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Term 5: Behavioral Science > 6/16- Middle Adulthood > Flashcards

6/16- Middle Adulthood Flashcards

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1
Q

When does midlife begin?

A

Age 40

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2
Q

What are some key appearance-changes in middle adulthood?

A

Changes in appearance

  • Gray hair
  • Thinning hair
  • “Middle-age bulge” (expanding waistline)
  • First wrinkles (change in skin/CT structure, excessive skin exposure, cigarette smoking, increased anxiety over physical changes)
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3
Q

What changes occur in bones and joints during middle adulthood? Predisposing factors?

A

Decreased bone mass:

Osteoporosis

- Women > men

Predisposing factors:

  • Low bone mass at skeletal maturity
  • Low Ca
  • Low Vitamin D
  • Lack of weight-bearing exercise
  • Smoking
  • Excess alcohol, caffeine, sodium
  • High protein diets

Osteoarthritis

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4
Q

What changes occur in reproduction (women) during middle adulthood?

A

The Climacteric

  • Passage in middle-aged women from reproductive to non-reproductive years
  • Perimenopause: irregular cycles, beginning in the 40s until completion at 50-55; loss of ability to bear children
  • Menopause: menstruation stops
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5
Q

Other perimenopausal/menopausal changes in women?

A

Other changes in women:

  • Hot flashes
  • Headaches
  • Moodiness
  • Night sweats
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Vague aches and pains
  • Cholesterol fluctuations
  • Vaginal dryness
  • Low libido
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6
Q

Other postmenopausal changes in women?

A
  • Shrinkage of vaginal walls
  • Decreased vaginal lubrication
  • Shrinkage of external genitalia
  • May lead to painful intercourse or failure to achieve orgasm
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7
Q

T/F: Postmenopausal changes are the primary reason for decline in women’s sexual activity

A

False; primary reason is lack of appropriate or willing partner

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8
Q

How can menopausal symptoms be treated?

A
  • HRT vs. herbal treatment
  • Nonpetroleum-based lubrication
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9
Q

Changes in men in middle adulthood (reproductive)?

A

As with women, sexual activity is a “lifelong option”…

  • Strong relationship with partner - Married middle-aged men have sex 4-8x/month
  • Not readily available partnered men only 2-3x/month
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10
Q

What are the comparative levels of stress in middle adulthood?

A

Increased levels of short-term and long-term stress

  • Physical changes become more evident (loss of physical capacity)
  • Psychological effects
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11
Q

T/F: blue collar workers report more stress-related problems than do white collar workers? Why T/F?

A

True

  • Less control
  • Fewer outlets
  • Less ability to delegate
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12
Q

What age has the least stress in adulthood?

A

> 65 years old

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13
Q

Do women or men have more stress? Sources of stress?

A

Women > Men

  • Women: family and health-related
  • Men: financial and work-related
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14
Q

What is “stress” (physiological)? Benefits/side effects?

A
  • Increased heart rate
  • Sweaty palms
  • Hormone secretion

- Short-term: beneficial, peak-performance

- Long-term: physical toll, psychological toll, death

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15
Q

T/F: Stress is a source of psychopathology

A

False

  • Doesn’t influence how people react
  • Improved coping with experience
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16
Q

How can stress be lessened/dealt with?

A
  • Improved coping with experience
  • Can be lessened by disclosure and discussion of problems
  • Aerobic exercise (improved cognitive functioning, lowers stress, leads to improved mood)
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17
Q

What are the relative levels of cognition in midlife?

A

Cognitive development is relatively “quiet”

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18
Q

Higher levels of cognition with what?

A

Higher levels of expertise:

  • Blend “emotion with cognition” in solving practical problems (e.g. dealing with unexpected loss)
  • Problem-focused strategies used with instrumental issues (e.g. grocery shopping, navigating from place to place; household mgmt)

Higher practical intelligence

  • Ability to cope with rapid-paced change
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19
Q

Expert performance (in terms of cognition) peaks when in life?

A

Middle age

  • Encapsulation
  • More amenable to “lifelong learning”
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20
Q

What is encapsulation?

A

Related to cognition

  • Processes of thinking become connected to products of thinking
  • There is decreased ability to explain arrival at answers
21
Q

What are the 5 factors of personality given by Cost and McCrae (that are considered when evluating personality changes throughout life)?

A
  • Neuroticism
  • Extraversion
  • Openness to experience
  • Agreeableness
  • Conscientiousness
22
Q

What characterizes neuroticism?

A

High levels:

  • Anxious, hostile, self-conscious, depressed, impulsive, vulnerable

Low levels:

  • Calm, self-confident, comfortable, unemotional, even-tempered, hardy
23
Q

Characteristics of extraversion?

A

High levels

  • Thrive on social interactions
  • Talkative, take charge, readily express opinions, like keeping busy, have boundless energy, prefer stimulation and challenge
  • i.e. social workers, sales people

Low levels

  • Reserved, passive, quiet, serious, emotionally unreactive
24
Q

Characteristics of openness to experience?

A

High levels:

  • Vivid imagination and dream life
  • Appreciation of art
  • “Willing to try anything once”
  • Decisions based on situational factors not absolute rules
  • i.e. ministers, counselors

Low levels:

  • Down to earth
  • Lack creativity
  • Conventional
  • Not curious
  • Conservative
25
Q

Characteristics of agreeableness?

A

High levels

  • Accepting, work well with others, caring

Low levels

  • Suspicious, stingy, ruthless, antagonistic, critical, irritable
26
Q

Characteristics of conscientiousness?

A

High levels

  • Hard working, scrupulous, ambitious, energetic, persevering

Low levels

  • Negligent, disorganized, lazy, tardy, aimless, nonpersistent
27
Q

So is personality stable over time?

A

McCrae and Costa say:

  • Traits stop changing by age 30 and are “set in plaster”
  • Many others studies support little change in personality traits between ages 30-90

Jones and Meredith say:

  • Self-confidence, cognitive commitment, outgoing-ness, dependability change over a 30-40 year period

Maiden says:

  • Neuroticism may increase
  • Extraversion may decrease

Srivastava says

  • None of the 5 traits remained completely stable (internet study 21-60 yo)
  • Conscientiousness increased (advancement in workforce, forming intimate relationships)
  • Agreeableness increased mostly in 30s
  • Neuroticism change more in women; little variability in men
  • Traits and environments interact to cause these changes
28
Q

What changing priorities occur during middle adulthood?

A

Increasing concern with passing wisdom to youth rather than personal achievement

Erik Erickson: Generativity vs. Stagnation

  • Generativity- being productive by helping others in order to ensure the continuation of society via guiding the next generation
  • Stagnation- being unable to deal with the needs of one’s children or provide mentoring to younger adults
29
Q

Who are generative people?

A

Grandparents

  • Derive satisfaction from grandchildren and are concerned about their well being
  • Little desire to engage in day-to-day care of grandchildren

Women

  • Derive satisfaction from marriage, motherhood
  • Personally invested in parenthood
  • Exhibit guidance and care at work
  • Exhibit caring behaviors toward others outside immediate family
30
Q

How do personal concerns of middle-aged adults differ from those of young adults?

A

Midlife adults:

  • Several important challenges
  • Struggle with new issues
  • Develop new concepts of themselves

Midlife transition:

  • Intense reappraisal of one’s life
  • Precipitated by growing recognition that life is finite
  • Characterized by mental turmoil

Midlife crisis:

  • Major upheaval
  • Internal agitation followed by impulsive actions
  • Long-standing relationships and achievements abandoned
  • No insight
  • Those left behind are shocked by the suddenness and abruptness of change

Most evidence finds that midlife is no more or less traumatic than any other period

  • This argues against a “universal” midlife crisis
31
Q

What is ego resilience?

A
  • Personality resources that allows people to handle midlife changes
  • High levels: change as an opportunity for growth
  • Low levels; time of stagnation or decline
32
Q

How do family dynamics change in middle adulthood?

A
  • Middle age people become the “center” of the family ties
  • Responsible for continuity of family identity
  • Kinkeeper: person who gathers family members together for celebration; keeps family members in touch with each other; usually women, often mothers
  • Sandwich generation- caught between competing demands of parents and children
33
Q

How do men and women differ in having difficulty relating to others as part of the “sandwich generation”?

A

Women- trouble relating to adolescent children

Men- trouble relating to aging parents

34
Q

Is the “empty nest” stage in which children leave home a smooth transition?

A
  • Depends on the extent that parents approve and foster children’s independence
  • Mothers feel more distress and negative mood
  • Only 25% of parents report feeling sad when the last child leaves home
  • Parents continue to provide financial help when possible
35
Q

What percentage of young American adults return home at least once before moving out?

Reasons?

Most commonly? Less?

A

50% (“boomerang kids”)

  • Saddled with college debt and cost of independent living

More often:

  • Men
  • Low GPAs
  • Low sense of autonomy
  • Expectation that parents will support them after graduation
  • In some Southern European countries, young adults stay home until marriage or they find full time employment

Less often:

  • Parents where physically/verbally abusive
  • Children were married
36
Q

Daughters are __x as likely to provide care as sons. Why?

A

Daughters are 3x as likely to provide care as sons

  • Women experience considerable pressure to provide care regardless of llocation (home vs. placement) vs. daily routine and lifestyle
37
Q

What is filial obligation?

A

Adult children’s sense of responsibility to care for their aging parents, if necessary (“We owe it to Mom or Dad”)

38
Q

Stressors in caring for aging parents?

More difficult for men or women?

A
  • Coping with declines in parents’ cognitive functioning and problematic behavior
  • Infringement on adult children’s other obligations/responsibilities (decreased work performance, family/job conflicts, economic problems, loss of identity)

More difficult for women

  • More likely to result in reduction of work hours or quitting work
39
Q

Rewards in caring for aging parents? What ethnicities are more likely to ___?

A

Caregiving can bring parents and adult children closer together.

Latino American, Asian, and African American caregivers:

  • More likely to be an adult child, friend or relative
  • Lower levels of depression, caregiver stress and burden
  • More filial obligation
  • Use religion, prayer or faith as a major coping strategy
40
Q

Grandparenthood occurs commonly between what ages?

A

Between 40 and 60

  • Some as young as late 20s or early 30s
41
Q

Different interaction styles of grandparenthood dependent on?

A
  • Age and needs of grandchildren
  • Societal needs and expectations (i.e. passing on family history, teaching skills, religious, vocational, social values– storytelling, advice)
42
Q

How does grandparenthood differ for African Americans compared to other groups?

A
  • Those under 40 feel pressure to care for their children’s children
  • Those over 60 take pride in important caregiving role
  • More involved in teaching grandchildren
  • More likely to take grandparent education courses
43
Q

How does grandparenthood differ for Native Americans?

A

Fictive grandparenting

  • Allows other adults to fill in for deceased or missing biological grandparents; surrogate grandparenting

Cultural conservator

  • Children allowed to live with grandparents to ensure they learn native ways
44
Q

How does grandparenthood differ for Asian Americans?

A
  • Primary source of traditional culture for grandchildren
  • May advocate more effectively for services that are culturally and linguistically appropriate
45
Q

What are common reasons for grandparents providing basic needs for 1+ grandchildren?

A
  • Incarcerated parents
  • Addicted parents
  • Parents unable to care for children
  • Children with behavior or discipline problems
  • Difficulties due to: cramped living space, social isolation, financial problems
46
Q

How can rearing grandchildren be stressful?

A
  • Changing routines, activities, school-related issues
  • Problem behavior, hyperactivity, learning disabilities
  • May lead to depression
47
Q

T/F: Grandparents mostly believe that custody of their grandchildren is in the child’s best interest despite the added stress?

A

True

  • Report few negative effects
48
Q

How can doctors help middle aged transitions?

A
  • Educating patients regarding common physical and psychological manifestations
  • Treating physical symptoms when appropriate
  • Explaining that transitions manifest differently in individuals
  • Providing honest opinions and advice
  • Offering empathic support and reassurance
49
Q

Conclusion:

  • Midlife is filled with physical, psychological, cognitive changes, along with personality adjustments
  • Middle-aged persons must juggle career, personal future planning, and family needs
  • How one transitions depends on multiple factors
A

(:

Term 5: Behavioral Science (24 decks)

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