Critical Reading Response
Development in Late Adulthood
The week’s readings by Anissa Rogers (2019) stresses on the importance of understanding the different variations in human development within both the physical and social context which lay the foundation for the conceptualization of life perspectives. Many types of research have used the view of the development of humans, especially in late adulthood, to guide investigations about ageing and the experiences of senior citizens in their late stages of there life. According to Rogers (2019), late adulthood, generally referred to as old age, begins at around 65 years of age where the individuals try to find meaning as well as satisfaction in their life and avoid being delusional. Similarly, Erikson’s theory of human development identifies this stage as despair v. integrity stage. In my practicum of comprehensive life researches, it is estimated that America will have an estimated 20% of the population comprising individuals who are 65 years and above (Fabbre, 2016). Despite the issues associated with longevity, many studies have shown that people in the 70s as they grow old are related to substantial physical and mental deterioration. At the same time, some are happy and engage in various activities that make them stay viable.
Besides, the cases of gender transition in late adulthood have become a subject of discussion in contemporary cultural practices such as transgender, gays and lesbians. In the modern world, people have transitioned from the traditional norms as they try to find happiness, especially for the old generation who are in their late stages of life. Similarly, social sciences have provided evidence to show that as people begin to age, both male and females, as well as the old baby boomers, usually contemplate on gender transitioning (Beckerman & Stein, 2010). Transgender in late adulthood is a term that depicts people whose gender identity and expression differs from there actual sex they were born with. To some adults, the transition would mean the pursuance of hormone therapies or body modifications through surgery which means that they have to renegotiate their family as well as their social relationships in terms of their gender identity. Besides, the transgender people may identify with many descriptive words that are meant to conceive their gender transitions from different perspectives (Rogers, 2019). Nevertheless, educational programs for staff at the comprehensive life resources are significant in sensitization about transgender late adults. The extensive resources provide several mental health services as well as outpatient services, especially to the adults.
Additionally, a supportive staff helps in easing the tension that some of the old generations would face as they adjust to there lives and allows them to feel safer and more comfortable living their late-life in a sheltered environment. Some of the education initiatives assist in long term care provision as well as reaching out to the community with the provision of proper care. However, to provide adequate care, there is a need to understand the process of ageing and the physical as well as the cognitive changes that occur among the elderly that make some have transgender thoughts. Rogers (2019) identifies several theories that explain successful ageing, and they include the disengagement concept. This approach posits that as individuals age, they withdraw from society and release themselves of responsibilities and desires of life, and they presume more demanding roles of looking after self. This theory is similar to the activity theory which observes that activity is a necessity in ensuring that life quality of the elderly is maintained such that every individual at all ages must remain active both mentally, physically, as well as socially and this helps them in adjusting to the ageing process.
Overall, ageism is sometimes denoted as a prejudice that takes place based on age. However, it can be used against individuals of all ages, and late adulthood experiences are frequent due to the changes in the physiological processes. Besides, stereotyping among the older generation is also rampant and is an aspect of ageism associated with physical differences. According to Witten (2010), people typically attain their peak of physical strength in their 20s and then start declining as they grow older into their late adulthood, a variety of physiological changes occur in both the physical and cognitive sense. On the other hand, the cognitive changes are involved as they develop their response needs as their memories decline and hence explaining the poor performance of the old generation in performing specific tasks. Besides, the intellectual changes in late adulthood do not substantially result in inability, especially the crystallized intelligence, which has been found to increase among the elderly. In this regard, most countries have set the retirement age for people to be 65 as it is seen as a conventional mark to which someone’s cognitive abilities have declined, and they cannot keep up with the pace of the labour force. Rogers (2019) also examines death and the process of dying for the elderly with five essential reactions of the adults, including denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Nevertheless, the comprehensive resources have programs that are geared towards mental health care that focuses alternative residential placements of adults above 60 years that help reintegrate the individuals into the community through an understanding of the cognitive and physical changes as well as their sexuality.