LATE ADULTHOOD:
Emotional and social development
Social Responses To Aging
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Research in major aspects of aging:
– Behavior change that prevents damage and
maintains health
– Psychological health of oldest old
– Maximizing and maintaining productivity
– Assessing mental health and treating mental
disorders
False Stereotypes
Old age last stage before death; no one
wants to talk about mortality
 Old age is undefined: Few rites of passage;
not all are married, grandparents or retired
 Many types of elders;”typical” older adult
difficult to define
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Positive and Negative Attitudes
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Factors for positive affect
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Social relationships
Reading and following news
Extroverted personality
Death of a close friend
Definite beliefs and disbeliefs
Living with other persons
Positive and Negative Attitudes
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Factors for negative affect:
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Neuroticism
Own major illness
Money problems
Living alone
Self-Concept and Personality
Development
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Psychosocial Theories
– Erikson’s Integrity versus Despair
– Individuals recognize that they are reaching the
end of life. If they can take satisfaction in
having led a successful life they will experience
integrity
Psychosocial Theories
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Peck’s Psychosocial Tasks of Later
Adulthood
– Ego Differentiation Versus Work-Role
Preoccupation
– Body Transcendence Versus Body
Preoccupation
– Ego Transcendence Versus Ego Preoccupation
Psychosocial Theories
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Vaillant’s Theory of Emotional Health
– Emotional health, a sense of resilience
– Pragmatism and dependability
– Being close to one’s siblings
A Trait Theory of Aging
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Major personality patterns or
traits:(Neugarten, Havighurst, Tobin)
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Integrated
Armor-defended
Passive-dependent
Disintegrated
Other Models of Aging
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Theories of psychological/sociological
aging
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Disengagement Theory of Aging
Activity Theory of Aging
Role Exit Theory of Aging
Social Exchange Theory of Aging
Modernization Theory
Selective Optimization with
Compensation
Life-span model endorsed by Paul and
Margret Baltes.
 Older people cope with aging through a
strategy that involves focusing on the skills
most needed, practicing those skills, and
developing ways to compensate for other
skills
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The Third Age
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Includes emotional intelligence and
wisdom:
– “Expert knowledge about life in general and
good judgment and advice about how to
conduct oneself in the face of complex,
uncertain circumstances.”
The Fourth Age
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Elderly will face increasingly difficult
obstacles and become more vulnerable
A Life-Span Model of
Developmental Regulation
Schulz and Heckhausen
 Control is the central theme for
characterizing human development
 Primary control: the external world
 Secondary control: the self
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– Elderly able to engage and impact their
environment for the longest time: the most
successful
Impact
The Impact of Personal Control and Choice
 A Sense of Purpose
 “Some of the negative consequences of
aging may be retarded, reversed, or possibly
prevented by returning to the aged the right
to make decisions and a feeling of
competence.” (Langer and Rodin)
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Faith and Adjustment to Aging
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“Widows and widowers with an authentic
sense of personal relationship with God
cope better with the loss of their spouses
than do their nonreligious peers or religious
individuals who do not experience an active
awareness of the presence of God in their
lives.” (Rosick)
Familial Roles: Continuity and
Discontinuity
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Love and Marriage
– Companionship, respect and the sharing of
common interests improve during later
adulthood
Previous problems resolved
Problems with retirement issues
 Marriage protects people from premature
death
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Widows and Widowers
More widows than widowers
 Elderly women higher risk to live in poverty
 Most not able to afford adequate health care
 More likely to experience neglect and elder
abuse
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Remarriage and Singles
Remarriage and the Elderly
 Half-million people over 65 remarry each
year in the U.S.
 Singles have more emotional and physical
pathology than marrieds
 Elderly singles without spouse or children:
poor social network
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Lesbian and Gay Elderly
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Older gays and lesbians have reconstituted
families in the form of friendship and
support networks
Children or Childlessness
Reciprocal intergenerational assistance
 80% of elder care provided by family
 Elder value independence and privacy
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– “Intimate distance”: living near but not with
children
Families
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Grandparenting and Great-Grandparenting
– Grandparents and grandchildren benefit from
each others’ company
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Siblings
– Closeness grows with age
Social and Cultural Support
Friendships
 In terms of companionship, friends are more
important and satisfying to older people
than their offspring
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Retirement/Employment
Only 16% of males over 65 are employed
today.
 The right to work is viewed as an American
basic right
 Choice to ease to part-time employment
rather than full retirement should be an
option
 Better health and higher socioeconomic
status: better adjustment to retirement
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Living Arrangements
Living Alone at Home and Assisted-Living
Services
 Encourage independent living until health
and cognitive problems make it impossible
to remain at home safely
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Living Arrangements
Living with Children and Adult Day Care
 Long-term care support to adults who live
in the community, providing health, and
social services in a safe setting during any
part of the day
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Institutional Care
1.6 million elderly people in 22,000 nursing
homes
 Characteristics of institutionalized aged:
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– Depression
– Feelings of helplessness
– Accelerated decline
Retirement Communities
 Adult Group Homes
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Elder Abuse
Elder abuse and neglect are both acts of
commission and omission that cause
unnecessary suffering to older persons
 Elder Abuse in the Long-Term Care
Community
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– Patients and families can now file criminal
charges against caregivers and facilities
Elder Abuse
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Legal Definition of Abuse:
– Abuse: intentionally inflicting, or allowing
someone else to inflict, bodily injury or pain
– Psychological abuse: verbal harassment,
intimidation, denigration and isolation
– Neglect: Failure to provide goods, services or
care necessary to maintain health
– Exploitation: Taking advantage of an older
adult for monetary gain
Caregiver Burnout
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Strategies:
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Join support group
Continue activities you enjoy
Seek professional help
Get more information about burnout
Investigate adult day care options in community
Policy Issues and Advocacy
Policy Issues and Advocacy in an Aging
Society
 Supportive services include:
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– Information, referral, outreach, case
management, escort, transportation
– In-home services
– Community services
– Caregiver services