The Aging Process in the Adulthood Phase of Life, Essay Example

Aging in the human being is a complex process that spans the entire lifetime of each and every individual. As humans grow and develop, they also age. Thus, the aging process really never stops, and continues over a lifetime. Aging affects all aspects of an individual’s life, from biological to psychological. According to Cavanaugh and Blanchard-Fields (2006), aging is a mulch-directional process, since there is both growth and decline inherent in the developmental process. Development in one area will be followed by decline in others. For example, as a human being ages their vocabulary increases but their reaction time steadily decreases. There are many factors that contribute to how successful the aging and developmental process is for an individual.

Biology plays an important role in the aging process. Certain processes, such as the skins’  ability to process vitamin D efficiently, tends to decrease as people age (MacLaughlin and Holick, 1985). Vitamin D deficiency can lead to memory problems, weak bones and  even depression (MacLaughlin and Holick, 1985). Memory is also affected by the aging process. In a study conducted by Mitchell, Johnson, Raye and Mather (2000) it was shown that age-related binding defects in the episodic memory process were more common in older adults compared to younger adults. The study showed that as the human being ages, the reflective component of the memory process becomes less efficient.  While individuals may be experiencing and seeing more as they age since they are exposed to new information from the reading books, working and traveling, there is a decline in the memory’s ability to process and bind this information.

While biology plays a critical role in the aging process, there are other factors, psychological and environmental, that play and important role as well. According to Cavanaugh and Blanchard-Fields (2006), there are four critical factors that contribute to the developmental and aging process:

1. As people grow older they show an age-related reduction in the amount and quality of biologically based resources.
2. There is an age-related increase in the amount and quality of culture needed to generate continuously higher growth. Usually this results in a net slowing of growth as people age.
3. People show an age-related decline in the efficiency with which they use cultural resources
4. There is a lack of cultural, “old-age friendly” support structure.

Each individual will have a unique aging process that is determined on a combination of their environment and their unique personality, along with their biology. How each person deals with the combination of effects from the above mentioned steps will depend on their personality, interpersonal relationships and their outlook on life.

Cultural and societal pressures can also have an affect on an individual’s aging process. In societies that are lacking in an “old-age friendly” support structure aging can be a more painful process than one in which the culture is more embracing of the elderly. As the aging process takes its toll physically, the aging may find themselves having to become dependent on a relative or friend, due to weakness caused by illness. Older adults, used to being the ones caring for children, may find themselves being cared for by their children. Disorders such as incontinence, according to Cavanaugh and Blanchard-Fields (2006), where the individual is unable to control their bowl movements, can be painfully embarrassing.

Ultimately, the aging process has certain biological and psychological factors that will be more pronounced depending on the individual’s environment and their unique personality. “Viewed from the life-span perspective, adult development and aging are complex phenomenon that cannot be understood within the scope of a single disciplinary approach. Understanding how adults change requires input from a wide variety of perspectives. Moreover, aging is a lifelong process, meaning that human development never stops (Cavanaugh and Blanchard-Fields, 2006).”

References

Cavanaugh, John C., Blanchard-Fields, Fredda (2006) Adult Development and Aging 5^th Edition Belmont, California: Thomson Higher Learning

MacLaughlin, Julia and Holick, Michael F. (1985). Aging Decreases the Capacity of Human Skin to     Produce Vitamin D3 The American Society for Clinical Investigation, Inc. 76, 1536 -1538. Web    Retrieved 22 October, 2010 from    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC424123/pdf/jcinvest00124-0254.pdf

Mitchell, Karen J., Johnson, Marcia K., Raye, Carol L., Mather, Mara (2000) Aging and Reflective Processes of Working Memory: Binding and Test Load Deficits Psychology and Aging 3(15), 527-541. Web Retrieved 22, October 2010 from     http://www.usc.edu/projects/matherlab/pdfs/Mitchelletal2000.pdf