Chapter 16: Family Life and Aging

The Portrait of Age in the United States

• 2005 – 35 million adults over age 65• 12% of America’s population– 13% are between ages 74 and 85– 5 million Americans over the age of 85

Gender Differences Among the Elderly• Age 40 – 65: there are 141 women for

every 100 men• Age 65- 69: there are 116 women for every 100 men• Age 85 and over: there are 230 women for

every 100 men

Figure 16.1: Percent of Total Population Who are 65 and Over, 2007

Education Among the Elderly

In 2003• 17% of those 65 and over had a college degree • Nearly 72% had a high school diplomaBy 2030• The Census Bureau predicts that 85% will have

graduated from high school and 75% will have a college degree

Life Expectancy

• Children born in 2001 have an average life expectancy of 77.4 years

• For those who reached the age of 65 in 2001, they had a life expectancy of 18 more years

CentenariansIn 2005 • There were over 50,000 centenarians• This group is .02 % of the population• This represents an increase of 35% since

1990• Over 80% of the centenarians are women • The majority of them live in metropolitan

areas

Developmental Forces in Aging• Lifespan Perspective– Human beings are in constant state of

growth– Just because a person is older does not mean

they are no longer developing and growing• Nature – Nurture: influence aging process– Nature – hereditary characteristics– Nurture – environmental experiences

Interactive Forces of Development• Biological forces– Genetic and health related factors

• Psychological forces– Cognitive, emotional and perceptual factors

• Sociocultural forces– Cultural, ethnic, societal, relational and

interpersonal factors• Life-cycle forces– Interaction of all of the above forces

Interactive Forces of Development• Normative age-graded influences– Developmental changes caused by biological,

psychological and socio-cultural forces– Signal major transitions in people’s lives

• Normative history-graded influences– History related may be biological in nature

• Non-normative influences– Uncommon, rare or unanticipated events

What is Aging?Primary aging• Refers to the basic biological processes that are

genetically programmed and that take place with the passage of time– Anatomical and functional changes – vision,

joints, memory– Progressive changes – loss of brain neurons– Inevitable changes – decline in memory,

hearing, vision, balance, reaction time

What is Aging? continued

• Universal changes – loss of brain weight• Irreversible changes – all of the previous

changes• Changes that lead to death

Secondary Aging• Declines related to behavior and

socioeconomic status• Physiological declines that are the result of

environmental and behavioral influences

Table 16.1: Primary Aging: Biological Changes Associated with Aging

Ageism• Ageist – those who have a predetermined,

negative mindset about older people• Ageism – Limits what older people can do– Results in unfair housing– Results in unfair employment– Results in unfair educational opportunities– Interferes with proper medical diagnoses

Figure 16.3: Family Life Cycle by Length of Time in Each of the Eight Stages

Marital Satisfaction• Characteristics of relational quality in older

couples– Fewer sources of conflict–Greater potential for pleasure– Tend to be more affectionate– Sources of conflict change – recreation

activities, money issues, sex, adult children

Sexuality • An active sex life is an important aspect of

marital satisfaction• Half of all Americans over 60 report they are

sexually active• Those over 60 are more sexually active than

those in their 70s• The gap between 60s and 70s may be due to

women living longer than their partners

Figure 16.4: Marital Status of those Age 65 and Older , 2007

Older Women and Sexuality• Menopause results in decline in estrogen

levels• Vaginal lubrication takes longer and may

cause intercourse to be painful• Vaginal atrophy resulting in irritation and

tears• Clitoral size decreases in women over 75

Older Men and Sexuality

• Erections take longer to attain• Testes may become smaller• Lubrication from the Cowper’s glands

declines• Orgasm takes longer to achieve• Frequency of sexual experience declines

Keys to Later-life Sexuality• A healthy lifestyle is the key to enjoying

everything including sexuality– Eat a well-balanced diet– Stop smoking–Consume alcohol in moderation– Exercise regularly–Regular medical check-ups–Reduce stress

Divorce• Relatively infrequent among the elderly

population but it does happen– It is more traumatic– Financial burdens are greater– Significantly impacts parent-child

relationship

Remarriage• Less likely to remarry than younger adults• Unique challenges of remarriage–Grown children are concerned about

inheritance issues–Older adults report less conflict–Older adults develop more effective

communication and interaction patterns

Intergenerational Ties• Intergenerational ties are offshoots of the

parent-child relationship• May include relationships with –Parents and children–Grandparents and grandchildren–Daughters and sons-in-law–Nieces and nephews–Grandchildren and step-grandchildren

• Fictive kin – people who are not biologically related to someone–Are important sources of emotional

support–No relationship is as important as that of

parent and child

Parent – Child Relationships• Marital satisfaction increases as children

enter adolescence• Parents acquire sense of generativity –

leaving something to next generation• Relationships with children begin to

transition

Empty Nest Issues• Changes in roles/loss of roles – parents feel a void

when children leave home

• Marital issues – parents need to re-examine their goals as children leave nest

• Career changes often occur with empty nest

• Caregiving shifts – lessen or change generation

• Relationships with children changes as children become adults

Parent-Adult Child Relationship

• Four Primary Factors Influence Relationship• Gender – elderly mothers and daughters

have more intimate relationships than fathers and sons

• Geographic distance – having a child living within an hour’s commute

• Parent’s marital status – widowed or single parents turn to children for support

• Culture – involvement in aging parent’s daily life is not supported by American culture to the extent it is in Asian and other cultures

Becoming a Grandparent• Styles of Grandparenting– Formal: traditional in that they babysit

occasionally, childrearing and discipline are hands-off–Companionate: grandparents are warm,

loving, nurturing, but happy to send grandchildren home

Styles of Grandparenting continued• Fun seeker – grandparents relationship with

grandchildren is playful and informal• Distant – grandparent has little or no contact

with their grandchildren, only involved on holidays and birthdays, is a remote relationship

Styles of grandparenting continued• Surrogate – occurs when grandparents

assume the role of parents, are involved in the everyday rearing of their grandchildren

• Dispenser of wisdom – authoritarian figure, usually a patriarch or prominent male figure

Figure 16.6: Percent of Grandparents Responsible for their Grandchildren, 2007

Figure 16.7: The Phases of Retirement

Figure 16.7 (Continued): The Phases of Retirement

Retirement and Leisure• Retirement is a developmental process• Phase 1: Pre-retirement – people begin to

consider retirement, begin to disengage from workplace

• Phase 2: Retirement – retire from the paid workforce, usually has three possible routes to take

• Phase 2: Retirement Routes–Honeymoon – taking it easy, sense of

euphoria, permanent vacation– Immediate retirement routine – ability to

establish a comfortable schedule–Rest and relaxation – low activity initially

but activity levels increase after a few years of R and R

• Phase 3: Disenchantment experience a period of disappointment and uncertainty

• Phase 4: Reorientation – retirees start making the adjustments that will improve their lives

• Phase 5: Retirement Routine – ability to master a comfortable, rewarding and satisfying retirement routine

• Phase 6: decline physically, becoming dependent on their partner or spouse, or elder care

Figure 16.5: Percentage of Widows and Widowers, Aged 65-85+

Marital Life After Retirement

• Relationships from the workplace dissolve• Emphasis placed on family relationships• Life orientation – emphasis retirees place on

various aspects of life, retired men attach greater significance on marital and family relationships

Life after Retirement• Gender role ideology – retired husbands

have more conservative, traditional gender roles, husbands of working women were more liberal towards gender roles

• Marital Satisfaction – many older couples enjoy a second honeymoon without the responsibilities of work

• Marital Intimacy – 3 Types–Reciprocity – both spouses confide in one

another and self-disclose–Nonreciprocity – one spouse confides and

the other does not– Segregative – neither spouse shares with

the other but rather with someone outside the marriage

Family Caregiving• Caring for aging parents or a dependent

spouse involves multiple tasks– Emotional support–Personal care– Instrumental help– Financial management–Making decisions about care and

arranging required care

Stressors of Caregiving• Transformation of a cherished relationship –

when caregiver is a spouse, an all consuming role

• Problematic physical behaviors – caregiver is responsible for all daily personal care and feels the stress

• Cognitive impairments – taking care of a cognitively impaired parent suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s

Stressors of Adult Child Caregivers• Receiving complaints and criticisms from

parents• Uncooperative and demanding parents• Agitated parents• Forgetful or unresponsive parents• Helping with personal needs• Managing a parent’s financial and legal affairs• Receiving little help from family or friends

Rewards of Caregiving• Knowing a parent is well cared for• Spending quality time with parent• Enjoying parents affection and appreciation• Seeing parent derive pleasure from small

things• Seeing a parent calm and content• Experiencing a closer relationship with

parent

The Sandwich Generation

Parents Losses• Independence• Financial stability• Social network

Adult Children’s Losses• time and freedom• additional stressors

Being in the middle between two generations• Parenting young children• Caring for aging parents

• Parent’s Needs– physical– financial– emotional– business– spiritual

• Adult Children’s Needs– nurture their own relationship– guard their own health– parenting out of love– being realistic

Pathways to Death• Lingering trajectory – transition takes place over an

extended period of time• Expected quick trajectory – associated with an acute

crisis or illness– Pointed: ill person may or may not be saved– Danger period: may or may not be conscious

lingering between life and death– Crisis: not in immediate danger of dying– Will-probably-die: nothing can be done to

preserve the life

Pathways to Death continued• Unexpected quick trajectory – not enough

time to save the life of the injured or ill person, no time for family and friends to emotionally prepare themselves

Mourning• The culturally prescribed expressions of the

thoughts and feelings of a bereaved person – someone who suffers the loss of a loved one

• Bereavement – we are bereaved when someone close to us dies; it refers to the reactions following the news that someone close has died

Grief• The response to the painful separation that

takes place when someone dies– Initial phase: shock, numbness, disbelief,

followed by overwhelming sorrow– Intermediate phase: people idealize the

deceased, some become angry, experience, anguish, despair

– Final phase: recovery and reorganization, may take several years