Term
| What changes occur in midlife with respect to sexuality? |
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Definition
| Climateric for both sexes. For women at age fifty they undergo menopause. Men experience a decline in hormones and face sexual issues. Sexual activity is less frequen but not absent. Career interests, family matters, energy level and routine contribute. |
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Term
| How is menopause experienced by most women? Is there actual male menopause? |
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Definition
| Decrease in estrogen. Some experience hot flashes fatigue, nausea, but not all. Some take hormone replacement therapy. Men never go infertile, but other problems like sexual potential. Male menopause is more psychological asjustment. |
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Term
| What does Schaie's research reveal regarding cognitive functioning in middle adulthood? |
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Definition
| People reach peak in cognitive functioning. Numeric ability and perceptual speed showed decline. |
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Term
| What is the difference between crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence? |
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Definition
| John horn argues crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence. Crystallized is accumulated information and verbal skills. Fluid is abstract reasoning. Crystallized increases and fluid decreases. John horn's data collected in cross-sectional manner and reveals different data than Schaie's seattle study. |
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Term
| Why does the development of "expertise" usually not occur until middle adulthood? |
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Definition
| Defineded as extensive highly organized knowledge and understanding of a domain. Result of many years of experience, learning, and effort. |
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Term
| What role does religion play in the life of our development as adults? Is the Meaning of Life an important theme for many middle-aged adults? |
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Definition
| Can be powerful for some and not others. Mainstrem religions promote physical health, better lifestyle choices, stress coping, and social networks. Viktor Frankl described spirituality, freedom, and responsibility in the meaning of life. Many who have found a sense in meaning of life are physically healthier and happier, and less depressed. |
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Term
| What does the current research reveal about mid-life crisis? Is this something that is commonly experienced by most adults? |
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Definition
| George Valliant maintains that only a minority of adults experience a midlife crisis. Crisises tied to life events not age. Stage theories place too much emphasis on crisises in development. Like levinson's Seasons of a Man's Life. |
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Term
| What is the connection between stress and control? |
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Definition
| Middle-age adults experience more overload stressors from juggling too many activities at once. Some aspects of personal control increases with age, but others decrease. Some have greater control over finance, work, and marriage, but less over sex and their children. |
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Term
| Discuss the phenomenon of the empty nest and the refilling of the empty nest. How do these affect adults in midlife? |
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Definition
| There can be a decrease in martal satisfaction after children leave home in parents with empty nest syndrome. However many have time to pursue careers and other interests as well as time for eachotgher. Refilling of the nest has positive and negative effects. There can be loss of privacy, restricted independence, too much responsibility. If the terms of moving back in are discussed beforehand there wont be as many power issues. |
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Term
| What are some of the most important meanings for the role of grandparenting? |
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Definition
| Can be a second chance to be a good parent. Maintains ties between family members across generations. Can be a source of biological reward and continutiy. Can be a soruce of emotional self-fullfillment, generatign feelings of companionship and satisfaction. |
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Term
| Why are adults in midlife often referred to as the "sandwich generation"? |
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Definition
| Referred to as the "sandwhich generation" because they are undergoing the transition of responsibilities for children and their parents. Pressures of both contribute to stress. |
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Term
| What are some of the most common similarities and differences between adult children and their parents. |
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Definition
| Similarity is most noticeable in religion and politics and least in gender roles, lifestyle, and work orientation. Adult children of divorce who were classified as securely attached were less likely to divorce. Parents who smoked were more likely to have children who smoked. |
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Term
| What does Erikson characterize the period of middle adulthood? |
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Definition
| Generativity versus stagnation. Generativity is adult's desires to leave legacies of themselves to next generation and stagnation develops when individuals sense they have done little or nothing for the next generation. Can be biological, parental, work, or cultural generativity. |
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Term
| What are the biological theories of aging? |
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Definition
| There are four biological theories of aging: evolutionary, cellular clock, free-radical, and hormonal stress. Evolutionary: Natural selection has not eliminated many harmful conditions and characteristics. Cellular clock: maximum number of times the human cells can divide 75 or 80. Free-redical: people age because of unstable oxygen molecules produced that damage other cells. Hormonal stress theory: aging in the body is due to lower resilience to stress and disease. |
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Term
| What important conclusions can be drawn from the 700 sisters of mankato study? |
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Definition
| Brain is addaptive and has remarkable capacity to change and grow even in old age. Supported notion that stimulating the brain with intellectual activity keeps neurons healthy and alive. |
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Term
| How does the verbage "use it or lose it" relate to cognitive functioning in older adults? |
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Definition
| Changes in cognitive activity patterns can result in disuse and atrophy of cognitive skills. Mental activities benfit. Section, optimization, and compensation. |
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Term
| How does exercise affect the individual in late adulthood? |
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Definition
| Helps people to live healthy independent lives and linked to increased longevity. Reduce decrease in muscle mass and improved appearance. |
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Term
| What is the most important factor related to satisfaction and health for those in nursing homes? |
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Definition
| Responsibility. Patent must have feelings of control and self-determination in lives. When given extra responsibility they live healthier, happier, and more alert and active lives. |
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Term
| What aspects of attention change with the aging process? |
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Definition
| Selective, divided, and sustained attention. Less adept at selective attention. Divided attention differences are minimal, but the more difficult the task the less effectivly older adults divide attention. Perform as well as others on sustained attention. |
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Term
| What is wisdom and how is it related to age? |
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Definition
| Expert knowledge about the practical aspects of life and involves excellent judgment about important matters, and how to cope with difficult problems. Have superior reasoning. Wisdom is not granted at old age, high levels of wisom is rare. Factors other than age are critical for wisdom including personality, life experiences, and care for others. |
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Term
| How does Erikson describe the developmental issues in the last stage of life? |
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Definition
| Integrity versus despair. Restrospective looks on the lifespan leave the older adult satisfied with integrity, but if look back causes negative feelings despair develops. Life review is prominent, reevaluating life experiences and interepreting and reinterpreing them. Reorganization of the past may provide new meaning to one's life. Also can develop wisdom and self-understanding. |
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Term
| What are some of the important social policy issues regarding the well-being of older adults. |
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Definition
| Status of the economy and income, provision of health care, and eldercare are important social policy issues. Health problems are chronicc rather than acute. |
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Term
| What does the research reveal about activity and friendship in older adulthood? What is the "socioemotional selectivity theory?" |
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Definition
| The socioemotional selectivity theory states that older adults become more selective about social networks. Spend more time with familiar individuals for rewarding relationships. Narrowing of social interaction maximizes positive emotional experiences and minimizes emotional risks. |
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Term
| What is the role of altruism and successful aging? |
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Definition
| Increase in physical health in those who volunteer. Reasons for positive outcomes of volunteering include provision of contructive activities and productive roles, social integration, enhanced meaningfulness. |
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Term
| What are the special concerns for ethnic minority older adults? |
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Definition
| Possible double jeopardy of ageism and racism. More likely to have less education, unemployment, worse housing, shorter life expectancies. Extension of family networks help coping. |
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Term
| What factors are associated with whether older adults are accorded a position of high status in a culture. |
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Definition
| Their valuable knowledge, control of family and community resources, permission to engage in useful and valued function for as long as possible, greater responsibility authority and advisory, integrated into extended family, respect for older adults greater in collectivistic cultures than in individualisitc cultures. |
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Term
| How do culture and community affect the way in which people grieve? |
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Definition
| Death can be seen in different lights. As punsihment, as atonement, a quest for happiness. In most societies, death is not viewed as the end of existence because the spirit is believed to live on. |
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Term
| What are Elisabeth Kubler Ross' stage of dealing with death? |
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Definition
| Elisabeth Kubler Ross' five stages of dealing with death are: denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and then acceptance. |
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Term
| What is palliative care? How do the goals of hospice differ from those of a hospital? |
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Definition
| Pallative care emphasized in hospice care and involves reducing pain and suffering and helping individuals die with dignity. Hospice is committed to end life with little pain, anxiety and depression where hospital goals to cure illness and prolong life. |
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Term
| In what way is the impact of death on surviving individuals strongly influenced by the circumstances of death? |
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Definition
| Sudden, untimely, violent, or tramatic deaths have more intense and prolonged effect making coping more difficult. Deaths can be associated with intrusive thoughts, nightmares, and problems concentrating. Death of child particularly difficult. |
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Term
| What are the aduvantages of open knowledge about one's own approaching death? |
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Definition
| Can close lives in accord and with own ideas of a proper death. Opportunity to reminisce on life and talk with loved ones. Have a better idea of what is happening to their bodies and medical assistance. |
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Term
| What do we know about the "ideal" way to grieve? |
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Definition
| Experience numbness, disbelief, sadness, and anxiety shortly after, but over time diminished feelings. Feeling never completely gone, typical to experience up and downs of grief throughout life. |
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Term
| What are some special issues regarding discussion of end-of-life issues with children? |
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Definition
| Children think different, it's important to understand this when speaking with a child about death. Can be terrifying and overwhemling for some. Some children are more scared about the unknown and others aren't ready. Provide child with opinion of staying or going to a funeral and explain it. |
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