2. 13-2
• Emotional intimacy strengthens as couples grow old
together
• Sandwich generation
• Creates new opportunities to tap into family strengths and
unexpected intergenerational family relationships
• Couples in middle and later years have problems with new
family structures
3. 13-3
Middle age
• Period of life between the ages 35 and 65
Still raising teenagers
Launching young adults and then coping with their absence
Entering retirement
Baby boomers
• The group of Americans who were born in the post-World
War 2 baby boom period, which ran from 1946 to 1964
• The oldest Baby Boomers are in their early seventies
• Their growing number increases pressure on society to focus
on retirement, health care, and empty-nest issues
4. 13-4
Realization that:
• One’s life is half over and that many goals have not been
attained (can cause emotional upheaval)
• Evidence does not support the existence of a generalized
midlife crisis
• Early life is more a time of crisis than midlife
5. 13-5
• Financial obligations may seem less daunting as children
leave home
• Career change for the breadwinner
• Caretaker of the children can go back to work or school
Opportunities
• Economic downturn had made it difficult for some to retire
early or find new jobs
• Many saw their retirement funds diminish dramatically
when the stock market fell
Challenges
6. 13-6
Female menopause
• End of monthly menstrual periods
• Signals the cessation of a woman’s ability to have children
• Many women experience distress, irritability, insomnia, hot
flashes, headaches, and depression
• Reproductive organs shrink
• Amount of fatty tissue in the breasts and other parts of the body
decreases
• Vulva becomes thinner
• Vagina shrinks and loses some elasticity
• Vaginal secretions that provide lubrication during intercourse
diminish
7. 13-7
Male menopause
• Sexual changes in men related to age
• Production of androgen declines slowly
Androgen: Male hormone
• Amount of fluid ejaculated with orgasm diminishes
• Testicles become smaller and less firm
• Erections become less frequent and less rigid
8. 13-8
• Establish priorities early in marriage
• Be alert for warning signs of marital problems
• Strive toward equality
• Seek a balance between togetherness and personal growth
• Have a positive daily life together
• Develop a network of friendships with other couples
9. 13-9
• Evaluate the marriage and attend workshops on enrichment
of marriage
• Avoid boring or frustrating work situations
• Consider lifestyle change rather than a partner change
• Happy marriage is the key to a content spouse
10. 13-10
• Verbal, physical, or emotional abuse
• Different values or lifestyles
• Cheating or substance abuse
• Falling in and out of love
• Being a control freak
• Money problems
• One partner not carrying their weight in the marriage
• Abandonment or always being away
• Sexual problems
• Stepchildren and in-laws
11. 13-11
• Describes the depressed feelings that parents
sometimes experience when their children leave
home
• Most parents go through a period of adjustment
when their children leave the nest
12. 13-12
• More room in the home for the parents
More money
More time in the marriage for couples
• Positive aspect when children move out to explore
new opportunities
13. 13-13
• Adult children who return home because of:
• Economic reasons
• Divorce
• The need to find a safety net
• Extended education
• Drug or alcohol problems
14. 13-14
Occurs when adult children return to the parental nest
to live after graduation while they:
• Get established professionally and financially
• Save enough money to move into their own homes
15. 13-15
• Caretaking of children and aging parents
• Daughters are more likely to engage in caregiving roles
• Exhaustion due to caregiving can lead to
intergenerational conflicts
• Important to maintain a strong marital relationship
through the childrearing years
16. 13-16
Grandparents’ attitudes and expectations: Their role is
ambiguous, and they have little control on how it plays out
Grandparent behaviors: There are differences in the ways
grandparents are expected to behave in different cultures
Symbolic meaning of grandparenthood: Differences in the ways
they view their role
Grandparent satisfaction: Greatest satisfaction of grandparents
when involvement is moderate
17. 13-17
Because of problems with the parents of the
grandchildren
• Substance abuse or neglect
• H I V, AIDS, or mental illness
• Incarceration or divorce
Stress experienced by grandparents relate to:
• Finances or parenting issues
• Their own health
18. 13-18
• Difficult for those who did not plan their retirement
• Aging can have some positive aspects when it comes to
emotions
• Population of older persons is increasing rapidly because
of increased life expectancy
19. 13-19
Said to begin at the age of 65
• Exact chronological starting point for old age is bound to be
arbitrary
Distinct groups
• Young-old: Between 65 and 74
• Retired, in good health, and have abundant time to follow their
interests
• Middle-old: Between 75 and 84
• Tend to be showing their age as health problems increase
• Old-old: Over age 85
• Tend to be the frailest, loneliest, and poorest of the old
20. 13-20
Aging
• Psychological phenomenon
• Depends on the person’s mental attitude toward accomplishments
of the past and possibilities for the future
• Biological reality: Variations among older adults are a result of
their different genetic heritages
• Social phenomenon: One’s social class and standing directly affect
one’s health and life expectancy
• Family process: Occurs in the context of ongoing interpersonal
relationships
Ageism: Prejudging an older person negatively solely on the
basis of age
21. 13-21
• People considered old at the age of 65
• Most older adults are poor
• Most older adults are uninterested in sex
• Older adults are frequently sick
• Older adults become senile
• Most older adults end up in nursing homes
• Most older adults are lonely and isolated from younger
family members
22. 13-22
• Affects people usually after the age of 60
• Results when plaques and tangles develop in the
brain and interfere with brain functioning
• Providing care can be physically, emotionally, and
financially taxing
23. 13-23
Contrary to stereotypes, not a negative period of life
• Factors predicting positive adjustment to retirement
• Good health
• Economic security
• Supportive social network
• Problems associated with transition
• Aimlessness
• Sleeplessness
• Grief over not meeting colleagues or friends
Financial resources after retirement can be affected by
one’s marital history
24. 13-24
Longevous marriages
• Last 50 years or more
• Include couples who are:
Very happy and blissfully in love
Very unhappy but who continue the marriage out of habit or
fear
Neither very happy nor very unhappy and accept the
situation
25. 13-25
• Some couples experience a decline in marital quality during
the middle years and then the marriage improves in the later
years
• Some couples experience a gradual decline of marital quality
as the years go by
• Some couples experience stable marital quality in the middle
years and into the later years
26. 13-26
Grieving process
• Crisis-loss stage: Survivor is in a chaotic stage of shock
• Transition stage: Survivor begins trying to create a new life
• New-life stage: Survivor develops an identity without the
partner
27. 13-27
Cognitive intimacy: Maintained by thinking of the departed
partner
Interdependent intimacy: Maintained by hearing the voice
of the dead partner in thoughts
Idealization of marriage has led to the preference of soul
mates over helpmates
• Loss more devastating
28. 13-28
• More opportunities to develop new couple relationships
after a late-life divorce or widowhood because of
increased life expectancy
• Marriage is viewed as the desirable option for couples
as it meets social and religious expectations
• Reasons for marriage not being an option for some older
individuals
Their respective children’s inheritance may be affected
Loss of pension benefits with remarriage
Potential medical costs or medical care issues
29. 13-29
Cohabitation: Allows couples to have an intimate
relationship without the legal ramifications of marriage
Living apart together: Couples are in a committed
relationship but choose to maintain separate homes
30. 13-30
Sibling relationships remain strong and positive
throughout the years
Sometimes events in life trigger the opportunity to
reconnect in later years
