Title: Psychology of aging. Lecture 8: Relationships, lifestyle and retirement.
1Psychology of aging.Lecture 8 Relationships,
lifestyle and retirement.
2Social roles and relationships
- Friendships
- Widowhood
- Grandparenting
3Social interactions
- Okun Keith (1998) More frequent positive
interactions predicted lower depression. - Key positive interactions
- For younger with spouse
- For older with spouse, children and friends.
- Supports socio-emotional selectivity theory
- Older adults seek positive social exchanges.
4Social networks - friendships
- Total social network smaller in those 70
- Older, fewer friendships
- Number of close attachments stable
- Friendships
- Quality and quantity of friendships strongly
linked to well-being - For old life satisfaction more strongly related
to contact with friends than relatives
5Frequency of people aged 65 contact with
relatives, friends or neighbours, 2001/02, UK
Focus on Older People in the UK. Office of
National Statistics www.statistics.gov.uk
6Grandparenting
- Most of those aged 65 have grandchildren
- Common to be great-grandparent
- 25 aged 50 have step-grandchildren
- Contact with grandchildren
- Most grandparents fairly regular contact.
- Increasingly common live distantly.
7Grandparenting in the UKhttp//www.grandparents-a
ssociation.co.uk/home.asp
- Facts about grandparenting in the UK
- 13.5 million grandparents in the UK
- 60 of childcare provided by grandparents
- Grandparents save the economy 4 billion per year
- 1 in 100 children living with a grandparent
- Over one million grandchildren are denied contact
with their grandparents
8Widowhood
- Factors that make coping more difficult
- very traditional marriage
- sudden death
- social isolation
- income loss
- widower
- Social networks disrupted by widowhood
- friendships based on married status
9Widowhood male/female differences
- For those aged 65,
- 15 men widowers
- gt50 women widows
- Widowers
- Higher risk of dying shortly after spouse
- Ill-equipped to handle daily tasks
- Emotionally isolated
- Widows
- More likely to suffer poverty
10Predictors of loneliness in old age
- 2001 Help the Aged UK survey
- Feelings of isolation and loneliness associated
with - women aged 75
- widowed
- poverty
- disability and illness
- living in London
11Lifestyle living situations
- Stereotypes of dependence?
12UK residential status of those aged 65, Help the
Aged, 2001.
13Living alone
Percentage of men and women in various age
categories living alone
Changes over time, e.g. older adults lived with
children 1957 - 30, now - 10
14Lifestyle and cognitive aging
- Gribben et al (1980)
- Compared older adults with passive active
lifestyles - Active lifestyles involvement in social
learning situation - Reduced age-related cognitive change.
- Meer (1985)
- Activity groups organised in nursing homes
- Improved working memory
-
15Work and retirement
16Job performance in older workers
- Stereotypes
- Older workers less productive and able to learn
new skills - High rates of absenteeism
- Job performance determined by ability and
experience. - Age declines on physical, speeded work
- Older often better work performance, but varies
by job type.
17The BQ experience
- BQ experiment in 1989
- new store staffed by over-50's
- Results
- profits up 18
- staff turnover 6x lower
- absenteeism down
- improved customer perception
18Retirement figures
- UK men aged 60-64 working
- 1975 85, 1994 43.
- Current UK retirement age
- Women 60, Men 65.
- From 2010 all at 65
- From 2044 all at 68
- BUT early retirement still common.
19Why do people retire?
- Involuntary
- mandatory retirement policies
- health
- age discrimination
- labour market changes
- Voluntary
- wish to stop working
- feel financially secure
- look forward to leisure activities
20Effects of retirement
- Positive aspects
- Increased time for leisure
- Resumption of education
- Away from workplace stress.
- Negative aspects
- Decreased income
- Loss of status/identity
- Change relationship with spouse.
21Studies of retirement effects
- Life satisfaction equal in working/retired
- Early retirement associated high life quality
- Reitzes et al. (1996)
- Declines in depression in retired group
- Herzog et al. (1991)
- Well-being better in those who had chosen to
work/retire.
22Conclusions
- Older adults
- Smaller, positively reinforcing social networks.
- Most older adults live with partner or alone.
- Older adults are effective workers
- contrary to prevailing age discrimination.
- Retirement
- Positive for well-being where chosen.
23Questions
- Outline some of the key relationship changes that
tend to occur across the lifespan? - Describe some of the key facts about
grandparenting in the UK. - Outline common stereotypes of the older worker.
Does evidence support these stereotypes? - Why do people retire, and how does retirement
influence life satisfaction?
24Exam tips for Aging part of level 2 exam.
- You have to answer 4 out of 6 questions from
section on aging individual differences - 4 questions on aging
- 2 questions on individual differences
- Make sure you have material for all of the
lectures - Practice summarising each lecture in ten-fifteen
statements - Use the questions after each lecture to help
understand the material - Active learning and revision will help you to
remember and understand the material - Do not be selective in what you revise
25Exam tips for Aging part of level 2 exam.
- Try out some of the questions from past papers
within the time limits of the exam - Work out how much you can write.
- In a group? Mark each others answers?
- Check with lecture notes
- Exam questions will be on lecture material
- Better to understand the gist than remember every
name and date - Exam answers must be concise, and prose is better
than bullet points