Different aspects of development are interrelated and essential in constituting to who a person really is. Even in aging, it is good to establish the relevance of such changes in order to make more conscious effort in improving his/her weaknesses and achieving his/her desired goals. With this, it is known that a problem or difficulty in one aspect may lead to delays in the overall development of the individual. This is manifested in the way a person perceives him/herself and the corresponding manner he/she interacts with their neighbors. The lack of knowledge to cope with hormonal changes may cause an adult to have more misunderstandings and problems with the people around him/her. He/she may also either gain wisdom or lose interest in being an active member of society due to the changes that comes with age. Indeed, aging can pose positive and negative effects to a person’s life; positive as gaining maturity, wisdom, self-confidence, depth of experiences, sense of purpose and nourishment of their loved ones meanwhile, the negative may lead to stagnation as stated in Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. Stagnation relates to the frustration and discontentment on an adult’s life which may limit one from participating in activities of daily living. To illustrate, physical limitations in the body may cause the adult to have less intent to move and do tasks similar to when they were younger. This tends to affect their cognitive, psychological and socioemotional state hence also, decreasing their way of living. Furthermore, quality of life begins to gain importance during middle adulthood. In this stage, greater pursuit on what is truly important and essential in life than career are noted. Attachment to formed relationships and the desire to improve one's self all direct to the attainment of an optimal way of living. Upholding one's duties and roles in society meaningfully serve as the means in gaining a sense of purpose. During middle adulthood, senescence or age-related changes become very visible. The increase in weight, specifically in body fat, is caused by the lack of physical activity among middle adults. Bones become weaker hence, making the individual (usually women) more prone to osteoporosis. Menopause starts at around 47-48 years old and this comes with symptoms such as hot flushes, dizziness, headaches, mood swings and joint pain. Having hypertension as well as other chronic diseases is indeed expected at this stage of one’s life. More diseases become prevalent because of lifestyle choices or simply, the aging process. If one does not put effort to exercise regularly, then it is expected that the body would weaken significantly. To add, any change in one’s physical appearance and motor performance can be related to their hormones. With this, it is very possible to experience a decrease in strength, coordination, flexibility and balance at this certain age.
Moreover, the ‘responsible stage’ from Schaie’s Stages of Development explains the shift of priorities in middle adulthood to that of protecting and nourishing relationships with one’s loved ones (family, partner and friends). On the other hand, inclusion and active participation in a chosen community with similar advocacies are expected during this period, according to the concept of the ‘executive stage’. To expound, as one gained a sense of purpose and ‘a reason for being’ or ikigai in Japanese, a mindset to understand broader perspectives is acquired as well. In addition, experiences serve as the greatest and most effective teacher for middle adults. This is justified by the fact that crystallized intelligence improves or remains the same for people in this age. This kind of intelligence, according to Feldman, R. (2011), refers to the “learning acquired through experience and applied in situations involving problem solving”. Previous experiences and encounters have a significant role in their current perceptions, views, preferences and attitudes. Adults are also able to deeply understand complex and abstract ideas and in order to achieve this, appropriate balance among the components of the triarchic theory of intelligence is necessary. This includes the componential, experiential and contextual intelligence. The process of discerning which intelligence to prevail in a specific circumstance is possible and efficient at this period of human development. Nevertheless, memory and spatial orientation tends to decline. This is proved by the fact that middle adults are more prone to injuries and to forgetting things or details than those younger than them.
Furthermore, the responses of my mother are very aligned to the developmental tasks of adulthood stated in the given module. Some of these include strengthening the relationships with her loved ones, maintaining long-lasting friendships, adjusting to aging, sharing skills or attitudes to the younger generation and advocating for social responsibility/change within the society. Middle adults are known to be in the generativity vs. stagnation stage of Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. Generativity tackles the desire to contribute to the lives of their loved ones such that to give the necessary help and support they might need. On contrary, stagnation is common since this relates to the loss of self-confidence and desire to participate in society due to their perceived limitations. This may primarily be affected by concrete experiences of ageism or “discrimination towards the person’s age”. Another, middle adults experience stress because of their health conditions and need to be financially stable. This is essential to them in order to continue their usual lives and do far more activities with their family. It can somehow be in preparation of the future (shows the acceptance of aging and death) wherein they would need to leave enough resources for their children when they die. In relation to this, the concept of ‘sandwich generation’ is evident since it expresses the mindset that a middle adult has “responsibilities to their children and aging parents”. They, then, do whatever they can to fulfill and balance their responsibilities. According to Gould’s Transformation in Adult Development, this shows that they are maximizing the time available for him/her to achieve all goals and develop self-acceptance because of their awareness of the time limitations. Lastly, people in middle adulthood are known to be part of Generation X and they are described as independent, critical-thinkers, family-oriented, loyal and seekers of life balance. The said characteristics are accurate and aligned to the response of my mother. Overall, these are only few of the theories and concepts which explain the changes in various aspects of development.
Different aspects of development are interrelated and essential in constituting to who a person really is. Even in aging, it is good to establish the relevance of such changes in order to make more conscious effort in improving his/her weaknesses and achieving his/her desired goals. With this, it is known that a problem or difficulty in one aspect may lead to delays in the overall development of the individual. This is manifested in the way a person perceives him/herself and the corresponding manner he/she interacts with their neighbors. The lack of knowledge to cope with hormonal changes may cause an adult to have more misunderstandings and problems with the people around him/her. He/she may also either gain wisdom or lose interest in being an active member of society due to the changes that comes with age. Indeed, aging can pose positive and negative effects to a person’s life; positive as gaining maturity, wisdom, self-confidence, depth of experiences, sense of purpose and nourishment of their loved ones meanwhile, the negative may lead to stagnation as stated in Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. Stagnation relates to the frustration and discontentment on an adult’s life which may limit one from participating in activities of daily living. To illustrate, physical limitations in the body may cause the adult to have less intent to move and do tasks similar to when they were younger. This tends to affect their cognitive, psychological and socioemotional state hence also, decreasing their way of living.
Furthermore, quality of life begins to gain importance during middle adulthood. In this stage, greater pursuit on what is truly important and essential in life than career are noted. Good health, sufficient knowledge of his/her surroundings, accomplishment of tasks or roles and peaceful relationships with other people equally contribute to a happier life for the individual. In addition, attachment to formed relationships and the desire to improve one's self all direct to the attainment of an optimal way of living. Upholding one's duties and roles in society meaningfully serve as the means in gaining a sense of purpose that manifests in their positive outlook in life. With this, continuous development in all aspects truly enable an individual to have high quality of life and contentment of one’s state.
