Social Development

1
Social Development
2

• Sources
• Family
• Work/school/activities
• Need for Affiliation social convoy
• Establish relationships
• Mate selection
• Friendship

3

• Benefits of affiliation
• Information, assistance, identify mates
• Companionship, confidant
• Development, maintenance of sense of self,
  well-being (physical, psychological)
• Costs
• Energy, emotional risk
• Carstensen (1992)
• Socio-Emotional Selectivity

4
Social Convoy

• Antonucci, 1990
• Network of close relationships
• Accompany individual throughout life
• Size
• _at_ 2-5 close relationships
• Little change during adulthood
• change death, illness, move
• Quality more important than quantity

5

• Young, middle adulthood
• More likely to see size, emotional identity of
  convoys as inadequate compared to older adulthood
• Women
• Larger convoys than men
• Maintain friendships longer
• More meaningful cross-gender friendships

6
Perspectives on Psychosocial Development

• Late adulthood

7
Disengagement Theory

• late adulthood mutual withdrawal of individual
  and society
• shrinkage of life space
• social circle narrows
• Increased individuality
• Anticipate, accept narrowing of social circle
  give up roles
• Result of intrinsic changes in aging person

8

• Interaction style becomes passive
• Less likely to be chosen for new roles
• further disengagement
• Predicts socially disengaged person has high
  satisfaction
• But No evidence of disengagement
• Justifies ageist stereotypes

9
Activity Theory

• Disengagement in one area leads to engagement in
  other areas
• Older people have same psychological/social needs
  as others
• Older adults need to stay active and resist
  shrinkage of social world
• Maintain high level of activity to experience
  satisfaction

10

• Predicts
• active older people have high satisfaction
• But
• Satisfaction measured by how close real and
  desired levels of activity are
• high level of activity not necessary for
  satisfaction
• Reverse Ageism?
• Might force roles, activities on those who prefer
  to withdraw

11
Continuity Theory

• People cope with late adulthood much like the way
  they coped with earlier periods of life
• Consistency of personality traits
• Carstensen Socioemotional Selectivity Theory
• Maximize social gain
• Minimize social risks

12
Social Relations Affiliation

• Satisfaction correlated with quality of contact
  with friends, family, others throughout lifespan
  (Social Convoy)
• Size generally similar throughout lifespan
• Composition
• proximity to family
• marital status
• gender (quantity, intimacy)

13
Long-Standing Friendships

• Correlate with feelings of well-being,
  self-esteem
• May account for choices in late adulthood
  maintain established contacts
• friends, religious affiliations, social/ethnic
  clubs

14
Friendship

• Qualities
• Role present throughout lifespan (different
  qualities)
• Voluntary, less social regulation than other
  relationships
• Based on similarity (age, sex, background)
• Oriented towards enjoyment, personal satisfaction
• Importance of trust

15

• Functions
• Contribute to self-esteem
• Coping, support
• Acceptance
• Life satisfaction
• social capital

16

• Gender differences?
• Males
• Less emotional expressiveness
• Less self-disclosing
• Instrumental (activity oriented)
• More tolerant of conflict
• Females
• Closer, deeper, more intimate
• Communality, helping

17
Video Activity 3
18
Video Activity 3

• Stereotypes
• Research findings consensus on quality of
  female vs. male friendships

19
Dating and Mate Selection

• North America Courtship, dating
• After WW1
• Emergence of dating resulted from
• Urbanization
• Rise of secondary education
• Decreased parental supervision
• Female equity movement of 1920s

20

• Changes in Dating Since 1950s
• Increase in adolescent dating
• Decrease in tendency for a pattern of progression
  of intimacy
• From initial meeting to marriage
• Qualities most valued in a date?
• Men Looks, personality, sex appeal
• Women Looks, personality, thoughtfulness

21
Choosing a Mate

• What do you look for in a mate?
• Filter theory
• Propinquity
• Attractiveness
• Social background
• Consensus (common views, values)
• Complimentarity
• Readiness for marriage
• Mechanical subjectivity, affection?

22

• Adams (1979)
• Focus on process establish couple bond
• Not on eliminating sources of future friction
• Propinquity
• Early attraction
• Perpetuation of attraction
• Commitment and intimacy
• Deeper attraction
• Decision right for me
• Marriage
• Assumes marriage is ultimate goal process may
  not end in marriage

23
Sexuality and Agingor Is there sex after 40?

• Myth Older people are not sexually active
• Reality Yes they are!
• Greeley (1992) Sex after 60
• Surveyed 5,700 people
• Results
• All older people are sexual (identity)
• Not all sexually active, but many older people
  enjoy an active sex life

24
Sex after 60

• No loss of competence, desire, interest
• active declines with age
• 37 married couples over 60 report being sexually
  active once a week or more
• Often more satisfying than in early adulthood
• Satisfaction based on need for intimacy
• Experience
• Time to develop relationship

25
Factors contributing to decline

• Health
• Side effects of medications (blood pressure
  control, antihistamines, depression)
• Restriction of blood flow
• Artherosclerosis (hardening of arteries)
• Diabetes (fatty deposits in blood vessels)
• Arthritis
• Pain, stiffness of joints
• Side effects of cancer
• Anemia, loss of appetite, weakness

26

• Prolonged abstinence
• Can cause impotence
• Lifestyle choicese
• Poor diet (fitness), smoking, alcohol, obesity,
  AIDS/STDs

27
Factors not necessarily contributing

• Coffee drinking (more likely to be sexually
  active)
• Heart attack (recovered)
• Prostate surgery (50 impotence if cancer)
• Hysterectomy

28
Sexual Physiology Changes with Age

• Women
• Menopause
• does not mark end of sexuality
• Variable reactions Bernice Neugarten
• Older women more likely than younger to see
  positive changes occurring following menopause
• Best thing about menopause?
• Not worrying about pregnancy
• Not having to bother with menstruation

29

• Worst thing about menopause?
• Not knowing what to expect
• Discomfort
• Indication of advancing age
• Sexual responsiveness
• Vaginal changes, possibly diminished orgasm
• Slowed, quicker return to prearousal state

30

• Men
• Male climacteric loss of reproductive capacity
• Later than women
• Require more time, stimulation to achieve
  erection
• Refractory period longer
• Ejaculatory control increases
• Orgasm less intense

31
Reasons Males and Females Were No Longer Sexually
Active (Masters Johnson, 1966)
Males Females
Illness 15 4
Loss of Interest 15 10
Loss of Potency 29 0
Death of Spouse 10 48
32
Societal Attitudes

• Infantilize elderly
• Tendency to castrate dependent individuals
• Failure to recognize sexuality of elderly
• Institutional lack of sensitivity, privacy

33
Conclusions

• Older individuals should be encouraged to
  continue physical intimacy
• Barriers to sexual expression by the elderly
  should be reduced
• Older adults should have access to appropriate
  counseling for sexual difficulties

34
Sexuality and Institutionalized Elderly
Lichtenberg Strzepek (1990)

• Guidelines to determine competencies in engaging
  in intimate relationships
• Awareness of relationship
• Know who is initiating contact, knowledge of
  comfort level in intimacy
• Ability to avoid exploitation
• Behaviour consistent with own values, capacity to
  refuse contact
• Awareness of potential risks
• Time limitations, end of relation