Chapter 16: Family Life and Aging. The Portrait of Age in the United States 2005 – 35 million...
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Transcript of Chapter 16: Family Life and Aging. The Portrait of Age in the United States 2005 – 35 million...
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