Human Growth and Development in the Late Adult Years - Assignment Example

? Late adulthood development Late adulthood development Different theories have been put forward to explain the reason behind aging. Aging is a natural occurrence that occurs in all individuals. These theories include, wear and tear, aging by program, Homeostatic imbalance, Cross-linkage, genetic theories among others that are developed to try and explain this phenomenon. Alot of changes occur between infancy to late adulthood. In this text, we focus on the series of events or rather changes that occur during late adulthood. This is considered to be the final stage of a person’s life cycle. It starts from the age of sixty five years onwards. The average lifespan of a person is considered to be seventy years. We will look at a detailed explanation of the changes that occur in this stage. These Changes are normally categorized into Physical, cognitive and Psychosocial. Physical Changes These are the physical or rather observable changes that are seen in old age. The first is the Reaction time. This is the time between the introduction of a stimulus to the time the body muscles react to it. The physical skills of elder people normally deteriorate with age. The elderly find it hard or virtually impossible to conduct a long series of tasks and also do things in a slow manner. Studies have shown that younger people interact with older people in a manner that is depersonalized, discriminatory, and disrespectful (Levy & Banaji, 2002). It is a form of prejudice commonly referred to as ageism. Ageism can adversely affect the elderly in that they subordinate their quality of lives. Their self-esteem and confidence is shattered, they also feel inferior and mistreated causing them not to contribute to the society as they would normally do. This stereotype should be changed as the elderly are part of us and are our parents and should be accorded with the respect that they deserve. The sensory abilities such as vision, hearing, and balance in the elderly also decrease with age (Humes, 2005). Different eye problems may affect the elderly. These problems are as a result of lenses becoming less elastic, thicker and less transparent. Retina changes also contribute to these problems resulting to eye problems such as glaucoma, cataracts, floaters, dry eye Just to mention but a few. With the improved technology, ophthalmology and optical surgery can correct these eye defects making it a less serious problem nowadays. Age-related hearing loss called presbycusis is one of the most known health problems of the elderly (Helzner et al., 2005). It is normally corrected through the use of hearing aids. Speech and language are also other problems. Smell and taste are also affected by old age. Age does contribute to some atrophy of olfactory fibers in the nose (Harvard Men’s Health Watch, 2004). The skeletal system can also change with age. It has been observed that diseases of the bone system result due to changes in collagen in the bones as one ages. Osteoporosis and arthritis are examples f diseases of the bone that come with age. Proper intake of Calcium and Vitamin D can help reduces the occurrence of these defects. The skin of an elderly person becomes loose and elastic. The skin appears darker d coarser. Wrinkles and stretch marks begin to show. Darkness under the eye forms and the skin becomes generally pale. Years of exposure to the sun contributes to these changes and also loss of body fats reduces the pressure against the skin causing it to sag. Loss of teeth is another key physical change among the elderly as a result of gum diseases. This to a considerable extent affects the self image of an individual. Dentures correct this, but people are also being educated on the proper intake of fluorides so as to prevent the loss of teeth. Hair changes are also extremely much evident. Grayness and stiffness of hair, baldness and facial hair in women are a common physical change in old age and is as a result of hormonal changes. Locomotion also becomes quite a problem. However, physical activity interventions can increase one’s ability to perform activities of daily living and general mobility (Brach & VanSwearingen, 2002). Health deteriorates with aging. Many health complications arise during the last stages of human life cycle. The Major cause of death for all Americans is heart disease, followed by cancer, stroke, pulmonary disease, pneumonia and influenza and diabetes (Guttman, 2000). These diseases normally attack the aged. The mental health is also affected. This can be minor to dangerous depending on the level of the causative factors such as stress, depression, headaches, sleep disturbances among others. Appearance is also affected by old age, and it is extremely valuable. Most people want to keep a youthful appearance, and it affects women more than men. Exercising, dieting, clothing and cosmetics are normally used to maintain a youthful appearance. In today’s society, a decline in the female self - concept is also inevitable as the woman ages (Pinquart & Sorensen, 2001). Cognitive development The mental capacity of the aged is relatively limited by mental illnesses such as untreated diabetes and dementia. Some mental deficits result due to old age. This is not the case all times as elders make up for most intellectual limitations with better mental abilities in other areas such as an increased vocabulary and a greater global awareness (Hess, 2003). Different IQ tests have been conducted by researchers on intelligence and IQ. Creativity is also studied and it has been found out have quantity of creativity may drop with age but the quality does not. Of the tests carried out, it was observed that creativity was affected by self-esteem. Wisdom is going beyond what is already known, and going to understand the implication of things. It is high in old age as a result of life experience. Psychosocial Development The rights of the elderly in the society should always be defended. Looking at social development, the first aspect to look at is the gender roles. Gender roles are not fixed at old Elderly people normally experience a cross over in their gender roles. This means that they become more like each other. They just accept whatever role be it female or male that is most appropriate in the situation that they are in. Another key element is that of sexuality. Elderly people are not comfortable discussing their sexuality due to various reasons. Most elderly adults have a negative self image towards themselves as they get older. Men die before women by an average of seven years. This brings about widowhood. Technology has also played a decisive role in relationships as online chatting platforms enable them to meet different people despite geographical barriers. Impotency is another fear in most men. Elderly men have this problem and makes them not to have sexual relationships with their partners. This is however being corrected by various mechanisms such as Viagra to improve performance. The role of the grandparent is also changing. A survey conducted shows that most grandparents in the USA are taking care of their grandchildren. References Boyd, D. R., & Bee, H. L. (2009). Lifespan development (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. Read More