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Adult Development and Aging

Authors

• Authored by Susan K. Whitbourne and Stacey B. Whitbourne

Main Topics

• Examines adult development and aging processes through a biopsychosocial lens
• Presents scientific findings with a personal approach to encourage exploration of one's own future

Book Goal

• Aims to aid readers in envisioning their futures, along with the futures of family, friends, and society, by synthesizing current research with a personal viewpoint.

Topics in Adult Development and Aging

Early Focus

• The initial chapters cover fundamental material

Later Focus

• Chapters from the fourth onward increasingly emphasize bio, psycho, and social aspects

Book organization

Structure of the book

• Designed to allow flexibility in reading order, though it is better read sequentially

Chapter order recommendation

• The last should not focus on death and dying but rather successful aging

Key Theme

• A focus on legacy creation and touching people's lives, encouraging readers to extract key concepts from the book.

Biopsychosocial Model

Intent

• Encourages consideration of the interactions involving biology, psychology, and sociology

Life Changes

• Alterations within one life domain influence changes in others and, that is interpreted through one's self-definition

Identity

• The centerpiece of an individual's self-definition, subject to change through experience

Key Aspects for Studying Development

Exciting Time

• There is increasing media attention on the topic
• Rapid growth in the sciences emphasizing social context
• New concepts and data challenge classic psychological theories.

Boundaryless Domain

• Aging has no no national boundaries, making international perspectives critical

Organization of the Book

• Early chapters cover basic concepts, while later chapters emphasize biological, psychological, and social aspects of development.

Flexibility

• The book is designed for flexible reading order.

Importance of Reading Order

• It is recommended of reading the chapter on death and dying until all other chapters are exhausted.

Emphasis

• Throughout the volume, focus is placed on a biopsychosocial model.

Student Learning Aids

Glossary Terms

• Identified in bold type in each chapter to aid in studying

Numbered summaries

• Each chapter has a numbered summary to condense material.

New to the Seventh Edition

References

• Includes over 500 new references from the last 3 years, up to mid-2019

Population data

• Presents current population data from 2018 and 2019

Global Perspective

• Gives expanded coverage to global population and health data

Topic areas

• Updated topical organization consistent with new developments in theory and research, trimming areas that had become outdated and emphasizing emerging literature

Figures

• Figures and photographs have been redesigned with updated information and formats

Narratives

• Includes narratives to clarify points of revamped figures.

Acknowledgements

Thanks

• Extends thanks and acknowledgements to family, colleagues and students for their support, insights, and contributions

Conclusion

• Hopes and concludes that readers will look forward to delving into adult development and aging and finds the subsequent information presented herein comprehensive and clear. Focus on application of the knowledge to enhance both personal lives and the lives of older adults.

Authors personal

• Personally hopes that one decides to pursue this field and welcome that professional interest

... The facts-Key Facts & Responses in Chapter 1

All older adults are alike.

• Myth! The range of ages among older adults spans 5 decades; they differ more than any other age group.

Most older adults live in nursing homes.

• Myth! Only about 5% of older adults in the United States are in nursing homes although this rises to 13% for those 85+.

Loss of interest in sex and intimacy is a normal part of aging.

• Myth! Although the frequency of sexual activity may decrease, most older adults continue to enjoy a fulfilling sex life.

Most older adults stay socially active.

• Fact! Many older adults continue working, volunteer, and are part of a family social network.

Alzheimer's disease is an inevitable part of aging.

• Myth! Alzheimer's disease and other forms of cognitive loss occur in a minority of older adults.

Older adults are unable to learn new skills.

• Myth! Learning new skills may take longer, but the ability to learn continues throughout later life.

Memory loss is a normal as people grow older.

• Fact and myth! Short-term memory may be less efficient, but long-term memory is maintained in later life.

People become more pessimistic in later life.

• Myth! Older adults are more likely to feel satisfied with their lives and to be optimistic about getting older.

Creativity peaks early in adulthood and declines after that.

• Myth! There are many examples of famous creative older adults but even ordinary individuals can be creative throughout their lives.

As people get older, they need more assistance in daily life.

• Fact! The need for assistance increases in later adulthood, but only reaches as high as 53% for women aged 85 and older.

... The facts-Key Scores for Stereotypes in Chapter 2

All of the statements were stereotypes, representing different forms of ageism.

• Those points illustrate what your scores might suggest about your own attitudes toward aging.

1-3: "You hold some negative views about older adults",

• But for the most part you have managed to avoid too many stereotypes. Even if you agreed with "positive" statements, these still represent overgeneralizations.

4-5: Your are views about older adults reflect some of the typical stereotypes

• But you still hold some nonstereotyped views.

6-8: Almost all of your views about older adults represent common stereotypes.

• Keep an open mind to what you'll learn in this text to counteract those views!

9-10: You definitely need improvement in your understanding of older adults

• It is hoped that this text will educate you otherwise

Key Individuals in Gerontology

• Theodore C. Krauss: Innovator in geriatric medicine.
• Bernice Neugarten: A pioneer in psychological gerontology.
• Aloysius Alzheimer: Linked changes in brain tissue with observable symptoms

The Four Principles of Aging

Changes Are Continuous Over the Life Span

• Changes are continuous and build on earlier experiences (the continuity principles).
• Past behavior and health choices influence later life positively or negatively.

Identity Persistence

• People recognize themselves as the same person despite getting older

Responses

• Older individuals prefer to be treated as the people they always were, not as simply "old people."

Only the Survivors Grow Old

• Those who reach old age outlive potential fatal threats (the survivor principle).
• Survivors take better than average care of themselves or had inherited advantages.
• Survivors are a select group, thus may not be representative of the population as a whole.

Individuality Matters

• As people age, they become more different from each other, as evidenced in a cited study conducted previously by Nelson & Dannefer, (1992)
• It may be too simplistic to lump seniors together to characterize them

Normal Aging Is Different From Disease

• Growing older is not same as getting sicker.
• Health care specialists must recognize and treat diseases rather than attribute them to aging alone.
• Gerontologists distinguish "primary" (normal) from "secondary" (disease-related or impaired) aging processes.
• Tertiary aging involves a rapid loss of functions at the very end of life.

Optimal Aging

• Relates to preventative or compensatory measure in psychological or physical functioning.
• Relates to some individuals aging better for unclear/idiopathic-like reasons.
• It is observed even while aging, the impact may vary by varying degrees with individuals (intra) (inter)

Defining "Adult"

• There are various logical parameters on which to assign adulthood.
• This may involve chronological age with corresponding rights and privileges, or it can be simply assigned for the sake or convenience such as legal drinking or voter age.
• Definition can also be useful or related relative a cultural or societal lifestyle-
• Note that the transition to adulthood continues well into the late 20s.

Divisions by Age of the Over-65 Population Terms

Young-Old:

• Ages 65–74.

Old-Old:

• Ages 75–84.

Oldest-Old:

• Ages 85 and older.

Centenarians:

• People over the age of 100.

Supercentenarians:

• Those 110 and older.

Functional age

Meaning

• Is based on how actually and presently perform (s) but not the calendar (chronology)

Examples

Biological (systems), Psychological (intelect etc) or Social (positions) as such

Indices

• These can be combined but calibrate, must recalibrate with change

Chronological vs Personal

Aging can incorporate a multitude of factors from the time of an individual (personal) to the world beyond and exposure that we have already learned, it is shaped by

• -Normative influences may be societal
• -History can also have influence
• -And nonnormative which may lack specific regularity

Key Concepts

• identity
• health
• social dimensions