OPTION ONE:
Recall what sorts of relationships are important in late adulthood.
- Friendships are important in later life because they offer personal control, companionship, and social support.
- Family relationships, especially with siblings and children, provide a great deal of emotional support for people in later life.
- Although there is no single cause for the increasingly prevalent phenomenon of elder abuse, “it often is the result of a combination of economic, psychological, and social pressures on caregivers who must provide high levels of care 24 hours a day” (Feldman, 2014, p. 591) .
QUESTIONS/PROMPTS TO ANSWER: Think about yourself OR a person in your life who is currently in late adulthood and describe the person overall. Recall that Feldman (2014) stated, “there is no single way to age successfully” (p. 573). Of the three theories presented about successful aging (disengagement, activity, continuity), which theory (or another theory of which you have learned about in class) best represents the person you chose? Why does this theory apply to the person chosen?
What kinds of relationships does the person have? Are the relationships beneficial to the person or detrimental? Are there any age stratification issues that prevent this person from flourishing in relationships? If so, which age stratification issues? Describe what you think can be done, or what theory can be used, to improve the relationships, if needed? You do not have to specifically name an individual; please use a pseudonym.
OPTION TWO:
Write 3 pages in a reflective essay about your life as adjusted to our nation’s current pandemic (COVID-19). Has life changed for you all that much (personally, as a student, as an employee)? If so, how? If life has not changed much for you, why do you think it has remained similar? Are you an essential employee or is someone close to you an essential employee? What is that experience like for you, for the essential employee (if not you), and/or for your family, particularly an adult in the late adulthood stage?
Have you faced any challenges as a result of the adjustments to the pandemic? What are those challenges? How are you overcoming (or attempting to overcome) those challenges? How are your family and/or loved ones coping? Finally, how are you taking care of YOURSELF during these times? Keep in mind this is still an academic paper.
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