Lecture 7 - Relationships Flashcards
(75 cards)
What is the definition of marriage?
A legally sanctioned union between two adults
What are some advantages of being married?
Reduces mortality, increases happiness, joint income tax returns, shared finances, health care benefits, & shared housing
What are the gender differences in marriage?
More men over the age of 65 are married in Canada than women so older women may be prone to disadvantages of not being married
What did the article by Yahoo discuss?
That some seniors prefer to live alone despite people being concerned for them
What are the disadvantages of older adults living alone discussed in the Yahoo article?
Not having transportation, struggling to stay social, not having help around the house, not noticing cognitive decline, financial difficulties & loneliness
What are the benefits of older adults living alone discussed in the Yahoo article?
You don’t have to spend money on 2 people (trips are cheaper), can eat what you want, independence, peace & quiet & no caregiver burden
What is cohabitation?
Living with your partner prior to or instead of marrying
What are the trends of cohabitation?
Has increased in Canada
What is Living Apart Together (LAT)?
Living arrangement increasingly adopted by unmarried older adults in an intimate relationship who do not wish to share a residence
What are the benefits of LAT?
Provides protection from emotional challenges with past relationships and is a safeguard against potential financial and legal complications
What is the cohabitation effect?
The greater likelihood of divorce among couples who cohabitate prior to becoming engaged because marriage is convenient when you live with someone even when there are problems
What factors make someone more prone to divorce?
Tendency to contemplate divorce during marriage issues, more likely to have an extramarital affair, history of difficulty with intimacy, & women that do not resolve the intimacy vs isolation stage from Erikson’s theory
How does divorce impact the individual?
Low trust, low self-esteem, anxiety, worrying about future relationships, anger, depression, & concern about others’ opinions
How does divorce impact children?
Many children growing up in high-conflict parental relationships feel “caught” in the middle of parental arguments which is related to lower well-being & poorer parental relationships in adulthood
What is widowhood?
Marriage ending in the death of a partner
What is the prevalence of widowhood in Canada?
1.8 million widows & widowers in Canada (almost 5% of the population), older women more likely than men to be widowed & for women 90 years and older, over 80% are widowed
How does widowhood impact women?
Loneliness, financial struggles, difficulty moving on, learning their partners roles, loss of purpose, loss of motivation for self-care, decreased standard of living, lower mobility, & decreased health
What is the widowhood effect?
Increased probability of death which is caused by increased depression, psychological stress, long-term financial difficulties, reduced social support & less access to resources
What are the ways that someone adapts to widowhood?
Adapting to widowhood widely differs: resilient grief & chronic grief
What is resilient grief?
Feeling relief after being widowed because they had accepted the loss before it happened
What is chronic grief?
Associated with a pre-loss dependency (dependent on a spouse before the loss)
What are the implications of understanding the variation in widowhood grief?
Can help you understand why someone is reacting to grief the way the way they are and can help clinically
What is the socioemotional selectivity theory on relationships?
Older couples experience more positive affect with each other
“Positive sentiment override” - older adults tend to focus on the positive aspects of their relationship even if they argue a lot
What is social exchange theory on relationships?
Relationships are evaluated according to costs and benefits
Predicts why some relationships succeed and some fail in terms of whether rewards outweigh costs
Example - Friends’ episode of Rachel and Chandler where he wrote a pros and cons list about her