Download Development Through the Lifespan

Development Through the Lifespan
Chapter 17
Physical and Cognitive
Development in
Late Adulthood
Functional Age
Young-Old

Appear physically young for their actual age
Old-Old
 Appear physically frail and show signs of decline
Active Lifespan
Around the World
Life Expectancy Crossover
Aging and the Nervous System
 Loss of brain weight accelerates after 60
 Neurons lost in visual, auditory and motor areas, cerebellum (balance)
 Autonomic nervous system less efficient
 Brain can compensate
 New fibers
 New connections
 Use more parts of brain
Visual Impairments and Aging
 Lower visual acuity
 Poor dim light vision
 Cataracts
 Macular degeneration
Hearing Impairments and Aging
Aging Systems of the Body
 Cardiovascular
 Heartbeat less forceful; slower heart rate, blood flow
 Vital lung capacity cut by half
 Immune
 Effectiveness declines
 More autoimmune disorders
 Sleep
 More difficulties
 Sleep apnea, insomnia
Physical Appearance and Mobility
 Skin thinner, rougher wrinkled, spotted
 Ears, nose, teeth and hair change
 Lose height and weight after 60
 Muscle strength declines
 10–20% by 60–70
 30–50% by 70–80
 Bone strength drops
 Less flexibility
Factors in Good Health
and Aging
 Optimism
 SES
 Ethnicity
 Sex
 Nutrition
 Exercise
Sexuality in Late Adulthood
 Most have sex
 Married couples: regular, enjoyable sex
 Singles: 70% men, 50% of women have sex
 Continue patterns from earlier years
 “Good sex in the past, good sex in the future”
 Enjoy activities other than intercourse
 Men sometimes stop all activities if erection problems
Primary and Secondary Aging
Primary



Genetically influenced declines
Affect all members of species
Even happen if health is good
Secondary
 Declines due to heredity and environment
 Effects individualized
 Illnesses and disabilities
 Arthritis
 Diabetes
 Mental disabilities
Leading Causes of Death
in Late Adulthood
Mental Disabilities
in Late Adulthood
Dementia - thought and behavior impairments that disrupt everyday life



Parkinson’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease
Cerebrovascular dementia
 Strokes
 Misdiagnosis and reversible dementia
 Depression
 Medication side effects
Long-Term Care in Late Adulthood
 More with advanced age
 Severe disorders
 Loss of support network
 Varies by SES, ethnic group
 Alternatives
 Home care by family
 Home care professionals
 Assisted living
Selective Optimization
with Compensation
 Select
 Choose personally valued activities, avoid others
 Optimize
 Devote diminishing resources to valued activities
 Compensate
 Find creative ways to overcome limitations
Associative Memory Declines
in Late Adulthood
 Difficulty creating or retrieving links between pieces of information
 Using memory cues, enhancing meaningfulness of information help
Remote and Prospective Memory
 Remote Memory
 Very long-term recall
 Autobiographical memory
 Prospective Memory
 Remembering to engage in planned actions
 Use reminders, repetition to help
Language Processing
in Late Adulthood
 Comprehension changes very little
 Problems retrieving specific words
 Use more pronouns
 Pauses in speech
 Problems planning what to say
 Hesitations, false starts, repetition, sentence fragments, disorganized statements
Wisdom
 Depth and breadth of practical knowledge
 Reflect on knowledge
 Apply knowledge to improve life
 Listening and evaluating
 Advice
Factors Related to
Cognitive Change
 Previous cognitive activity
 Health
 Retirement
 Distance to death
 Terminal decline
 Cognitive interventions
 Memory, problem-solving training
Lifelong Learning
 Educational participation increasing
 Elderhostel
 College courses
 Many benefits
 New facts, ideas
 New friends
 Broader world perspective
 Improved self-image