Middle adulthood Flashcards
(22 cards)
Q: What are some common health changes in middle adulthood?
A: Weight gain, muscle soreness, memory loss, chronic disease, stress, perimenopause.
Q: What is menopause?
A: The cessation of menstruation, usually around age 50, with various physical and emotional symptoms.
Q: Name three symptoms of menopause.
A: Hot flashes, mood swings, memory loss (others include insomnia, bloating, anxiety, etc.).
Q: How do some women positively adjust to post-menopause life?
A: With greater self-understanding and life clarity.
Q: What are signs of a midlife crisis?
A: Realizing mortality, a gap between goals and achievements, urgency to change life direction.
Q: What are three tasks of midlife transition?
A: Accept mortality, reassess relationships, reorient career goals.
Q: What is the sandwich generation?
A: Adults caring for their own children and aging parents (sometimes grandchildren too).
Q: What is caregiver burden?
A: The emotional, physical, and financial stress of caring for someone else.
Q: Name three types of support given to aging parents.
A: Emotional support, direct care, help with services.
Q: What are some rewards of caregiving?
A: Closer relationships, fulfillment, sense of giving back.
Q: What are the three grandparenting categories?
A: Remote, companionate, and involved.
Q: What are benefits of involved grandparenting?
A: Enhances child development and keeps grandparents mentally and emotionally engaged.
Physical health and functioning during middle adulthood (Some examples - not all)
o May function as well as young adults
o Health habits and behaviours catch up
o Gender and health
o Disease and disability
· Factors that influence middle adulthood
o Time orientation
o Biological clock gets louder
o Social clock gets quieter
Midlife crisis involves
Shift in time perspective
§ Awareness of the inevitability of death
§ Perceived gap between past expectation and actual accomplishments
§ Sense of urgency to narrow the gap
Tasks of midlife transition
§ Accept personal mortality
§ Recognize physical limitations and risks
§ Adjust self and sexual identity
§ Reorient work and vacation goals
§ Reassess primary relationships
Definitions of sandwich generation and caregiver burden
o Sandwich generation - involves caregiving responsibilities towards two or three generations, for example: children, aging parents, and grand children
o Caregiver Burden - The cumulative negative effects of caring for an elderly or disabled person
Types of supports offered to aging parents
§ Emotional support
§ Direct care
§ Mediate between parent and services
Challenges and rewards of caring for aging parents
§ Decline in emotional, time and freedom, and financial
§ Increase in self-satisfaction, giving back, and a closer relationship with parent
Grandparent categories
§ Remote relationships - do not see grandchildren regularly
§ Companionate relationships - most common, frequent regular contact
§ Involved relationships - grandparent is involving in everyday care, very close emotional ties, can be detrimental
Mutual benefits of grandparent-grandchild relationships
§ Keeps grandparents mentally sharp, psychological well-being, decline in dementia,
Children - decrease in depression
