Personal Essay: Predicting Life During Late Adulthood

In middle adulthood there are many changes that occur physically, psychologically, and socially as explained in the above passages. Yet, some say that this is the best time of their life, they experience enhanced self-confidence, great sex lives, career success, and enhanced brain functions. Middle age adults are better equipped to make better life choices and decisions and not worry so much about the negative parts of life. Their problem solving skills are greater which allows them to reason more creatively. They are able to enjoy sex freely without the worries of getting pregnant and they feel more confident with their partners. In general they are happier about life and look forward to enjoying the rest of their lives.

“Though the age boundaries are not set in stone, we will consider middle adulthood as the developmental period that begins at approximately 40 to 45 years of age and extends to about 60 to 65 years of age” (Santrock, 2013, p. 485). I interviewed two individuals for this paper. Each person was asked the same fifteen questions (Appendix). I interviewed a male and a female who fell in the midrange of middle adulthood.

The journey through late adulthood can be experienced in different ways. One particular movie entitled “The Bucket List” exhibits an astounding portrayal of late adulthood. In fact, there are many accounts that the movie entails about late-adulthood. This includes the illustration of Erickson’s late adulthood stage – “Ego Integrity vs. Despair,” wisdom, marriage, friendship, parent-child relationship, and death and dying in late adulthood.

Analyzing late adulthood and the death of an individual as a culmination of the life span development process one must understand late adulthood consists of. This paper will give a brief overview of ageism and stereotypes associate with late adulthood. This will explain how health and wellness techniques in the late adulthood stages can mitigate the negative effects of aging. As people age the social views and experiences changes in relationships and interactions with individuals, as he or she nears end of life. When closely approaching the end of life, a person has cultural and personal attitudes about death and dignity in late adulthood.

Ninety six percent of people sixty-five and older are nonmovers (Quadagno, 2014, p.203) yet the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) follows seven individuals who are seeking a place that can accommodate their elderly needs. Despite this being a fictional film, the text Aging and the Life Course: An Introduction to Social Gerontology (Quadagno, 201) can support the ways in which the film accurately depicts various obstacles associated with aging. Each of the characters in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel overcome ageist social constructions present within western culture but represent that there can still be hope in old age.

Later adulthood is the time in life when changes in marriage, families, and peer relationships are affected the most by the loss of someone close to that person. “Most people 70 years of age or older are widowed, divorced, or single” (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010, p.619). Losing a spouse or close friend can create a sense of loneliness, which causes depression, anxiety and the emptiness feeling can become overwhelming. Depression also leads to psychological effects that will deteriorate a person’s health causing the chance for a terminal disease to become much higher. The weaker appearance of older adults causes family and remaining peers to step up in the role of making sure the person’s wellbeing is being met. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Living accommodations and healthcare needs

In this course I have learned many different theories, the ones that I think are most relevant to my life (autobiography) include; Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, Daniel Levinson and Roger Gould.

For this paper, I had the privilege of interviewing one of my friend’s grandmother. Her name is Jamie Hansen and she is a healthy and active 68-year-old grandmother. In the beginning of the phone call, I asked some basic background knowledge questions such as how many grandkids she has and if she was a widower or not. I found out that she and her husband are happily married and that she has six grandchildren. As I got to know her more I started asking questions that pertained to the interview aspect of social theories. I figured out that Mrs. Hansen’s responses led to an application of the continuity and socioemotional selective theories.

During middle adulthood biological and physical changes become apparent. During this time visual perception, hearing and the reproductive system

Particularly women, begin to interpret these changes in a negative way. Some view themselves as sexually unattractive. Men, on the other hand, don’t seem to be as concerned about their physical appearance, since society has placed much of the physical importance on the women. This is a time where we need to accept these failings and move towards more important issues. This is also a time when men and women become more health conscious. We all know of the major diseases that cause premature deaths during middle adulthood, such as cancer and heart disease. When you’re a young adult, you don’t think about these health issues as you would during middle adulthood. There is more of a concern to take better care of our health, such as heathy diets, cardiovascular activity, resistance training, and not smoking. We might be better prepared for later adulthood, if we lead a healthy lifestyle. We start to realize our mortality. As most people live to be about 85, we realize that at 40, we’re almost half-way there.

We all are currently aging. We live in an again paradox. But, it is what we choose to do with our time while we have it that counts the most. As a young adult, and before this class I was very unaware of the importance of planning your retirement as early as possible. There are many things that go into planning for a successful retirement. Such as, but not limited to: Where will I choose to live? What will I do to stay mentally active? Or even, when will I choose to retire. In this paper, I will go over a plethora of aspects for my personal plan for aging.

Middle-aged adults experience change in many different areas of their life at this time, they will find that not only their health is changing, but their appearance, their family, their thinking, and their emotions are changes as well. When discussing people that fall into the middle adulthood age of life, the term “midlife crisis” is often used, but according to an article titled Middle Adulthood Developmental Psychology, “most people during middle adulthood are satisfied and pleased with their lives”, ("Physical Changes," 2008-2013, expression 1). This article also states that the age range for middle adulthood is approximately age thirty-five to sixty-four. Midlife crisis is a when an individual views themselves and are unhappy with

     During this closing period in the life span of human beings, people tend to “move away” from previous more desirable periods often known as “usefulness”.

Throughout the Human Behavior and the Social Environment course, we have encompassed the many stages of the life cycle process. Now that I am twenty two years old, I found the early adulthood stage to be the most influential, and the most sensible one to relate to given the point that I am at in my life. More importantly, I decided to research and apply this life cycle stage to a variety of milestones, experienced by my interviewee, Chelsie. Living just houses apart, being raised by single fathers, Chelsie and I found that we had many things in common. We have remained friends since we were children, and have only grown to be closer into our early adulthood years.

The purpose of this interview is to get a glimpse of life after retirement for older adults. The assignment wants to focus on how variables such as preparation, income, and health directly or indirectly affect retirement. It also wants to look and compare family dynamics before and after retirement. It aims to assess how satisfied the older adults are after retirement. The aim is to use the information gathered and add on to the current knowledge base in order to use that information to improve actual nursing practice and overall treatment of the elderly. To get more varied responses, I chose two respondents with different socioeconomic standing. I believe this would enhance the overall learning experience from the activity by providing different views on the realities of retiring in America.