Middle Adulthood: Physical and Cognitive Changes

1. Middle Adulthood Physical and Cognitive Development Chapter 14 14

2. Middle AdulthoodPhysical and Cognitive Development • Development in Middle Adulthood • Physical Continuity and Change • Disease and Health • Cognitive Continuity and Change

3. Development in Middle Adulthood • Middle adulthood is usually defined as the ages of 40 to 60 or 65. • People enter at different ages, depending on different cues: • social and family status • physical and biological status • psychological state • job or career path • economic and historical events

4. Development in Middle Adulthood • Prime Time or the Beginning of the End? • Many realize that they are no longer young, but feel in the “prime of life” • They are the command generation, making policy decisions that affect us all • For some, middle age is a time of ambivalence

5. Development in Middle Age • Midlife Crisis: Is It Real? • The crisis model of Daniel Levinson argues that men experience midlife crisis between the ages of 40 and 45. • The transition model maintains that crises are event-related, not age-related • Middle age is a time when people begin to take stock of their lives • Midlife crisis is the exception rather than the rule

6. Physical Continuity and Change • The most obvious changes associated with middle years are physical • Physical abilities peak in early adulthood • Changes in capabilities include: • sensation • motor skills and reaction time • internal changes

7. Physical Changes of Middle Adulthood

8. Physical Changes • The Climacteric – Broad complex of physical and emotional symptoms that accompany reproductive changes in middle adulthood • In women, the most dramatic aspect is menopause. Menopause involves: • physical changes and symptoms • emotional effects

9. Physical Changes—Climacteric • Menopause typically occurs between ages of 45 and 55 • Some women take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to deal with symptoms • Male hormones decline gradually in middle age and some men experience decreased sexual desire • Men may suffer erectile dysfunction; drugs are available for treatment • Frequency of sexual activity declines, time for orgasm increases for men and women • Sexual partners place more emphasis on sensuality

10. Video Clip • Video on the usefulness and the risk factors related with bioidentical hormone treatments for menopause: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItyGSbpe0Pk

11. Disease and Health • As people age, they become more vulnerable to disease • Most deaths in middle age are from cancer and heart attacks • Women are generally more healthy than men • Education level is related to health quality • Longevity is related to good health habits • Poor habits—especially smoking and over eating—take their toll in middle age

12. Causes of Death in Middle Adulthood, 2005 SOURCE: From the Statistical abstract of the United States: 2009, by the U.S. Census Bureau, 2009. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Offices.

13. Limitation of Activity Caused by Chronic Health Conditions, 2004-2005 SOURCE: From National Health Interview Survey: 2007. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics.

14. Age-adjusted Death Rates by Sex, 2005 SOURCE: From Health, United States, 2007, by the National Center for Health Statistics, 2009. Hyattsville, MD: Author.

15. Death Rates From All Causes According to Educational Level, 2005 SOURCE: From Health, United States: 2007, by the National Center for Health Statistics, 2009. Hyattsville, MD: Author.

16. Disease and Health • Smoking, Alcohol, and Obesity • Nearly 25% of adults smoke • Smoking is responsible for more than 25% of all deaths among people ages 35 to 64 • Alcohol consumption is the third-leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. • Today, 65% of U.S. adults are overweight or obese

17. Disease and Health • Stress and Health • Stress is a normal part of life, but excessive stress plays a role in many diseases of middle adulthood • Extreme or prolonged stress weakens the immune system • Adults who live in poverty or who are members of disadvantaged minority groups have higher stress levels, poorer health and earlier death

18. Stress Scale for Selected Life Events, 1967 and 2007

19. Disease and Health • Members of disadvantaged minority groups and those who live in poverty are more likely to have: • poor health habits • less access to health care • lower levels of educational attainment • All of these factors are linked to higher rates of chronic disease and early death

20. Cognitive Continuity and Change • Cognitive function declines with age, though in middle adulthood it is not serious nor universal • Fluid vs. Crystallized Intelligence • Fluid – abilities involved in acquiring new knowledge and skills • Crystallized – cognitive pragmatics, accumulated knowledge • Over time, fluid intelligence generally decreases and crystallized intelligence generally increases

21. Crystallized vs. Fluid Intelligence

22. Cross-Sectional Comparison of Changes in Intellectual Abilities with Age

23. Cognitive Continuity and Change • Experience and Expertise • If a person is intellectually active, both declarative and procedural knowledge increase and contribute to one’s expertise • There may be age-related declines in functioning, but expertise allows for compensation • As people gain experience, individuals continually restructure their knowledge system

24. Video Clip • Interview with AARP Workforce Issues Director discussing the changing nature of the nation’s older workforce: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDsxNKxbBOc

25. Video Clip • Describes a program that aims to attract and retain older workers at Scottsdale Healthcare: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAD_yF4SPe0

26. Cognitive Continuity and Change • Today, adults have many more years to work than they did in 1900, when average life expectancy was 47.3 years • Average life expectancy in 2000 was 77 years • Intellectual flexibility is important to employment success • Engaging in complex tasks seems to be a key in maintaining intellectual processes at their highest possible levels

27. Summary • Middle adulthood constitutes a substantial portion of a person’s normal life span • People in middle age make up the command generation • Some adults experience a midlife crisis, but not all do • The most obvious changes during this period are physical ones. Physical abilities begin to decline around the age of 50 • Women experience menopause; men may face impotence, and the frequency of sexual activity declines

28. Summary • Most death during this stage is from cancer and heart-attacks • Women are generally healthier than men • Poor health habits begin to take their toll here, with smoking, obesity, and excessive alcohol consumption being the three leading preventable causes of death • Some adults at this stage experience excessive stress due to life events • Cognitive functioning may decline, but age may bring with it expert knowledge

29. Summary • The average life expectancy today is 77 years, increasing the time adults are on the job • Intellectual flexibility is becoming more important in this age of technology • Engaging in complex tasks will help adults maintain a high level of intellectual functioning