A Reflection on Adult Development, Wisdom, and Wellness

Successful aging is a complicated and multifaceted concept that varies contextually among individuals, disciplines, and even time. Gerontologists have traditionally considered a person to have aged successfully upon having reached old age with their physical health, mental well-being and spirit still intact. Ultimately, successful aging is a matter of personal perspective, largely influenced by an individual 's values and experiences. Even those within America 's elderly population hold conflicting perspectives on what it means to have aged successfully. A qualitative study published by Reichstadt and Sengupta titled Older Adults ' Perspectives on Successful Aging, concluded that “older adults viewed successful aging as a balance between self-acceptance and self-contentedness on one hand and engagement with life and self-growth in later life on the other” (Reichstadt, "Older Adults ' Perspectives on Successful Aging: Qualitative Interviews", pp. 567-575.)

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.

Cherry, K. Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development Psychosocial Development in Young Adulthood, Middle Age, and Old Age. (2014). Retrieved on July 6, 2014 from http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/psychosocial_3.htm

Life is what you make it as we go through life’s journey. We all have different experiences that are unique to us individually. “Life is not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.” - Virginia Satir. There are typical aspects of our journey that are similar, but different; we share commonalities along the way with others. In life, we will face challenges that bring about change, which is what happens to us along the way when we are younger, and it makes us who we are when we are older. Change is the opposite

Aging is an inevitability of life. With age man exchanges the physical prowess of youth for the wisdom that comes through experiencing the trials and triumphs of life. As an individual enters late adulthood, age 65 and older, they experience many physical, emotional and mental changes never previously encountered and which may require an adaptation of their earlier lifestyle. Some of these late adulthood changes are primary and secondary aging, issues regarding health and wellness, family and personal relationships, and the milestone of retirement. Understanding these changes can help late age adults

The definition of “successful aging” excludes too many people for it to be applicable. The video, “Many Faces to Aging in Americas,” represents the diversity in how people age in our society (Many Faces of Aging in America, 2008). The concept “successful aging” needs to include the whole person: mind, body, and spirit in order to be inclusive of all the dimensions in

Today people who are age 65 or older make up more than one tenth of the U.S. population and are the quickest growing age group (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman,  2010). As adults reach later adulthood, they begin to undergo mental, physical, and social transformations. All of these changes are experienced and handled differently by each individual. Time and planning help to alleviate stress and can make these changes easier to deal with. Family and friends are an exceptional source of support during these tough times.

Although most older adults in late adulthood are not working full-time in their careers, well-being is still linked to being productive, exercising skill and being confident of having meaning to one's life (Broderck & Blewitt, 2015). Just as generativity is important in young and middle adulthood, it still a value that is carried with individuals into late adulthood. Often times, this sense of purpose is linked to adults' values and spiritual beliefs.

As adults enter the stage of later adulthood, many changes will begin to develop for each person. The aging process includes transitioning from work life to retirement, changes to roles, social positions, social policies, determining living accommodations with healthcare needs, and relationships with families and peers. The stage known as the golden years comes with great challenges while adjusting to the many changes in a person’s life. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Transition from work to retirement

As human beings age, according to Erik Erikson, they go through developmental stages that help to create and transform their personalities. If needs are met and the ego is gratified, then the individual is able to move on to the next challenge. Onward they march in life and in stage until they find the end level: integrity versus despair. This has been categorized as adults 65 years and older by Erikson. Here, people are to reminisce and judge their lives in terms of merit or disappointment. Erikson himself had a lot to comb through in his later years.

The stage that follows early adulthood is known as middle adulthood where people are generally caught between being productive and being stagnant. This stage reflects the need to create a living legacy: they would either need to feel they have become an important figure for the next generation to follow or they would develop a sense of purposelessness which is generally known as a “mid-life crisis”. This crisis can be solved by having the adults care and nurture children or help the fore-coming generation in other ways or means, however if the crisis remains the person would persist in random non-age-appropriate behavior as well as a continued feeling in stagnation. During this stage adults lose some of their physical aspects as their muscular strength, ability and agility weakens. Women will go through a menopausal

Adolescence is the transitional period in a persons life time that links childhood and adulthood. The factors that influence development during adolescence include genetic/biological and environmental/social. There are many developmental issues that take place during the transition from an adolescent to a young adult. The issues of emerging adulthood(18-25) are characterized by new experiences, experimentation, exploration as well as new developmental tasks.

There are numerous ways to define successful aging. The word “aging” usually has a negative connotation. However, when putting the word success behind it introduces positive aspects that can essentially promote a long-term developmental outcome for an individual. Happening around midlife and late adulthood, successful aging is simply when an individual has complete development and maintenance of control throughout life, has achieved in the selection of goals and purposes, as well as maximization of gains and compensations of failure. This is the complete and ultimate goal for those in their late adulthood and is quite fascinating to developmental scientist. Those who engross themselves with attempting to achieve a successful aging will most likely have characteristics which in turn encourage and advocate for things such as health, growth, and vitality, maintaining social encounters and productive activities, and lastly maintaining high physical and cognitive functioning. Two developmental scientist, Vaillant & Mukamal, have discovered the factors that predict satisfaction of life are those an individual is able to control. These factors include are health habits, marital stability, years of education, and coping strategies. On the other hand those factors that are out of an individual 's control can not predict the level of happiness or satisfaction with life. These include the length of life of a family member, early health status, parental SES, and family warmth in

1) The article from The Gerontologist supports the activity theory of aging. This states that as people age, it is very important for them to be engaged in various activities and social roles. As described in the lecture, studies have shown that those who stay involved have less signs of depression and have a lesser decline in mental health. In addition, they are considered more competent than others in their age group by the general population since they are actively participating in society. The research described in the article proved that those who had moderate or high participation in activities such as working, volunteering, and caregiving had a better psychological well-being. It is not necessarily just taking part in these, but the level in which one does so is also crucial. It appears that moderate participation is the best way to a better psychological well-being, as one does not want to be overworked, but should still be involved.

The purpose of our health fair event is to educate and encourage older adults to remain active in their daily lives. Physical health is beneficial throughout one’s entire lifespan. Incorporating regular exercise into your daily routine will prevent chronic disease, improves their overall mood, and lowers their chances of injury (Aldwin & Gilmer, 2013, Chapter 5). As we go through the aging process, our bodies require us to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Moderate exercise is favorable for people of all ages. Elderly people living with chronic illnesses can also participate in moderate physical activity. Medical conditions, such as dementia, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure can all be improved by including regular exercise into an individual’s routine (Chronic Illnesses, PowerPoint).