Interview With Hayward

The lifespan interview was conducted 70 years of age married black female whom I will be calling Mrs. D. The purpose was to document the subject’s lifespan history with recollections of important or significant events in her development. Mrs. D is a native of McIntosh, Alabama. She was born to a Mr. and Mrs. Hiram P. Reed Sr. on the 13th of December in 1967 in McIntosh Alabama. She has five siblings 4 brothers and two sisters. She has 6 children three boys and three girls with one son being descent. This interview was conducted on a live face-to-face webcam so that Mrs. D would feel much more comfortable.

While being employed in Corporate America for over 20 years and in the United States Air Force for over 10 years has been extremely valuable experience, I don’t feel like I’m fulfilling my purpose in life. After losing my grandmother 2.5 years ago, it finally dawned on me what my purpose is, and that is to care for our aging population. I am one of 65 grandchildren. My grandmother and I always had a special bond. She raised me for a big part of my childhood, and was more of a mother-figure to me.

Berger (2008) state that late adulthood, which begins at age 65, is the final stage of the life span development process that culminates through the death of an individual. During the course of the twentieth century the notion of late adulthood changed significantly (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). The average person’s life expectancy increased probably by 30 years. This changed the proportion of North Americans over 65 years from 1900s one in 30 to a projection by the year 2040 that it will be one in five. This drastically changed the perceptions of late adulthood (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). For example,

For my interview with an older adult I interviewed a man named Herald who is 83 years old, or years young as he would say, on Saturday the 19th of September at his home in the town of Griffin, Georgia. In asking Herald to describe his background I determined that he was born in Long Island, New York in the year 1933 and lived there for the first 17 years of his life. Upon turning 17 he packed up his things and moved out west to Idaho where he worked as a park ranger for a several year until he moved back home where he enlisted in the army. When asking him about his family he described himself as an only child, with a mother and a father of European dissent. Herald was married to a woman named Doris for 45 years until she died in early 2000 of an inoperable brain tumor that was thought to be caused by the traditional radiation treatments for acne she received as a child. He has four living children from his marriage with Doris, two sons and two daughters, each of which still live in the state of Georgia and two who still live in Griffin where they were born. As well as this he has five grandchildren, three of which are boys and two who are girls. Three of his grandchildren are in college within the Georgia university system and the other two are in high school.

Culturally is it unusual that Lanesha’s grandmother is her primary caregiver? I would like to say no to this question, but the facts behind this issue don’t support it. Within the African American community, approximately 12% of African American children nationally are cared for by their grandparents, compared to approximately 7% of Hispanic children and 4% of non-Hispanic White children (NCBI, 2010). Lanesha and her grandmother are part of a larger issue that is reflected in today’s society. Several reasons can exist for this paradigm, anything from the parents needing complete education, the grandparents supplementing expensive daycare costs, or simply because the parents are not involved in the child’s life.

I will be presenting part of what I am thinking to write about in the chapter, at the Aging and Society's 6th Interdisciplinary conference in October. If the presentation would not violate the terms of the chapter submission, I would be very happy to contribute to the book.

I had the privilege of interviewing a 60 year old gentlemen who I will identify as Mr. E to protect his privacy for this assignment. The goal of my interview was to gain insight on aging from an older adult. I interviewed Mr. E in his home on a weekday evening. He expressed appreciation and was surprised that he was the focus of an interview in which his life story and thoughts would be recorded.

Elders are vital members within their communities and anticipated to fulfill essential roles such as those of mentors, cultural transmitters, providers of care for grandchildren, and civic and religious leadership (Ramos & Wright, 2010). Cultural values of collectivism and communal orientation can serve as a protective factor in alleviating distress” (Furman et al.,

African Americans have come a long way in the last few decades. We have more rights, more opportunities to grow and prosper and more independence than ever before. But the same cannot be said for African American families as a whole. The African American family and community is in trouble (Tilove, 2005). These families are facing many issues today that are contributing to their break down. These factors include poverty, diminishing health, welfare, incarceration, the struggle to find housing and the challenges involved with providing children with higher education. The disintegration of families have gone on for too long and it’s time we do something about it (“Current Challenges”, n.d.).

I have always admired the senior citizens who are wondering how they have passed such long journeys of their lives. They not only have accomplished achievements, but also have done memorable works that deserve admiration, respect, and priority in today’s society. These old people may look incompetent and unexciting in somebody’s eyes and thoughts, but not everyone realizes that they are the people with greatest knowledge and experiences beyond their masters of life. From my own experience, whenever I see an old mister or mistress looking for help or in need of help, I can never ignore him or

After spending an afternoon interviewing my elderly father-in-law, I gained insight into how he perceives the aging process and the impact on the quality of his life. First, and foremost he viewed aging in a very positive and healthy manner. He believes that a positive attitude assists in accepting physical and psychosocial changes and enjoyed the fact that he and his wife are both physically fit and cognitively alert. He felt confident that advances made in health care and the quality of their lives would continue to be empowering. He enjoys the benefits of being a senior citizen including discounted travel, free education, and other incentives marketed towards seniors. He expressed a sense of well-being with respect to the numerous

Late adulthood is a time many people tend to suppress in their minds. Late adulthood is often considered a time of physical and mental decline, but in reality for many older adults it is a time of mental and spiritual growth. During late adulthood, people tend to start reflecting on their lives and what is really important. During younger ages, people tend to focus on things that may not matter in the future, and spend time worrying about things that are unimportant. Through interviewing older adults, younger people can learn several important life lessons and begin to appreciate the things that really matter in life.

Throughout the span of this course, a big section of time was allotted for learning about adult development. For this reason, I have decided to interview my 40-year-old father, Rick Spence, to see if he follows the basic pattern of development. The interview is focused on four major categories of adult development, the categories are as follows: Physical Development, Relationships and Social Development, Educational History and Career Development, Cognitive Performance, and Views and Attitudes Towards Aging. By going through these categories I will attempt to determine whether my father is a developing at healthy rate, or if he is simply going crazy.

In order to explore the individual experiences of an older adult in the United States, we conducted an interview of a 78-year-old white male living in Silver Spring, Maryland. Throughout this paper, the interviewee will be referred to as Edgar; this is not his real name. The interview was conducted in the home of one of the interviewers because it is close to Edgar’s home. Throughout the interview, we discussed Edgar’s personal experiences with ageism, the physical and psychological effects of aging, family and social supports in old age, and the transition from work to retirement. While his experiences with personal aging are similar to that of many other individuals his age, his experience as full-time male caregiver offers unique insight into an unofficial occupation dominated by women.

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.