Early Adulthood (Ages 20–40)

By the time we reach early adulthood, our physical maturation is complete, although our height
and weight may increase slightly. In early adulthood, our physical abilities are at their peak,
including muscle strength, reaction time, sensory abilities, and cardiac functioning. Most
professional athletes are at the top of their game during this stage, and many women have
children in the early-adulthood years.

The aging process, although not overt, begins during early adulthood. Around the age of 30,
many changes begin to occur in different parts of the body. For example, the lens of the eye
starts to stiffen and thicken, resulting in changes in vision (usually affecting the ability to focus
on close objects). Sensitivity to sound decreases; this happens twice as quickly for men as for
women. Hair can start to thin and become gray around the age of 35, although this may happen
earlier for some individuals and later for others. The skin becomes drier and wrinkles start to
appear by the end of early adulthood. The immune system becomes less adept at fighting off
illness, and reproductive capacity starts to decline.

PARENTING
Parenting may or may not form part of adulthood. Those that do have children often report
improved relationships once the children have left home provided that they remain in contact
companionate activities with one another.Most parents believe quite sincerely that their
responsibility is to raise their children, to take an active part in guiding them, or perhaps in
steering them, on their way to becoming mature adults. This role may be an easy or difficult job.
Even more than the husband-wife relationship, the parent-child relationship has this serious
factor of interpersonal manipulation seemingly built into it, as though part of the job description
of Mother or Father.
Single parenting
In many cases people are single parents because it is their best or only option. As adolescents we
thought we would all live happily ever after with our mate. In today’s world this is not
necessarily true. Many people are now single parents. It is a new way of being a family that
wasn’t so common 40 years ago. Despite what you hear in the media, single parenting is not all
bad news—not at all. If the two parents, can manage to sort out the difficult issues of money,
childcare, and their relationship (if any) - single parenting can be a joy. You can gain an
increased closeness with your kid, plus the increased sense of control or the opportunity to parent
from your own vision. It may also be the best thing for the child
DIVORCE
Holmes and Rahe (1967) drew up a chart of the most stressful life events giving each a score
from zero to 100, with marriage being assigned an arbitrary value of 50. Divorce was number
two on the list with a score of 73 following death of marriage partner at 100. It was suggested
that a high score (200-300) in one year could lead to physical problems the following year.
Marriages (or more accurately, marital relationships) that are untenable or merely less desirable
than conceivable alternatives can and do exist in societies in which there is little or no legal
divorce. But neither the typically posed question nor the real question really makes sense upon
critical examination. What constitutes a viable marriage (a marriage that two persons both
continue to believe to be better than available alternatives) will in turn depend upon married
individuals' expectations of marriage and what they insist on getting from marriage, versus what
the other options are. Those expectations in turn will go right back to what is perceived to be
available or possible in lieu of being in the marriage. People make choices to get married, stay
married or become divorced based upon what they believe are the rewards or detriments they
will incur in making those choices in lieu of others that are available to them.
TRAUMA AND DEPRESSION
Depression has been shown to be a stage of grief and bereavement and often returns at
anniversaries and special occasions such as Christmas. Other reasons for the onset of depression
include a negative self re-evaluation in mid-life, the realisation that some of one’s life goals are
not going to be met, divorce and redundancy and so on.
IMPACT OF RELATIONSHIPS ON HEALTH
It has been shown that couples tend to take more care of their health than do single adults of the
same age. They get drunk less often, smoke less, seek help more, exercise more and are
generally more health conscious.An adult individual needs to balance energy intake with his or
her level of physical activity to avoid storing excess body fat. Dietary practices and food choices
are related to wellness and affect health, fitness, weight management, and the prevention of
chronic diseases such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes.
It is very important to reduce one's energy intake at the onset of adulthood, and to make sure that
all of one's nutritional needs are met. This can be accomplished by making sure that an adequate
amount of energy is consumed (this will vary by body weight, degree of physical fitness, and
muscle vs. body fat), and that this amount of energy is adjusted to one's level of physical activity.
Foods that are chosen to provide the energy must be highly nutritious, containing high amounts
of essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and essential proteins.For adults (ages eighteen
to forty-five or fifty), weight management is a key factor in achieving health and wellness. In
order to remain healthy, adults must be aware of changes in their energy needs, based on their
level of physical activity, and balance their energy intake accordingly.
INTIMACY VS ISOLATION
According to Erikson, this conflict is at its most influential in the early twenties and has
usually been resolved by later adulthood. The individual who resolves this conflict will go on to
develop positive open relationships (despite set-backs) rather than retreat into isolation. This is
followed by a period of generativity vs. stagnation. Here, some accept a somewhat stagnant
lifestyle with little excitement but others adopt a more positive view and take on new skills and
challenges.
STRESS
As a person moves into adulthood, they may experience stress for the first time, or have
increased stress on them, due to the demands of daily life. Leading research from around the
world has concluded that 70% to 90% of adults visit primary care physicians for stress-related
problems. Stressful life events include moving home, coping with illness, retirement and so on.
There is a link between stress and illness, although we cannot state that stressful life events cause
physical illness. Since neither measure is completely independent. Also, Holmes and Rahe
(1967) found only a small correlation – this will be discussed in more detail later.

Middle Adulthood (Ages 40–65)

During middle adulthood, the aging process becomes more apparent. Around the age of
60, the eyes lose their ability to adjust to objects at varying distances, known as presbyopia. Most
people between the ages of 40 and 60 will need some form of corrective lenses for vision
deficits. Middle-aged adults are also at higher risk than younger adults for certain eye problems,
such as glaucoma. Hearing also further declines: 14 percent of middle-aged Americans have
hearing problems. Skin continues to dry out and is prone to more wrinkling, particularly on the
sensitive face area. Age spots and blood vessels become more apparent as the skin continues to
dry and get thinner. The muscle-to-fat ratio for both men and women also changes throughout
middle adulthood, with an accumulation of fat in the stomach area.

Women experience a gradual decline in fertility as they approach the onset of

menopause—the end of the menstrual cycle—around 50 years old. This process involves
hormonal changes and may last anywhere from six months to five years. Because of the shifting
hormone levels, women going through menopause often experience a range of other symptoms,
such as anxiety, poor memory, inability to concentrate, depressive mood, irritability, mood
swings, and less interest in sexual activity.

Two forms of intelligence—crystallized and fluid—are the main focus of middle adulthood.
Our crystallized intelligence is dependent upon accumulated knowledge and experience—it is
the information, skills, and strategies we have gathered throughout our lifetime. This kind of
intelligence tends to hold steady as we age—in fact, it may even improve. For example, adults
show relatively stable to increasing scores on intelligence tests until their mid-30s to mid-50s
(Bayley & Oden, 1955). Fluid intelligence, on the other hand, is more dependent on basic
information-processing skills and starts to decline even prior to middle adulthood. Cognitive
processing speed slows down during this stage of life, as does the ability to solve problems and
divide attention. However, practical problem-solving skills tend to increase. These skills are
necessary to solve real-world problems and figure out how to best achieve a desired goal.

Important factors influencing middle adulthood

 There are many social and emotional factors that influence aging. For those in early and
middle adulthood, meaning is often found through work and family life—two areas that
correspond with Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development.
  According to Erikson, intimacy vs. isolation is a stage of psychosocial development in
which people face the crisis of being alone versus being involved in meaningful
relationships.

 Positive relationships with significant others in our adult years have been found to
contribute to a state of well-being.

 Erikson’s stage of generativity vs. stagnation revolves around a person’s sense of their
contribution to the world.

 Central tasks during middle adulthood can include maintaining healthy life patterns,
raising children or in some way helping future generations, being proud of one’s
accomplishments, or taking care of aging parents.

Relationships in Adulthood

Positive relationships with significant others in our adult years have been found to contribute to a
state of well-being (Ryff & Singer, 2009). Most adults identify themselves through their
relationships with family—particularly with spouses, children, and parents (Markus et al., 2004).
While raising children can be stressful, especially when they are young, research suggests that
parents reap the rewards down the road, as adult children tend to have a positive effect on
parental well-being (Umberson, Pudrovska, & Reczek, 2010). Having stable intimate
relationships has also been found to contribute to well-being throughout adulthood (Vaillant,
2002). A lack of positive and meaningful relationships during adulthood can result in what
Erikson termed the crisis of intimacy vs. isolation in his theory of psychosocial development. In
young adulthood (i.e., 20s and early 30s), people tend to be concerned with forming meaningful
relationships; young and middle-aged adults are subject to loneliness if they are unable to form
meaningful relationships with family, friends, or community.
Social and Emotional Aspects of Adulthood

There are many theories about the social and emotional aspects of aging. Some aspects of
healthy aging include activities, social connectedness, and the role of a person’s culture.
According to many theorists, including George Vaillant (2002), who studied and analyzed over
50 years of data, we need to have and continue to find meaning throughout our lives. For those in
early and middle adulthood, meaning is often found through work (Sterns & Huyck, 2001) and
family life (Markus, Ryff, Curan, & Palmersheim, 2004). These areas relate to the tasks that Erik
Erikson referred to as generativity vs. stagnation and intimacy vs. isolation.

Crises of middle Adulthood

Both early and middle adulthood come with particular challenges; these challenges are at
times referred to as “quarter-life crises” and ” mid-life crises,” respectively. A quarter-life crisis
typically occurs between the ages of 25 and 30. It often revolves around the challenges that arise
from young adults newly living life on their own and feeling overwhelmed with new
responsibilities; it can also happen after the birth of a child or if a person graduates from college
and cannot find a job in their chosen field. In this stage of life, young people may worry about
their future, wonder if they’ve made poor choices, or wonder what life might hold for them now.
The main triggers for a mid-life crisis include problems with work, trouble in a marriage,
children growing up and leaving the home, or the aging or death of a person’s parents. This is
likely to occur during Erikson’s stage of generativity vs. stagnation, a time when people think
about the contribution they are making to the world. Generativity involves finding one’s life’s
work and contributing to the development of others through activities such as volunteering,
mentoring, and raising children; those who do not master this task may experience a feeling of
stagnation.

Individuals having a mid-life crisis may experience some of the following:

 a search for an undefined dream or goal;

 a deep sense of regret for goals not accomplished;

 a fear of humiliation among more successful colleagues;

  a desire to achieve a feeling of youthfulness;

 a need to spend more time alone or with certain peers.

Some who experience a quarter- or mid-life crisis struggle with how to cope and may engage in
harmful behaviors, such as abuse of alcohol or drugs or excessive spending of money. Others
may experiment with different aspects of their personality, explore new hobbies, or otherwise
seek out change in their lives. Many adults find meaning in and define themselves by what they
do—their careers. Earnings peak for many during adulthood, yet research has found that job
satisfaction is more closely tied to work that involves contact with other people, is interesting,
provides opportunities for advancement, and allows some independence (Mohr & Zoghi, 2006)
than it is to salary (Iyengar, Wells, & Schwartz, 2006).

Late adulthood

Late adulthood (old age) is generally considered to begin at about age 65. Erik Erikson suggests
that at this time it is important to find meaning and satisfaction in life rather than to become
bitter and disillusioned, that is, to resolve the conflict of integrity vs. despair. It has been
estimated that by the year 2030, Americans over 65 will make up 20% of the population. Despite
the problems associated with longevity, studies of people in their 70s have shown that growing
old is not necessarily synonymous with substantial mental or physical deterioration. Many older
people are happy and engaged in a variety of activities. Gerontology, an interdisciplinary field
that studies the process of aging and the aging population, involves psychology, biology,
sociology, and other fields.

 During late adulthood the skin continues to lose elasticity, reaction time slows further,
muscle strength and mobility diminishes, hearing and vision decline, and the immune
system weakens.

 The aging process generally results in changes and lower functioning in the brain, leading
to problems like decreased intellectual function and neurodegenerative diseases such as
Alzheimer’s.

 Many of the changes in the bodies and minds of older adults are due in part to a reduction
in the size of the brain as well as loss of brain plasticity.
  Memory degenerates in old age, so older adults have a harder time remembering and
attending to information. In general, an older person’s procedural memory tends to remain
stable, while working memory declines.

Health related problems in old age or late adulthood

 cerebellum: Part of the hindbrain in vertebrates; in humans it lies between the brainstem
and the cerebrum and plays an important role in sensory perception, motor output, balance,
and posture.
 Alzheimer’s disease: A disorder involving loss of mental functions resulting from brain-
tissue changes; a form of senile dementia.
 corpus callosum: In mammals, a broad band of nerve fibers that connects the left and
right hemispheres of the brain.
 neurodegenerative: Of, pertaining to, or resulting in the progressive loss of nerve cells
and of neurologic function.

Changes in Memory

Memory also degenerates with age, and older adults tend to have a harder time remembering and
attending to information. In general, an older person’s procedural memory stays the same, while
working memory declines. Procedural memory is memory for the performance of particular
types of action; it guides the processes we perform and most frequently resides below the level of
conscious awareness. In contrast, working memory is the system that actively holds multiple
pieces of transitory information in the mind where they can be manipulated. The reduced
capacity of the working memory becomes evident when tasks are especially
complex. Semantic memory is the memory of understanding things, of the meaning of things and
events, and other concept-based knowledge. This type of memory underlies the conscious
recollection of factual information and general knowledge about the world, and remains
relatively stable throughout life.
Growing older means confronting many psychological, emotional, and social issues that
come with entering the last phase of life.

Increased Dependency

As people age, they become more dependent on others. Many elderly people need
assistance in meeting daily needs as they age, and over time they may become dependent on
caregivers such as family members, relatives, friends, health professionals, or employees of
senior housing or nursing care. Many older adults spend their later years in assisted living
facilities or nursing homes, which can have social and emotional impacts on their well-being.
Older adults may struggle with feelings of guilt, shame, or depression because of their increased
dependency, especially in societies where caring for the elderly is viewed as a burden. If an
elderly person has to move away from friends, community, their home, or other familiar aspects
of their life in order to enter a nursing home, they may experience isolation, depression, or
loneliness. Increased dependency can also put older adults at risk of elder abuse. This kind of
abuse occurs when a caretaker intentionally deprives an older person of care or harms the person
in their charge. The elderly may be subject to many different types of abuse, including physical,
emotional, or psychological. Approximately one in ten older adults report being abused, and this
number rises in the cases of dementia or physical limitations. Despite the increasing physical
challenges of old age, many new assistive devices made especially for the home have enabled
more old people to care for themselves and accomplish activities of daily living (ADL). Some
examples of devices are a medical alert and safety system, shower seat (preventing the person
from getting tired in the shower and falling), bed cane (offering support to those with
unsteadiness getting in and out of bed), and ADL cuff (used with eating utensils for people with
paralysis or hand weakness). Advances in this kind of technology offer increasing options for the
elderly to continue functioning independently later into their lives.
Crises /problems in late adulthood

Loneliness and Connection

A central aspect of positive aging is believed to be social connectedness and social

support. As we get older, socioemotional selectivity theory suggests that our social support and
friendships dwindle in number, but remain as close as, if not closer than, in our earlier years
(Carstensen, 1992). Many older adults contend with feelings of loneliness as their loves ones,
partners, or friends pass away or as their children or other family members move away and live
their own lives. Loneliness and isolation can have detrimental effects on health and
psychological well-being. However, many adults counteract loneliness by having active social
lives, living in retirement communities, or participating in positive hobbies. Staying active and
involved in life counteracts loneliness and helps increase feelings of self-esteem and self-worth.

Erikson: Integrity vs. Despair

As people enter the final stages of life, they have what Erik Erikson described as a crisis
over integrity versus despair. In other words, they review the events of their lives and try to come
to terms with the mark (or lack thereof) that they have made on the world. People who believe
they have had a positive impact on the world through their contributions live the end of life with
a sense of integrity. Those who feel they have not measured up to certain standards—either their
own or others’—develop a sense of despair.

Confronting Death

People perceive death, whether their own or that of others, based on the values of their culture.
People in the United States tend to have strong resistance to the idea of their own death and
strong emotional reactions of loss to the death of loved ones. Viewing death as a loss, as opposed
to a natural or tranquil transition, is often considered normal in the United States. Elisabeth
Kübler-Ross (1969), who worked with the founders of hospice care, described in her theory of
grief the process of an individual accepting their own death. She proposed five stages of grief in
what became known as the Kübler-Ross model: denial, anger, bargaining,
depression, and acceptance.
  Denial: People believe there must be some mistake. They pretend death isn’t happening,
perhaps live life as if nothing is wrong, or even tell people things are fine. Underneath this
facade, however, is a great deal of fear and other emotions.
 Anger: After people start to realize death is imminent, they become angry. They believe
life is unfair and usually blame others (such as a higher power or doctors) for the state of
being they are experiencing.
 Bargaining: Once anger subsides, fear sets in again. Now, however, people plead with life
or a higher power to give them more time, to let them accomplish just one more goal, or
for some other request.
 Depression: The realization that death is near sets in, and people become extremely sad.
They may isolate themselves, contemplate suicide, or otherwise refuse to live life.
Motivation is gone and the will to live disappears.
 Acceptance: People realize that all forms of life, including the self, come to an end, and
they accept that life is ending. They make peace with others around them, and they make
the most of the time they have remaining.

While most individuals experience these stages, not all people go through every stage. The stages
are not necessarily linear, and may occur in different orders or reoccur throughout the grief
process. Some psychologists believe that the more a dying person fights death, the more likely
they are to remain stuck in the denial phase, making it difficult for the dying person to face death
with dignity. However, other psychologists believe that not facing death until the very end is an
adaptive coping mechanism for some people.Whether due to illness or old age, not everyone
facing death or the loss of a loved one experiences the negative emotions outlined in the Kübler-
Ross model (Nolen-Hoeksema & Larson, 1999). For example, research suggests that people with
religious or spiritual beliefs are better able to cope with death because of their belief in an
afterlife and because of social support from religious or spiritual associations (Hood, Spilka,
Hunsberger, & Corsuch, 1996; McIntosh, Silver, & Wortman, 1993; Paloutzian, 1996; Samarel,
1991; Wortman & Park, 2008).
How Culture and Society Impact the Elderly

Depending on culture, aging can be seen as an undesirable phenomenon or as an accumulation of

wisdom and status.

 How people view and perceive the aging process varies greatly from culture to culture.

 Ageism is a common form of discrimination in the United States and other societies that
includes negative views and stereotypes about the elderly. This type of discrimination can
have a significant negative impact on the care and well-being of elderly people.

 Traditionally, elder care has been the responsibility of family members and was provided
within an extended-family home. However, increasingly in modern societies, elder care is
being provided by state or charitable institutions.

 Assisted living facilities allow the elderly to keep a sense of independence while providing
them with care and supervision necessary to stay safe.

 While countries like the United States and Japan focus more on independent care, Indian
culture places greater emphasis on respect and family care for the elderly.

 People also perceive death based on the values of their culture. In the United States, it is
fairly normal to view death as a loss and something to be feared, as opposed to a natural or
tranquil transition.

How people view and perceive the aging process varies greatly from culture to
culture. Depending on cultural norms, beliefs, and standards, aging can be seen as an
undesirable phenomenon, reducing beauty and bringing one closer to death, or as an
accumulation of wisdom and status worthy of respect. In some cases, numerical age is
important (whether good or bad), whereas in other cases the stage in life that one has
reached (adulthood, independence, marriage, retirement, career success) is deemed more
important than numerical age

Aging and Ageism

Ageism (also spelled “agism”) involves stereotyping and discriminating against

individuals or groups on the basis of their age. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil
Butler to describe discrimination against seniors, and it operates similarly to the way that sexism
and racism operate. Butler defined ageism as a combination of three connected
elements: prejudicial attitudes toward older people, old age, and the aging
process; discriminatory practices against older people; and institutional practices and
policies that perpetuate stereotypes about elderly people.

Attitudes toward ageism and their problems

Research on age-related attitudes in the United States consistently finds that negative attitudes
exceed positive attitudes toward older people because of their looks and behavior. In his
study Aging and Old Age, Posner (1997) discovered “resentment and disdain of older people” in
American society. The stereotypes, discrimination, and devaluing of the elderly seen in ageism
can have significant effects on the elderly, affecting their self-esteem, emotional well-being, and
behavior. After repeatedly hearing the stereotype that older people are useless, older people may
begin to feel like dependent, non-contributing members of society. They may start to perceive
themselves in the same ways that others in society see them. Studies have also specifically
shown that when older people hear these stereotypes about their supposed incompetence and
uselessness, they perform worse on measures of competence and memory; in effect, these
stereotypes become a self-fulfilling prophecy. According to Cox, Abramson, Devine, and Hollon
(2012), old age is a risk factor for depression caused by such prejudice. When people are
prejudiced against the elderly and then become old themselves, their anti-elderly prejudice turns
inward, causing depression. Research has found that people who hold more ageist attitudes or
negative age-related stereotypes are more likely to face higher rates of depression as they get
older. Old-age depression results in the over-65 population having one of the highest rates of
suicide.

Eldercare

The form of eldercare provided varies greatly among countries and is changing rapidly.
Even within the same country, regional differences exist with respect to care for the elderly,
often depending on the resources available in a given community or area. However, it has been
observed that globally the elderly consume the most health expenditures out of any other age
group. Traditionally, eldercare was the responsibility of family members and was provided
within an extended family home. Increasingly in U.S. society, eldercare is being provided by
state or charitable institutions.

In developed countries such as the United States, nearly one million elderly citizens are
helped by assisted living facilities. These facilities allow the elderly to keep a sense of
independence while providing them with the care and supervision necessary to stay safe. Other
elderly people are cared for by members of their family; however, eldercare in the United States
is often viewed as a burden by family members who are busy living their own lives, making
assisted living and respite-care facilities a commonly chosen option.

Cultural Views on Aging and Death

While countries like the United States and Japan focus more on independent care, Indian
culture places greater emphasis on respect and family care for the elderly. In contrast to the
United States, many countries view elderly citizens, especially men, in very high regard.
Traditional values demand honor and respect for older people, who are considered to be wiser
from experience. In China, several studies have noted the attitude of filial piety, or deference and
respect to one’s parents and ancestors in all things, as defining all other virtues. People also
perceive death, whether their own or that of others, based on the values of their culture. People in
the United States tend to have strong resistance to the idea of their own death and strong
emotional reactions of loss to the death of loved ones. Viewing death as a loss and something to
be feared, as opposed to a natural or tranquil transition, is often considered normal in the United
States.
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