A. Aging Considerations in the Adult Life Cycle
i. Young Adulthood
Young adulthood is generally the period from age 20 to late 30s, and is characterized by slightly declining physiological indicators, such as stamina, endurance and other general aches and pains not experienced in earlier years. Young adulthood is a time of rapid growth, life changes, and learning, that influence an individual throughout his or her lifetime. According to Erickson, in early adulthood, the focus on the individual person is usually on the development of intimate relationships (Hillier and Barrow, 2012). It is during this time that many tendencies towards others and behaviors will become reinforced and more difficult to change. Even concepts and beliefs that occur in young adulthood have dramatic influence on later life. For example, studies have found that negative stereotypes about old age are correlated with higher risk of …show more content…
Disengagement Theory
Disengagement theory goes back to the work of Elaine Cumming in the 60s and characterizes aging as a period of disengagement from active social roles and other activities (Hillier and Barrow, 2012). It suggests that people naturally tend to seek out solitary and reflective experiences. However, the theory could create negative consequences as devaluing the role of social activity or therapeutic programs that could help the elder.y (Hillier and Barrow, 2012). iii. Gerotranscendence
The idea of gerotranscendence was put forward by Tornstam in 1994, and integrated into Erikson’s model by his wife, Joan Erikson to help explain the very late stage in life where the individual reevaluates his or her developmental stages (Hillier and Barrow, 2012). The individual begins to distrust the efficacy of self in mind and body, and begins to select the relationships worth investing in, indicating a certain degree of greater autonomy, not less (Hillier and Barrow, 2012).
iv. Continuity