Late Adulthood (age 60 – 80)

During this closing period in the life span of human beings, people tend to “move away” from previous more desirable periods often known as “usefulness”.

Age sixty is usually considered the dividing line between middle and old age. It is the time where you are considered an “elderly”- meaning somewhat old or advanced beyond middle age.


Period of decline – comes partly from physical and partly psychological factors. The physical cause of decline is a change in the body cells due to the effects of the aging process. The psychological cause of decline has something to do with unfavorable attitudes towards oneself, other people, work and life in general.

Senility – (“senile”) a more or less complete physical breakdown takes place and when there is mental disorganization. The individual becomes eccentric, careless, absentminded, socially withdrawn, and poorly adjusted.

Social Attitudes toward the Old Age – due to the unfavorable social attitudes toward the elderly, treatment towards them in America, unlike other cultures, result in making them feel no longer useful, unwanted and more of a nuisance than an asset. People who come from countries where respect for the elderly is customary usually treat elder people with more consideration and respect.

Old People as “second class citizens” – a status that excludes them to some extent from interaction with other groups in the population and which gives them little to no power in society. (Again a result from unfavorable social attitudes).

Changes in Roles – from an active life having purpose and roles, even sometimes multiple roles, it is expected that old people will play a decreasingly less active role in social and community affairs as well as in the business and professional worlds. Because of the reduction in the number of roles the elderly person is able to play, the person will develop feelings of inferiority and resentment.

Physical changes – the most obvious sings of aging are centered in the face although sometimes medical advancements have come up with ways to cover signs of aging, the hands are another part which give away the person’s age.

Head region –
Mouth changes shape
Tooth loss
Wrinkles
Eyes seem dull and lusterless
Double chin
Cheeks become pendulous, wrinkled and baggy
Skin becomes dry with dark spots, moles and warty….
Hair becomes gray or white and lessens

Trunk Region –
Shoulders stoop and seem smaller
Abdomen bulges and droops
Hips become flabbier and broader
Woman’s breasts sag and droop
Limbs –
The upper arm becomes flabby and heavy
Lower arms seem to shrink
Hands and feet become scrawny and veins begin to appear
Nails become thick and brittle

Internal Changes –

Bones become brittle and are subject to fractures and breaks
Regulation of body temperature is impaired (too cold, too hot)
Sensory changes – all the sense organs function less efficiently

Motor Ability Changes – most old people move more slowly and are less coordinated. These changes include a decrease in strength and energy, stiff joints….etc…

Change in Mental Abilities –

Learning - the elderly have difficulty in learning new skills taking them longer time to learn the skill and also coming up with less satisfactory results in the particular skill than a younger person.

Memory - Old people tend to have poor recent memories but better remote memories. This may be due partly to the fact that they are not always strongly motivated to remember things, partly to lack of attentiveness, and partly to not hearing clearly and distinctly what others say.

Reasoning – there is a general reduction in the speed with which the individual reaches a conclusion in both inductive and deductive reasoning.

Retirement – during the adults earlier years, retirement looks better to them because of the increased leisure time and reduced stress. Although, when one actually comes to that point in their lives, retirement seems less desirable. At this age, people holding jobs suddenly feel they have lost all their power and prestige. They tend to again, feel useless without purpose. Women, adjust better to retirement than men. For women, the role change is not as radical because women still have the responsibility of playing the domestic role like taking care of the house.

Happiness – there is a saying that during one’s late adulthood years, there are 3 factors that determine one’s happiness – Acceptance, Affection and Achievement. Without any one of these 3 things it is difficult if not impossible for the elderly to be happy. For example, when they feel they are being neglected by their children or other family members, when they feel that their past achievements have fallen short or when they have developed the “nobody loves me” complex it is inevitable that they be unhappy.