Growth and

development/ old
adulthood
dr. Luma alzamel
fi rst semester
/2024-2025
 Introduction

Late (Old) Adulthood: Period that

begins in the 60s and lasts until
death
Late adulthood is the time of:
Adjusting to retirement
Decreasing strength and health
New social roles.
Reviewing one’s life.
Late (old) adulthood
Average healthy life expectancy:
the number of years a person born in a
particular year can expect to live in full
health, without disease or injury.
In developing nations with widespread
of poverty, malnutrition, disease, and
armed conflict, average life expectancy
hovers around 55 years.
In Jordan Healthy life expectancy is
65.4, and 67.5 in both male and female
respectively. (WHO, 2018)
 Physical changes
The Heart
The arteries harden; The blood vessels shrink.
Reduction in the capacity of the heart to pump
blood throughout the circulatory system
A 75-year-old’s heart pumps less than three-
quarters of the blood it pumped during early
adulthood.
Digestive System
Produces less digestive juice
Is less efficient in pushing food through the
system

 PHYSICAL CHANGES
lung tissue
gradually loses its elasticity, and vital capacity is
reduced by half between ages 25 and 80. As a result,
the lungs fill and empty less efficiently.
Immune System
As the immune system ages, T cells, become less
numerous and effective In addition, the immune
system is more likely to malfunction by turning
against normal body tissues in an autoimmune
response. A less competent immune system
reduces the effectiveness of available vaccines and
increases the risk of a variety of illnesses—in addition
to infectious diseases (such as the flu),
cardiovascular disease, certain forms of cancer, and
 Physical changes
But an age-related decline in immune
functioning is not the cause of most late-life
illnesses. It merely permits disease to progress,
whereas a stronger immune reaction would
stamp out the disease agent.
Sleep
 Older adults require about as much total sleep
as younger adults: around seven hours per night.
Yet as people age, they have more difficulty
falling asleep, staying asleep, and sleeping
deeply. Insomnia affects about half of older
adults.
 Physical changes
The timing of sleep tends to change as well, toward
earlier bedtime and earlier morning wakening.
Changes in brain structures controlling sleep and
higher levels of stress hormones in the bloodstream,
which have an alerting effect on the central nervous
system, are believed to be responsible.
Until age 70 or 80, men experience more sleep
disturbances than women, for several reasons. First,
enlargement of the prostate gland, which occurs in
almost all aging men, leads to nocturia. Second, men
—especially those who are overweight and use
alcohol heavily— are more prone to sleep apnea,
 PHYSICAL CHANGES
Central Nervous System
Aging of the central nervous system
affects a wide range of complex
activities.
 Brain weight declines, due to withering
of the myelin coating on neural fibers,
loss of synaptic connections, and death of
neurons.
The autonomic nervous system,
involved in many life-support functions,
also performs less well, placing older
adults at risk during heat waves and cold
spells
 Sensory development
Vision
The cornea becomes more translucent and scatters
light, which blurs images and increases sensitivity
to glare. The lens continues to yellow, leading to
impairment in color discrimination.
Cataracts: a thickening of the lens of the eye that
causes vision to become cloudy, opaque, and
distorted
Glaucoma: damage to the optic nerve because of
the pressure created by a buildup of fluid in the eye.
Depth perception declines.
A decline in binocular vision makes depth
perception less reliable. And visual acuity worsens,
dropping sharply after age 70.
 Hearing
Reduced blood supply and natural cell death in the
inner ear and auditory cortex, along with stiffening of
the eardrum, cause hearing to decline in late
adulthood.
Decrements are greatest at high frequencies, although
detection of soft sounds diminishes. In addition,
responsiveness to startling noises lessens, and
discriminating complex tone patterns becomes harder.
As hearing declines, older people report lower self-
efficacy, more loneliness and depressive symptoms,
and a smaller social network than their normally
hearing peers.
After age 70, the ability to detect the content and
emotionally expressive features of conversation
declines, especially in noisy settings
 Smell and taste

Smell and taste losses typically begin about

age 60.
Reduced sensitivity to the four basic tastes
is evident in more than half of adults after
age 60 and up to 80 percent after age 80,
largely due to a decline in number and
distribution of taste buds on the tongue.
Older adults also have greater difficulty
recognizing familiar foods by taste alone.
 Smell and taste
Cigarette smoking, dentures, medications, and
environmental pollutants can affect taste
perception. When taste is harder to detect, food is
less enjoyable, increasing the likelihood of dietary
deficiencies.
Flavor additives can help make food more
attractive.
- A decrease in the number of smell receptors,
along with loss of neurons in brain regions
involved in processing odors, contributes to
declines in odor sensitivity after age 60.
 Touch and pain

Capacity to discriminate detailed surface

properties and identify unfamiliar objects
by touch declines.
Declining of touch perception on the
hands, especially the fingertips—believed
to be due to loss of touch receptors in
certain regions of the skin and slowing of
blood circulation to the extremities.
 Older adults are less sensitive to pain.
 Physical appearance

Wrinkles and age spots become more

noticeable, skin loses it’s elasticity &
collagen
Hair becomes thinner and grayer
Nails become thicker and more brittle
with ridges
Yellowing of teeth.
Oil glands that lubricate the skin
become less active, leading to dryness
 Physical appearance
Body build changes as well. Blood vessels
can be seen beneath the more transparent
skin, which has largely lost its layer of fatty
support. This further limits the ability to
adapt to hot and cold temperatures.
 Height continues to decline, especially in
women, as loss of bone mineral content
leads to further collapse of the spinal
column.
Weight generally drops after age 60
because of additional loss of lean body
mass, which is heavier than the fat deposits
 PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

According to Erikson
Ego Integrity: The feeling that one’s life has
been meaningful,
Or Despair – feelings of regrets or bitterness
about past mistakes, missed opportunities, or
bad decisions; a sense of disappointment in life
 Life review - involves looking back on one’s life
experiences and evaluating them.
 Integrity versus despair -individuals engage in
a life review that is either positive (integrity) or
 Social development

Some mature adults experience an increased

spirituality.
– Some religions encourage behaviors that
negatively affect health, such as refusing
medications or ignoring sound medical advice
– Religion may promote better health:
– Psychologically: supporting better coping skills
– help them face impending death
– find and maintain sense of meaningfulness in
life
– accept inevitable losses of old age
 Social Development

Friendship
– Friendships are more important than family
relationships in predicting mental health
– Unmarried older adults with a strong network
of friends fared better physically and
psychologically than other unmarried older
adults.
– Positive Psychology and Aging: The more
active and involved older adults are, the more
satisfied they are and the more likely they are
 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Speed of Processing: The speed of

processing information declines in late
adulthood. Often due to a decline in brain
and CNS functioning
Attention: reduce performance in areas
in which they are not competent
 Wellness In Late Adulthood

According to the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention, every adult should get at
least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity
physical activity daily.
– Walking.
– Gardening.
– Climbing stairs.
Reduces risk of heart disease, osteoporosis,
weight gain, and hypertension
– Psychological benefits of a sense of control
and well-being
 Health Problems

Arthritis: an inflammation of the joints

accompanied by pain, stiffness, and
movement problems.
– Common in older adults
– Symptoms can be reduced with:
• Use of some drugs like aspirin
• Range-of-motion exercises
• Weight reduction
 Health Problems

Osteoporosis: extensive loss of bone

tissue lead to becoming brittle & fragile
– Affects women more often than men
(decreased bone density).
– Can be prevented by:
• Eating calcium-rich foods and vegetables
• Having a regular exercise program
• Medication
PSYCHOLOGICAL & MENTAL DISORDERS

Depression is one of the more common

problems characterized by intense
sadness and hopelessness.
– Maybe a result of cumulative losses in
life.
 Some psychological problems such as
anxiety may be caused by inappropriate
drug doses
 Women show more depression at 50 and
60 years of age, but depression in men
increases from 60 to 80
 The Empty Nest
Some may experience a sense of
loss, known as the “empty nest”
syndrome.
Empty Nest Syndrome: a decline in
marital satisfaction after the
children leave the home
A woman become depressed after
her last child leaves home
 Dementia And Parkinson Disease

Dementia: a progressive loss of intellectual

functioning caused by repeated temporary
obstruction of blood flow in cerebral arteries
More common among men with a history of
high blood pressure
Recovery is possible.
 Parkinson’s Disease: a chronic, progressive
disease characterized by muscle tremors,
slowing of movement, and facial paralysis
Several treatments are available
 ALZHEIMER DISEASE

Alzheimer’s Disease: Progressive irreversible &

brain disorder. A common form of dementia that is
characterized by a gradual deterioration of
memory, reasoning, language, and eventually,
physical function
The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease appear
gradually: Unusual forgetfulness; Trouble recalling
particular words during conversation; First recent
memory goes, then older memories; Eventually,
total confusion, inability to speak intelligibly or to
 USE IT OR LOSE IT

Changes in cognitive activity patterns

can result in disuse and lead to atrophy
of skills
Certain mental activities can benefit the
maintenance of cognitive skills
Reading books, doing crossword,
puzzles, going to lectures.
Research suggests that mental exercise
may reduce cognitive decline and lower
the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s
disease
 Aspects of Care

The need for sleep may

decrease, but short periods of
rest throughout the day may
offset the loss.
Social contact should
persist.
Regular health and dental
checkups should continue.
Individuals should maintain