Biological Aspects of Young and Middle Adulthood

Understanding Human Behavior and the Social
Environment
Eleventh Edition
Chapter 10
Biological Aspects of
Young and Middle
Adulthood
Copyright © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved.

Learning Objectives (1 of 2)
• LO 10-1 Recognize the contributions of physical
development, health status, and other factors to
health during young adulthood
• LO 10-2 Describe the physical changes in middle
adulthood, including those affecting physical
appearance, sense organs, physical strength and
reaction time, and intellectual functioning
• LO 10-3 Describe the midlife crises associated with
female menopause and male climacteric

Learning Objectives (2 of 2)
• LO 10-4 Summarize sexual functioning in middle
age
• LO 10-5 Describe AIDS–its causes and effects;
how it is contracted; how its spread can be
prevented; and understand AIDS discrimination

LO 10-1 (1 of 2)
• Recognize the Contributions of Physical
Development, Health Status, and Other Factors to
Health During Young Adulthood
– Young Adulthood
 The current generation of young adults is called the millennials,
compared to past generations who held the titles of baby
boomers, Generation X, and upcoming (Generation Z).
– Physical Development
 Young adults are in their physical prime. Maximum muscular
strength is attained between the ages of 25 and 30, and
generally begins a gradual decline after that.
– Health Status
 Young adulthood can be considered the healthiest time of life.

LO 10-1 (2 of 2)
– Breast Cancer
 Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among
women, except for skin cancer.
– Early Detection of Breast Cancer
– Lifestyle and Good Health
 Good health doesn’t just happen. It is related to specific
practices and to a person’s individual lifestyle.
 Poor people are likely to suffer stress related to their lack of
resources.

LO 10-2 (1 of 2)
• Describe the Physical Changes in Middle
Adulthood, Including Those Affecting Physical
Appearance, Sense Organs, Physical Strength and
Reaction Time, and Intellectual Functioning
– Middle Adulthood
 Middle age has no distinct biological markers.
– Physical Changes in Middle Age
 Most middle-aged people are in good health and have
substantial energy.

LO 10-2 (2 of 2)
 In the early 40s, a general slowing down in metabolism usually
begins.
 Gray hair, coarsened skin, and crow’s feet are considered
attractive in men; they are viewed as signs of distinction,
experience, and mastery. Yet the same physical changes in
women are viewed as unattractive indicators that they are “over
the hill.”
 A gradual deterioration occurs in the sense organs during
middle adulthood.
 Physical strength and coordination are at their maximum in the
20s and then decline gradually in middle adulthood.
 Mental functions are at a peak in middle age.

LO 10-3 (1 of 2)
• Describe the Midlife Crises Associated with Female
Menopause and Male Climacteric
– Female Menopause
 Menopause is the event in every woman’s life when she stops
menstruating and can no longer bear children.
 The median age when menopause occurs is 51 years.
– Cultural Differences in Women’s Experience of
Menopause
– Osteoporosis

LO 10-3 (2 of 2)
– Male Climacteric
 Sometime between the ages of 35 and 60 men reach an
uncertain period in their lives that has been termed a midlife
crisis.
– Midlife Crisis: True or False?
 The ease or panic with which a man faces his middle years will
depend on how he has accepted his faults and his strengths
throughout life.

LO 10-4 (1 of 2)
• Summarize Sexual Functioning in Middle Age
– Sexual Functioning in Middle Age
 Sexual expression is an important part of life for practically all
age groups.
 Generally speaking, marriage partners report satisfaction with
marital sex.
 Married couples now use a greater variety of sexual techniques
than couples in earlier generations did.

LO 10-4 (2 of 2)
 In most cases, extramarital affairs are carried out in secret.
 In the new digital age, sexual relationships no longer need to
occur face to face.
 A great majority of formerly married persons become sexually
active within a year after divorce.
 Widowers are more likely than widows to establish a new
sexual relationship.
 A small minority of people choose to abstain from sexual
intercourse.

LO 10-5 (1 of 4)
• Describe AIDS—Its Causes and Effects; How It Is
Contracted; How Its Spread Can Be Prevented;
and Understand AIDS Discrimination
– People Living with AIDS: A Population-at-Risk
 It is estimated that 1,218,400 individuals over the age of 13
have HIV. In 2014, an estimated 44,000 new cases of HIV were
diagnosed.
– What Causes AIDS?
 HIV invades cells involved in the body’s normal process of
protecting itself from disease and causes these cells to produce
more of the virus. Apparently, HIV destroys normal white blood
cells, which are supposed to fight off diseases invading the
body

LO 10-5 (2 of 4)
– How Is AIDS Contracted?
 HIV is transmitted through transmission of body fluids, including
blood, semen, pre-seminal fluids, rectal/vaginal secretions, and
breast milk.
– Diagnosis
– The Effects of HIV
 As AIDS progresses, the immune system is less and less
capable of fighting off “opportunist” diseases, making the
infected person vulnerable to a variety of cancers, nervous
system degeneration, and infections caused by other viruses,
bacteria, parasites, and fungi.

LO 10-5 (3 of 4)
– Treatment and Prevention of AIDS
 AIDS simply makes those infected by the vims increasingly
more vulnerable to any disease that might come along.
– Impacts of Social and Economic Forces: AIDS
Discrimination and Oppression
 People who test positive for HIV or who have AIDS are often
victimized by discrimination.

LO 10-5 (4 of 4)
– Professional Values and AIDS
 Social work has traditionally supported and advocated for
oppressed and disenfranchised groups in our country—African
Americans, Hispanics, the poor, older people, gays and
lesbians, and women.
 Social workers have an ethical obligation to combat the
numerous injustices connected with AIDS
– AIDS: A Global Epidemic

Biological Aspects of Young and Middle Adulthood

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