1. ADULTHOOD
Unit 9 – RG 9f

2. Early and Middle Adulthood (20-65)
Social development
early adulthood is often centered around careers
“midlife transition” -- occurs in person’s 40s when one may question his/her life & accomplishments (due mainly because of physical changes and idea that life will end at sometime)
However…for most the passage into middle age is relatively calm
many instead of focusing on the past or the future they focus on the present…and come to terms with one’s circumstances

3. Early and Middle Adulthood (20-65)
Marriage, children and family
People are still getting married…but rates of living together as well and divorce are higher
While the institution of marriage is changing…around 90% of heterosexual adults will marry AND about 75% of divorcees will remarry
About 50% of first marriages are ending in divorce

4. Early and Middle Adulthood (20-65)
Women’s roles
Close to 75% of all married women with school- age children are working outside the home
Most working women are coming home to do the majority of the housework (“second shift”)
According to sociologist Arlie Hochschild…employed mothers put in an extra month of 24-hour days during the course of a year
Yet…most women who work report a personal satisfaction and sense of contributing to society

5. Late Adulthood (65+) Physical changes
Many physical changes in late adulthood
Thinning and graying hair, skin wrinkling, and a slight loss of height…senses are less sensitive, reaction time slows, and changes in physical stamina
What causes these changes?
Genetic programming theories of aging – built-in time limit to the reproduction of human cells (kind of like an automatic self-destruct button has been pushed)
Wear-and-tear theories of aging – mechanical functions of the body simply stop working efficiently as people age (eventually the body just wears out like an old automobile)

6. Late Adulthood (65+) Cognitive changes
Some declines in intellectual functioning during late adulthood…skills relating to fluid intelligence do show declines in old age yet skills relating to crystallized intelligence remain steady

7. Late Adulthood (65+)
Does memory really decline with old age? Most evidence says not really…
Neural processing does slow down which in turn cause it to take longer to process the memories
Most memory loss tends to be limited to episodic memory…other types are largely unaffected by age
If a person stays active…physically and mentally…the memory loss seems almost non-existent
Some memory loss is due to disease…Alzheimer’s disease

8. Late Adulthood (65+) Social World of Late Adulthood
How does one successfully age?
Disengagement theory of aging – aging produces a gradual withdrawal from the world on physical, psychological and social levels
Not a bad thing…disengagement provides opportunity for increased reflectiveness and decreased emotional investment in others at a time of life when social relationships will inevitably be ended by death

9. Late Adulthood (65+) Social World of Late Adulthood
How does one successfully age?
Activity theory of aging – people who age most successfully are those who maintain the interests, activities and level of social interaction they experienced during middle adulthood
Late adulthood should reflect a continuation, as much as possible, of the activities in which people participated during the earlier part of their lives
Which is better?
It depends upon the individual and his/her personality…

10. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Spent much of her career studying tragedy, death/dying and the cycle of grief as it relates to these events
From her research she developed the FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF that all people facing death/grief experience (in no particular order)
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
You can see these stages when dealing with many of the traumas we encounter in life…from learning of a terminal illness to dealing with the death of a loved one or other loss such as the ending of a relationship