Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

Late Adulthood and Aging407happiness, and competence (Cinamon & others, 2007; Gilbert, 1994). The criticalfactor is not so much the number of roles that people take on but the quality of theirexperiences on the job, in marriage, and as a parent (Barnett & others, 1992; Lee& Phillips, 2006). When experiences in these different roles are positive and satisfying,psychological well-being is enhanced. However, when work is dissatisfying,finding high-quality child care is difficult, and making ends meet is a never-endingstruggle, stress can escalate and psychological well- being can plummet—for eithersex (Schulz & others, 2004).Late Adulthood and AgingKey Theme• Late adulthood does not necessarily involve a steep decline in physical orcognitive capabilities.Key Questions• What cognitive changes take place in late adulthood?• What factors influence social development in late adulthood?The average life expectancy for men in the United States is about 75 years. Forwomen, the average life expectancy is about 80 years. So the stage of late adulthoodcan easily last for a decade or longer. Although we experience many physical andsensory changes throughout adulthood, that’s not to say that we completely fallapart when we reach our 60s, 70s, or even 80s. Some people in their 90s are healthierand more active than other people who are 20 years younger (Baltes & Mayer,2001).In American culture, but certainly not in all cultures, the phrase old age is oftenassociated with images of poor health, inactivity, social isolation, and mental andphysical incompetence. Are those images accurate? Far from it. The majority ofolder adults live healthy, active, and self-sufficient lives (Schaie & Willis, 1996).In fact, the stereotypical image that most elderly people live in nursing homes isa major myth. In Table 9.6, you can see that of all American adults aged 65 andover, only 4.5 percent live in nursing homes. It’s also interesting to note the downwardtrend that has occurred over the past decade in the percentages of senioradults who live in nursing homes. Even among those aged 85 and over, fewerthan 20 percent live in nursing homes. Some older adults live with relatives, butmost live in their own homes (U.S. Census Bureau, 2002).Although they have more chronic medical conditions, elderly individuals tend tosee themselves as relatively healthy, partly because they have fewer acute illnesses,such as colds and flu, than do younger people (National Center for Health Statistics,2002). Even during the final year of life, the majority of older adults enjoyrelatively good health, mental alertness, and self-sufficiency.The number of older adults in the United States has been gradually increasingover the past several decades. At the beginning of the twentieth century, only about1 American in 20 was 65 or older; today, 1 of every 8 Americans is. By the year2030, 1 of 5 Americans will be an older adult (Kinsella & Velkoff, 2001).Cognitive ChangesDuring which decade of life do you think people reach their intellectual peak? If youanswered the 20s or 30s, you may be surprised by the results of longitudinal studiesdone by psychologist K. Warner Schaie. Since the 1950s, Schaie and hisBlended Families Approximately 17 percentof all children live in stepfamilies orblended families, sharing their home withchildren from an earlier marriage of theirparent or stepparent (U.S. Census Bureau,2004a). Sometimes, as is the case with thisfamily, the children of the first marriageare much older than the children of thesecond marriage.Although the term blended families iscommonly used, not all stepfamilies agreewith its use, pointing out that children instepfamilies do not lose their identificationor emotional attachment to the parentwho is not part of the new household(Stepfamily Association of America, 2005).Table 9.6U.S. Population Aged 65 andOlder in Nursing Homes byAge: 1990 and 2000Percent of Age GroupAge 1990 200065 years and over 5.1 4.565 to 74 years 1.4 1.175 to 84 years 6.1 4.785 years and over 24.5 18.2Source: Hetzel & Smith (2001).