Lifespan Development

Module # 9: Middle Adulthood

Module Learning Outcomes
Describe developmental changes during middle adulthood

9.1: Explain the physiological changes during middle adulthood and their phys
ical and psychological consequences
9.2: Describe cognitive and neurological changes during middle adulthood
9.3: Analyze emotional and social development in middle adulthood
9.4: Explain how relationships are maintained and changed during middle adul
thood
Physical Development in Middle Adulthood
Learning Outcomes: Physical Development in Middle
Adulthood

9.1: Explain the physiological changes during middle adulthood and their
physical and psychological consequences
9.1.1: Detail the most important physiological changes occurring in men and
women during middle adulthood
9.1.2: Describe how physiological changes during middle adulthood can
impact life experience, health, and sexuality
Developmental Tasks in Middle Adulthood
• Challenges facing midlife adults include (Lachman):
• Losing parents and experiencing grief
• Launching children into their own lives
• Adjusting to home life without children
• Dealing with adult children who return to live at home
• Becoming grandparents
• Preparing for late adulthood
• Acting as caregivers for aging parents or spouses
• These challenges can represent a fundamental reorientation
of outlook, investment, attitudes, and personal relationships
and may be affected by circumstances outside our control
Physical Mobility in Middle Adulthood
• Sarcopenia likely results from leg muscles becoming progressively detached from the
central nervous system; exercise encourages new nerve growth
• The CDC assigned sarcopenia its own discrete medical code in 2018
• Mobility is becoming a central concern for researchers with the identification of
osteosarcopenia, the decline of both muscle tissue (sarcopenia) and bone tissue
(osteoporosis)
• Osteoporosis, the deterioration of bone mass, impacts both men and women
• Pronounced links between weight bearing exercise and neuron production have been
identified
• Voluntary physical activity will extend and improve the quality of life
• Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis often begin in the 50s, affecting more
women than men
• Chronic inflammation often increases in midlife though an exact cause is unknown though
social isolation is a probable contributing factor
Normal Physiological Changes in Middle Adulthood
• Changes in vision, more joint pain, and weight gain all occur in midlife
• Presbyopia is when the lens of the eye gets larger but the eye loses flexibility to
adjust to visual stimuli
• The accumulation of fat in the abdomen is one of the common midlife complaints
as metabolism slows by about one-third
• Hearing loss is experienced by about 14% of midlife adults, accumulating after
years of exposure to intense noise levels
• Most midlife changes can be easily compensated for but the percentage of adults
who have a disability increase through midlife (7% of people in early 40s and
30% by the early 60s)
• Individuals with a healthy lifestyle or those who begin an exercise regimen in
their 40s may enjoy comparable benefits to those who began in their 20s
The Climacteric
• One biologically based change during midlife is the climacteric: men may
experience a reduction in their ability to reproduce and women lose their ability
to reproduce once they reach menopause
• Menopause refers to a period of transition in which a woman’s ovaries stop
releasing eggs and the level of estrogen and progesterone production decreases
• The median age range for a woman to have her last menstrual period is 50-52 but
ages vary and symptoms may last from 1 to 3 years
• Menopause experiences vary and culture may influence symptoms experienced
and responses to menopause also vary depending on expectations held
• Hormone replacement therapy has been less commonly used as risks have been
associated
The Climacteric, continued
• While men do not lose their ability to reproduce as they age, they tend to produce
lower levels of testosterone and fewer sperm
• Low testosterone levels may result in a lack of sex drive
• A decrease in libido and lower testosterone (androgen) levels is known as
andropause
• Controversy surrounds whether men experience low testosterone as a result of
individual physiological makeup or because of a generational transformation
• Midlife adults tend to have sex lives that are very similar to that of younger
adulthood with some changes to vaginal lubrication in women and periodic erection
changes in men
• Risk for contracting STDs continues while risk of pregnancy continues until a
woman has been without menstruation for at least 12 months
Exercise, Nutrition, and Health

• Exercise is a powerful way to combat changes associated with aging, building

muscle, increasing metabolism, helping to control blood sugar, increase bone
density, and relieving stress
• Fewer than half of midlife adults exercise and only about 20% exercise frequently
and strenuously enough to achieve health benefits
• The best exercise programs are those that are engaged in regularly, that is easy to
follow
Exercise, Nutrition, and Health, continued
• Fewer calories are required as we age
• Many respond to weight gain with dieting though eating less does not mean eating
the right things which results in vitamin and mineral deficiencies
• The link between diet and inflammation is unclear but there is now some clear
information supporting a ”Mediterranean Diet”
• The ideal diet is one low in fat, sugar, high in fiber, low in sodium (less than 2300
mg per day) and cholesterol less than 300 mg per day
• Fiber is also thought to reduce the risk of certain cancers and heart disease
• Sugar is a problem for most people and diets high in starch are also problematic as
starch is converted to sugar in the body
Practice Question 1

How prevalent do you think osteoporosis is? The National Osteoporosis

Foundation (NOF) put the number of men who will get a bone fracture at over age
50 to be around _______.

A. 7%
B. 10%
C. 15%
D. 25%
Cognitive Development in Middle Adulthood
Learning Outcomes: Cognitive Development in Middle
Adulthood
9.2: Describe cognitive and neurological changes during middle
adulthood
9.2.1: Outline any cognitive gains/deficits typically associated with middle
adulthood
9.2.2: Explain changes in fluid and crystallized intelligence during adulthood
Cognition in Middle Adulthood
• The Seattle Longitudinal Study of adult cognition
began in 1956 and find that cognitive abilities
decrease beginning in the sixth decade and gain
increasing significance from that point forward
• The Midlife in the United States Studies began in
1994 and has supported a view that midlife is
something of a trade-off with some cognitive and
physical decreases of varying degrees
• Cognitive mechanics of processing speed,
physiological lung capacity, and muscle mass, are
also in relative decline but can be compensated for
Cognitive Aging
• About one-third of the American adult population has a bachelor’s degree or higher
today compared to less than 5% in 1940
• Educational attainment rates vary by gender and race but the rising costs of higher
education have raised questions about whether college is worth the cost
• There remains a question about the connection between higher education and the
workplace and whether formal education prepares young adults for work
• Soft skills as well as the particular knowledge and skills in a college major are
important especially because they prepare adults to continually learn new things and
adapt creatively in their careers and lives
• Holland proposed that there are six personality types (realistic, investigative, artistic,
social, enterprising, and conventional) as well as varying types of work
environments
Performance in Middle Adulthood
• About one-third of the American adult population has a bachelor’s degree or higher
today compared to less than 5% in 1940
• Educational attainment rates vary by gender and race but the rising costs of higher
education have raised questions about whether college is worth the cost
• There remains a question about the connection between higher education and the
workplace and whether formal education prepares young adults for work
• Soft skills as well as the particular knowledge and skills in a college major are
important especially because they prepare adults to continually learn new things and
adapt creatively in their careers and lives
• Holland proposed that there are six personality types (realistic, investigative, artistic,
social, enterprising, and conventional) as well as varying types of work environments
Practice Question 2
What is adult neurogenesis in the brain?

A. There is no such thing. it is commonly accepted accepted that neurogenesis, as a

physiological process in humans, ends by the age of 14.
B. it is a physiological process that is found only in some parts of the animal
kingdom, in species like rats and canaries.
C. a developmental process in the human hippocampus, a part of the human brain
critical in learning and memory, involving the production of new neurons.
D. a physiological process that can be induced by a new series of drugs
Emotional and Social Development in Middle
Adulthood
Learning Outcomes: Emotional and Social Development in
Middle Adulthood
9.3: Analyze emotional and social development in middle adulthood
9.3.1: Describe Erikson’s stage of generativity vs. stagnation
9.3.2: Evaluate Levinson’s notion of the midlife crisis
9.3.3: Examine key theories on aging, including socio-emotional selectivity
theory (SSC) and selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC)
9.3.4: Describe personality and work related issues in midlife
Psychosocial Development
• Generativity is focused on establishing and guiding the next generation
• Stagnation is possible when the demands of family, work, and relationships recede and
drawn down, resulting in lethargy and lack of enthusiasm and involvement
• Generativity vs. stagnation for Erikson is a movement away from individual self-
development towards ‘belief in the species”
• Levinson identified five stages or seasons of a man’s life: 0-22, 17-45, 40-65, 60-85,
and 85+
• The stage-crisis view argued that each stage overlaps and consists of a stable phase and
a transitional phase into the following period
• Levinson believed ages 40-45 to be a period of profound change culminating in a
reappraisal or reaffirmation of goals, commitments, and previous choices and a time to
take stock
Psychosocial Development, continued
• Levinson and his wife published their study for women’s ”seasons of life”, referring to
women’s formation and understanding of their social identity as a “dream” understood
as a cognitive-behavioral construct
• The male ”dream” formed in the age period of 22-28 and largely centered on the
occupational role while it was a split between a work-centered orientation and
marriage/family for women
• Tasks of midlife transition include: ending early adulthood, reassessing life in the
present and making needed modifications, and reconciling any contradictions in ones
sense of self
• In midlife, people no longer think of how long they have lived but shift to thinking in
terms of how many years are left, often prompting a sense of urgency
• Levinson characterized midlife as a time of developmental crisis, but this view has
been criticized
Socio-Emotional Selectivity Theory (SST)
• As people move towards the end of temporal duration, goals and values tend to shift
with priorities, goals, and aspirations subject to negotiation
• Time is a valuable commodity requiring careful consideration and investment, known
as mortality salience
• Socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) maintains that as time horizons shrink,
people become increasingly selective with their time and invest greater resources in
emotionally meaningful goals and activities
• Aging is associated with a relative preference for positive over negative information
and social networks are narrowed to include those who satisfy emotional needs,
emphasizing a time perspective
• The shift in emphasis from long term goals to short term emotional satisfaction may
support that selectivity in human relationships leads to more positive affect
Selection, Optimization, Compensation (SOC)
• Paul and Margret Baltes shifted research on aging from a largely deficits-based
perspective to a newer understanding based on a holistic view of the life-course
• The Baltes’ model argues that across the lifespan, people face various opportunities or
challenges and may select particular goals or experiences or experience imposing
circumstances
• The shifting or modification of goals based on choice or circumstance with the result
of focusing goals and efforts towards a specific purpose and be beneficial to healthy
aging
• The processes of selection, optimization, and compensation can be found throughout
the lifespan with our own individual orientation dictating successful aging
• Our ability to play the SOC game becomes more adept over time as we work to
compensation and adjust to changing abilities
Personality and Work Satisfaction
• Research on adult personality examines normative age-related increases and
decreases in the expression of the ”Big Five” of extroversion, neuroticism,
conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness to new experience (OCEAN)
• Plaster hypothesis reflects the belief that most of us have our character set like
plaster by the age of 30
• More recent research shows that while some people maintain stable personalities
over time, others do not
• Individual differences may be due to idiosyncratic life events
• Longitudinal research suggests that adult personality traits predict important life
outcomes including job success, health, and longevity
• Jung believed that our personality matures as we get older with a healthy
personality being one in balance
Personality and Work Satisfaction, continued I
• Subjective age is a multidimensional construct that indicates how old (or young) a
person feels and how one characterizes oneself
• On average, after age 40, people report feeling 20% younger than their actual age
• There is a growing body of research centered around Awareness of Age Related Change
(AARC), which examines the effects of our subjective perceptions
• Attitudes about work and satisfaction from work tend to undergo a transformation or
reorientation during middle adulthood
• Age is positively related to job satisfaction but increased job dissatisfaction occurred the
longer one stayed in the same job
• High quality work relationships can make jobs enjoyable and less stressful
• Feeling engaged in our work and high job performance predicts better health and greater
life satisfaction
Personality and Work Satisfaction, continued II
• Dorien Kooij identified four key
motivations in older adults continuing to
work:
• Growth or development motivation and
looking for new challenges
• Feelings of recognition and power
• Feelings of power and security from
income and possible health benefits
• Erikson’s generativity
• Leader generativity is the desire to pass on
skills and experience (mentoring)
Practice Question 3

Fitzpatrick & Moore (2018) report that death rates for American males jump 2%
immediately after they turn 62. What is reckoned to be the “best explanation”?

A. Cardiovascular changes encountered at this age

B. Changes induced by retirement
C. Changes in the digestive track encountered at this age
D. A statistical anomaly
Class Activity: Generativity

Gather in groups to discuss the importance of generativity in middle adulthood:

• How do you plan to achieve generativity in your own life?

• If a person does not have their own children do you think it is important to
find other ways to accomplish this goal of generativity? Why or why not?
• Will generativity look different for today’s elementary children? If so,
what impacts how we approach generativity?
Relationships in Middle Adulthood
Learning Outcomes: Relationships in Middle Adulthood

9.4: Explain how relationships are maintained and changed during middle
adulthood
9.4.1: Describe the link between intimacy and subjective well-being
9.4.2: Discuss issues related to family life in middle adulthood
9.4.3: Discuss divorce and recoupling during middle adulthood
Types of Relationships
• Having a single confidante (in a romantic partner) is more important to happiness
than having a large social network
• Formal relationships are those bound by rules of politeness and are less relaxed
while informal relationships are more comfortable and authentic
• Research has found that the transition from singlehood to marriage brings an
increase in subjective well-being
• As marriage progresses, there is some evidence for a regression to a hedonic set-
point, or a set happiness point or level
• The quality of marriage matters with lower levels resulting in an increase in
depression
• Rates of marital happiness are highest in the years prior to the birth of the first
child, low point with the coming of children, and begin to improve when children
leave home
Types of Relationships, continued

• Conflict between partners is a major factor leading to lower subjective well-being

• The best known typological framework for marriages (Olson) identifies five
kinds of marriages: vitalized, harmonious relationships, traditional marriages,
conflicted, and devitalized
• Gottman contends that having a good marriage does not depend on compatibility
but on the way partners communicate with one another
• In relationships destined to fail, partners engage in “marriage killers” of
contempt, criticism, defensiveness, and stonewalling
• Gottman’s work emphasizes that marriage is about constant negotiation rather
than conflict resolution
Parenting in Later Life
• As children grow up, specific roles and expectations of family members change
• Empty nest is when parents experience sadness when their adult children leave
the home
• The boomerang generation is when young adults return home to live with their
parents while they strive for stability in their lives
• Adult children typically maintain frequent contact with their parents with
attitudes towards them becoming more accepting and forgiving
• Middle-aged parents are also spending time taking care of their own aging and
ailing parents while caring for adult children (sandwich generation)
• Being a midlife child often involves kinkeeping, or organizing events and
communication in order to maintain family ties
Parenting in Later Life, continued
• Abuse can occur across all family relationships and
includes:
• Physical abuse: the use of intentional physical force to
cause harm
• Sexual abuse: the act of forcing someone to participate
in a sex act against their will
• Psychological abuse: aggressive behavior intended to
control someone else
• Neglect is the most common form of abuse
• Abuse is a complex issue with many reasons for people to
abuse and for victims to stay with the abuser
• Families play a crucial role in our overall development
and happiness and can either support and validate us or
criticize and burden us
Divorce and Remarriage
• Divorce may be more or less of an option for married couples depending on societal
factors
• The risk of divorce decreases when partners have higher-levels of education, marry at
an older age, have parents who remained married, and are members of a religious
group less accepting of divorce
• The risk of divorce increases when people have children before marriage, cohabitate,
and live in a society accepting of divorce
• When a couple divorces, there are specific considerations to help children cope
including reassuring them that both parents continue to love them and the divorce is
not their fault
• The rate of divorce has doubled for those aged 50-64 in the twenty years between
1990 and 2010
• Cohen (2018) predicts a substantial decline in divorce rates for outside of the baby
boom generation and that marriage rates will stabilize
Divorce and Remarriage, continued
• People are waiting until later in life to marry for the first time with the average now at
27 and 29 for women and men and higher than that for urban centers
• U.S. households are now increasingly single person households with the diversity of
households continuing to increase
• Remarriage is more popular with men than women, a gender gap that increases in
middle and later adulthood
• Divorce rates for remarriages increases with each subsequent marriage and those who
have remarried divorce more quickly than do first marriages
• Chances of remarrying depends on the availability of partners, desire to remarry
(education reduces the likelihood)
• Research on blended families tends to focus on younger adults and younger children
but that is changing as older adults date and remarry
Practice Question 4
Divorce rates for those aged 50+ increased by a factor of 109% between 1990-2015.
Some have put this down to the fact that baby boomers had a very high rate of
divorce and were now repeating that pattern in subsequent marriages. Perhaps.
Of all divorces in this age range, what proportion of that total might you predict for
those couples whose marriage had lasted thirty plus years?

A. 12%
B. 16%
C. 21%
D. 34%
Class Activity: Divorce

• Get into groups for discussion

• Talk about and take notes on the following:
• What are ways to protect against divorce?
• Do you see marriage trends to continue to change in the future?
• Why or why not?
• Use your book as well as additional sources to help think critically
about the topic
• Share your group’s finding with the class
Quick Review

• What are the most important physiological changes occurring in men and
women during middle adulthood?
• How can physiological changes during middle adulthood impact life
experience, health, and sexuality?
• What are the cognitive gains/deficits typically associated with middle
adulthood?
• What are the changes in fluid and crystallized intelligence during
adulthood?
• What is the challenge in Erikson’s stage of generativity vs. stagnation?
Quick Review, continued

• What is Levinson’s notion of the midlife crisis?

• What are the key theories on aging, including socio-emotional selectivity
theory (SSC) and selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC)?
• What are the personality and work related issues in midlife?
• What is the link between intimacy and subjective well-being?
• What are some issues related to family life in middle adulthood?
• What are the trends with divorce and recoupling during middle adulthood?