Middle Adulthood

A Look At Physical Changes That Start To

Occur Between Ages 40-65

Developmental Tasks

Losing parents/grief Launching children Adjusting to life without children Dealing with adult children who

return Becoming grandparents Preparing for late adulthood Acting as caregivers

Physical Changes Most experience good health Risk of disability Vision Hearing Joint Pain Weight Gain

Impact of Lifestyle Risks to health

Poor diet Stress Smoking

tobacco Drinking alcohol Physical

inactivity Chronic disease

Preventative Measures Challenging

physical and mental activity

Weight bearing exercise

Good nutrition Social resources

Physical Changes: Climacteric (Menopause) Loss of estrogen Mid 40s to Mid 50s All complete this by 58 Change in menstrual cycle Other changes No more reproduction Cultural variation

Andropause? Reproductive ability continues Lowered testosterone levels due to

stress/sexual inactivity

Climacteric and Sexual Expression Climacteric affects reproduction in

females Physical intimacy still important Practicing safe sex still important

Lifestyle Changes: Exercise Exercise helps keep muscles strong Reduces stress Increases energy Weight training promotes bone

density

Food Pyramid: February 2005

The New Food Pyramid

The Ideal Diet Low in cholesterol (<300 mg

per day) HDL/LDL should be 4 to 1

Low in sodium High in fiber Low in sugar/starch Alcohol in moderation (1-2

servings per day)

Cognitive Development

A Look At Formal and Postformal Thought During Midlife

Formal Operational Thought

Formal operational thought varies

Not achieved in all areas Tied to experience Tied to education

Increases and Decreases Increases with

age: Tacit knowledge Verbal memory Spatial skills Inductive

reasoning Wisdom? It

depends

Decreases: Working memory Speed of process

Older Adult Students Relevance not rote Accuracy over speed Minimize distractions Harder to learn when fatigued Learn better with slower pace

The Expert Vs the Novice Midlife is a time of gaining

expertise Experts and novices work

differently Experts: intuition Experts: less conscious Experts: are better at handling

unusual situations

Psychosocial Development

A Look At Psychological Concerns and Relationships During Midlife

Levinson’s Theory

Does everyone have a “midlife crisis”?

Why do some people have them?

What does it look like? How long does it last? Why is it more extreme than

the age 30 transition?

Erikson

Generativity vs. Stagnation Feeling either productive or

stuck Productivity can occur in work,

in an avocation, or in family life

Encore careers?

Family Relationships

Adult Children and tolerance Overload stressors Launching concerns Kinkeepering Caregiving

Singles

25% households Marrying older; more staying

single Are singles happier than

married people? Happiness depends on reasons

why (single or spouse-free?)

Stein’s Types of Singles

Voluntary temporary Voluntary permanent Involuntary temporary Involuntary permanent

INTRINSIC VS UTILITARIAN MARRIAGES

Cuber and Haroff’s Types of Marriages

Conflict-habituated Devitalized Passive-congenial Vital Total

MARITAL COMMUNICATION

Gottman’s work on what harms a marriage

Four Warning Signs (marriage killers)

Criticism Contempt Defensiveness Stonewalling

Stations of Divorce

Emotional Legal Economic Coparental Community Psychic

Remarriages Half of all marriages are a remarriage Courtships, quicker, sex sooner, kids

faster, redivorce quicker Divorce rates are higher if children

involved

Productivity at Work

Varied experiences Peak of career New skills training

Encore Careers Flexibility

Personality in Midlife

The Big Five Agreeableness increases Openness and neuroticism decreases

Jung and maturation