chp13

• 1.
  • Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Adulthood

Chapter 13 Danielle Miller 2. What is Middle Adulthood?

• • Middle Adulthood- The developmental period beginning at aprox. 40 to 65 years of age.

• • declining physical skills

• • expanded responsibilty

• • consciousness of young-old

• • awareness of time left in life

• • Reaching and maintaining satisfaction in career

• • need to pass along a legacy

3. Physical Changes

• • Apperance is the most visible sign of middle adulthood

• • Skin wrinkles/sag

• • Aging spots appear(hand,face)

• • Hair becomes thinner and gray

• • Finger and toe nails become thicker and more brittle

• With emphasises being on beauty and youthfulness in American culture, alot of people try to maintain themselves in many ways:

• • cosmetic surgery

• • hair dyes

• • wigs and weaves

• • exercise regiemns

• • heavy doses of vitamins/supplements

4. Physical Changes con't

• Height and Weight

• Men :

• • Men lose about 1/2 inch in height(30-50)

• • Men lose another 3/4 inch in height(50-70)

• Women:

• • Women can lose up to 2 inch over a 50 year span(25-75)

• Decrease in height is due to bone loss in the vertebrae

• Both man and women gain weight, on average body fat accounts for more than 20 percent of body weight in middle adulthood.

5. More Physical Changes

• • loss of strenght and bone density

• • loss of flexibility in joints

• • vision and hearing

• • Cardiovascular system (

• • sleep changes(awake more, loss of deepest sleep)

• Health and Disease

• • Disease and health concerns become more prevelant in middle adulthood

• • Stress is an increasing factor in disease

• Leading causes of death in middle adulthood (1) heart disease,(2) cancer,(3) cerebrovascular disease

• Men havea higher rate of mortality than women for each of the above

6. Sexuality

• • Middle life transition when fertility declines a.k.a. Climacteric

• Women-

• • menopause-the complete cessation of menstruation

• • average age for women's last period is 51

• • symtoms:hot flashes, nausea, fatigue,and rapid heartbeat

• • Treatments: Hormone replacement therapies

• Men-

• • Testosterone levels and sexual activity decline

• • ability to father children is not lost

• • erectile dysfunction becomes common

• • treatments: prescription drugs ie. viagra

7. Cognitive Development

• Concepts of Intelligence

• Crystallized-accumulated information and verbal skills which increase in middle age(Horn)

• Fluid-the ability to reason abstractly, which steadily declines from middle adulthood onward(Horn)

• Schaie(Seattle Study)

• The highest level of functioning of intellectual abilities in middleadulthood:vocabulary, verbal memory, inductive reasoning and spatial orientation

8. Cognitive Development con't

• Processing information declines as well as the working memory

• Use it or lose it

9. Careers, Work and Leisure

• • The role of work is central

• • Middle aged adults reach their peak in position and earnings

• • More financial responsibilties

• • various career paths

• Challenges/Changes

• • Some experience midlife career changes due to company downsizing, rapid change in technology, concerns about pension and retirement, etc..

• Leisure is defined as the pleasant times after work when individuals are free to pursue personal activites and interest.

• Leisure is important for adults in he middle ages.

10. Religion and Life Meaning

• Religion is important to Lives all across the world

11. Religion and Life Meaning

• Females tend to show a stronger interest in religion than males

• Religion can play an important role in offering comfort and support when individuals are faced with stressful events

• Frankl's book , Mans's Search For Meaning ,

• • belief in examining the finiteness of our exsistenceand the certainity of death adds meaning to life

• Human qualities are spirituality, freedom and responsibility

• For many people , midlife is a time of evaluation, assessment and reflection.

12. Thankyou & The End