HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Late adulthood
Prashaanth K
DEATH AND BEREAVEMENT ACROSS LIFESPAN IN
OLD AGE.
CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE
Between ages 5-7, children understand that death is irreversible, universal
and inevitable; and that a dead person is non-functional.
The way children exhibit grief depends on their cognitive and emotional
development. Children often express grief through anger, acting out,
refusing to acknowledge death. Loss is more if the death was unexpected,
especially if it was a murder or suicide.
Parents and other adults can help the child deal with bereavement by
helping them understand the nature of death.
Adolescents take high health risks and don’t usually think about death
other than when faced with death.
ADULTHOOD
Young adults are usually busy and concerned with launching their careers
and family. When they’re struck by a fatal illness or death of a close one,
they get extremely frustrated.
In middle age, most people realize that they’re going to die. Their bodies
send them signals that they’re not as young and agile as they once used to
be. Gradually, they think about how many years they have left andhow to
make the most out of those years.
Older adults have mixed feelings about death. Physical losses and other
problems may diminish their pleasure and will to live. According to Erikson,
older adults who resolve the integrity vs despair stage, achieve acceptance
of their past life and impending death. People who feel that their lives have
been meaningful and who have adjusted to their losses may bebetter able
to face death.
SENSORY AND PSYCHOMOTOR FUNCTIONING IN OLD
AGE.
Old people experience sharp declines in sensory and psychomotor
functioning. Sensory loss and Motor impairments can rob them off their
independence, activities and social relationships.
VISION
o Depth and color perception is greatly reduced. Activities such as
sewing, reading and cooking become harder as a result.
o Loss in visual contrast sensitivity makes reading very small and very
light print very difficult.
o Older eyes are more sensitive to glare. Hence, traffic accidents are a
major risk factor for late adults.
Most visual impairments are caused by cataracts (damage to the eye lens),
glaucoma (damage to the optic nerve), macular degeneration (damage to
the retina) etc, which can be corrected using lens and surgery. Yet most of
the time, the damage done by these conditions are irreversible, and can
cause blindness.
HEARING
Hearing loss in late adults is caused by presbycusis, a reduction in the
ability to hear high pitched sounds as a person ages. Other causes of
hearing loss are chronic exposure to loud sound, smoking, history of
middle ear infections, prolonged exposure to certain chemicals.
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Hearing loss may contribute to a false perception of older people as
distractible, absent minded and irritable.
Men are more likely to develop hearing loss than women. Hearing loss can
usually be corrected by using hearing aids that magnify background
sounds.
TASTE AND SMELL
When older people complain about food being tasteless, it is usually
because of reduction in their taste buds. Olfactory bulb may also lose
sensitivity to smell. Sensitivity to sweetness is comparatively less affected
than other tastes.
STRENGTH, ENDURANCE, BALANCE AND REACTION TIME
Older people have less strength and endurance than they once had. They
generally lose about 10-20% of their strength up to age 70, especially in the
lower body.
Walking fitness and flexibility decreases; more in women than men.
Weight and resistance training can however increase strength and
endurance of the muscles. Even low intensity exercises can increase oxygen
uptake and strength.
A reason for older people’s susceptibility to falls is reduced sensitivity of the
receptor cells that give the brain information about the body’s position in
space. Slower reflexes and poor depth perception also contribute to loss of
balance. Exercises can restore body control and postural stability.
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