The life course model within gerontology provides a comprehensive framework for understanding aging as a dynamic and multifaceted process that is shaped by individual experiences, social contexts, and historical factors across the lifespan. This model emphasizes the interconnectedness of various life stages, transitions, and trajectories in shaping an individual's aging experience. Key principles of the life course model include: Lifelong Development: The life course model recognizes that development occurs across the entire lifespan, from infancy through old age. It highlights the importance of early life experiences, such as childhood socioeconomic status, education, and family dynamics, in influencing later life outcomes. Historical and Cultural Context: The life course model acknowledges the influence of historical events, social norms, and cultural values on individual lives. It recognizes that cohort effects, or shared experiences among individuals born during the same time period, can shape aging trajectories. For example, individuals who experienced the …show more content…
Early-life experiences and transitions can have long-term implications for health, well-being, and socioeconomic status in later life. Cumulative Advantage and Disadvantage: The life course model highlights the concept of cumulative advantage and disadvantage, whereby individuals who experience favorable circumstances early in life may continue to benefit throughout their lifespan, while those who face adversity may experience compounded disadvantages over time. For example, individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds may have fewer opportunities for education and career advancement, leading to socioeconomic disparities in later life. Applications of the life course model in understanding aging processes
Successful Aging Elderly (SAE) Introduction In the elderly population most of the research carried out so far emphasizes on the functional problems and diseases. When it comes to successful aging elderly (SEA), it has been recommended that health status should be used to distinguish between elderly subgroups and disease-free people who can describe successful aging elderly (SAE). The research papers aims to describe a transitory overview of successful aging elderly research, illustrated in their chief sections: cognitive aspects, psychological and social aspects. It is proposed that future studies will unemployment an extensive demonstration of SAE, where the emphasis will be more on biological, health and cognitive perspectives.
Daniel Levinson's comprehensive adult development theory conveys the soul factor that an individual continues well throughout late adulthood. This theory portrays that an individual's life structure is based upon their social and physical environment, and is considered to contain two essential concepts.
An individual’s personality and character structure portrays a major reflection of how they age. Personality style and character structure both incorporate the conscious and unconscious motivational, cognitive and affective mental states, as well as defense mechanisms (Silver 1992). Biopsychosocial factors-broken down into biological, psychological, and sociocultural-also play a huge role in personality and aging (Notes 10/08). Some examples of biological factors are health, genetics, and physiological function. Thoughts, feelings, and emotions would be considered psychological factors. Sociocultural factors include family, religion and community. Additionally, people endure unique experiences and circumstances throughout their life course,
An interview was arranged with an older adult to discuss issues related to aging. The interview was designed to gain appreciation and understanding of an older adult. One theory of aging came into mind when I thought about this topic. Erik Erikson Life-Course and Personality Development theory, “Erikson described the task of old age as balancing the search for integrity and wholeness with a sense of despair.” NS is the older adult that I conducted the interview with. I’ve decided to pick NS to interview because she is very positive about life and her age. Everything that I have come across about aging is negative such as depression, isolation, and illness.
Atchley, R. C. (1997). Social forces and aging: An introduction to social gerontology (8th ed.).
Hiller, S. M., & Barrow, G. M. (2011). Aging, the individual, and society. (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Prominent musician, Celine Dion, once said, “There’s no such thing is aging, but maturing and knowledge. It’s beautiful, I call that beauty.” To many, growing old is just a natural, beautiful part of life. It is inevitable. It is inescapable. The functionalist perspective of sociology states that the elderly perform a function in order to keep society running with ease. Functionalists focus on the disengagement theory and how people tend to disengage from society as they approach death. Symbolic interactionists focus on how environmental factors and relationships with others affect the aging experience, focusing on the activity theory and the continuity theory (Carl, 2011, p. 220). Conflict theorists focus on the discrepancies that arise between different age groups. They also focus on the economical side of aging and the issues that may arise due to an active elderly population (Carl, 2011, p. 221).
Hooyman, N., & Kiyak, H. A. (2011). Social gerontology: A multidisciplinary perspective (9th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. (Original work published 2005)
The purpose of this assignment is to provide a brief synopsis of life course theory, while explaining the key principles of the theory as it relates to my personal interpretation. Also, by explaining the key principles of the theory, explain how this examined theory relates to the chosen news article event titled, “Lawyer: Jury Should Hear About Cop’s ‘Auditory Exclusion’”.
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.
When we think of crimes we always wonder why people do them in the first place. Usually when a person commits a crime we automatically assume that he or she is a bad person. But we don 't know the circumstances on how that person end up stealing, killing, raping, and etc in the first place. My perspective is that people commit crimes for many reasons, especially seeing it throughout the neighborhood I grew up in and the school I went to in California. But after taking the Crime in America class, it gave me it a better insight of why people commit crimes through the theories that other people research about, and the video examples we seen in class. One of the theories that seem plausible on why people commit crimes is the life course
Ageing is a continuing life cycle, it is an ongoing developmental event that brings certain changes in one’s own psychological and physical state. It is a time in one's own life where an elderly individual reminisce and reflect, to bask and live on previous accomplishments and begin to finish his life cycle. There is a significant amount of adjusting that requires an elderly individual to be flexible and develop new coping skills to adapt in the changes that are common in their new life. (Dhara & Jogsan, 2013).
Aging and being old was dominated by negative characteristics and conditions such as illness, depression, and isolation for a long time (Eibach, Mock, & Courtney, 2010). At first glance the terms “success” and “aging” seem to be in conflict to each other. When asking people about aging, their answers have many facets that are also found in psychological definitions: successful aging is seen as health, maturity and personal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generativity, coping, and acceptance of age-related limitations. In the psychological sense successful aging is also often seen as the absence of age-associated characteristics (Strawbridge, Wallhagen, & Cohen, 2002). It seems that successful aging means is not aging.
Today’s theory on development called The Life Course Perspective or Life Course Perspective examines an individual’s lifespan within a structural, social and cultural context. It examines how their history, to include transitions, affected thei...
The idea that development is considered lifelong has to do with the psychological sense that individuals do not stop encountering situations that can have a potential influence on their development. While infants and toddlers come to mind when generally speaking of learning opportunities, a man or woman in their mid-fifties can still experience events that will impact their development. One’s mentality or behavior does not stop growing at a certain age because there are plenty of chances for development throughout the course of one’s life.