“Too many people, when they get old, think that they have to live by the calendar.”

John Glenn at age 77

CHAPTER 1CHAPTER 1Themes and Issues in Adult

Development and Aging

•Physiological factors•Genetics•Cognition•Emotions•Personality

•Social context•History•Culture

We organize the study of adult development and aging using the biopsychosocialbiopsychosocial perspective/model

Gerontology – The study of aging from maturity through old ageIdentity – How people view themselves in the biological, psychological, and social domains of life

A person’s appearance may change, but he or she still feels the “same.”

Robert L. Zentmaier/PhotoResearchers, Inc.

Robert L. Zentmaier/PhotoResearchers, Inc.

Robert L. Zentmaier/PhotoResearchers, Inc.

The Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging:1. Changes are continuous over the life span

The Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging:

2. Only the survivorssurvivors grow oldThe survivor principle: people who become old people have managed to outlive many life-threatening events

Survivors managed to avoid these 5 major threats to a long lifeSurvivors managed to avoid these 5 major threats to a long life

Source: Adapted from Kamimoto, L. A., Easton, A. N., Maurice, E.,Husten, C. G., & Macera, C. A. (1999). Surveillance for five health risks among older adults—United States, 1993–1997. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports, 48(SSO8), 89–130.

The Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging:3.Individuality matters; people vary within and between age groups.

E.g.: Volume of hippocampushippocampus tends to decrease with age, yet a 70-year-old person may have a hippocampus with the same volume as that of a 20-year-old.Interindividual differences: Differences between peopleIntra-individual differences: Variations in performance within the same individual

Hippocampus

Hippocampal volume

Primary agingNormal age-related changes

Secondary agingSecondary agingDisease-related Disease-related impairmentsimpairments

Tertiary agingTertiary agingRapid decline shortly Rapid decline shortly before deathbefore death

Optimal agingOptimal agingChanges that Changes that improve the improve the individual’s individual’s functioningfunctioning

Age-related lossesAge-re

lated gains

The Four Principles of Adult Development and Aging:4. Normal aging is different from disease

• Primary aging (normal): normal and disease-free development during adulthood

• Secondary aging (impaired): developmental changes that are related to disease, lifestyle, and environmentally induced changes that are not inevitable

• Tertiary aging: rapid losses that occur shortly before death (including mental and physical decline)

There are at least 3 distinct aging processes:

How do you define adulthoodadulthood?- Physical development?- Drinking, driving, marriage?- Social expectations for “adult”?

Emerging adulthood= 18-29 years (transition years)

Emerging adulthood= 18-29 years (transition years)

3 divisions of the over-65 population

Young-old 65-74Old-old 75-84Oldest-old 85 and older

In addition, there are:•Centenarians (100-109)•Super-centenarians (110+)

What is the meaning of age?What is the meaning of age?• Chronological age: age in years since birth• Perceived age: the age you think of yourself as

Biological age: Where one’s organ systems are in relation to possible life span Heart rateBlood pressureGlucose levelsMuscle and bone strength

Psychological age: Cognitive levels (psychological testing) Reaction timeLearning abilityMemoryIntelligence

Social age: refers to expected roles one has in relation to others Parental, grandparental statusWork roleRetirement status

FunctionalFunctional age offers advantages over chronological age

©Sean Justice/Corbis

©Annabella Bluesky/PhotoResearchers, Inc.

©Catherine Yeulet/iStockphoto

Theories separate personal aging personal aging from social social agingaging

Personal aging=Changes that occur within the individual, reflecting time’s effects on the body

Social aging=Effects of person’s exposure to a changing environment

InfluencesInfluences on development fall into 3 categories:

Normative age-graded influences:Ages expected to be associated with certain life events

Normative history-graded influences:Events that most people in a specific culture experience at the same time.

Non-normative influences:Random, idiosyncratic events that occur throughout life

Key social factors Key social factors in adult development and aging:

Sex and gender Sex= Biological determinants of being male or female Gender= How one identifies as being male or female

65+ US women2010= 58%2050= 56%65+ US men2010= 42%2050= 44%

Key social factors Key social factors in adult development and aging: Race

Classification as a member of a certain group with shared biological traits

Sometimes used to denote cultural background (ethnicity) Ethnicity

One’s cultural background, including values and attitudes

Key social factors Key social factors in adult development and aging:

Socioeconomic status (SES) Social class involves education level, occupation, income,

neighborhood

Religion: an individual’s identification with an organized belief system

The age-sex structure provides a quick snapshot of the changing population in the U.S. from 2010-50.

The age-sex structure provides a quick snapshot of the changing population in the U.S. from 2010-50.

Source: Vincent, G. K., & Velkoff, V. A. (2010).The next four decades. The older population inthe United States: 2010 to 2050. CurrentPopulation Reports. Retrieved fromhttp://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p25-1138.pdf

Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) Grow UpBaby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) Grow Up

Overall 65+2010- 40.3 million (13% US pop)2050- 83.7 million (21% US pop)

Overall 65+2010- 40.3 million (13% US pop)2050- 83.7 million (21% US pop)

Source: Federal Interagency Forum on Age-Related Statistics. (2012). Older Americans 2010: Key indicators of well-being, fromhttp://www.agingstats.gov/agingstatsdotnet/Main Site/Data/2010 Documents/Docs/OA 2010.pdf

CA has highest NUMBER

CA has highest NUMBER

FL has highest PERCENT

FL has highest PERCENT

Source: A

dministration on A

ging. (2012). A profile of older A

mericans: 2011.

Retrieved from

http://ww

w.aoa.gov/aoaroot/aging statistics/Profile/2011/docs/2011profile.pdf

Changes in life expectancy life expectancy account for increases in 65+

What is the human life span?

Life expectancyAverage length of life for people born in a particular time interval

Life spanMaximum age for a given species

vs.

Health expectancy: Health expectancy: number of years person can live in good health

(also called compression of morbiditycompression of morbidity)—the burden on society can be reduced if people become disabled closer to their death

Aging around the worldAging around the world

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. (2009). Census Bureau Reports World’s Older Population Projected to Triple by 2050. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/international population/013882.html