DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

MIDDLE ADULTHOOD

So last week we started the “buzz-kill” talking about the inevitable decline of aging. We discussed
how aging is a highly individual process, and that differences in biology and
behaviour/environment can make big differences in how we experience peaks and decline.
However, the underlying truth is that decline does inevitably occur in most human functions with
time. There are exceptions; the most frequently noted being the use of language and crystalized
intelligence, but for the most part, decline is the story of mid-adulthood on.

However, we rarely see a 26 year old leader of a country, or CEO. Why

do we trust positions of leadership to people who are likely past their
peak in a number of physical and cognitive measures? It is because
performance on tests of specific abilities does not capture someone’s
overall competence. It turns out it is more difficult to measure sound
decision making and judgement, or what we might otherwise call
“wisdom.” There are a number of intangibles that may reach a peak later
in life, including some kinds of applied intelligence and possibly
creativity. So we trust the highest positions to people with experience, rather than people with
“peak abilities”, hoping their knowledge and intuition will serve us better than faster reaction times.

One way to visualize this pattern is Denney's model of aging. Age related changes will occur in a
predictable pattern regardless of how well we manage or support their development (a rapid
development over the first 20 years or so, followed by a peak and a more gradual decline). This
pattern, however, can be shifted by exercise (whether physical or cognitive). If we practice
language and read lots of books, we can speed up the early development, reach an earlier peak, and
make the decline much more gradual. If we neglect our physical health and get little exercise, we
can delay reaching our peak, which will be lower, and experience a more rapid decline.

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Up to this point, the brain has been steadily losing brain cells since birth. For the most part, we are
losing brain cells, but gaining brain complexity up to early adulthood because of the increased
amount of neural connections. However, at some point in early adulthood (typically the mid/late
20’s) the process passed a peak, and cell loss and synapse loss overcomes cell growth as the
dominant factor, and the brain begins to shrink. By mid-adulthood, this process has picked up a bit,
and become more noticeable.

Some individuals tend to lose more synapses than others. Those that lose more connections also
tend to have a greater decline in cognitive function later in life, so this is a meaningful change (even
if it isn’t noticeable yet). This individual variability is associated with a number of factors, but one
of the most important is education. Those with a higher education tend to lose fewer connections
later in life. This is likely because their education forced so much heavy, abstract thinking that
redundant connections were made, and existing connections were strengthened, making the brain
more resilient. Another, possibly more important factor, is that while the education itself matters
the job that follows is also likely to be thinking intensive. If your education strained your brain
your career is also likely to do so, leading to decades of more complex brain use. In short, use it or
lose it – and as a group those with an education are more likely to use it that those without.

THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

Reproductive capacity is another function of the body that reaches a peak long before mid-
adulthood. Again, some people retain reproductive capacity far longer than others, but noticeable
decline does inevitably occur, in both males and females, during this period.

The decline of the reproductive systems is called climacteric. This word, in general, means a time
of physiological or psychological change, but has come to specifically refer to the changes
associated with sex and reproduction.

In men, climacteric manifests as a decline in sperm production (both quantity and quality) in the
early 40’s. There is also an increase in the incidence of erectile dysfunction. An erection is just a
localized change in blood flow, so much of the dysfunction is due to general problems with
cardiovascular health, but can also be caused by a number of other health concerns, or medications
used to treat other health concerns.

In females, climacteric manifests as menopause. Menopause refers to the end of the menstrual
cycle and reproductive capacity in females. Rather than occurring all at once, menopause is actually
quite a long process that takes place over several stages.

Much like puberty actually began internally long before the outward physical signs became
apparent, menopause actually begins with a phase called premenopause in the woman’s late 30s.
At this time, estrogen (a hormone that regulates many sex-characteristics) levels fall gradually, and
the menstrual cycle becomes less regular. Anovulatory cycles can occur, in which a menstruation
occurs, but no ovum has been released by the ovaries.

In perimenopause the changes in hormone levels become more pronounced and can be erratic,
rising and falling dramatically. These changing hormone levels affect a number of systems,
including structural changes to the tissue of the breasts and vagina, thinning hair, and slowed
metabolism. Many women experience hot flashes, a sudden rise in surface body temperature, which
may drop again or stay high for an extended period of time. This process is similar to what happens
when you drink alcohol; blood vessels at the surface dilate, drawing warmer blood up from the core
towards temperature receptors in the skin, tricking the body into believing it is hotter than it really
is and leading to compensating responses like sweating. These hot flashes may lead to night sweats
and poor sleep. A popular misconception is that the hormonal changes lead to emotional or
cognitive disruptions, but evidence shows that when this behaviour occurs it is simply the result of
poor sleep, which itself is often due to temperature regulation problems.

Perimenopause is the final stage of menopause, which begins when a woman has not had a
menstrual period for one full year. At this time it is likely that the menstrual cycle has stopped
completely, and a new, stable hormonal environment (low estrogen) has been created. The average
age for this transition is 51 in North America, but varies around the world. Again, contrary to
popular belief, there is no evidence of depression being consistently associated with menopause.
While some women do struggle with the end of their reproductive lives, most women respond to
this change without significant symptoms of depression. This myth is likely due to the perception
of emotional and cognitive instability mentioned above, which is associated with poor sleep, and
issue which should resolve itself by the perimenopausal stage.

Does climacteric mean the end of sexual desire or sexual behaviour? No! Most mid-adults remain
sexually active, and when other factors such as general health are controlled for, sexual activity
continues into late adulthood as well.

PHYSICAL CHANGES

Throughout middle adulthood, a number of changes are happening to the body. The bones are
made from a mesh of calcium, which makes them light and strong, but this mesh is beginning to
thin, and bonds in the mesh can disappear entirely. It's a bit like chopping down every other
support column in a large building. While the building may not fall down right away, it will lose
strength and become more vulnerable. Bone decalcification is
usually observed by age 50, and often has little to do with how
much milk you drink. First, milk is not a great source of
calcium compared to dark green vegetables like spinach and
broccoli. Secondly, in middle adulthood decalcification is not
necessarily about a lack of calcium, but is due to the effects of
estrogen levels being lower, which is necessary for processing
and storing calcium. This is why decalcification is a greater
issue with women. Decalcification can lead to a disease called
osteoporosis, where bones are significantly weakened and
vulnerable to breaking.

Aside from ensuring a sufficient amount of calcium in your diet, the best way to ensure that your
bones stay strong is getting enough exercise, specifically weight-bearing exercise. Bones are heavy,
and it takes a lot of energy to build and move around heavy bones. The body, always trying to
conserve energy, will decalcify and lighten bones if the strength is not needed, so again, use it or
lose it. One piece of evidence to support this claim is that astronauts that have spent a significant
amount of time weightless come back to Earth with significantly reduced bone (and muscle) mass.
NASA now has astronauts using rubber-band type resistance machines to produce stress on their
bones and reduce this effect, but it only slows the loss, it does not eliminate it.
There are also effects on the sensory systems as a person ages. Most
people at around age 40 will need reading glasses, whether they have
used distance glasses in the past. This is because the lens of the eye
needs to change shape in order to focus at something in the foreground
and background, a condition called presbyopia. Like an old rubber ball
this flexibility is lost over time. As the lens become harder and less
elastic it becomes less able to flex and focus on objects in the
foreground, necessitating a pair of reading glasses. If you already wore
glasses to see distances, you will now need bifocals, a pair of glasses that
focuses on close up objects on the bottom half, and focuses on distances
in the top half.

The loss of sensitivity in hearing is called presbycusis, which is also

noticeable by the late 40s. Of course, we also lose hearing sensitivity our whole lives. Just by living
in a city and being exposed to traffic noise, you have measurably lost hearing sensitivity. Own an
iPod and use the ear buds? You have definitely lost hearing sensitivity. Ever been to a club, concert,
or my brothers car? You bet you have lost hearing. By the late 40s most people have been exposed
to enough noise that their hearing is noticeably damaged. Hearing loss often starts with high-
frequency sounds. High pitched sounds like an alarm clock or a telephone ring sound quieter and
quieter. This progresses down until the human voice starts to sound quieter, and you have to keep
asking people to speak up (and turn up the TV). There are a few processes that might account for
this hearing loss. One is that tiny hair like cells in the inner ear that detect sound waves can be
damaged by intense or repeated sounds, and die. Over time these cells become sparse enough that
sound waves are not picked up very strongly and the brain does not receive the same quality of
signal that it did previously.

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

A person's life expectancy at 50 is higher than at birth. This might sound counter-intuitive, but it
makes sense when you think about it. At birth, life expectancy estimates your lifespan including all
possibly future events. A baby could die right away of SIDS. A toddler or young child could die in
an accident, or a teenager or young adult. The person could get cancer at any time, be killed in a
violent crime, or from drug abuse, or from heart disease... there are many possible causes of death
that all need to be accounted for. By the time a person reaches 50, they have already survived 50
years of possible risk. They could have, but didn't, die of any of the risks mentioned above. So now,
when you run the probabilities again, they are expected to live longer. It is a common
misconception that people in the past always died young, and that a 50 year old would have been an
"old man." While the average lifespan would have been younger, that is because people were very
likely to die young, either from disease or violence, but if you survived to 40, you were likely to hit
70.

In the modern day, life expectancy at birth in Canada is about 80 years (79 for males, 83 for
females), but by 50, life expectancy has risen to about 83 (82 for males, 85 for females). This effect
is rather small in Canada because in general mortality is low, but is exaggerated in countries with
poor healthcare or high levels of violence.

Our life expectancy is also rising over time. In 1930, life expectancy in Canada at birth was about
73, which rose to about 75 by 1960, and about 80 today. Life expectancy is consistently higher in
females than in males. One of the reasons for this is higher rates of violent deaths and risky
behaviour is testosterone driven males.

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

The leading cause of death in Canada is cardiovascular disease, however all cancers considered
together are a very close second. Approximately 35% of all deaths in Canada are due to heart
disease. There are many types of heart disease, all of which can lead to a number of specific health
consequences. One of the most common issues is arthrosclerosis, a narrowing of the arteries by
fatty deposits called plaques. Genetics can influence the tendency to develop plaques, but these are
also the result of a poor diet high in LDL (bad) cholesterol. Cholesterol is a necessary part of our
body and is needed in every cell in your body, but when cholesterol
levels are too high, and especially when they exist in combination with
other factors such as smoking, alcohol use, inactivity and obesity,
cholesterol can build up on the inside of artery walls, narrowing the
passage for blood. This makes blood pressure rise, and the heart have
to work harder to pump the blood. From there, a number of problems
can occur, including damage to the heart, or a burst blood vessel
somewhere in the body (including the brain, where it is called a stroke).

CANCER

Cancers account for about 25% of all deaths in Canada. Cancer is a disease in which a number of
cell mutations lead to runaway cell division, called a tumor. Eventually this can lead to the
destruction of the organ in which this tumor is situated, leading to severe symptoms or death.
Cancer cells can also migrate from one part of the body to another, and spread. The most lethal
types of cancers are the types that are lung, prostate, breast and
colorectal. Lung cancers are lethal due to the prevalence of smoking
and other risk factors, but the other cancers are dangerous because
people do not get checked for these cancers as often as they should.
Early detection is the key to successful cancer treatment, and avoiding a
prostate exam can be the difference between life and death. Things that
promote mutations can lead to cancer. These carcinogens (cancer
promoters) can include radiation (tanning beds), chemical exposure
(cigarettes), stress and general inflammation (diseases), among other
things.

MENTAL HEALTH

Many mental health disorder decrease in severity with age. It is not known exactly why this occurs,
but it likely includes the tendency to develop coping skills over time. People that have lived many
years with chronic anxiety have learned what works for them in reducing their anxiety and slowing
anxiety reactions, and what situations to avoid.

Once condition that may develop in middle adulthood (although it often does develop earlier in life)
is alcohol abuse and dependence. Alcohol abuse is harmful behaviour in using alcohol (using
alcohol in amounts and frequencies that are unhealthy physically and psychologically). Alcohol
dependence involves a loss of control over alcohol use, including withdrawal symptoms and
psychological dependence on a substance to deal with the challenges of everyday life. Men are
significantly more likely to develop alcohol issues than women. 9% of men are classified as "heavy
drinkers" (5 drinks in a session, 12 times a year), as compared to 3% of women.

People that are chronic alcohol abusers have smaller brains (greater brain cell loss), poorer
memory and language use. A poor diet associated with heavy alcohol use can lead to a disease
called Korsakoff's syndrome in which memory is severely impaired.

COGNITIVE FUNCTION

Tests usually show a decline in short term memory abilities in the early 60's, but there are
problems with these studies. Other research seems to suggest that memory actually declines
earlier, but adults have learned techniques to mask this decline (like rhymes, mnemonic devices, or
even just trying harder than the younger participants).

What about the ability to learn new abilities? Can "an old dog learn new tricks?" Yes, absolutely.
The evidence suggests that not only are mid-adults not any worse than younger people at learning
new things, they may actually be faster because of their experience and ability to give context to
new discoveries. So why can your parents not learn how to use the computer? Because they don't
care. If they tried (and were given the same number of hours as a young person that grew up
tinkering with a computer while they were working), they could learn to use a computer just as
quickly as anyone else.

Creativity is a difficult thing to study, mostly because it is difficult to define and because it is difficult
to measure. It was once thought that if you hadn't contributed any great work of genius to the
world at 26, you never would. A casual survey of some of the great people in history tends to show
that they did their most important work while quite young. But is it true that creativity drops off
sharply with age? Not necessarily. Newer work using a more objective testing method and a wider
definition of creativity found that while some people contributed their greatest work quite young,
others only found their stride later in life. Two of my favourite authors, Ernest Hemmingway and
John Steinbeck, had quite different life paths. Hemmingway wrote his first great work at 27, but
continued to write successfully until shortly before his death at 61 (he liked to drink. A lot.).
Steinbeck never wrote anything that was any good until he turned 35, and continued to write well
into his 80s.

Older people do tend to produce more work, which will tend to increase the amount of work
available that could be considered creative. Mid-adults both tend to have learned how to work
more efficiently, and are likely to put in more hours than younger workers.

In brief, creativity takes many different forms, and there really is no one time or life pattern that
describes when someone will be, or stop being creative. It probably depends more on the kind of
work you are doing and what you have to say, and less on the aging process.

ERIKSON

Erikson's seventh stage is generativity vs. stagnation, which defines the period from about 30 to
old age. Old age is not a number, clearly, but it doesn't matter. In this case the stage ends, and the
final stage begins, whenever you define "old age" to be. The crisis in this stage is the
acknowledgement that death is an approaching reality. At 30 years old, death is hardly around the
corner, but once you have grown to the adult stage, we begin to look at life less as a development, as
growth, and more and more as "years until."

During this stage the person realizes that one day they will die. The personal myth that young
people hold on to, that they are somehow special and will live forever, is replaced by a more
realistic view of death. Knowing this, the person tries to create something more permanent that
will outlast them. This can mean having children, the ultimate act of creative immortality. It can
also be work, especially creative work. After we have died, the book you wrote will still be written,
as will the song you recorded. Generativity can also be training the next generation with your
acquired wisdom. Helping the new young person at work settle in and benefit from your years on
the job will have impacts after you have retired, or even died. The alternative to this is stagnation,
the feeling that we will just keep doing the same repetitive thing until we die, leaving no trace
behind. That rather grim view of life can make a person feel more frightened of death and less
motivated to keep working towards their current goals. People that have engaged in acts of
generativity are more likely to be happy and feel satisfied with their lives.

MID-LIFE CRISIS

An extension of this theory is the concept of a mid-life crisis. A mid-life crisis is a switch in thinking
from "time since birth" (I am 22 years old) to "time till death" (I probably have about 20 good years
left"). This can also be hastened by changes in life structure,
such as kids leaving home, becoming a grandparent, or
reaching a career plateau. These changes can make a person
feel under extreme pressure to accomplish their life's goals,
crossing things off the "bucket list." In some cases, people
trade in their family sedan for a motorcycle, or go skydiving,
try to get their high-school band back together, or whatever
makes them feel young again.

This makes for a good story, and for some people really does happen this way, but large scale
studies have found little evidence of a universal experience of a mid-life crisis. It may be that the
crisis happens at such different ages for people that it is hard to see as an average effect, but it is
also likely that for most people, no real mid-life crisis event occurs at all.

PARTNERSHIPS

As described in earlier chapters, marital satisfaction does tend to decrease when a couple has
young children and demanding careers distracting them from spending time and attention on each
other. This effect rebounds as the couple ages, and in mid-life relational conflict is beginning to
decrease as the time pressures of childbearing and the urgency of establishing a new career begins
to dissipate. For most people, marital conflict is at an all time low in mid-life.

Conflict management techniques will develop as well. People are learning how to be a better
partner, how to "fight fair" and not to get upset over things that may have bothered them more
earlier in their relationships. We are getting better at being in relationships with experience.
There is a statistical effect happening here as well. Those relationships that were not going to last
have likely already ended, leaving only the happy marriages to be counted.

CHILDREN AND PARENTS

As we age, so do our parents (if we are lucky). In many cases, we now must deal with our own
parents failing health and possible loss of independence. In some cultures, the expectation that
children will care for aging parents themselves goes without saying. In Canada, it is not universal,
but it is something that many mid-adults are dealing with. The need to care for aging parents can
present a great deal of stress, especially if the financial wellbeing of the older generation has not
been assured, and if there are limited resources to care for the parents (such as a single parent
caring for their own parents, or a person dealing with their own health concerns).

Simultaneously, many mid-adults are still caring for their

adult children. 24% of Canadian parents are caring for
an adult child (18+). Many children leave the home, only
to have to return again, either due to economic
conditions, to pursue their education, or just because
they don't like doing their own laundry. This is called the
revolving door or boomerang children.

In some cases this means that a mid-adult is caring for

both their own aging parents, and their dependent
(possibly adult) children. This phenomenon is called the sandwich generation. Most of the stress
of this time tends to fall on women, being more often relied on to maintain nurturing and domestic
responsibilities. The degree of stress depends on the severity of their parents need for support, and
the resources available to them to provide care, such as money, and the help that the youngest
generation is able to provide.

The period of life when the last children leave home is called the empty nest phase. While there is
often an expectation that the parents, particularly mothers, will be depressed during this time, most
people describe this as a positive experience. This represents a success in parenting (the successful
independence of their children) and gives the parents more independence of their own.

GRANDPARENTING

During the mid-adult period more than half of all Canadians will become grandparents. Despite the
fear that some young people have about becoming a grandparent (that will mean I'm old, right?),
most people describe this as a positive experience. Becoming a grandparent is another success in
parenting, and another definitive act of generativity. Being a grandparent is also almost as much
fun as becoming a parent yourself, but substantially less responsibility. The role of grandparent is
also beneficial both to the grandparent (chasing children around is good exercise and is full of
positive emotional experiences), and to the grandchild (more resources for emotional and practical
support can only help).

FRIENDSHIP
What happens to our friendships as we get older? The general trend is that we focus more on our
partners and our growing families, and have less time for our friends. The result is that we have to
constrict our circle of friends. In college we can have large circles of friends, associates, comrades,
well-wishers, and the occasional moocher. As we get older, we find we only have time to maintain
our close friendships. This means that while we have fewer friends, the friends we do keep are as
close and meaningful as ever.

CAREERS

Are older workers less effective than younger workers? There is no simple yes-or-no answer. On
one hand, more experience and knowledge will lead some workers to be more effective than ever.
On the other hand, jobs that require quick reaction times and physical strength do tend to see some
decline with age through mid-adulthood (like most athletes). Sensory loss and memory challenges
can also lead to some specific areas of weakness.

One phenomenon that slows declines in mid-adulthood is selective optimization with

compensation. This includes three components (can you guess what they are?)

Selection involves choosing what parts of a job to specialize in. If there is a part of your job that
you are not as good at, don't do that part anymore. Leave that for the kids. So if you are a fifty year
old electrician, an example might be hauling heavy things, which can usually be shifted to the new
kid.

Optimization involves getting better at the tasks that you choose to specialize in. So if instead of
hauling bundles of heavy cable, you become a specialist at complicated wiring jobs, or adapting
older systems to new standards - things that leverage your knowledge and experience rather than
physical skills.

Compensation involves improving on areas of weakness or decline rather than just moving away
from them. If you are an electrician you may not be able to avoid lifting heavy things forever, so you
may compensate for a bad back by wearing a lifting belt, or visiting a physiotherapist every now
and then. If you have poor hearing due to presbycusis, get a hearing aid. If you have poor eyesight
due to presbyopia, wear glasses.

UNEMPLOYMENT

So what happens when a person in mid-adulthood loses their job? If the end of employment was
voluntary (they quit/retired early) then the effects are largely positive. However, if they cause of
their unemployment was not voluntary (they were fired or "got retired") then there are a number
of likely negative effects.

It can be especially difficult for a person in mid-adulthood to find new employment. The effects of
ageism can influence employers decisions to hire an older worker. Perceptions such as "you can't
teach an old dog new tricks" or the belief that younger workers are more motivated and energetic
can lead employers to hire younger workers rather than older ones. Older workers also tend to
have more experience, more training, and more expenses, making their salary demands higher. It is
often much cheaper to hire a younger worker over an older worker. In fact, that might be why the
older worker is unemployed in the first place.
Those experiencing involuntary unemployment are more likely to experience depression, anxiety,
substance abuse, and have an increased rate of mortality. What happens when (if) they find a new
job? The rates tend to return to normal.