Psychology of aging. Lecture 8: Relationships, lifestyle and retirement.

1
Psychology of aging.Lecture 8 Relationships,
lifestyle and retirement.

• Dr Louise Phillips

2
Social roles and relationships

• Friendships
• Widowhood
• Grandparenting

3
Social interactions

• Okun Keith (1998) More frequent positive
  interactions predicted lower depression.
• Key positive interactions
• For younger with spouse
• For older with spouse, children and friends.
• Supports socio-emotional selectivity theory
• Older adults seek positive social exchanges.

4
Social networks - friendships

• Total social network smaller in those 70
• Older, fewer friendships
• Number of close attachments stable
• Friendships
• Quality and quantity of friendships strongly
  linked to well-being
• For old life satisfaction more strongly related
  to contact with friends than relatives

5
Frequency of people aged 65 contact with
relatives, friends or neighbours, 2001/02, UK
Focus on Older People in the UK. Office of
National Statistics www.statistics.gov.uk
6
Grandparenting

• Most of those aged 65 have grandchildren
• Common to be great-grandparent
• 25 aged 50 have step-grandchildren
• Contact with grandchildren
• Most grandparents fairly regular contact.
• Increasingly common live distantly.

7
Grandparenting in the UKhttp//www.grandparents-a
ssociation.co.uk/home.asp

• Facts about grandparenting in the UK
• 13.5 million grandparents in the UK
• 60 of childcare provided by grandparents
• Grandparents save the economy 4 billion per year
  
• 1 in 100 children living with a grandparent
• Over one million grandchildren are denied contact
  with their grandparents

8
Widowhood

• Factors that make coping more difficult
• very traditional marriage
• sudden death
• social isolation
• income loss
• widower
• Social networks disrupted by widowhood
• friendships based on married status

9
Widowhood male/female differences

• For those aged 65,
• 15 men widowers
• gt50 women widows
• Widowers
• Higher risk of dying shortly after spouse
• Ill-equipped to handle daily tasks
• Emotionally isolated
• Widows
• More likely to suffer poverty

10
Predictors of loneliness in old age

• 2001 Help the Aged UK survey
• Feelings of isolation and loneliness associated
  with
• women aged 75
• widowed
• poverty
• disability and illness
• living in London

11
Lifestyle living situations

• Stereotypes of dependence?

12
UK residential status of those aged 65, Help the
Aged, 2001.
13
Living alone
Percentage of men and women in various age
categories living alone
Changes over time, e.g. older adults lived with
children 1957 - 30, now - 10
14
Lifestyle and cognitive aging

• Gribben et al (1980)
• Compared older adults with passive active
  lifestyles
• Active lifestyles involvement in social
  learning situation
• Reduced age-related cognitive change.
• Meer (1985)
• Activity groups organised in nursing homes
• Improved working memory

15
Work and retirement

• Age discrimination.

16
Job performance in older workers

• Stereotypes
• Older workers less productive and able to learn
  new skills
• High rates of absenteeism
• Job performance determined by ability and
  experience.
• Age declines on physical, speeded work
• Older often better work performance, but varies
  by job type.

17
The BQ experience

• BQ experiment in 1989
• new store staffed by over-50's
• Results
• profits up 18
• staff turnover 6x lower
• absenteeism down
• improved customer perception

18
Retirement figures

• UK men aged 60-64 working
• 1975 85, 1994 43.
• Current UK retirement age
• Women 60, Men 65.
• From 2010 all at 65
• From 2044 all at 68
• BUT early retirement still common.

19
Why do people retire?

• Involuntary
• mandatory retirement policies
• health
• age discrimination
• labour market changes
• Voluntary
• wish to stop working
• feel financially secure
• look forward to leisure activities

20
Effects of retirement

• Positive aspects
• Increased time for leisure
• Resumption of education
• Away from workplace stress.
• Negative aspects
• Decreased income
• Loss of status/identity
• Change relationship with spouse.

21
Studies of retirement effects

• Life satisfaction equal in working/retired
• Early retirement associated high life quality
• Reitzes et al. (1996)
• Declines in depression in retired group
• Herzog et al. (1991)
• Well-being better in those who had chosen to
  work/retire.

22
Conclusions

• Older adults
• Smaller, positively reinforcing social networks.
• Most older adults live with partner or alone.
• Older adults are effective workers
• contrary to prevailing age discrimination.
• Retirement
• Positive for well-being where chosen.

23
Questions

• Outline some of the key relationship changes that
  tend to occur across the lifespan?
• Describe some of the key facts about
  grandparenting in the UK.
• Outline common stereotypes of the older worker.
  Does evidence support these stereotypes?
• Why do people retire, and how does retirement
  influence life satisfaction?

24
Exam tips for Aging part of level 2 exam.

• You have to answer 4 out of 6 questions from
  section on aging individual differences
• 4 questions on aging
• 2 questions on individual differences
• Make sure you have material for all of the
  lectures
• Practice summarising each lecture in ten-fifteen
  statements
• Use the questions after each lecture to help
  understand the material
• Active learning and revision will help you to
  remember and understand the material
• Do not be selective in what you revise

25
Exam tips for Aging part of level 2 exam.

• Try out some of the questions from past papers
  within the time limits of the exam
• Work out how much you can write.
• In a group? Mark each others answers?
• Check with lecture notes
• Exam questions will be on lecture material
• Better to understand the gist than remember every
  name and date
• Exam answers must be concise, and prose is better
  than bullet points