Middle adulthood

Psychology Adulthood and Aging Course Lecture note from Psychology Department, University of Gondar

1. UNIT THREE 3. MIDDLE ADULTHOOD

2. Middle Adulthood As Middle Adulthood is a long period in the life span, it is customarily subdivided into Early Middle Adulthood , which extends from age forty to age fifty , & Advanced Middle Adulthood , which extends from age fifty to age sixty , physical and psychological changes that first began during the early forties become far more apparent. Characteristics of middle age Middle Adulthood is a Time of Stress Middle Adulthood is a "Dangerous Age “ Middle Adulthood is an "Awkward Age“ Middle Adulthood is a Time of Achievement Middle Adulthood is a Time of Evaluation Middle Adulthood is the Time of the Empty Nest Middle Adulthood is a Time of Boredom

3. 1. Middle Adulthood is a Time of Stress Radical adjustments to changed roles and patterns of life , especially when accompanied by physical changes , always tend to disrupt the individual's physical and psychological homeostasis and lead to a period of stress -a time when a number of major adjustments must be made in the home, business, and social aspects of their lives. Categories of Stress in Middle Adulthood are:- Somatic stress , which is due to physical evidences of aging Cultural stress , stemming from the high value placed on youth, vigor, and success by the cultural group Economic stress , resulting from the financial burden of educating children and providing status symbols for all family members Psychological stress , which may be the result of the death of a spouse, the departure of children from the home, boredom with marriage, or a sense of lost youth and approaching death.

4. 2. Middle Adulthood is a "Dangerous Age " It is a time when individuals break down physically as a result of overwork, over worry, or careless living . The incidence of mental illness rises rapidly in Middle Adulthood among both men and women, and it is also a peak age for suicides, especially among men. 3. Middle Adulthood is an "Awkward Age" Just as adolescents are neither children nor adults, so middle-aged men and women are no longer "young" nor are they yet "old." The middle-aged person "stands between the younger 'Rebel Generation' and the 'Senior Citizen Generation '-both of which is continuously in the spotlight and suffers from the discomforts and embarrassments associated with both age groups.

5. 4. Middle Adulthood is a Time of Achievement According to Erikson, it is a crisis age in which either "Generativity " -the tendency to produce-or "stagnation " -the tendency to stand still-will dominate. People either become more and more successful or they stand still and accomplish nothing more. If middle-aged people have a strong desire to succeed, they will reach their peak at this time and reap the benefits of the years of preparation and hard work that preceded it. Women , like men, who have worked throughout the years of early adulthood, generally reach their peak during Middle Adulthood. However, this peak, until very recently, was far below that of male workers.

6. 6. Middle Adulthood is a Time of Evaluation As it is the peak age of achievement, it is logical that it also would be the time when they would evaluate their accomplishments in light of their earlier aspirations and the expectations of others, especially family members and friends. As a result of this self-evaluation , Archer has pointed out, " The mid-years seem to require the development of a different, generally more realistic sense of who one is . . . . In growing up, everyone nurtures fantasies or illusions about what one is, and what one will do. A major task of the mid-life decade involves coming to terms with those fantasies and illusions".

7. 7. Middle Adulthood is the Time of the Empty Nest The time when the children no longer want to live under the parental roof . Middle Adulthood is the " empty nest " stage in marital lives. Except in cases where men and women marry later than the average age, or postpone having their children until they are well established in careers , have large families spread out over a decade or more of time . After years of living in a family-centered home, most adults find it difficult to adjust to a pair-centered home . This is because, during the child rearing years , husbands and wives often grew apart and developed individual interests. As a result, they have little in common after mutual interests in their children wane and when they are thrown together to adjust to each other the best they can.

8. Unquestionably, the empty-nest period of Middle Adulthood is far more traumatic for women than for men. This is especially true of women who have devoted their adult years to homemaking and who have few interests or resources to fill their time when their homemaking jobs lessen or come to an end. Many experience a " retirement shock" similar to that experienced by men when they retire. 8. Middle Adulthood is a Time of Boredom Many, if not most, men and women experience boredom during the late thirties and forties . Men become bored with the daily routine of work and with a family life that offers little excitement . Women , who have spent most of their adulthood caring for the home and raising children , wonder what they will do for the next twenty or thirty years. The unmarried woman who has devoted her life to a job or career is bored for the same reason men are.

9. 3.2 Developmental Tasks of Middle Age The strains of middle adulthood result largely from difficulties in balancing many roles and striving to navigate through predictable as well as sudden role transitions . Adjusting to physical and physiological changes Adjusting to the reality of the work situation Assuring economic security for old age Maintaining contact with children & grandchildren Reorganizing living arrangements Adjusting to being a couple again Participating in the community Ensuring adequate medical supervision for old age Looking after aging parents

10. 1. Adjusting to physical and physiological changes In mid-life, people start or increase their doctors’ visits for injuries that take longer to heal or for recurrent or worrisome symptoms. Many of these symptoms are reminders of the aging process , including facial wrinkles , graying or loss of hair , reading glasses , and sleep disorders . There may be weight management issues , especially when obesity is linked with food intolerances and diseases , such as coronary artery disease , hypertension , diabetes , dyslipidemias , and joint degeneration .

11. 2. Adjusting to the reality of the work situation Mid-life is often a period for vocational evaluation . There may be sadness about not having advanced far enough in career objectives . There may be fear of being replaced by a younger, more capable person. Middle-agers may feel regret about the emphasis on vocation instead of family . Retirement issues will be evaluated. For women who combined motherhood with their career , there may be a fatigue factor derived from a hectic “superwoman” lifestyle. In contrast, for women who deferred their career until later in life, there may be a desire to work harder in order to catch up to friends and colleagues .

12. 3. Assuring economic security for old age There is an accentuated focus on financial planning . Middle-- agers are anxious about planning for future living expenses . They are worried about inflation eroding their life savings and about possible future illness in themselves or family members (with expenses for medication, home care, paramedical services, specialized housing needs , etc. ). Changing taxation structures may affect disposable income , and pensions may not be adequate to meet the need. Premature or forced retirement, job closures or lay-offs may limit personal goals, financial security or desired lifestyle.

13. 4. Maintaining contact with children & grandchildren The reality of grandchildren touches grandparents differently and affects their comfort in their role as grandparents and the style and depth of their involvement in this role. Grandchildren growing up in other locales may have less contact with their grandparents - who in turn may find this situation difficult to accept. Irrespective of where each child lives, there may be friction between a grandparent and his or her own adult child over common issues in child rearing . 5. Reorganizing living arrangements The departure of grown children from the family home may eliminate the need for existing space . Parents may need to move into a smaller home . These changes may elicit emotional loss of property or moments reflective of past family life together.

14. 6 . Adjusting to being a couple again Emotional and physical intimacies are commonly found in newlyweds ( a recently married person). This intimacy may decrease over years of marriage , as children, recreational activities and vocational obligations compete for time . Consequently , the “empty nest” situation may challenge the couple’s relationship since the absence of children as diversions may reveal changes in one or both members of the couple. A loss of intimacy may also be accentuated. A challenge exists to re-establish a relationship as a “twosome” by exploring communication and lifestyle needs and patterns. Failure to take on this challenge may lead to quarrels , sexual dysfunction , and extramarital affairs and, in some cases, divorce .

15. 7. Participating in the community In the middle age period, women, especially homemakers, appear to be more involved in community activities than men . With the recent trend towards both men and women working outside home , there is a concern that community voluntarism will suffer . 8. Ensuring adequate medical supervision for old age In mid-life, there may be new or growing anxieties about health and aging . The extent of this concern may be related to whether one is a realist , pessimist or optimist . There is generally an increase in doctor visits as a reassurance that there is a medical system in place that can respond to their medical problems.

16. 9. Looking after aging parents Healthier lifestyles, more efficient drugs and improved technology have extended lifespan. However, Middle-aged people are often torn between the needs of their children and their elderly parents . They assist the latter(elders) with food shopping , housekeeping , banking and finance , laundry , bathing and hygiene , transportation , and provide accompaniment to medical appointments, and medication supervision or administration. Adult children of aging parents may feel burdened and experience negative feelings . For example, caregivers may deny the existence of a physical, mental or social problem. They may be angry about the situation, at the parent for being ill, at themselves for not handling the situation well, at a sibling for not helping out, and at the reversal of the parent child relationship.

17. Caregivers often bargain with the health and social service system for more care, with family members for help , with spouse and children for understanding, and with themselves over their coping abilities . Middle adults may be depressed about the deteriorating health and quality of life of a parent, at the failure to find solutions, and about fatigue and burnout . Eventually, they may be able to accept their situation on emotional and intellectual levels.

18. 3.3 Major Adjustment in Middle age 3.3.1 Adjustment to physical changes & changed interests It has been found that the body organ of most persons show a 0.8 to 1 percent decline per year in the functional ability after the age of 30. Part of this decline is normal , some is disease-related , and some is caused by factors such as stress, occupational status, nutritional status and many other environmental factors . Middle-aged adults still report good health and physical functioning. However , as a result of the passage of time, middle adults undergo various physical changes. Decades of exposure and use take their toll on the body as wrinkles develop , organs no longer function as efficiently as they once did, and lung and heart capacities decrease. Other changes include decreases in strength, coordination, reaction time, sensation (sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch), and fine motor skills. the conditions of presbyopia (farsightedness or difficulty reading) and presbycusis (difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds).

19. Still, none of these changes is usually so dramatic that the middle adult cannot compensate by wearing glasses to read, taking greater care when engaging in complex motor tasks, driving more carefully, or slowing down at the gym. Of course, people age at different rates, so some 40 year olds may feel middle-aged long before their 50-year-old counterparts. Most people, however, describe feeling that they have reached midlife by their mid-50s. The bio-psychosocial changes that accompany midlife appear to be major turning points in terms of the decline that eventually typifies older adulthood . specifically, menopause (the cessation of menstruation) in women male climacteric (male menopause) in men None of the biological declines of middle and late adulthood needs to be an obstacle to enjoying all aspects of life, including sex.

20. Sexuality in Middle Adulthood As  people age, they may experience physical changes, illnesses, or emotional upheavals, such as the loss of a partner, that can lead to a decline in sexual interest and behavior. In women , there is a gradual decline in the function of the ovaries and in the production of estrogen. The average age at which menopause (the end of the menstrual cycle) occurs is about 50. Decreased estrogen leads to thinning of the vaginal walls, shrinking of the vagina and labia majora , and decreased vaginal lubrication. These conditions can be severe enough to cause the woman pain during intercourse. Women who were sexually active either through intercourse or through masturbation before menopause and who continue sexual activity after menopause are less likely to experience vaginal problems. Women can use hormone-replacement therapy or hormone-containing creams to help maintain vaginal health .

21. In men, testosterone production declines over the years, and the testes become smaller . The volume and force of ejaculation decrease and sperm count is reduced, but viable sperm may still be produced in elderly men. Erection takes longer to attain, and the time after orgasm during which erection cannot occur (the refractory period) increases. Medications and vascular disease, diabetes, and other medical conditions can cause erectile dysfunction . The middle years can often lead to problems for marital couples who do not understand some of the changes they are going through during the middle years.

22. Maggie Scarf (1992), notes the different physical changes that men and women go through during the middle years. A man’s aging crisis can be related to the pressure he feels “to make it” a woman’s aging crisis can be related to concerns and anxiety she feels about her physical appearance. These changes have direct implications for their sexual relationship. Scarf describes how such changes affect the sexual response cycle, which includes three phases: desire, excitement, & orgasm Desire , being sexually motivated, can be affected by aging. For example, the side effects of diseases (such as diabetes or hyperthyroidism), psychological difficulties, (such as depression) or medical concerns (such as hypertension) that require drug treatment can all negatively affect desire. In general overtime, the sex drive declines, particularly for men. The male sex drive is also affected by a drop in testosterone, the male hormone.

23. Excitement of sexual response cycle is the first physiological reaction to stimulations and results in blood engorgement of the genitals. Orgasm , also changes dramatically, with age primarily in the area known as the refractory period-the time between one orgasm and the physical capability to achieve another orgasm. For the middle life woman , the sexual profile is quite different. Indeed, erotic interest often increases in the desire phase , primarily in response to changes to her biological makeup. When estrogen, the female hormone, declines, it allows her testosterone to have more of an influence. During menopause, the ovaries continue to produce small amounts of testosterone, and given the decline of estrogen, the effect of the testosterone is greater, leading to increased sexual desire . However, in the excitement phase, lack of estrogen often leads to problems with vaginal dryness. There is a strong psychological meaning behind sexual activity- it reaffirms self-esteem, attractiveness , and gender identity .

24. Menopause It is permanent ending of menstruation in women. Menopause marks the end of a woman’s natural ability to bear children. It is usually preceded by 10 to 15 years during which the ovaries gradually stop producing eggs and sex hormones, a period called the climacteric . Perimenopause compasses this period of changing ovarian activity and also the first few years without menstrual cycling, typically characterized by hormonal and physical changes and sometimes emotional and psychological changes as well. Menopause before age 35 is called premature menopause and may occur because of certain diseases, autoimmune reactions (in which the body’s immune defenses attack the body’s own cells, tissues, or organs), surgery, medical

25. Menopause occurs when a woman has not experienced a menstrual cycle for one year. Attitudes towards this event vary depending on cultural connotations and women’s individual expectations. In societies where women’s role is mostly reproductive inability to bear any more children is a loss of status. In cultures in which the wisdom and experience of older women is valued, menopause is seen as a positive life event. In general, young women and men view menopause more negatively whereas women who have gone through the experience view it more positively. Individually, some women view the cessation of their monthly period as a sign of impending old age and mourn the loss of youth and beauty. Other women, are glad to be rid of it.

26. Signs and Symptoms Menopause The experience of menopause differs among women, depending on differences in diet and nutrition , general health and health care , and even how women are taught to think about menopause. Not all women experience symptoms. Physical symptoms :- For a number of years before menopause women may notice longer menstrual periods, heavier menstrual flow, spotting, or irregularity. Hormone pills or low-dose birth control pills may be prescribed to control bleeding problems. Hot flashes or hot flushes range from a passing feeling of warmth in the face and upper body to extreme sweating and visible redness of the skin followed by chills . Heart palpitations and feelings of suffocation can also occur. As estrogen levels decline, the vaginal walls become less elastic and thinner . Vaginal secretions are reduced and are less acidic , increasing the chances for vaginal infections . Insufficient vaginal lubrication during sexual activity can make intercourse uncomfortable or painful. Some women report a decreased interest in sex and a decline in sexual activity with menopause that are not due to vaginal problems.

27. Psychological symptoms may include depression, mood swings, weepiness, and other emotional flare-ups, as well as memory lapses. Although declining levels of estrogen may play a role in these symptoms, a number of other factors and stresses need to be considered as well. Other factors Excess alcohol, caffeine, or sugar may stress the adrenal glands and decrease the amount of adrenal androgens available for conversion to estrogen , thereby lowering estrogen and making menopausal symptoms worse . Smoking decreases estrogen production by the ovaries, leading to earlier menopause and osteoporosis (Osteoporosis:- a medical condition in which the bones become brittle and fragile from loss of tissue, typically as a result of hormonal changes, or deficiency of calcium or vitamin D) Stressful life events that may contribute to the emotional symptoms at the time of menopause include children leaving home and caring for aging

28. Adjustment to Mental Changes Middle-age adult thinking differs significantly from that of adolescents and young adults. Adults are typically more focused in specific directions, having gained insight and understanding from life events that adolescents and young adults have not yet experienced . No longer viewing the world from an absolute and fixed perspective, middle adults have learned how to make compromises , question the establishment, and work through disputes. Younger people, on the hand, may still look for definitive answers. Many middle-age adults have attained Piaget’s stage of formal operations, which is characterized by the ability to think abstractly, reason logically, and solve theoretical problems. Many of the situations facing adults today require something more than formal operations.

29. Middle adults may develop and employ post-formal thinking, which is characterized by the objective use of practical common sense to deal with unclear problems. An example of post-formal thinking is the middle adult who knows from experience how to maneuver through rules and regulations and play the system at the office. Another example is the middle adult who accepts the reality of contradictions in his or her religion, as opposed to the adolescent who expects a concrete truth in an infallible set of religious doctrines and rules. Post-formal thinking begins late in adolescence and culminates in the practical wisdom so often associated with older adulthood.

30. Post formal thought During the formal operational stage, teens use their considerable reasoning abilities to solve problems, but they are very likely to generate a single solution as opposed to multiple solutions. Disagreement with their solution is usually interpreted by teens to mean that their solution is somehow incorrect. Formal-operational thinking is absolute, and involves making decisions based on personal experience and logic . Post-formal thinking is more complex , and involves making decisions based on situational constraints and circumstances, and integrating emotion with logic to form context-dependent principles. The distinction is a useful thing to understand when dealing with emerging adults.

31. Criticisms of Formal Operations FO overemphasizes the power of pure logic in problem solving FO underemphasizes the pragmatic quality of real life cognitive activity cannot sever cognition from affective, social, and pragmatic ties Formal thinking is only suited for the problems that call for scientific thinking and logical mathematical analyses Piaget assumed - goal of mature adult to think like a scientist Does not apply to real-life social or interpersonal problems FOs is geared for the solution of closed system, well-defined problems - needs controllable, specific variables implies single correct solutions but real life - unlimited number of uncontrollable, changeable, and ill-defined variables Formal operations does not recognize the relative nature of knowledge and the need to adopt multiple frames of reference

32. Characteristics of Post Formal Thought Post formal thinkers possess an understanding of the relative, non-absolute nature of knowledge Relativistic thinking Accept contradiction as a basic aspect of reality Post formal thinkers capable of dialectic reasoning able to synthesize contradictory thoughts, emotions, and experiences A contextual approach to problem solving solve problems by continuously creating new principles based on changing circumstance instead of set principles applied to all contexts Post formal thinking tends to be domain-specific people use in some but not all areas

33. Factors affecting Mental health A multitude of social, demographic, psychological, and biological Poverty, social isolation, loss of independence, loneliness & losses of different kinds Bereavements or physical disability that affect emotional well-being and can result in poorer mental health. Maltreatment at home and in care institutions. On the other hand, social support and family interactions can boost the dignity of adults, and are likely to have a protective role in the mental health outcomes of this population. There are older women worldwide than older men. This d/ ce increases with advancing age & called “ feminization of ageing”. Older men and women have different health & morbidity patterns & women generally have lower income but better family support networks . On the other hand depression , Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are more prevalent among women than men. Early symptoms of these mental problems are shown in middle adulthood period .

34. Social Adjustments In all age groups, friends are a healthy alternative to family and acquaintances. Friends offer support, direction, guidance, and a change of pace from usual routines. Many young adults manage to maintain at least some friendships in spite of the time constraints caused by family, school, and work; however, finding time to maintain friendships becomes more difficult for middle adults . During this period, life responsibilities are at an all-time high, so having extra time for socializing is usually rare. For this reason, middle adults may have less friends than their newlywed and retired counterparts. Yet where quantity of friendships may be lacking, quality predominates. Some of the closest ties between friends are formed and nourished during middle adulthood.

35. 3.4. Personality Theories and Development Adult Stages Theories Adult stage theories have been plentiful, and they have contributed to the view that midlife brings a crisis in development. Two prominent theories that define stages of adult development are Erik Erikson’s life-span view and Daniel Levinson’s seasons of a man’s life. 1. Erikson’s Stage of Generativity Versus Stagnation Erikson (1968) proposed that middle-aged adults face a significant issue—generativity versus stagnation , Middle-aged adults can develop generativity in a number of ways. Biological generativity , adults have offspring . Parental generativity , adults nurture and guide children . Work generativity , adults develop skills that are passed down to others. Cultural generativity , adults create, renovate, or conserve some aspect of culture that ultimately survives .

36. Adults promote and guide the next generation by parenting, teaching, leading, and doing things that benefit the community. Individuals from 20 to 30 they learned how to get along with their wife. From thirty to forty they learned how to be successful at their job , At forty to fifty they worried less about themselves & more about their children . Generative adults commit themselves to the continuation and improvement of society as a whole through their connection to the next generation . The middle adult who fails to develop generativity experiences stagnation, or self-absorption , with its associated self-indulgence and invalidism . Stagnation- suggests a lack of psychological movement or growth . Those unable to cope with managing a household, raising children, or managing their career are likely to feel psychological stagnation at the end of middle adulthood

37. 2. Levinson’s Seasons of a Man’s Life Although Levinson’s major interest focused on midlife change, he described a number of stages and transitions during the period from 17 to 65 years of age. Levinson emphasizes that developmental tasks must be mastered at each stage. At the end of one’s teens, a transition from dependence to independence should occur. This transition is marked by the formation of a dream —an image of the kind of life the youth wants to have, especially in terms of a career and marriage. Levinson sees the twenties as a novice phase of adult development. It is a time of reasonably free experimentation and of testing the dream in the real world. In early adulthood, the two major tasks to be mastered are exploring the possibilities for adult living and developing a stable life structure.

38. Age Season Descriptions 0–16 years Childhood & adolescence 17–45 years Early adulthood settling down Entering the adult world, becoming independent in a way which links the self and the adult world; which concept, together with ideas for the future is called the Dream 40–65 years Middle adulthood Settling down, consolidating goals, commitments, etc., evaluating the Dream so far 60 years + Older adulthood Evaluating the pursuit and realization of the Dream, accepting reality

39. From about the ages of 28 to 33 , a man goes through a transition period in which he must face the more serious question of determining his goals . During the thirties , he usually focuses on family & career development . In the later years of this period, he enters a phase of Becoming One’s Own Man . By age 40, he has reached a stable location in his career , has outgrown his earlier, more tenuous attempts at learning to become an adult, and now must look forward to the kind of life he will lead as a middle-aged adult. According to Levinson, the transition to middle adulthood lasts about five years (ages 40 to 45) and requires the adult male to come to grips with four major conflicts that have existed in his life since adolescence: being young versus being old, being destructive versus being constructive, being masculine versus being feminine, and being attached to others versus being separated from them

40. Seventy to 80 percent of the men Levinson interviewed found the midlife transition tumultuous and psychologically painful, as many aspects of their lives came into question. According to Levinson, the success of the midlife transition rests on how effectively the individual reduces the polarities and accepts each of them as an integral part of his being. Because Levinson interviewed middle-aged men, we can consider the data about middle adulthood more valid than the data about early adulthood. When individuals are asked to remember information about earlier parts of their lives, they may distort and forget things. Levinson (1978) views midlife as a crisis , arguing that the middle-aged adult is suspended between the past and the future , trying to cope with this gap that threatens life’s continuity . The stage theories place too much emphasis on crises in development, especially midlife crises. Stage theories focus on the universals of adult personality development as they try to pin down stages that all individuals go through in their adult lives. These theories do not adequately address individual variations in adult development.

41. The Life-Events Approach A second major way to conceptualize adult personality development is to focus on life events. In the early version of the life-events approac h, life events were viewed as taxing circumstances for individuals, forcing them to change their personality. Such events as the death of a spouse, divorce, marriage , and so on were believed to involve varying degrees of stress, and therefore likely to influence the individual’s development. Today’s life-events approach is more sophisticated. In the contemporary life-events approach, how life events influence the individual’s development depends not only on the life event itself but also on : mediating factors (such as physical health and family supports), the individual’s adaptation to the life event (such as appraisal of the threat and coping strategies), the life-stage context, and the socio-historical context .

42. For example, if individuals are in poor health and have little family support , life events are likely to be more stressful. And a divorce may be more stressful after many years of marriage when adults are in their fifties than when they have been married only several years and are in their twenties, a finding indicating that the life-stage context of an event makes a difference. The socio-historical context also makes a difference. For example, adults may be able to cope more effectively with divorce today than in the 1950s because divorce has become more commonplace and accepted in today’s society. Whatever the context or mediating variables, however, one individual may perceive a life event as highly stressful, whereas another individual may perceive the same event as a challenge .