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2. Personality and society (late adulthood) 2.1 Personality and mortality (Sterblichkeit)
- depression and suicide
- mood disorder (feeling deeply unhappy, demoralized, self-derogatory [selbstabwertend], and unmotivated)
- ca. 10-15% of older adults suffer from depression, up to 30% in nursing homes
- increasing suicide rates (esp. for men) in old age
- medication/psychotherapy lead to improvements in ca. 80% of cases
3. Families and social relationships (late adulthood) 3.1 Lifestyle diversity
- married people are happier, less distressed, live longer (than singles)
- older married adults are happier with marriage than younger adults
- divorces in old age linked to more financial, physical, and social consequences
- increasing number of cohabiting older adults
- children’s support more from daughters than from sons
3. Families and social relationships (late adulthood)
3.2 Friends and networks
- importance of close friendships
- friendships more important than family relations to predict mental health
- friends provide emotionaly intimacy, companionship, and community integration
- older adults with close friends live longer (larger effect for women than men)
3. Families and social relationships (late adulthood)
3.2 Friends and networks
- importance of social support and social integration
- better physical and mental health, lower institutionalization rate and mortality
- loneliness and social isolation as risk factors (cf. „men as social animal“)
3. Families and social relationships (late adulthood)
3.2 Friends and networks
- importance of altruism and volunteerism for older adults
- linked to mental and physical health, life satisfaction, mortality
5. Successful aging
- important factors
- emphasis (Betonung) on the positive aspects of aging
1. Defining death and life/death issues
- classical definition of death:
- no breathing,
- no blood pressure,
- rigidity of the body
1. Defining death and life/death issues
- brain death
brain death = no electrical activity in brain for a specified period
- lower brain regions die later (thus heartbeat and respiration still possible)
1. Defining death and life/death issues
- decisions about death
- signing of living will (Patientenverfügung)
- legal questions of when to stop life-sustaining procedures (lebenserhaltende Maßnahmen)
- medical diagnosis of „terminally ill“
1. Defining death and life/death issues
- euthanasia (Sterbehilfe)
- passive (withholding available treatment)
- active (deliberate introduction of death, e.g. by delivering drugs)
1. Defining death and life/death issues
- need for better care for dying persons
- hospice and palliative care (Hospiz, Palliativpflege)
2. Death and sociohistorical contexts
- historically changed features
- relatively fewer deaths of children and younger parents, and less often at home
- most die in older age and at institutions (hospitals, nursing homes, hospice etc.)
2. Death and sociohistorical contexts
- large culture variations
- specific beliefs about death (e.g., life after death, reincarnation)
- specific rituals associated with death
- Western cultures mostly death avoiders and deniers (Vermeider und Leugner)
3. Facing one’s own death
- Kübler-Ross’ (1969) stages of dying
1. denial and isolation („No, it can’t be.“) 2. anger („Why me?“) 3. bargaining („What can I do?“) 4. depression („Let me alone.“)
- necessary stage to disconnect oneself from loved ones
- need to contemplate abouth one’s death (and life)
5. acceptance („Let it be.“)
- finding a sense of peace (end of the dying struggle)
3. Facing one’s own death
- general
evaluation: no empirical evidence available (Kastenbaum, 2007)
- with age decreasing fear of death
- perceived control as coping strategy (and prolonging life)
- denial can be both adaptive and maladaptive
4. Coping with the death of someone else 4.1 Communicating with a dying person
- consequences of open awareness of dying for oneself and others
- chance to close life according to own ideas
- chance to complete plans and projects (open matters)
- make decisions about funeral and burying
- chance for life review, alone and with others
- better understanding of dying process
- effective communication strategies
4. Coping with the death of someone else
4.2 Grieving
- grief as a complex emotional reaction to the loss of someone close
- pining or yearning (sehnsüchtig sein)
- separation anxiety (Trennungsangst)
- despair and sadness (Verzweiflung und Traurigkeit), hopelessness, apathy
4. Coping with the death of someone else
4.2 Grieving
- no clear stages, more ups-and-downs
- about 80-90% of survivors return to normal grief after about six months
4. Coping with the death of someone else
4.2 Grieving
- remaining 10-20% develop „complicated grief“
- difficulty to return to normal life
- strong depressive symptoms
- negative consequences for physical and mental health
- therapeutic interventions helpful
coping depends on type of death (sudden vs. forseeable)!
4. Coping with the death of someone else
4.2 Grieving
- Finding a new sense
- need for adjusting to personal, social, financial consequences
- importance of social support
development
- the pattern of movement or changes that starts at conception and continues through the human life.
life-span perspective (Baltes, 1987, 2003)
- development is lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual
- development involves growth, maintenance, and regulation
- development is co-constructed through biological, sociocultural, and individual factors
maximum lifespan vs. life expectancy (Lebenserwartung)
- Ein Mensch kann maximal 122 Jahre alt werden
- Die Lebenserwartung ist im Laufe der Jahre gestiegen, heute liegt sie in den USA bei 78 Jahren.
context
= historical, economic, social, and cultural factors
- normative age-graded influences
- normative history-graded influences
- non-normative life events
Some contemporary (zeitgenössiche) concerns
• health and well-being (Gesundheit) • parenting and education (Elternschaft und Erziehung) • sociocultural contexts and diversity • social policy (Sozialpolitik)
The nature of development
2.1 Biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes
• biological (e.g., brain growth, motor skills, puberty) • cognitive (e.g., language, intelligence, problem solving) • socioemotional (e.g., social relations, emotions, personality)
The nature of development
2.2 Periods of development
developmental period
= time frame that is characterized by a certain feature
The nature of development
2.2 Periods of development
typically used age ranges
1. prenatal period (conception [Empfängnis] to birth, 9 months) 2. infancy (birth to 18-24 months; Babys, Kleinkinder) 3. early childhood (2 to 5-6 years; Vorschulkinder) 4. middle and late childhood (6 to 11 years; Schulkinder) 5. adolescence (10-12 to 18-22 years; Jugendliche) 6. early adulthood (ca. 20 to 40 years) 7. middle adulthood (ca. 40 to 60 years)
The nature of development
2.2 Periods of development
conceptions of age
- chronological vs. biological (health), psychological (adaptive capacities) and social age
The nature of development
2.3 Developmental Issues
• nature-nurture debate (Natur-Umwelt-Debatte)
• nature-nurture debate (Natur-Umwelt-Debatte) – importance of mutual (wechselseitige) dependencies
The nature of development
2.3 Developmental Issues
stability and change
- possibly shifting in the course of the lifespan
The nature of development
2.3 Developmental Issues
continuity and discontinuity
- gradual changes vs. stepwise development
3. Theories of development
3.1 Psychoanalytic theories
A. Sigmund Freud’s (1856-1939) theory
main assumptions:
- origin of problems in early experiences
- primary role of sexuality
- importance of unconscious processes [1.13]
- types of conflict resolution
+ 5 psychosexual stages of development
Theories of Development
1) Psychoanalytic Theories
- Freud
- Erik Eriksons psychosocial theory
2) Cognitive Theories
- Jean Piagets cognitive developmental theory
- Vygotskis sociocultural cognitive theory
- the information processing theory
3) Behavioral and social cognitive theories
- Burrhus Skinner’s (1904-1990) operant conditioning (behaviorism)
- Albert Bandura’s (1925- ) social cognitive theory
4) Ethological theories
- Konrad Lorenz (1903-1989)
- John Bowlby (1907-1990)
- Evolutionary psychology
5) Ecological theory
- Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005)
3. Theories of development
3.1 Psychoanalytic theories
Erik Erikson’s (1902-1994) psychosocial theory
- lifespan perspective of development
- 8 stages with unique developmental tasks (crisis) to be solved
3. Theories of development
3.1 Psychoanalytic theories
A. Sigmund Freud’s (1856-1939) theory
- 5 psychosexual stages of development
- Orale Phase
- Anale Phase
- Ödipale Phase
- Latenzphase
- Genitale Phase
Cognitive theories
- Jean Piaget’s (1896-1980) cognitive developmental theory
- role of cognitive schemata to understand the world
- assimilation and accomodation
- 4 qualitative stages of children’s cognitive development
Cognitive theories 2.Lev Vygotski’s (1896-1934) sociocultural cognitive theory
- impact of social interactions and culture
- learning to use inventions of a society (like language, mathematics etc.)
- gradual cognitive development
Cognitive Therories
3. The information-processing theory
- gradually increasing capacity for imformation processing
Behavioral and social cognitive theories
- Burrhus Skinner’s (1904-1990) operant conditioning (behaviorism)
- role of rewards and punishments to shape behavior
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Cartes-fiches
2. Health (late adulthood)
2.2 Exercise, nutrition and weight
- higher mortality for persons with low physical fitness (Blair, 1990)
- need for aerobic exercises, strength training, and stretching
2. Health (late adulthood)
2.2 Exercise, nutrition and weight
- strong effects of caloric restriction (CR) in animal studies
- lived up to 40% longer
- chronic problems appeared later in life
- central nervous system aged later
- CR mechanism and its potential effect on humans are still unkown
2. Health (late adulthood)
2.3 Health treatment
- partially inadequate access to health system
- often inadequate quality of nursing homes (Altersheim)
- feelings of depersonalization and dependency (instead of responsibility)
3. Cognitive Functioning (late adulthood)
3.1 Multidimensionality and multidirectionality
- increasing cognitive impairments (cross-sectional)
less decline in longitudinal data (see Boyd & Bee, 2006, p. 461):
- sample: N = 102, 62–86 years old, over 7 years
- results: 62% constant or improved performance; 38% decline in performance
3. Cognitive Functioning (late adulthood)
3.1 Multidimensionality and multidirectionality
- decline in processing speed
- decline in processing speed (Verarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit; Salthouse, 2004)
- – but increase in crossword-puzzles
3. Cognitive Functioning (late adulthood)
3.1 Multidimensionality and multidirectionality
- decrease in selective and divided attention (selektive und geteilte Aufmerksamkeit)
- poorer episodic memory
- more forgetting in explicit (declarative) than in implicit (procedural) memory
- decrased working memory capacity (cross-sectional)
3. Cognitive Functioning (late adulthood)
3.1 Multidimensionality and multidirectionality
- wisdom
wisdom (Weisheit) = expert knowledge about practical aspects of life (Baltes et al., 2006; cross-sectional)
- high levels of wisdom are rare
- factors other than age are critical to obtain wisdom
- relation to personality factors (like openness, generativity, and creativity)
3. Cognitive Functioning (late adulthood)
3.2 Training
- „use it or lose it“ approach (Wer rastet, der rostet.)
- keeping mentally active (reading, crossword puzzles, going to concerts, etc.) prevents or slows cognitive aging
- positive findings from longitudinal studies
3. Cognitive Functioning (late adulthood)
3.2 Training
- training of already declined cognitive skills
1. training can be effective (e.g., Willis & Schaie, 1986) – almost 40% of older persons reached their level as 14 years ago – effects lasted for several years 2. other studies had less optimistic results – only small effects even after extensive training – only little transfer to other tasks – only short-lived improvements 3. booming market
3. Cognitive Functioning (late adulthood)
3.2 Training
- general
- „testing-the-limits“ approach
- some loss in plasticity for over-85-year olds [see 1.2 above]
5. Mental Health (late adulthood)
5.1 Alzheimer´s disease
increasing rate with age: – in U.S., 4.5 mill patients in 2005
5. Mental Health (late adulthood)
5.1 Alzheimer´s disease
- types
types: a. early-onset = before age 65, earliest with 30 (about 10%) b. late-onset = after age 65 (about 90%)
- chronic, gradual deterioration (Abbau) of memory, reasoning, language, and physical functions
5. Mental Health (late adulthood)
5.1 Alzheimer´s disease
- causes
- deficiency in neurotransmitter acetylcholine
- brain shrinks and deteriorates
- forming of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (Neurofibrillen)
- genetic influence
5. Mental Health (late adulthood)
5.1 Alzheimer´s disease
problem of early detection
- overlap with mild cognitive impairment (leichte kognitive Beeinträchtigung, z. B. benigne Altersvergesslichkeit)
- treatment with medication (slows progression, no cure yet)
- high incidence of depression for relatives
5. Mental Health (late adulthood)
5.2 Parkinson Disease (Parkinson Demenz)
- chronic, progressive disease with muscle tremors (Muskelzucken), slowing of movement, and partial facial paralysis (partielle Gesichtslähmung)
- cause: degenerated neurons that no longer produce neurotransmitter dopamine
- treatment with medication
1. Theories of socioemotional development (late adulthood)
- Erikson’s (last) Stage 8: integrity vs. despair (Integrität vs. Verzweiflung)
- retrospectively reflecting on one‘s past
- reinterpretation of life experiences
- life review (Lebensrückschau; Butler, 1996); often initiated by near death or serious disease
1. Theories of socioemotional development (late adulthood)
- activity theory
- more active, energetic, productive people are happier
1. Theories of socioemotional development (late adulthood)
- socioemotional selectivity theory (Carstensen)
- becoming more selective in social networks, thus maximizing positive relationships
- different trajectories for knowledge-related and emotion-related goals
- older (compared to younger) adults report better emotional control and fewer negative emotions
1. Theories of socioemotional development (late adulthood)
- selective optimization with compensation theory (Selektive Optimierung mit Kompensation; Baltes)
- allocation of remaining (or new) resources to different goals
- successful aging is linked to …
2. Personality and society (late adulthood) 2.1 Personality and mortality (Sterblichkeit)
- personality factors linked to earlier death
- low conscientiousness (Gewissenhaftigkeit) and high neuroticism
- negative affect and pessimism
2. Personality and society (late adulthood) 2.1 Personality and mortality (Sterblichkeit)
- depression and suicide
- mood disorder (feeling deeply unhappy, demoralized, self-derogatory [selbstabwertend], and unmotivated)
- ca. 10-15% of older adults suffer from depression, up to 30% in nursing homes
- increasing suicide rates (esp. for men) in old age
- medication/psychotherapy lead to improvements in ca. 80% of cases
3. Families and social relationships (late adulthood) 3.1 Lifestyle diversity
- married people are happier, less distressed, live longer (than singles)
- older married adults are happier with marriage than younger adults
- divorces in old age linked to more financial, physical, and social consequences
- increasing number of cohabiting older adults
- children’s support more from daughters than from sons
3. Families and social relationships (late adulthood)
3.2 Friends and networks
- importance of close friendships
- friendships more important than family relations to predict mental health
- friends provide emotionaly intimacy, companionship, and community integration
- older adults with close friends live longer (larger effect for women than men)
3. Families and social relationships (late adulthood)
3.2 Friends and networks
- importance of social support and social integration
- better physical and mental health, lower institutionalization rate and mortality
- loneliness and social isolation as risk factors (cf. „men as social animal“)
3. Families and social relationships (late adulthood)
3.2 Friends and networks
- importance of altruism and volunteerism for older adults
- linked to mental and physical health, life satisfaction, mortality
5. Successful aging
- important factors
- emphasis (Betonung) on the positive aspects of aging
1. Defining death and life/death issues
- classical definition of death:
- no breathing,
- no blood pressure,
- rigidity of the body
1. Defining death and life/death issues
- brain death
brain death = no electrical activity in brain for a specified period
- lower brain regions die later (thus heartbeat and respiration still possible)
1. Defining death and life/death issues
- decisions about death
- signing of living will (Patientenverfügung)
- legal questions of when to stop life-sustaining procedures (lebenserhaltende Maßnahmen)
- medical diagnosis of „terminally ill“
1. Defining death and life/death issues
- euthanasia (Sterbehilfe)
- passive (withholding available treatment)
- active (deliberate introduction of death, e.g. by delivering drugs)
1. Defining death and life/death issues
- need for better care for dying persons
- hospice and palliative care (Hospiz, Palliativpflege)
2. Death and sociohistorical contexts
- historically changed features
- relatively fewer deaths of children and younger parents, and less often at home
- most die in older age and at institutions (hospitals, nursing homes, hospice etc.)
2. Death and sociohistorical contexts
- large culture variations
- specific beliefs about death (e.g., life after death, reincarnation)
- specific rituals associated with death
- Western cultures mostly death avoiders and deniers (Vermeider und Leugner)
3. Facing one’s own death
- Kübler-Ross’ (1969) stages of dying
1. denial and isolation („No, it can’t be.“) 2. anger („Why me?“) 3. bargaining („What can I do?“) 4. depression („Let me alone.“)
- necessary stage to disconnect oneself from loved ones
- need to contemplate abouth one’s death (and life)
5. acceptance („Let it be.“)
- finding a sense of peace (end of the dying struggle)
3. Facing one’s own death
- general
evaluation: no empirical evidence available (Kastenbaum, 2007)
- with age decreasing fear of death
- perceived control as coping strategy (and prolonging life)
- denial can be both adaptive and maladaptive
4. Coping with the death of someone else 4.1 Communicating with a dying person
- consequences of open awareness of dying for oneself and others
- chance to close life according to own ideas
- chance to complete plans and projects (open matters)
- make decisions about funeral and burying
- chance for life review, alone and with others
- better understanding of dying process
- effective communication strategies
4. Coping with the death of someone else
4.2 Grieving
- grief as a complex emotional reaction to the loss of someone close
- pining or yearning (sehnsüchtig sein)
- separation anxiety (Trennungsangst)
- despair and sadness (Verzweiflung und Traurigkeit), hopelessness, apathy
4. Coping with the death of someone else
4.2 Grieving
- no clear stages, more ups-and-downs
- about 80-90% of survivors return to normal grief after about six months
4. Coping with the death of someone else
4.2 Grieving
- remaining 10-20% develop „complicated grief“
- difficulty to return to normal life
- strong depressive symptoms
- negative consequences for physical and mental health
- therapeutic interventions helpful
coping depends on type of death (sudden vs. forseeable)!
4. Coping with the death of someone else
4.2 Grieving
- Finding a new sense
- need for adjusting to personal, social, financial consequences
- importance of social support
