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Young Adulthood
Age 20 to 40
Women particularly find themselves reassessing their lives in their 30s, called the age 30 transition"
75% to 80% of people get married at least once
Median age range for marriage: 23 to 27 for men, 21 to 25 for women
86% of people still see marriage as permanent
Only 4% of U.S. marriages are interracial
More than 90% of married couples are of the same religion
Children of divorced parents are more likely to have behavioral problems, engage in substance abuse, and earn lower grades -
Middle Adulthood
Age 40 to 65
Erik Erikson: believed the greatest challenge facing middle-aged adults is generativity
People experience a midlife transition ages of 40 to 45
In their early 40s, a critical event often occurs
Women tend to undergo their midlife transitions about 5 years earlier than men do, age 35 instead of 40
At age 40, women are beginning to have regular mammograms
Gail Sheehy: positive about the years from 45 to 65
- Calls these years "age of mastery" -
Middle Adulthood cont.
Middlescence: used to describe a period of searching that in some ways resembles adolescence
Empty-Nest Syndrome: The feelings of emptiness and loss mothers and fathers sometimes feel after the children have left home to establish their own lives
Menopause: The end of menstruation, usually occurs in a woman’s late 40s or early 50s, although it can occur earlier or later
- Caused by a decrease in the hormones estrogen and progestrone
Age 40 or 50, testosterone levels in men begin to decline -
Late Adulthood
Age 65
2 theories of aging: programmed theories and cellular damage theories
Programmed theories
- Heredity influences our cells
- Heredity affects our hormones
- Heredity influences the immune system
Cellular damage theories: The view that aging occurs because body cells lose the capacity to reproduce and maintain themselves as a result of damage
- Cross-linking may be yet another cause of aging
Cognitive development is also affected by aging
- creativity
- memory functioning
- intelligence -
Late Adulthood: Dementia
People with dementia show major losses in memory
- Occurs after age 65 then called senile dementia
- Most cases are people over 80
Alzheimer's Disease: A progressive form of mental deterioration that affects about 10% of people over the age of 65 and nearly half of those over the age of 85
- Not a normal part of aging
Vascular Dementia: Can be caused by the bursting of a blood vessel in the brain (as during a stroke) or by a decrease in the blood supply to the brain -
Late Adulthood: Retirement / Grandparenthood / Living Arrangements
Some jobs must retire at 65 or 70
- Retirement can also place stress on a marriage because spouses since they are spending more time together
- They may join volunteer groups and participate more in community activities
Grandparents often have more relaxed relationships with their grandchildren than they had with their children
Nearly 30% of older people will spend some time in a nursing home.
However, the populations of nursing homes usually consist of people who are 80 or older. -
Late Adulthood: Ego Integrity / Aging and Adjustment
Erik Erikson: Believed that people in late adulthood, like those in other stages of life, face certain developmental tasks
- Believed that one challenge facing people in late adulthood is the maintenance of ego integrity
- A person with ego integrity is able to accept his or her approaching death.
Most people in their 70s report being largely satisfied with their lives.
- More than 75% rate their health as good or excellent.
About 10% of people age 65 or older live below the poverty line. -
Death and Dying
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross: Theorized that there are five stages through which many dying people pass
- Denial
- Anger
- Bargaining
- Depression
- Acceptance
Edwin Shneidman: has not found that the feelings follow a particular sequence. Finds that people faced with approaching death show a variety of reactions
Euthanasia: Comes from the Greek language and means “easy death”
Many funerals include a eulogy
Bereaved: mourning over something or someone precious who has been taken away