Chapter 18
Psychosocial Development in Late
Adulthood
Stability & Change in Personality Traits
• Hostile people are unlikely to mellow much
with age unless they get help
• Optimistic people also likely to remain the
same
Personality traits that contribute to health
and longevity
• Personality is strong predictor of
emotionality and subjective well-being
• Negative emotions decrease with age
• Positive emotions remained stable; possibly
because as they age tend to seek activities
and people that give them emotional
gratification, also ability to regulate
emotions- more happy
Personality traits that contribute to health and
longevity
• Two of the Big Five personality traits modify the
pattern
• Extraverted people (outgoing and socially
orientated) reported especially high levels of
positive emotion and retain positivity throughout
life
• Neurotic personalities (moody, touchy, anxious,
restless) tend to report negative emotions and
retain this negativity. This is a far more powerful
predictor of moods and mood disorders than other
factors.
Erikson
Ego Integrity vs. Despair
• A state one reaches after having taken care
of things and people, products and ideas,
and having adapted to the successes and
failures of existence. Reflection of one’s life.
• Once accomplished prior 7 stages, now can
perceive their life as having some Order &
Meaning within a larger order.
• Ego integrity- a sense of having integrated
the self
Erikson
Ego Integrity vs. Despair
• Perceives with dignity their own style of life
and defends it from potential threat.
• Counterpart: despair over the cruel/vicious
person life cycle, as well as over social and
historical conditions, as well as facing
Death.
• This can aggravate a feeling that life is
meaningless, that the end is near, a fear and
even a wish for death.
Erikson
Ego Integrity vs. Despair
• Time is now too short to turn back.
• Wisdom: the virtue that develops; informed
and detached concern with life itself in the
face of death itself.
• Physical and mental activity slows down
• Simple wisdom maintains and conveys the
integrity of accumulated experiences of
previous years.
Erikson
Ego Integrity vs. Despair
• The aging person is less adaptable to
changing situations does not preclude a
certain playfulness and curiosity that
permits a closure of experience, as accrued
from years of knowledge and experience.
• Those in the stage of wisdom can represent
to younger generations a style of life
characterized by a feeling of wholeness and
completeness.
Erikson
Ego Integrity vs. Despair
• The feeling of wholeness can counteract the
feeling of despair and disgust, and the
feeling of being finished as present life
situations pass by.
• The sense of wholeness also alleviates the
feelings of helplessness and dependence
that can mark the very end of life
• Ritualization of old age may be called
Integral: reflected in the wisdom of the ages
Erikson
Ego Integrity vs. Despair
• Corresponding ritualism is Sapientism:
“ the unwise pretense of being wise”.
• Genital Stage
******An adult will eventually review
their life. A life well spent will result in
a sense of well-being and integrity.
Coping
Adaptive thinking or behavior aimed at
reducing or relieving stress that arises
from harmful, threatening, or
challenging conditions.
Two approaches to coping:
Valliant- Adaptive Defenses- best
psychosocial adjustment: reported highest
income, strongest social supports, greatest
marital satisfaction, joy in living
• Had used these adaptive defenses earlier in
adulthood, such as altruism, humor,
suppression (keeping a stiff upper lip),
anticipation (planning for future),
sublimation (redirecting negative emotions
into productive pursuits).
• May be unconscious or conscious.
Two approaches to coping:
Cognitive-Appraisal Model
• People consciously choose coping
strategies on the basis of the way they
perceive and analyze a situation.
Coping results- adapting to stress.
Coping strategies: Problem-focused
versus emotional focused
Problem-focused coping: involves use
of instrumental (action orientated)
strategies to eliminate, manage, or
improve a stressful condition; usually
when sees a realistic chance of
changing the situation.
Coping strategies: Problem-focused versus
emotional focused
Emotion-focused coping: (palliative coping),
directed toward feeling better; managing the
emotional response to a stressful situation to
relieve its physical or psychological impact;
usually use when feels that little or nothing
can be done about the situation itself. One
strategy is to divert energy away from the
problem; another is to give in; another is to
deny the problem.
Coping strategies: Problem-focused
versus emotional focused
Emotion-focused coping Con’t:
Older adults tend to use emotion-focused
coping more than the young. They are
more flexible and able to use both
problem-focused and emotion-focused
strategies, but are better able to
effectively manage their emotions.
Two types of emotion-focused coping:
Proactive- confronting or expressing one’s
emotions or seeking social support)
Passive- avoidance, denial, suppression.
The young and older tend to use more passive
coping.
See Table 18-1 (page 677)
Religion
• Positive link between religion or spirituality
and health, marital satisfaction,
psychological well-being, physical health
• Negative association (when religion
lacking) with suicide, delinquency,
criminality, substance use/abuse
• Meditation also effective.
Models of Successful Aging
MacArthur Foundation: three main
components of successful aging:
1. Avoidance of disease or diseaserelated disability
2. Maintenance of high physical and
cognitive functioning
3. Sustained, active engagement in
social and productive activities
Disengagement theory vs. Activity theory
Disengagement theory: aging gradually brings
reduction in social involvement and
greater preoccupation with the self
Activity theory: the more active older people
remain, the better they age.
Continuity theory- need to maintain a
connection between past and present;
activity important as it represents the
continuation of a lifestyle.
Need to be productive and feel needed.
Selective optimization with
compensation (soc)
• Conserve energy and resources by
selecting fewer and more meaningful
activities to focus on;
• Optimizing, making most of abilities
that remain strong;
• Compensating- for losses by
mobilizing resources in other areas.
Lifestyle & Social Issues
• Work and retirement
• Fewer norms related to retirement; return
to work or school, change careers
• May need to work to supplement income
or for insurance
• Usually like their work and find it less
stressful
• Often more productive, dependable,
careful, responsible, frugal with
resources/time, more effective suggestions
Age Discrimination in Employment Act
(ADEA) protects workers age 40 and
older. They found that physical fitness
and mental abilities vary increasingly
with age and differ among groups
than between ages; and tests of
specific psychological, physical,
perceptual-motor abilities can predict
job performance far better than age.
Retirement
• Life after retirement is an ongoing
process
• Personal resources, economic
resources, social support, help affect
retirement
• Continuity theory suggests that people
who maintain their earlier activities
and lifestyles adjust more
successfully.
Three patterns of continuity theory:
1. Family-focused lifestyle- accessible, low
cost activities that revolve around the
family, home, companions; conversation,
tv, visiting,
2. Balance investment: typical of more
educated people, allocated time more
equally among family, work, leisure.
3. Serious leisure- dominated by activity that
demands skill, attention, commitmentextraordinarily satisfied with their life!
Mistreatment of elderly
Elder abuse: maltreatment or neglect of
dependent older persons or violation
of their personal rights.
Mistreatment may fall into 6 categories:
1. Physical abuse
2. Sexual abuse
3. Emotional or psychological abuse
4. Financial or material exploitation
5. Neglect
6. Self-neglect (unable to care for self safely)
•
•
90% of perpetrators are family
2/3 are spouses or adult children
Personal relationships
• Tend to spend less time with others as
they age
• Relationships they do maintain are
important to their well-being
Social convoy theory (chapter 16)maintain social support by identifying
members of their social network who
can help them and avoiding those who
are not supportive
Socio-emotional selectivity theory: older
adults choose to spend time with
people and activities that meet
immediate emotional needs.
Social contact seems to prolong life
• 53% of Men who are socially isolated
die from cardiovascular disease and
more than twice as likely to die from
accidents or suicide (versus men not
isolated).
• Large social networks and frequent
social contacts result in less cognitive
decline
Intimate Relationships
• Marital satisfaction impacts overall health.
• Being married itself is important for men;
women’s health linked to the quality of the
marriage
• Gay and lesbian relationships tend to
remain strong- little difference between
heterosexual and homosexual relationships
• Friendships
• Very important for overall health