HEALTH
SOCIAL
RELATIONS
EMOTIONAL
SUPPORT
INSTRUMENTAL
SUPPORT
PROTECTION
AGAINST STRESS

SOCIAL RELATIONS THROUGHOUT
ADULTHOOD AND OLD AGE
Convoy or Caravan Model (Kahn and
Antonucci, 1980)
* Convoy changes throughout life cycle
(adolescence, adulthood)
* Theory of Socioemotional Selectivity
* Changes in composition
* Cultural and gender differences
* Theory of Functional Specificity

SOCIAL RELATIONS THROUGHOUT
ADULTHOOD AND OLD AGE
Theory of Equity
* People maintain just and equitable relationships
* Differences in gender: men = more focus on exchanges women = more focus on community

SOCIAL RELATIONS THROUGHOUT
ADULTHOOD AND OLD AGE
Friendship
* Lack of studies
* Functions change at each moment of life cycle
* Less friendships in old age

ATTACHMENT DURING ADULTHOOD
Changes in subject(s) of attachment
Aspects that stay the same throughout adulthood
Aspects that change

Some aspects of attachment stay the same as in childhood :
*Desire for proximity to the subject of attachment
*The welfare associated with his/her presence
*Anxiety when faced with separation or loss
Other aspects change:
*Greater tolerance of separation
*Manifestations of attachment less frequent and flagrant
*More stable representational model
*Affliction caused by separations less frequent and less bothersome

STERNBERG’S THEORY ABOUT LOVE
Liking
INTIMACY
Romantic Love
Consummate
Love
Companionate
Love
PASSION
Infatuation
Fatuous
Love
COMMITMENT
Empty Love

w Sudden appearance w Intense desire for intimacy and reciprocation w Frequent and uncontrollable thoughts about the other person w Loss of concentration w Physiological activation when the other person is present w Idealization of the other person w Hypersensibility to the desires and necessities of the other person

*Marriage as the most common way of life
* Pressure to marry lessened
More single people
More de facto partnerships

CHOOSING A PARTNER (Feingold, 1992)
* Important aspect that is well-studied
* Factors related to initial attraction are different than those involved in the establishment of a relationship
SUCESSIVE STAGES
1. PROXIMITY
2. ATTRACTION
3. SIMILARITY
4. RECIPROCITY
5. COMPLEMENTARY

1. THE NEW COUPLE
2. TRANSITION TO
PARENTHOOD
3. MID-LIFE
ADOLESCENCE
4. THE EMPTY NEST
5. CULMINATION

1. THE NEW COUPLE
Highest levels of satisfaction and highest divorce rates
TASKS TO COMPLETE:
1. Economic security
2. Establish a comfortable home
3. Adjust to relationships with friends and family
4. Establish a satisfactory sexual relationship
5. Become accommodated to partner’s habits
6. Establish a model for communication, conflict resolution, and decision making

2. TRANSITION TO PARENTHOOD
From the birth of the first child until he/she reaches adolescence
* Changes in the relationship of the couple and their relationship with friends and family
(way of life)
* Marital satisfaction tends to diminish:
58% equal 37% gets worse 5% gets better
* Fight for power (about 7 years)

3. MID-LIFE ADOLESCENCE
From the beginning of the first child’s adolescence until the last child moves out
* Adaptation to the changes in adolescent children
* Tends to coincide with mid-life crisis
* Pressure of the life cycle: care for parents and children
* Inversion of roles and redefinition of the couple’s relationship

4. THE EMPTY NEST
From when the last child moves out until retirement
* Regardless of the topic, conjugal satisfaction tends to improve
* Losses can reinforce the relationship
* Accentuates the inversion of roles
* Some factors that facilitate adaptation:
- Work outside the house
- Good relationship
- Children move out in phases and at proper age

5. CULMINATION
From retirement to widowhood
* Variable duration
* Relatively satisfactory stage of companionship and interdependence
* Adaptation to retirement and preparation for widowhood

*Important increase in separation and divorce
*Less social stigma
Age
RISK FACTORS
Economic factors
Divorced parents
SEPERATION
ADAPTATION
RECONSTRUCTION

*More frequent among women:
*Women adapt better
- Better social abilities and relations
- Younger and healthier
- More resources for domestic tasks
* Influences: age--social support--selfsufficiency
Rupture of emotional link
WIDOWHOOD
Economic loss
Loneliness and isolation

Preparation
Stage 1: Protest
Stage 2: Desperation
Stage 3: Recuperation

WORK AND CAREER
* The importance of work
IDENTITY AND SELF-CONCEPT
WORK
SELF-ESTEEM AND SATISFACTION
SOCIAL RELATIONS
VALUES
STRESS

WORK AND CAREER
From an extrinsic motivation to an intrinsic motivation
PHASES OF A CAREER
EXPLORATION
ESTABLISHMENT
MANTAINENCE
DECELERATION

WORK AND CAREER
UNEMPLOYMENT
* Loss of income
* Stress
* Health
* Decrease in selfesteem
PROTECTIVE FACTORS:
Social support - economic resources – attribution of failure

RETIREMENT AS A
CULTURAL PHENOMENON
* Retirement is a recent phenomenon that is a result of the emergence of an industrial society that has: a) An economy capable of generating an economic surplus b) A public or private pension system
* Retirement was a response to the excess workforce of older people and to the overflow of resources to address poverty
* Establishment of Social Security systems
(Germany, 1889; England 1909; U.S.A., 1935)
* Replanting of age of retirement

1. Pre-retirement
2. Honeymoon Phase
3. Disillusionment
4. Reorientation
5. Stability
6. Finalization

RETIREMENT
LEVEL OF INCOME
PSYCHOLOGICAL
ADJUSTMENT
HEALTH
How important the subject considers work and his/her subjective perception of his/her health and economic situation will influence adaptation

THEORIES ABOUT ADAPTATION TO RETIREMENT
AND HEALTHY AGEING
THEORY OF DETACHMENT
*Adaptation to ageing involves a progressive withdrawal from roles and compromises
*Detached people would be more satisfied
THEORY OF ACTIVITY
*The more active a person is, the better that person ages

THEORIES ABOUT ADAPTATION TO RETIREMENT
AND HEALTHY AGEING
* Depends on each person and his/her past way of life
* Also important is the type of activity: informal and with company
* Detachment is limited to the end of life

FACTORS THAT FALICITATE RETIREMENT
Capacity to confront stressful situations
When the changes are minimal
When retirement is gradual
Many personal resources (health, income, social support)
Personal qualities (flexibility, positive attitude towards retirement)
When expectations have been met