LATE ADULTHOOD

 Late adulthood is basically begins at the age of 65.

 Erick Erickson suggest that at this time the most
important is to find meaning and satisfaction in
life. That is to resolved the conflict of Integrity vs.
despair.
THEORIES IN LATE ADULTHOOD
Disengagement theory
the most controversial theory, this particular explains that in
old age the individual and society withdraw from each other .
Disengagement happens through a combination of four process:
 as early in the late middle age, an individual’s social sphere
becomes increasingly narrow.
 individuals anticipate this changes and accept their participation in
this “narrowing”.
 as individuals become less role centered, their style of interaction
changes from being active or dynamic to a less dynamic or a
passive one.
 Due to the changes I their style of interaction, older people are less
likely to be taken for new roles.
Activity theory
The opposite of the disengagement theory. Activity
is necessary to main life of quality, the more activities
older people the more they get a satisfaction.
Continuity and Discontinuity Theory
the continuity theory is the gradual development of
old people. While the discontinuity is are the stages or
phases of late adulthood caused by occurrences that
may alter the cognitive and behavioural patterns.
Diversity Theory
This theory explains that the patterns of
psychosocial development of late adulthood are at least
as varied as in earlier periods. It is believed by
gerontologists that variability and diversity increase with
age so by late adulthood, the multiplicity of patterns and
personalities is greater than at any other age.
CHANGES IN ACHIEVEMENTS
PATTERNS
 The elderly can manage to keep themselves busy and
also try to derive a sense of achievement and
satisfaction from their work or activities.
 late adults are still working for economic reasons.
Even those who have the retirement benefits still
continue to work to keep themselves busy.
 for others, Retirement for them can be seen as an
opportunity to develop old interest and discover new
ones.
 Many of these late adults find ways which to express
their cultural interest and interest in practical arts and
become more active church members.
AFFILIATION NEEDS
 In late adulthood , affiliation needs are more important
than achievement needs. For a number of elderly, family
bonds and friendship are important to their well being.
 To generalized, older husbands and wives tend to be
happier with each other and with their marriages, than
they have been since they were newlyweds.(settled
usual conflict such as money, sex, and inlaws, raising
children)
 It is also noticed that when the married late adults
compare their lives to the lives of their unmarried
contemporaries, they are likely to consider themselves
fortunate.
 Special elders
-old people that does not capable in taking
bathe, dress and prepare their own meal
-norms in the Philiphines which shows respect to
elders it is called Gerontophilla
 Gerontophobia
- fear of aging.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Measuring Intelligence
Cross sectional researchers abroad discovered that on
almost any measure of cognitive development, individuals
older than 60 do less well than individual younger than 60,
and individuals in their late 70s and 80s perform even less
well.
Longitudinal researchers abroad confirm that there is a
general decline in some cognitive abilities after age 60, and in
most cognitive abilities after age 70. The finding above is
confirmed by a generalized observation among the Filipino
elderly that there are really a decline on intellectual
sharpness among the 70s and more among the 80s.
NEW COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN
LATE LIFE
 It is true that there is a decline in some aspects of
cognition, but there are positive changes in other
aspects of their life.
A number of older individuals become more
philosophical and reflective that they once were,
showing a rise in inferiority. It is observed that those
individuals who are considered especially wise,
philosophical, and spiritual have usually become
aged.
 However, these researchers abroad have been questioned by
several critics.
 It cannot be ignored that some older individuals are intellectually
superior to the average younger adults, and some do not show any
decline at all between ages 70 and 80.
 The Information-Processing Approach
 Another very helpful approach in measuring the cognitive abilities
of older adults is the information-processing approach. This model
compares the human brain to a computer. This means that to
understand thinking, you must consider the information fed into the
brain (the input), the way that Information is organized
(programmed) and stored (in memory) within the brain, and the
ability of the brain to communicate (output) information when
necessary.
 The ability to remember which is called memory declines
with age, although to some elderly, memory loss is a minor
problem and it may occur only in some types of memory.
There are four types of memory that are affected by age,
lasting longer than the other.
1. Sensory register , which is the momentary afterimage
that occurs in the brain after a person perceives something.
2. Primary memory, which is memory over a short period of
time..
3. Secondary memory, which is stored for several minutes
or hours. This memory shows the greatest loss with age.
4. tertiary memory, which is memory for information
stored in the mind relatively long ago.
LEARNING IN OLD AGE
It is a fact that older adults can and do learn
many new skills and behaviors. But, it cannot be
denied that older adults learn less well than
younger adults do.
DEMENTIA
A person does not become senile simply because
he becomes old. Symptoms of senility which include
severe memory loss, rambling conversation,
disorientation, and personality change occur because
of a disease. A disease called dementia, which refers
to a pathological loss of intellectual functioning, does
occur more often with age. When it happens before
60, it is called presenile dementia; after age 60 it is
called senile dementia.
THREE (3) IDENTIFIABLE PHASES OF
DEMENTIA
>General forgetfulness

>General confusion

> No longer able to take care of their basic needs

CAUSES OF DEMENTIA
Alzheimer's disease is a first major cause of dementia which is no longer
considered the disorder for people with dementia under age 60. This due to
the new techniques used for analyzing brain tissue with certain
abnormalities called plaques and tangles, which destroy the same parts of
the cortex no matter what age of the victim. The causes of Alzheimer's
disease is still unknown.
Multi-infarct dementia (MID). There is the destruction of some of the brain
tissue which occurs because an infarct, or temporary obstruction of the
blood vessels, prevents a sufficient supply of blood from reaching that part
of the brain which result to stroke or mini stroke.
There are also other organic causes of dementia. Parkinson's disease, often
produces dementia as well as the distinctive rigidity and/or tremor of the
muscles. Down's syndrome and brain tumors can cause dementia, as soncan
head injuries that result in an excess of fluid pressing on the brain.
NEW COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN LATE LIFE
It is true that there is a decline in some aspects of
cognition, but there are positive changes in other aspects
of their life.
A number of older individuals become more
philosophical and reflective that they once were,
showing a rise in inferiority. It is observed that those
individuals who are considered especially wise,
philosophical, and spiritual have usually become aged.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
AGEISM
 In the Philippine culture, the negative stereotype about the elderly
is not noticeable, although very few Filipino families influenced by
the Western culture seems to show negative attitude towards late
adulthood.
 Professionals who specialize in old age, particularly those trained in
geriatrics (the field of medicine concerned with care of the aged)
who spend most of their time with people who are sick and infirm,
should show utmost attention to the many healthy aspects of an
older person’s life.
 Aging should be seen as a normal and natural continuation of our
development, rather than as something to be feared. If this is so,
we will become much more content with the unfolding of our lives.
The Aging Process
 Growing older cannot be prevented; enescence, or the
weakening and decline of the body, begins almost as soon
as growth stops. From that time on, the decline is gradual
throughout adulthood.
 The two higher sense organs which are vision and hearing
continue to become poorer as aging goes on.
 Because of aging, osteoporosis occurs. This is described as
a loss of bone calcium that causes bones to become more
porous and fragile.
 Due to the advance learning in health care and medicine,
many of the problems faced by today’s cohort of elderly
may be significantly reduced in future cohorts.
The aging process is caused by a number of things. These are:
1. Wear and Tear- the wear and tear theory of aging states that the human
body is like a machine. The parts of a machine deteriorate and so with the
human body.
2. Aging DNA- Throughout the life span, radiation bombards the DNA in the
replicating cells of the human body, gradually creating mutations in structure
in more and more cells.
3. Molecular Aging- The biochemical process through which certain kinds of
molecules become linked with other kinds is called cross-linkage.
4. Decline of the Immune System- It is a fact that the immune system
protects the human body against disease by recognizing foreign substances
in the circulatory system, and then segregating and destroying them.
5. Limit in Cell Reproduction- It was Leonard Hayflick who discovered that
cells cultured from human embryos do not multiply infinitely.