Elder Abuse and Living Arrangements in Late Adulthood
Late adulthood is a developmental stage reached around the age of 65 years and spanning till death, making it the last stage of life. During this stage individuals are impacted through a number of biological, psychological and social factors, and face many issues such as living arrangements and elder abuse. Erikson’s psychosocial theory of ego integrity versus despair and the stress as a transaction theory help provide some insight into why the issues of living arrangements and elder abuse occur during this stage.
Late adulthood is a period of various biological changes which can impact on an individual’s health and ability to function as easily in society. The stereotypical changes of this stage are paler less elastic skin resulting in wrinkles, thinning hair gradually turning from grey to white, weaker bones, muscle loss, and vision and hearing impairments e.g. cataracts and difficulty with word discrimination. There are changes to the brain also, such as the loss of dendrites which causes a reduction in brain weight and volume and slower synaptic speeds resulting in slower reaction times (Bee 1998, p. 453). Their immune system slows down as well, becoming less effective, and making them more prone to illness (Fernandez 2010, p. 794). Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia and is a change in the brain structure due to the tangling of dendritic fibres in the brain causing severe memory loss and personality changes (Bee 1998, p. 459). Overall, the elderly are more likely to have a chronic illness and disabilities which may impact upon their ability to bathe, walk, feed themselves, prepare meals, shop, dress themselves, and even live independently (Bee 1998, p. 456).
This stage of life is characterised by a number of stresses and is a time of reflection. An individual’s changing work status, in particular when they retire, can be a source of stress as work is a major component of adult life and they now have to find other activities to
Late adulthood is a period of various biological changes which can impact on an individual’s health and ability to function as easily in society. The stereotypical changes of this stage are paler less elastic skin resulting in wrinkles, thinning hair gradually turning from grey to white, weaker bones, muscle loss, and vision and hearing impairments e.g. cataracts and difficulty with word discrimination. There are changes to the brain also, such as the loss of dendrites which causes a reduction in brain weight and volume and slower synaptic speeds resulting in slower reaction times (Bee 1998, p. 453). Their immune system slows down as well, becoming less effective, and making them more prone to illness (Fernandez 2010, p. 794). Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia and is a change in the brain structure due to the tangling of dendritic fibres in the brain causing severe memory loss and personality changes (Bee 1998, p. 459). Overall, the elderly are more likely to have a chronic illness and disabilities which may impact upon their ability to bathe, walk, feed themselves, prepare meals, shop, dress themselves, and even live independently (Bee 1998, p. 456).
This stage of life is characterised by a number of stresses and is a time of reflection. An individual’s changing work status, in particular when they retire, can be a source of stress as work is a major component of adult life and they now have to find other activities to