To support your work make sure to utilize your course and text readings. When as

Question

To support your work make sure to utilize your course and text readings. When asked also utilize outside sources as well. As in all assignments make sure to cite your sources in your work and provide a reference for that citation utilizing APA format.

Throughout this course we examined development through the lens of the life-span. For this week we took a closer look at older adults. The perceptions about growing older into older adulthood often don't match the realities of being an older adult. For this assignment explain some of the myths regarding older adults and some of the realities they often face. Put special emphasis on the social-economic and the physical factors that you have found in your readings and research on this topic. Based on your experiences how would you interpret these myths and realities of older adults? Make sure to justify your answers by citing relevant sources.

Explanation / Answer

Age-related changes are referred as ageing which was experience by each and every person as he/she grows old. Biological factors are consider as primary aging which include molecular and cellular changes, while secondary factors is referred as controllable factors which include lack of physical exercise and poor diet (Whitbourne and Whitbourne 2010).

Signs of aging began to appear after age 50 like skin becomes thinner, drier, and less elastic. Wrinkles form, and Hair begins to thin and grey etc. The difficulty or relative ease given to aging which particular person feel is by their particular culture. A culture that values youthfulness and beauty consider growing old as negativity. However, a apposite of it is the culture that reveres the elderly for their life experience and wisdom contributes to a more positive perception of what it means to grow old.

The effects of aging can feel daunting, and sometimes the fear of physical changes and is consider more challenging to deal with than the changes themselves. The way people perceive physical aging is largely dependent on how they were socialized. If people can accept the changes in their bodies as a natural process of aging, the changes will not seem as horrified.

People growing older mean entering into the period that comes with entering the last phase of life.

Retirement from work is the idea that one may stop working at a certain age. So, people start feeling the sense of insecurity due to lower down in their financial income.

In the 21st century, most people hope that at some point they will be able to stop working and enjoy the fruits of their labour. But do people look forward to this time or do they fear it? When people retire from familiar work routines, some easily seek new hobbies, interests, and forms of recreation. Many find new groups and explore new activities, but others may find it more difficult to adapt to new routines and loss of social roles, losing their sense of self-worth in the process.

Each phase of life has challenges that come with the potential for fear. Erik H. Erikson (1902–1994), in his view of socialization, broke the typical life span into eight phases. Each phase presents a particular challenge that must be overcome. In the final stage, old age, the challenge is to embrace integrity over despair. Some people are unable to successfully overcome the challenge. They may have to confront regrets, such as being disappointed in their children’s lives or perhaps their own. Others, however, are able to achieve a strong sense of integrity, embracing the new phase in life. When that happens, there is tremendous potential for creativity. They can learn new skills, practise new activities, and peacefully prepare for the end of life.

For some, overcoming despair might entail remarriage after the death of a spouse. A study conducted by Kate Davidson (2002) Many surviving women enjoyed a new sense of freedom, as many were living alone for the first time. On the other hand, for surviving men, there was a greater sense of having lost something, as they were now deprived of a constant source of care as well as the focus on their emotional life.

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