companions

Immigrant Grandparents
Happily become involved, especially when
all speak a common language
 Often live in the same household
 Children seem to develop better when
they are cherished and guided by a large
family

Surrogate Parents

Surrogate parents—grandparents who
take over the raising of their
grandchildren as a result of their adult
children’s extreme social problems
 if
parents too poor, too young, drug or alcohol
addicted, single, newly divorced, then—
 possibility of surrogate parenting increases
Surrogate Parents
Grandparents furnish stability, guidance,
and patience
 Responsibility takes a toll if it lasts too
long

 can
impair health and well-being
After Adult Children Divorce
More than one in three grandparents
witness divorce of an adult child
 Grandparents typically provide extra help
when their newly divorced child receives
custody of children
 If their adult child does not have
custody, they may be shut out

 grandparents
in such situations may sue for
visitation rights
Work in Middle Adulthood
90 percent of men and 75 percent of
women in the United States are
employed
 Worldwide, work is a welcome part of
life
 Most jobs provide more joy than stress

Overall Trends

Meaningful work becomes more important as an
individual ages


salary and benefits tend to rise with seniority
lower rates of



absenteeism
being fired or quitting
seeking a new job
Many middle aged workers have worked for the
same employer for more than five years
 There may be unexpected job loss as a result of
downsizing and restructuring or relocation of
company

Dealing with Job Stress
Some people addicted to long hours and
hard work, or “workaholism”
 Both men and women are physically and
psychologically healthier if they have
multiple roles
 Stress in one area of life can be
relieved by support from other areas

Scaling Back
Begin to deliberately balance work life with
other concerns
 Place limits on work hours or responsibilities
 One partner may work part-time or at a less
critical and lower paying job



Or partners may take turns; one focuses on
employment, the other on child care
Rethinking and shifting toward retirement
Retirement
Planning and actual event usually occur in
middle age
 Retirement generally anticipated with
more joy than dread
 The decision to retire is usually mutual,
since both husband and wife are working
 Main planning consideration is financial
