Late Adulthood Development Issues

In late adulthood, according to Berger (1994), the average individual experiences a number of biological, psychological, societal, and cultural impacts which can significantly change the ways in which one lives, perceives and presents the self, interacts with others, and copes with the strains and stresses of life. It is the purpose of this report to discuss the impact of such factors on individuals in the period generally referred to as late adulthood. Late adulthood will be understood herein as described by Baron and Byrne (2000) as that time of life when one has finished rearing children if one has chosen to have children, when retirement from a career is either imminent or has already taken place, and when one begins to contemplate one's own mortality. This definition of late adulthood is deliberately broad in that it is impossible to put specific chronological ages into the category of late adulthood.

With the aging of the baby boom generation -- a phenomenon that has begun to occur in 2005 and which will continue for another decade -- some one-third of all Americans will be aged 60 or over. This will create a culture in which older individuals represent a highly influential group both financially, politically, and socially. The power of numbers will undoubtedly ensure that older individuals who choose to remain involved politically and socially will be able to shape many institutions and even influence the behavior and activit

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hose health is in a state of decline or whose activities and contacts with others are limited, clinical depression may be a psychological problem of some significance. Isolation and alienation may lead to the loss of self-esteem, depression, and even suicidal ideation (Berger, 1994). The psychological stresses associated with coping with loss, fear of death, social isolation, or financial inadequacy can also exert a significant negative influence on members of this age cohort. Despite the fact that beginning in 2005, a more and more substantial portion of the American public will be categorized as in the late adulthood stage of development, this society is negatively impacted by ageism. Berger (1994, p. 586) defines ageism as a prejudice similar in many respects to racism and sexism which is equally harmful and "fosters a stereotype of the elderly that makes it difficult to see them as they are actually are, and by permitting policies and attitudes that discourage the elderly from participation in work and leisure activities, prevents many older people from living their lives as happily as they might." Ageism has the effect of isolating older adults socially, reducing their ability to contribute to the larger community, and

Category: Psychology - L