Reflection Of A Group Of Middle Aged Adults Essay

When I hear the term life-span development, particularly when utilized in a psychological context, the first thing that comes to mind is that it has to be the investigation of change that occurs throughout the lifespan. This change that is being observed can be in the form of behavior or personality. This field of study is very interesting as it looks at the ways humans develop over the course of their life-span. The purpose of this paper is to explain why I believe an understanding of life-span development is important and why I believe an understanding of human development will be beneficial in my prospective career path.

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,

“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.

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

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.

The transition from adolescent to adulthood, is one that has been discussed and debated upon since humans could understand the age differences between children, adolescences and adults. There are various theories which state the mental, physical and psychological changes within people as they age, one such theory is the “Theory of the Seasons of Life”, by Daniel Levinson. Within this, Levinson states that there are six stages of adulthood that everyone goes through. Each stage, corresponds with the individual’s dream and the importance of their life structure; the dream is what the individual believes to be the ideal life, this, is constantly modified and revisited as the entity’s perception of reality changes. The life structure, on the other

In our society today, the older population is a diverse and growing group with more and more individuals reaching the life stage of late adulthood, and even very late adulthood. According to Hutchison (2015), the late adulthood stage begins at 65 years of age and continues through 85 years of age and the very late adulthood stage begins at 85 and carries through until death. During the aging process, many changes occur within the body and mind as well as family structure and social roles. Individuals who have reached these life stages today may have lived through the Great Depression, the World Wars, the Civil Rights Movement, and many other important historic events, all of which have shaped their life experiences. For

Determined attempt to gain an understanding of the “life course” of an older adult and what it means someone who is in their older adulthood, my main question is gathering and analyzing information about their personal experience in their stages of aging. The main purpose of this paper is interview my relative grandma who is approaching her seventies. My relative grandmother was born in 1946 in Somalia. During my interview with my relative grandmother she told me that her father passed away when she was in her early teen. He was very ill for three years with heart disease. Her mother passed when she was in her middle adulthood. She had asthma for a very long time and died for it. When I asked my relative grandmother what it like is to get older

Aging is a process that brings up many elements to question from the one that is aging, and from society. As a matter of fact, we all will one day face this process; therefore, this article is one of many that points out the process of aging that may be caused by one’s cultures. Also, many discrepancies have been discussed on why the aging and psychopathology is associated with each other during the aging process. However, this article points out that many aging processes are different and is based on the culture of that individual. It also gives different perspectives on the aging process from different cultures. One in particular was from Britain, and it stated that they

For interview number three, I decided to focus on middle life, which includes the years from thirty to around fifty years old. Middle life represents an incredibly important transition into older age, as middle life covers a great range of differences that come within those twenty years of life. At thirty years of age, individuals are usually only entering parental life and learning to act as a provider for their families, and at fifty, have provided for their families for about twenty years. These twenty middle years of life therefore represent the most challenging and demanding phase of life for most individuals.

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

Middle adulthood takes place during forty and sixty years of age. During middle adulthood, multiple changes occur to one’s body and social life during this time. Each individual progresses through this stage differently; they could develop health problems and family problems. This week’s interview with my grandfather, we had talked about his health during middle adulthood. During this time in my grandfather’s life, he had discovered some serious health issues.

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

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

This book examines the lives of 824 individuals through a study on adult development. Vaillant states, “Old age is like a minefield; if you see footprints leading to the other side, step in them” (p. 4). If we can help others and ourselves follow in the patterns of others who have successfully aged than perhaps we can live a full and joyful life. Aging well, to some extent, is controllable. Knowing how to grow old and age well is important to live fully.