mod 10 Flashcards
- Briefly define “midlife transition” and “menopause”.
Midlife transition is a scientifically ambiguous term that makes conceptualization and research
approaches challenging.
menopause is defined as the cessation of menstruation due to permanent loss of ovarian
function: 12 months of amenorrhea must elapse before a woman is considered to be
menopausal.
in the new transitional approach, menopause is currently viewed as a gradual rather
than abrupt
a) What have cross-cultural studies revealed about the experience of menopause?
shown variations among different ethnic groups in physical symptoms experienced at this time in a woman’s life. In a study conducted almost three decades ago, Caucasian and Japanese women living in Hawaii were compared with respect to physical changes and clinical symptoms associated with the menopause (Goodman et al. 1977). Physiologic measures such as blood pressure and cholesterol did not differ by menopausal status or ethnicity after adjusting for age. Reports of “traditional symptoms,” such as hot flashes and sweats, among women who had menstruated within the past two months were slightly higher among Caucasian women (16 percent) than Japanese women
What was the main limit of the Goodman et al. (1977) study?
Although the study recognized the importance of clarity in defining menopause and using community-based samples for interracial comparison, it lacked description of the Japanese women beyond the fact of their Japanese ancestry.
c) What did Lock’s (1986) study find?
Lock surveyed Japanese women in Japan and found significant differences in the symptom reporting associated with the menopause among those women and European American and Native American women in North America. Only 10 percent of the women in Japan reported hot flashes (Lock 1986) compared with 65-85 percent of U.S. women
- How have social science researchers typically discussed the midlife transition? Briefly explain what Neugarten and Datan (1974) found.
Social science researchers have focused on the midlife transition as a chronological milestone (starting at 40 to 50 years of age) or a role-related milestone (the start of the postparenting period). These studies focus on the psychological and social expressions of the events commonly occurring at this time in women’s lives, such as the end of their reproductive years and children leaving home.
- Neugarten’s work (Neugarten and Datan 1974) in the 1960s indicated that both men and women enthusiastically expressed a view of midlife as a period of maximum capacity and ability to handle complex life situations. In her work, Neugarten noted that although middle-agers increasingly became aware of emotional, social, and cultural differences between themselves and the young, reassessment of the self at this time revealed feelings of satisfaction and self-assurance (a sense of being the “driver” rather than being “driven”). Notably, for both men and women, the idea of the midlife as a time of crises (climacteric changes, empty nest) was not supported. Yet these findings did not seem to penetrate the medical and psychiatric literature
- Briefly explain Kaufert’s (1982) theoretical framework to predict both cross-cultural differences and universal experiences of the menopause transition.
Kaufert (1982) proposed a theoretical framework to predict both cross-cultural differences and universal experiences of the menopause transition that encompasses the socially defined midpoint of a woman’s biologic life. She hypothesized that the subjective experience of the transition would vary according to the differing sociocultural contexts that define and frame the role of women and that a woman’s self-esteem would be threatened or enhanced depending on whether the stereotype of the menopausal woman in her society was negative or positive. Furthermore, in cultures where menopause is viewed negatively, women with high self-esteem would not be as susceptible to negative stereotypes, while women with low self-esteem would suffer greater distress and attribute more negative physical, psychological, and social responses to this transition. Thus, a causal sequence of factors could predict the overall experience of the menopause for a cultural group as well as for individual women
- Outline the main themes identified in the Common Story Line
The first theme was the women’s realization that they had undergone or were about to experience a major shift in their lives. This shift was based on physical, emotional, social, and cognitive changes that heralded the end of the middle years and the beginning of “the last phase” of their lives. Issues of mortality were prominent for all participants and precipitated a sense of real urgency to make significant, thoughtful choices in the time they had left (Markson and Gognalons-Nicolet 1991). The second theme was characterized by a shift in outlook on life and redefinition of self. The women attributed this shift to the changes in multiple life roles taking place concurrently, such as nearing retirement age and children leaving home. The third domain included the lifestyle changes women were making for themselves individually, to maintain their health into old age through exercise and better nutrition, and socially, to cultivate their friendships and closeness with family. Moreover, all participants described feeling better about themselves as individuals than they had earlier in their lives.
a) Compare and contrast the conceptualizations of, or meaning of, menopause for European American women and Japanese American Japanese-speaking women.
- The European American women seemed to be reacting to the larger cultural pressures of the youth-oriented U.S. society. They described this phase as a positive one for their self-image despite society’s image of them as “invisible,” as having no social value. They clearly expressed their frustration at the dissonance between their sense of self-worth and society’s ageist view of elderly women. As a group, the European American women also expressed a sense of liberation, as a desire to have “their turn” to follow their personal desires. Their objective seemed to be more individualistic and autonomous-to fulfill their own desires and enjoy family and friends on their own terms.
- The Japanese American Japanese-speaking women appeared to express a cultural construct of postmenopausal womanhood in sharp contrast to that of European American women. They described a sense of relief at moving beyond the responsibilities of the roles of mother and wife and a sense that they had “graduated from womanhood” to a state in which they could express femininity, but more importantly, a gender-transcendent humanness. The paradigm for the Japanese American Japanese-speaking women was almost identical to Lock’s (1996) description of Japanese women in Japan, where older, postmenopausal women gain social status. Lock found that the midlife was regarded as a part of a normal, natural, life cycle transition that did not necessarily correspond with the cessation of menstruation as defined in the biomedical model. Reports of physical symptoms and negative affect were generally low, and women did not perceive the transition as negative, although they did acknowledge ambivalent feelings about getting older
b) How did these findings relate to Lock’s (1996) description of Japanese women living in Japan
c) ost of Lock’s respondents expressed concern about having to learn to live their remaining years with husbands who were retired from work. Due to the family structure of modern Japan, many women spend relatively little time with their husbands: husbands have their work and the wives have their children. Cultivation of a couple relationship without children represents a new phase in their lives for which they are unprepared. In contrast, the Japanese American Japanese-speaking women in this study express a sense of relief at being past the responsibilities of motherhood and of fulfilling the role of a “wife” and look forward to different activities, including more intimate relationships with their husbands. This difference may be partially explained by variation between the United States and Japan in social factors and norms. Since the Japanese American Japanese-speaking women lived in the United States and their parents lived in Japan, they may not have had the same expectations of responsibility to care for elderly family members as their counterparts in Lock’s sample
What was the most dramatic contrast among the European American women and the Japanese American Japanese-speaking women?
he European American women viewed this next stage of their lives as a New Reality. It was perceived culturally as a negative view of the end of womanhood and youth.
In contrast, the Japanese American Japanese-speaking women described this midlife transition as a positive “graduation from womanhood to human being,” a New Phase. They described this transition as a metamorphosis from motherhood to a nurturing, more complete human being
- Compare and contrast differences in the experiences of trans-menopause between European American women and the Japanese American Japanese-speaking women.
, Lock reported that Japanese women had a significantly different construct of the transmenopause period compared with “Western” views. The Japanese used the term kounenki to describe the midlife period or the aging transition.
a) Briefly describe what the author means by “natural themes” and “social themes”, including the three categories of social themes.
Mentionsof transitions characterized as based on
natureimply that one enters or leaves a life stage
because of the action of time, due to naturalfactors
such as physical maturation,physical deterioration,
chronologicalage markers(i.e., reachinga certain
age, such as 50).
- Mentions of transitionsbased on domestic, eco-
nomic, and attitudinalthemes are all consideredso-
cial themes and imply that one moves to new life
stagesbased upon the acquisitionof particularso-
cial characteristic
o Domestic themes involve
changes in marital status, attainment of parenthood
and grandparenthood, changes in domestic arrange-
ments, and changes in one’s role within the domes-
tic sphere
o Transitions based upon Economicthemes refer
to mentions of changes in economic arrangements.- Mentionsof transitionscharacterizedas based on
natureimply that one enters or leaves a life stage
because of the action of time, due to naturalfactors
such as physical maturation,physical deterioration,
chronologicalage markers(i.e., reachinga certain
age, such as 50).
- Mentions of transitionsbased on domestic, eco-
nomic, and attitudinalthemes are all consideredso-
cial themes and imply that one moves to new life
stagesbased upon the acquisitionof particularso-
cial characteristic
o Domestic themes involve
changes in marital status, attainment of parenthood
and grandparenthood, changes in domestic arrange-
ments, and changes in one’s role within the domes-
tic sphere
o Transitionsbased upon Economicthemes refer
to mentions of changes in economic arrangements.
These include changesto either subsistenceinvolve-
ment and wage employment
o Transitionsbased upon changes in Attitudinal
themes are much more difficultto define particu-
larly. Keith et al. (1994:167-168), for example, refer
to similar themes as “social maturation”but leave
this categoryvague in definition and do not explore
it in detail. In Holman,it quickly became clear that
an importantcomponentof moving throughthe life
course involved changes in both the attitudesof the
individual and the attitudesof the communityto-
ward the individual
Thus, this category
includes mentions of changes to personalresponsi-
bility and independencefrom others, involvement
in communitylife, withdrawalfrom communityac-
tivity, associationwith others in the same life stage,
and communityrecognitionas belongingto a partic-
ular life stag
Were these themes mentioned in the same way by males versus females, or by young versus old?
Naturalthemes play an
importantrole in transitionsfrom one life stage to
the next for both genders,as 42% of male and 45%
of female mentions of life stage markersinvolved
naturalthemes. Among the social themes, differ-
ences included a higher incidence of mentions of
domestic themes for men (28% for men to 19% for
women), and the converse for mentions of attitudi-
nal themes (31% for women opposed to 17% for
men). Economicthemes appearedto be nearly in-
consequentialin markinglife course transitionsor
in identifyinga person as belongingto a particular
age category(13% of mentions by men, 5% of men-
tions by women).
Figure2 displays the same numbersby theme
and age when gendersare combined.Some differ-
ences become more pronounced.Naturalthemes
were mentioned with similar frequencyby older
and youngerpeople (42% of older people’s men-
tions and 44% of youngerpeople’s mentions).So-
cial themes (domestic,economic, and attitudinal)
showed some disparities,with 32% of older peo-
ple’s mentions focusing on domestic issues, com-
pared to 19% of youngerpeople’s mentions, with
the opposite true for attitudinalthemes (26%by
young people and 19% by older people). Again,
economic issues appearto be of minor importance
- In terms of natural processes as markers of transition, compare and contrast how younger individuals and older individuals cite natural themes for moving across life stages. Briefly sum up the author’s argument for why younger individuals mentioned chronological age as an important indicator of entering a new life stage.
The differences
between males and females appearminimal, al-
though one distinction is the greaterfrequencyof
mentions of maturationalchangesby women (22%,
againstjust 12% by men). Noteworthy,however, is
the distinctionbetween the ways in which younger
people claim to marktransitionsbetween life stages.
Among the naturalthemes cited by young people in
Figure4, chronologicalage is the most important
markerof moving across life stages,receiving 58%
of all mentions involving naturalthemes, as op-
posed to just 32% of the mentions by older people.
Indeed,young people mentioned chronologicalage
as a markerfor enteringall life stages. Conversely,
older people mentioned issues of physical deterioration
perhapsbecause older people are ex-
periencingthose issues and young people are
merely looking forwardto them at some point in
the future.Otherdifferencesappearto be minimal.
That young people should mention chronolog-
ical age as an importantindicatorof enteringa new life stage is not surprisinggiven the experiencesthis
cohort of Inuit has had in dealingwith institutions
of the Canadianstate. The generationof Inuit under
age 40 is the first to have experiencedformaleduca-
tion for a significantportionof their childhood and
teenagerhood.The educationsystem, with its use of
gradelevels to denote educationalprogress,also em-
phasizes the movementof individuals from one
gradeto the next based upon chronologicalage
markers
a) How is “elderhood” defined for the Inuit of Holman?
The InuvialuitRegionalCorporationhas like-
wise defined Elderhoodas beginningat age 50. Like
the old age pension, Elderhoodbringswith it fi-
nancial rewards.For Inuit reachingthe age of 50,
these rewardsare in the form of a one-timepayment
of $2500 and, until recently,a yearly paymentof
$1500 paid in three instalments.Known as “elder
benefits”by HolmanInuit, these paymentsoriginate
fromthe InuvialuitRegionalCorporationand are a
component of the land claims settlement.According
to HolmanElders,the age of 50 was designatedby
Elderswithin the InuvialuitSettlementRegionsome
years ago because it was felt that this age approxi-
mated the time when a person traditionallybecame
an Elderin their community.
What changes are affecting the definition of elderhood?
In spite of a definitionby Inuit themselves,
however, the IRCis an institutionalagent,and El-
ders in Holmannote that while age 50 is set in
In spite of a definitionby Inuit themselves,
however, the IRCis an institutionalagent,and El-
ders in Holmannote that while age 50 is set in
stone as the definition of Elderhood,perhapsthis
age is no longer suitablebecause of the changesto
the economy and improvedhealth care availablefor
older people. Indeed,given the growingnumberof
people becomingEldersin their communities
creasesin Elders’longevity,and the limited nature
of the funds for elder benefits, some Eldersare ques-
tioning whether paymentsshould be made to all
Elders.Whereassome Eldersclearly depend on pay-
ments to meet their needs, others continue to hold
wage laborjobs or hunt and trap actively. Clearly,
the earningpower of a healthy 50-year-oldmale is
fargreaterthan that of a decrepit 70-year-old,for ex-
ample. This problemhas come to the fore especially
in light of recent decisions (1997) to suspend annual
elder paymentsand rumoreddiscussions to reduce
the one-time paymentupon reaching50. Some Hol-
man residentsbelieve that these decisions to reduce
paymentshave been made because of alleged mis-
managementof the Social DevelopmentFund from
which elder paymentsare made. In spite of these
problems,however, Elderhoodnow begins at age
50, and this definition is acceptedby virtuallyall
- young people.
Briefly describe how the situation with elder benefits exemplifies a major structural change to Inuit culture. How does the involvement of the state alter how one moves from one life stage to another?
he situationwith elder benefits exemplifies a
majorstructuralchange to Inuit culture;namely,
that of the intrusionof the CanadianGovernment
and, more recently,the institutionalpower of the
IRC(InuvialuitRegionalCorporation),into the lives
he situationwith elder benefits exemplifies a
majorstructuralchange to Inuit culture;namely,
that of the intrusionof the CanadianGovernment
and, more recently,the institutionalpower of the
IRC(InuvialuitRegionalCorporation),into the lives
of Holmanresidents.Both play active roles in man-
aging the lives of individuals in the community.As
many other authorshave noted (Hagestad1986;
Harevan1986; Kohli 1986; Kohli and Meyer1986;
Mayerand Müller 1986; Mayerand Schoepflin
1989; Neugartenand Hagestad1976; Streetand
Quadagno1993), one of the functionsof the state
involves assumingsome of the responsibilitiespre-
viously accordedto kin groups or other local social
and political agents.In Holman,these responsibili-
ties have included education,child care assistance,
social welfare,health care, and elder care, among
others,and the mechanismthe state uses to deter-
mine who receives these benefits and when they
receive them is based on an individual’schronologi-
cal age. In this way, the state begins not only as-
suming responsibilitiesfor individualsbut also
begins scheduling lives and the appropriatetimes
when individuals must move to the next stage.
Thus, one becomes an Elderwhen he or she turns
50, even if that individual does not “feel”like an
Elder;one is “old”when he or she receives the old
age pension, regardlessof whetherthat person feels
“old” or no
- Do the younger Inuit view aging as solely chronological? Briefly explain the relationship of an individual’s social characteristics and the age ascribed to them
althoughyoung people men-
tioned chronologicalage as an importantmarkerof
transitionfrom one life stage to the next, these men-
tions were nearlyalways accompaniedby other
themes. Thus, one Inuk might say he would become
an Elderat age 50, and he would become an Elder,althoughyoung people men-
tioned chronologicalage as an importantmarkerof
transitionfrom one life stage to the next, these men-
tions were nearlyalways accompaniedby other
themes. Thus, one Inuk might say he would become
an Elderat age 50, and he would become an Elder
when he slowed down, but these events will not
necessarilyoccur at the same time. Anothermight
say she became an adult when she turned 20, and
she would become an adult when she startedhav-
ing children.In no case was chronologicalage men-
tioned as the sole reason for enteringa new life
stage.
It also became apparentin the interviewsthat
one’s age is ascribedbased on his or her individual
social characteristics.This was especially true when
young people occasionallydeclaredthe age of an el-
der in the community.In all cases, active, healthy,
and highly visible Elderswere always thoughtto be
youngerthan their actual age (sometimesby over a
decade),and inactive, decrepit,and rarelyseen el-
ders were thoughtto be much older
