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Summary
1.0 Images of Life-Span Development: Edna, Age, and Her Life Review
This vignette about Edna illustrates how in late adulthood individuals come to understand that our lives are lived forward but understood backward. Such life reviews can provide adaptive and constructive outcomes.
2.0 The Social Worlds of Older Adults
Social Theories of Aging. Three social theories of aging have been proposed. Disengagement theory
claims that as individuals age they are more likely to withdraw from society, and society is more
likely to withdraw from them. Evidence suggests that disengagement theory is in error and that activity theory may be more viable. Older adults who remain active are happier than those who do not. Social breakdown-reconstruction theory claims that a society's attitudes toward its elderlу
determine the aging process. Both activity theory and the social breakdown-reconstruction theory assume that older adults are far more capable than was previously believed by the general society.
Stereotyping Older Adults. Ageism, a prejudice against older adults, continues to concern older adults who may lose their jobs or be denied services and/or products because of their age. The increasing number of older age adults has prompted active efforts to improve the image of the elderly.
Policy Issues in an Aging Society. The major policy issues of concern to older adults revolve around the economy, the viability of the Social Security system, health care, eldercare, and generational equity. Older adults are concerned that their increasing numbers will make it difficult for younger generations to keep up with their needs. However, the Social Security system is strong, and many older adults have planned well for their retirements. Health care continues to be a financial burden but the elderly do get some governmental support in the form of Medicare, unlike younger adults and children. Eldercare, the physical and emotional caretaking of older members of the family, will continue to be a problem until adequate home care and institutional care programs are developed. Of special concern is the increasing number of women in the work force who, in the past, did the eldercare. Additionally, those giving the care are sometimes in need of care themselves. Finally, generational equity is of concern as older generations may be receiving more than their share of the society's resources. One suggestion is that the society would profit by thinking about what the positive aspects of aging would mean to America and how this view would increase the range of options for individuals of all different age groups.
Income. The elderly poor are of particular concern. Older adults who are widowed or single have especially high poverty rates, and consequently may suffer from inadequate health care, poor housing, and limited social networks. The number of older adults with incomes below the poverty level does continue to decline.
Living Arrangements. One stereotype is that older adults are all residents in institutions; however 95% of the older adults live in the community. Less than 10% of older adults live in situations such as nursing homes, public housing, mobile home parks, welfare hotels, or retirement communities. The vast majority favor living independently.
3.0 Ethnicity, Gender, and Culture
Ethnicity and Gender. Combined with racism, ageism can pose an even more difficult challenge. For example, Black and Hispanic Americans experience more poverty and fewer opportunities than older White Americans. The triple threat of sexism, racism, and ageism can pose the most difficult economic and social situations. The stress and discrimination produced by this triple jeopardy is partly overcome by extended families, church families, and strong neighborhoods.
Gender Roles. Gender roles change some with increasing age. Men become more feminine and show more sensitivity and more nurturance. Contrary to initial beliefs, women do not become more masculine. Aggressive and dominant tendencies in women do not increase with increasing age.
Culture. The status of an older adult is determined,-in part, by the culture. Although Americans may overexaggerate the relative status of older Japanese, it is clear that they hold a higher societal position than older Americans. Status of the elderly in a society is based on seven factors: (a) their valuable knowledge, (b) their control of family/community resources, (c) allowing older persons to engage in useful functions, (d) role continuity, (e) age-related role changes that involve greater responsibility, (f) integration in an extended family, and (g) a collectivistic rather than an individualistic cultural orientation.
4.0 Families and Social Relationships
The Aging Couple, Life-Styles, Dating, and Friendship. The time from retirement until death is sometimes referred to as the final stage in the marriage process. Retirement alters a couple's life-style, requiring adaptation. Older adults who are married appear to be happier; however, those who have remained single their whole lives have less difficulty with feelings of loneliness. Friendship continues to remain important in late adulthood. Social networks are reduced some due to illness, transportation problems, and death, but the need for and reliance on friends remains.
Grandparenting. Older adults may become grandparents for the first time or continue in a grandparenting role that started in middle adulthood. Older grandparents are less likely to offer to take care of their grandchildren and are more likely to adopt a formal grandparenting style. Grandmothers like their role better than grandfathers, and maternal grandparents are likely to spend more time with their grandchildren than paternal grandparents. Grandparenting may provide a source of biological reward and emotional self-fulfillment, or be experienced much more remotely. Grandparenting roles vary across cultural groups. As divorce and remarriage have become more common, a special concern is the visitation rights of grandparents.
5.0 Personality Development, Life Satisfaction, and Successful Aging
The Nature of Personality Development. Personality development continues in the late adulthood period and recent theorists have emphasized its constructive and adaptive nature. Erikson claims that older adults must resolve the integrity versus despair psychosocial conflict when they review and evaluate what they have done with their lives. Peck, who reworked Erikson's final stage of development, argues that there are three developmental tasks for older adults: differentiation versus role preoccupation, body transcendence versus body preoccupation, and ego transcendence versus ego preoccupation. Common to both theories is the concept of life review, a process of looking back at one's life experiences, evaluating and interpreting, and often reinterpreting them. Such life reviews, may be initiated by considerations of one's own death.
Life Satisfaction. This refers to psychological well-being in general Income, health, an active life-style, and a network of family and friends are associated with older adults' life satisfaction in predictable ways. Older adults often have more optimistic perception of later-life development than middle-aged adu1ts.
Successful Aging. Successful aging occurs when older adults enjoy proper diet, excise, mental stimulation, and good social relationships. Successful aging requires effort and coping skills. The selective optimization with compensation model encompasses the three factors of selection, optimization, and compensation. It is especially applicable in the case of loss.
6.0 Contemporary Concerns
Sociocultural Worlds of Development 20.1: Being Female, Ethnic, and Old. One's life as an ethnic female in late adulthood may be made difficult by negative stereotypes of the ethnic group and a cultural view that define older women's roles as unimportant. In the case of some ethnic groups, such as the Black culture, an older woman's status improves. Despite being among the poorest population in the United States, elderly Black women have demonstrated remarkable adaptiveness, resilience, responsibility, and coping skills.
Perspectives on Parenting and Education 20.1: Intergenerational Relationships and Diversity in Family Structure and Roles. Sociohistorical changes have produced various intergenerational relationships in families such as age-condensed, age-gapped, truncated, matrilineal, and step-family.
Life-Span Practical Knowledge 20J; It's Better To Be Over the Hill Than Under the Hill: Thoughts on Life After 60. This book examines various topics concerning the social, psychological, and life-style dimensions of aging. This volume may be instructive and helpful to middle-aged and young adult children of aging parents.
Life-Span Health and Well-Being: Social Support and Health in Late Adulthood. Antonnuci suggests that social support will improve the health of older adults. Individuals with social support have more positive views of themselves, cope and recover from crises better, better mental health, and stronger immunological functioning than those with inadequate social relationships.
Key Terms
1.0 Images of Life-Span Development: Edna, Age 75, and Her Life Review
2.0 The Social Worlds of Older Adults
disengagement theory
activity theory
social breakdown-reconstruction theory
ageism
eldercare
gerontologists
generational inequity
3.0 Ethnicity, Culture, and Gender
racism
sexism
4.0 Families and Social Relationships
grandparenting
5.0 Personality Development, Life Satisfaction, and Successful Aging
integrity versus despair
differentiation versus role preoccupation
body transcendence versus body preoccupation
ego transcendence versus ego preoccupation
life review
life satisfaction
selective optimization with compensation model
successful aging
6.0 Contemporary Concerns
age-condensed
age-gapped
truncated
matrilineal
step-family
social support
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