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Middle adulthood and late adulthood
Middle adulthood and late adulthood
Late Adulthood Development
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Late Adulthood is the last stage of human lifespan development. Human beings are complex in many ways that it is essential that we human understand these crucial development stages in our life to better communicate and prepared for them. At this stage of development, organs in adults work differently or maybe slowly. For example, I observed that when someone is approaching my grandma from a far distance, it is hard for her to identify or sometimes seems blurry to see who the person is even if it is someone she knows, until the person move very close to her before she is able to identify the person; this is as a result to low vision related to aging. Another sense of organ that I witness in my grandma is hearing impairment. As she is aging she experience gradual decrease in how she can hear people when they talk, but when we are talking to her, we usually move close to her so that she can hear our words clearly. I understand that earing loss is one of the most common conditions affecting older and elderly. When it comes to small, taste, touch, and pain in older people, I am not knowledgeable in that aspect. …show more content…
Life event such as retirement could cause social isolation. Most elderly people are vulnerable and living in isolation. They are not physically active. They are lonely and they have minimal contact and access to things around them. Living in isolation can impact the lives of elderly, which can then lead to suicide. It is true that different types of diseases emerges during late adulthood, but I am not really knowledgeable about those diseases because it is not as rampant as it is in western world in comparison to Nigeria, my home
Pantell, Matthew,et al. “Social Isolation: A Predictor Of Mortality Comparable To Traditional Clinical Risk Factors.” American Journal Of Public Health 103.11(2013): 2056-2062. Academic Search Complete. Web. 30 April 2014.
If someone told you that social isolation kills more people than obesity does, would you believe it (Olien)? Social isolation can go beyond the idea of someone locking themselves in their room and not interacting with anyone (physical isolation). It can also be when someone is not feeling connected to society or a certain person (emotional isolation). In fact, in the short story “To Room Nineteen” by Doris Lessing, the protagonist of the story, Susan, found herself needing frequent absences from her family which eventually drove her to commit suicide. People isolate themselves for many different reasons and this feeling of isolation can very much lead to death. Social isolation is a serious medical condition and there are many effects on the mind that can come along which can eventually lead to voluntary and/or involuntary death.
Why can Isolation be deadly? Many people who are isolated or have isolated themselves suffer a higher risk of mental health issues such as anxiety, loneliness, paranoia and depression, which can lead to more serious feelings about yourself like committing suicide. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, it was found people with fewer human contacts had a 26% greater likeliness to die, regardless of age and sex. Social Isolation is the absence of social relationships and can in fact be deadly. The amount of social relationships humans need to be happy varies from person to person, but it is vital that everyone has meaningful relationships and social interactions on a regular basis. A study performed by Holt-Lunstad
Social integration and participation of seniors in society are important indicators of healthy aging. However, seniors are always at risk of being socially isolated. Many factors can cause social isolation and among them population aging that resulted more seniors to live longer is one of the most important factors.
Emerging Adulthood represents the period of development from late teens through their twenties, mainly focusing on the ages 18-25. This is the period which people start exploring and realizing the capabilities of their lives, which then helps them characterize as adults and no longer teenagers. This topic of psychology is compelling to me because it’s a stage that every adult has lived through, it’s interesting that we have all experienced it differently based on our life circumstances and demographics. It’s interesting to see the changes throughout the years and eventually it will be easier for young people to explore these years as more young adults are going to school nowadays. It teaches me to further understand why emerging adults go through
It is normal for social contacts to decrease with age. Many of those we knew moved away or passed on, but for seniors living alone, this can create a potentially dangerous situation. Dr. John Cacioppo, a neuroscientist and psychologist at the University of Chicago, notes that senior isolation is directly linked to loneliness "poor cognitive performance and quicker cognitive decline." These seniors also have a much greater risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
Psychologist Andrew Steptoe, PhD of University College of London had did a study tracking 6,500 British men and women of the age of 52 and older and found that both being lonely and socially isolated raised their risk of death. Considering that the social isolation of that age consisted of frequent contact of family and friends and participating in organizations. I mainly believe that is likely due to stress. Most likely around the age of 52 and older you would have kids on their own and even grand kids. Which would most likely cause stress of dealing with younger people than you and there
During middle adulthood biological and physical changes become apparent. During this time visual perception, hearing and the reproductive system decline. Adults who have never worn glasses or contact lenses may start needing visual correction (pg 424). During this time adults may also need more light to see than their younger friends (pg 424). During middle adulthood individuals, more commonly men, develop a lower sensitivity to high pitch sounds (pg 424). This is the reason why individuals during this stage find it more difficult to hear and interpret other voices.(pg 424). The female reproductive system starts to decline, slowly ending in menopause. The decline in the circulation of estradiol, the primary hormone of estrogen, causes many differences in reproductive health. During middle age pubic hair thins, there are changes in vaginal chemistry, and the labia begins to thin and wrinkle (pg 424). The chemical changes within the vagina cause dryness and a greater likelihood of infections (pg 424). For men, the decrease in testosterone during middle age is only small however the decrease causes lower bone density and loss of muscle m...
Features of the human body changes over time, they incline with age as well as decline and change over time. Changes take place in every aspect of human sensory; vision, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. It has a lot to do with how you treat yourself over time and what you put into your body. Physical activities also help with certain sensory aspects. When it comes to vision and age it’s like putting two layers of plastic bag in front of your eyes (Van Son & Fitzgerald, 2012). Presbyopia is a common health issue that is linked to older adults and vision problems. Older adults since of touch is also altered as time progresses and this may cause older adults skin to harden or certain parts of their skin to callus over. According to Van Son and Fitzgerald, smell and touch are really close to one another when it comes to aging. With age older adults lose their sense of some tastes fade and other heightens (Van Son & Fitzgerald, 2012). When you decline in one sense your other senses potentially become stronger. The last sensory that is tested within older adults is hearing. Hearing can become very hard. High-pitched sounds are easier to pitch up. Older adults that have problems hearing invest into hearing aids. Ethel did not mention having issues with any of her sense, but I did notice that she lost hear train if thought at times but she definitely picked it back up, and she
In America the process of aging is generally viewed negatively. It is associated with physical and mental deterioration. A bias toward individuals in late adulthood, known as “ageism,” negatively affects the elderly in areas such as the workplace, healthcare, and advertising among others. These negative stereotypes are thought to begin in childhood, and if left unchallenged, follow an individual into late adulthood(The Associated Press, 2004). The perceptions of aging can affect an individuals wellbeing, especially when they reach late adulthood. Research shows that adults with a positive view towards aging live longer than those who view aging negatively(Levy, 2002).
Late adulthood should be a time in a person's life where they feel fulfilled. They can look back on their memories and be happy with the way they have lived their life. Now, too many elderly people are not satisfied and look at this stage as depressing. Most fear death of either a loved one or for themselves. This topic is interesting to me because elderly people should make the best of their last stage of life. This topic discusses about getting older, the life changes that they go through physically, emotionally, and mentally. We should know more about it so that we can help our family and friends get through one of the best, yet toughest part of our mortal life.
Late adulthood is known as the period of life after middle adulthood, usually from around 65 years old to death (Santrock, 2013, p. 485). There are many varying stages of development and health in late adulthood, along with steady changing of life expectancy. Aging is a part of life, and with it comes changes in every area of living. Many diseases find late adulthood as an opportune time to affect people. Eventually, whether caused by disease or another reason, every individual dies. Death is unique to every person, and healthcare in America is changing to reflect that. This stage of life is a time when bodily processes and functions may be decreasing, but depending on lifestyle choices, death can come at different times.
In the body-transcendence versus body-preoccupation stage, one must be able to learn and accept physical changes that happen as we get older, we refer to this as transcendence. If someone is unable to do so, they become preoccupied with the physical deterioration, to the detriment of their personality development. Although the physical capabilities are not the same in the elderly as when they were young, many older people stay regularly fit considering their age. The changes that began in middle adulthood are becoming more unmistakable by the time one finds themselves in late adulthood. The two distinct types of aging are primary aging and secondary aging. Primary aging involves the irreversible changes that occur as people get older due to genetic programming. Secondary aging refers to the changes that are bought on by illnesses and diseases, not increased by age itself. Late adulthood is a very interesting period of life. Since people are now living longer than ever before, late adulthood is increasing in length. Whether we say it starts at 65 or 70 years, the amount of people included in this stage is larger than ever before, due to medicine and technological advances. One of the most obvious signs someone is in late adulthood would be a person’s hair. Most people’s hair become distinctly gray and eventually white, which may thin
Middle adult age can ba a time of doubt and anguish when the unexpected can shatter a cherished dream. Physical and mental abilities change as we get aged. The message is clear, our bodies just aren't what they used to be. Perhaps fewer days ahead in our lives more days behind we're entering the season of middle adulthood where our biological clock is ticking. Meaning we face some new challenges maybe change in sensory and psychomotor functioning. Some of those changes including vision, hearing, and ability to react quickly can affect our driving. There are two major changes that can gradually happen to our eyes that may affect our driving. For instance, by age 60 we used three times as much light to see as we do at age 20, so it much
Social isolation has to do with when older people retire, thus cutting off an important source of social activity. Declining health also increases isolation by making it hard to get around. Death of friends, neighbors, family members, and spouses also contribute to this issue and consequently make a new one, a higher risk of death. Months after a spouse dies, the partner is at a higher risk of death due to depression henceforth leading to suicide. Retirement is a big part of aging which many younger people do not think about. As a result of a fluctuating economy, many people are very cautious about giving up working and staging or maybe even not retiring. Elderly abuse is defined as a range of behavior that includes passive neglect, active emotional and verbal mistreatment, and even life-threating physical violence. For example unfairly taking some other property or wrongfully taking an older person’s money, but most of these cases go undetected because many are afraid to speak out. Some fear the abuse will increase and for this reason they don’t file a complaint (Macionis). There are many different political viewpoints concerning