Human growth and

development
ADULT HOOD
Unit: Two - Lessons: 3
 ADULT HOOD
Introduction
The adulthood stages are;
• Early adulthood
• Middle adulthood
• Late adulthood.
Introduction

Aging
• Each person experiences age-related changes in
adulthood.
• These changes are influenced by various factors
which include; biological factors such as molecular
and cellular changes are called primary aging,
• while aging that occurs due to controllable factors,
such as lack of physical exercise and poor diet, is
called secondary aging.
Learning objectives

• Describe the characteristics of the various stages of

adulthood.
• Describe old age and aging.
• Describe the process of death and dying.
 Early Adulthood (Ages 20–40)

Physical Development
• Physical maturation is complete, however height and weight
may increase slightly.
• Physical abilities are at their peak, i.e. muscle strength, reaction
time, sensory abilities, and cardiac functioning.
• Most professional athletes are at the top of their game
• Many women have children in the early-adulthood years.
 Early Adulthood (Ages 20–40)cont’

Cognitive Development
• Cognition changes over a person's lifespan, peak by 35 and
slowly decline in later adulthood.
• Research suggests that adult cognitive development is a
complex, ever-changing process that may be even more active
than cognitive development in infancy and early childhood
(Fischer, Yan, & Stewart, 2003).
• Cognitive abilities remain relatively steady throughout early
and middle adulthood.
 Early Adulthood (Ages 20–40)
• Research indicates that adults who engage in mentally
and physically stimulating activities experience less
cognitive decline in later adult years .
• Some developmental psychologists suggested a fifth
stage of cognitive development, known as post formal
operational thinking.
• In post formal thinking, decisions are made based on
situations and circumstances, and logic is integrated with
emotion as adults develop principles that depend on
contexts.
 Early Adulthood (Ages 20–40)
• The need for specialization results in pragmatic thinking
—using logic to solve real-world problems while
accepting contradiction, imperfection, and other issues.
• Finally, young adults develop a sort of expertise in either
education or career, which further enhances problem-
solving skills and the capacity for creativity.
 Social and Emotional Aspects of
Early Adulthood
• According to many theorists, including George Vaillant
(2002), there is need to have and continue to find meaning
throughout life.
• For those in early adulthood, meaning is often found through work
and family life .
• A lack of positive and meaningful relationships during adulthood
can result in what Erikson termed as the crisis of intimacy vs.
isolation.
• This can lead to loneliness.
 Social and Emotional Aspects of
Early Adulthood
• This stage also presents with a particular challenges; referred
to as "quarter-life crises”.
• A quarter-life crisis typically occurs between the ages of 25
and 30.
• Revolves around challenges that arise from young adults
living on their own and feeling overwhelmed with new
responsibilities.
• can also happen after the child birth or if a person graduates
from college and cannot find a job in their chosen field.
 Social and Emotional Aspects of
Early Adulthood
• Consequently, the young adult may worry about their
future, wonder if they've made poor choices, or what life
might hold for them now.
• Those who experience a quarter life crisis struggle to cope and
may engage in harmful behaviors, such as abuse of alcohol or
drugs or irrational spending.
• Others may experiment with different aspects of their
personality, explore new hobbies, or otherwise seek out change
in their lives
 Middle adulthood(Ages 40–65)

Physical development
• Aging process becomes more apparent.
• By 40, the eyes lose their ability to adjust to objects at varying
distances, known as presbyopia.
• Amajority between the ages of 40 and 60 will need some form of
corrective lenses for visual deficits.
• Are also at higher risk for certain eye problem, such as glaucoma
than younger adults.
• Hearing also further declines.
 Middle adulthood(Ages 40–65)

• Skin dries out ,prone to more wrinkling,

particularly on the sensitive face area.
• Age spots and blood vessels appear.
• Changes in muscle-to-fat ratio.
• Women experience a gradual decline in fertility as
they approach the onset of menopause.
 Middle adulthood(Ages 40–65)

Due to the shifting hormone levels, women in

menopause experience a range of symptoms, such
as anxiety , poor memory, inability to concentrate,
emotional instability, and general apathy, among
other physiological symptoms.
Identify the physiological changes
 Middle adulthood(Ages 40–65)

Cognitive development
Crystallized and Fluid intelligence are the main focus of middle
adulthood.
• crystallized intelligence is the information, skills, and strategies
gathered throughout life and is dependent upon accumulated knowledge
and experience, tends to hold steady and may even improve.
• Fluid intelligence, on the other hand, is more dependent on basic
information-processing skills and starts to decline even prior to middle
adulthood.
 Social and Emotional Aspects of Adulthood
Relationships in Adulthood
• Positive relationships with significant others in our
adult years have been found to contribute to a state
of well-being.
• Most adults identify themselves through their
relationships with family—particularly with
spouses, children, and parents.
 Social and Emotional Aspects of Adulthood.

• The middle adulthood come with particular

challenges; referred to as ‘midlife crises,".
• The main triggers for a mid-life crisis include
problems with work, trouble in a marriage,
children growing up and leaving the home, or the
aging or death of a person's parents.
 Social and Emotional Aspects of Adulthood
Individuals having a mid-life crisis may experience some
of the following:
• a search for an undefined dream or goal;
• a deep sense of regret for goals not accomplished;
• a fear of humiliation among more successful colleagues;
• a desire to achieve a feeling of youthfulness;
• a need to spend more time alone or with certain peers.
 Social and Emotional Aspects of Adulthood

• Like those who experience a quarter-crisis in early

adulthood those who face mid-life crisis struggle
with coping and may engage in harmful behaviors.
• Many adults find meaning in and define themselves
by what they do—their careers.
• Erikson's stage of generativity vs. stagnation
revolves around a person's sense of their
contribution to the world.
 Social and Emotional Aspects of Adulthood
• Generativity is about making life productive and creative so that it matters to
others, especially those in the next generation.
• According to Erikson, a person who is self-centered and unable or unwilling to
help society move forward develops a feeling of stagnation—a dissatisfaction
with the relative lack of productivity.
• The central tasks during middle adulthood include;
– expressing love to other , and maintaining healthy life patterns.
– Helping children to be responsible adults, and relinquishing a central role in the lives of
grown children.
– Fostering a comfortable home and taking pride in one's accomplishments.
– Taking care of aging parents, adjusting to the physical changes of middle age, and using
leisure time creatively.
 Late Adulthood
Physical Development-60s onward
• The last stage of physical change.
• Average life expectancy varies based on
socioeconomic status, region, and access to
medical care.
• Women tend to live longer than men by an average
of five years.
 old age/Late Adulthood
• the skin continues to lose elasticity,
• reaction time slows further,
• muscle strength diminishes.
• Hearing and vision decline significantly;
• cataracts, or cloudy areas of the eyes that result in
vision loss, are frequent.
 Old age/Late Adulthood
• Senses, such as taste, touch, and smell, become less sensitive .
• The immune system is weakened,
• More susceptible to illness, like cancer, diabetes, and others.
• Cardiovascular and respiratory problems become more
common.
• a decrease in physical mobility and a loss of balance, which
can result in falls and injuries.
 Old age/Late Adulthood

Cognitive development
• The aging process results in changes and lower
functioning in the brain.
• This leads to memory impairment and decreased
intellectual function.
• Age is a major risk factor for mild cognitive impairment
and most common neurodegenerative disorders, such as
Alzheimer's disease, stroke, and Parkinson's disease.
 Old age/Late Adulthood
Cognitive development.
• Alzheimer's disease is also referred to as dementia and has no cure.
• A general decline in memory is common, due to the decrease in
speed of information processing.
• This causes problems with short-term memory retention and with
the ability to learn new information.
• In most cases, this absent-mindedness should be considered a
natural part of growing older rather than a psychological or
neurological disorder.
 Old age/Late Adulthood
Cognitive development
• A general decline in memory is common, due to the decrease in
speed of information processing.
• This causes problems with short-term memory retention and with
the ability to learn new information.
• In most cases, this absent-mindedness should be considered a
natural part of growing older rather than a psychological or
neurological disorder.
• Procedural memory remains while working memory declines.
 Old age/Late Adulthood
Cognitive development
• Semantic memory is the memory of understanding
things, of the meaning of things and events, it
depends on conscious recollection of factual
information and general knowledge about the
world.
• It remains relatively stable throughout life.
 Old age/Late Adulthood
Social and Emotional Aspects of Adulthood.
• Many elderly people need assistance in meeting daily needs as
they age.
• Over time they may become dependent on caregivers.
• They may struggle with feelings of guilt, shame, or depression
because this increased dependency.
• If an elderly has to move away from friends, community, their
home, or other familiar aspects of their life for care, they may
experience isolation, depression, or loneliness.
 Old age/Late Adulthood
Social and Emotional Aspects of Adulthood.
• Increased dependency makes older adults vulnerable to elder
abuse.
• Abuse occurs when a caretaker intentionally deprives an older
person of care or harms the person in their charge.
• May be subject to many different types of abuse;physical,
emotional, or psychological.
• Approximately one in ten older adults report being abused, and
this number rises in the cases of dementia or physical
limitations.
 Old age/Late Adulthood
Social and Emotional Aspects of Adulthood.
• Assistive technology made especially for the home
has enabled more old people to care for themselves
and accomplish activities of daily living (ADL).
• For example medical alert and safety system,
shower seat for preventing the person from getting
tired in the shower and falling.
 Old age/Late Adulthood
Social and Emotional Aspects of Adulthood
• Other form of assistive technology include; bed cane
(offering support to those with unsteadiness getting in and
out of bed), and ADL cuff (used with eating utensils for
people with paralysis or hand weakness).
• Advances in this kind of technology offer increasing
options for the elderly to continue functioning
independently later into their lives.
 Old age/Late Adulthood
Social and Emotional Aspects of Adulthood
• As people enter the final stages of life, they have what Erik
Erikson described as a crisis over integrity versus despair.
• they review the events of their lives and try to come to terms with
the mark (or lack thereof) that they have made on the world.
• People who believe they have had a positive impact on the world
through their contributions live the end of life with a sense of
integrity.
• Those who feel they have not measured up to certain standards—
either their own or others'—develop a sense of despair.
 Old age/Late Adulthood
Death and dying
Kübler-Ross (1969), who worked with the founders
of hospice care, described in her theory of grief the
process of an individual accepting their own death.
She proposed five stages of grief, in what became
known as the Kübler-Ross model: denial, anger,
bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
 old age/Late Adulthood
Kübler-Ross model
Denial: People believe there must be some mistake. They pretend
death isn't happening, perhaps live life as if nothing is wrong, or
even tell people things are fine. Underneath this facade, however,
is a great deal of fear and other emotions.
Anger: After people start to realize death is imminent, they
become angry. They believe life is unfair and usually blame
others (such as a higher power or doctors) for the state of being
they are experiencing.
 Old age/Late Adulthood
Kübler-Ross model
Bargaining: Once anger subsides, fear sets in again. Now,
however, people plead with life or a higher power to give them
more time, to let them accomplish just one more goal, or for
some other request.
Depression: The realization that death is near sets in, and people
become extremely sad. They may isolate themselves,
contemplate suicide, or otherwise refuse to live life. Motivation
is gone and the will to live disappears.
 Old age/Late Adulthood
Kübler-Ross model
Acceptance: People realize that all forms of life,
including the self, come to an end, and they accept
that life is ending. They make peace with others
around them, and they make the most of the time
they have remaining.
 Old age/Late Adulthood
Kübler-Ross model
• While most individuals experience these stages, not all people go through
every stage.
• The stages are not necessarily linear, and may occur in different orders or
reoccur throughout the grief process.
• Some psychologists believe that the more a dying person fights death, the
more likely they are to remain stuck in the denial phase, making it
difficult for the dying person to face death with dignity.
• Being in denial of death until the very end is an adaptive coping
mechanism for some people.
 Old age/Late Adulthood
Kübler-Ross model
• Whether due to illness or old age, not everyone facing death or
the loss of a loved one experiences the negative emotions
outlined in the Kübler-Ross model.
• Research suggests that people with religious or spiritual beliefs
are better able to cope with death because of their belief in an
afterlife and social support from the religious or spiritual
associations.