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Erikson's Psychosocial Theory Analysis

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For our group’s final term paper, I’ve been working on the part that requires the application of Erikson’s psychosocial theory and Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model to better understand and analyze the issue of dementia on older adults. From what I have gone through researching for my parts, I found the discourse of dementia has been dominated by a “medicalized” notion of dementia. Such “medicalized” notion has presented us and the general public a gloomy view of ageing: a horrible disease that only associated with irreversible deterioration of intellectual functioning, and that “nothing can be done” to it. For me, I had been fortunate not to have any personal experiences with dementia as no one in my family had this disease, but before …show more content…

According to Rowe and Kahn, the current model of “successful aging” means low risk of disease, high mental and physical functions, and active engagement. However, this is not quite realistic as aging is hardly without any deterioration of physical performance and cognitive function. Aging is inevitable, and for dementia patients, decline and deficits are also inevitable. However, from using the Erikson’s “ego integrity versus despair”, my reflection is that despair may not be the inevitable outcome for older adults with dementia. Human development theories portray “growth” as a lifelong, natural and universal process. I pretty much agree with what Jung (1970) suggests that “a human being would certainly not grow to be seventy or eighty years old if this longevity had no meaning for the species. The afternoon of human life must also have a significance of its own and cannot be merely a pitfall to life’s morning”. Wisdom is what we, the human species, can gain in older adulthood according to Erikson. While wisdom is a process of cognitive and dementia is the decline of cognitive, it seems that despair is only natural to be. However, from these many reference books I’ve read for this

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The author discusses the change old individual face, which is similar to the theory of Eric Erikson. The authors say that by time immortality does not matter which can be interpreted as being ready to die. The books territory is not just old people, ageing or ageism. The book also talks about some of the most disturbing conflicts of human nature, the need for differentiation as against equality, the recognition of the evil forces in our nature and her insights are challenging and illuminating. The vision that emerges from her accumulated experience of life makes this a remarkable document that speaks to all

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Overall the book teaches us a number of lessons about the progression of dementia. This knowledge can be applied today in nursing practice to provide better patient teaching and understanding of the

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In this report I am going to assess ways in which different types of dementia affect an individual and also the individual’s family and friends. Due to the symptoms and consequences of dementia, a major impact on individual is the feeling of insecurity and the loss of confidence in themselves and their abilities. This can increase a sense of loss of control which in turn may result in the individuals doubting themselves and losing trust in their own judgements. These problems are made worse by the reaction of the people around them that are closest to them, such as friends and family and colleagues will begin to respond to them differently and not treat them in the same way as before.

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This tragic circumstance – dementia – is one that befalls more and more people every year even as we celebrate the feats of science in concocting more and better treatments for illness and stretching out our sojourn on this increasingly less mortal coil. It is one of many immense costs that the human race bears – on individual, familial and societal levels – for greater longevity. As biological science strides on towards its likely tipping point into a Brave New World, it is imperative that we examine whether longer life expectancy is more a blessing or a bane. The problems wrought by the constant uptick in our years of life are, in my view, of such magnitude that they have preponderance even over the undoubtedly great advantages that they

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958 Words | 4 Pages

The result shows that 46 or 92% of the elderlies wished that they had more respect to themselves. Forty or 80% of them said that they sometimes pity themselves while 34 or 68% of them perceived that they have little or sometimes nothing to help their family and friends. In addition, 33 or 66% of elderlies said that they are not happy with their accomplishments in life while 32 or 64% of them perceived that they do not have capabilities and good qualities that they can be proud of and shared that they find it difficult to accept the changes happening in themselves at the present moment. Moreover, 28 or 56% of the elderlies shared that they often think and wish that they are in other people’s condition while half of them (50%) think and feel that they are useless. Further, despite of the adversities experienced in later life, 32 or 64% of elderlies didn’t think that they

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443 Words | 2 Pages

An elderly person is most likely considered to be 65 years of age, or older. According to the World Health Organization, “the number of people today aged 60 and over has doubled since 1980.” Elderly people can often face new challenges as they age, including declines in both physical and mental function. As J.W. Beattie describes, some signs of physical decline include “increasing difficulty in the dark, increasing liability to falls…and increasing reduction of mobility long before any real infirmity may arise,” and signs of mental decline may be found “in accuracy of judgment…in reaction time, in performance time…in the ability to retrain without previous allied experience, and in the ability to learn new material of various kinds.” Other challenges that the elderly face are going into retirement, experiencing feelings of loneliness, and accepting their mortality.

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Troubles caused by aging are not limited to physical degeneration. Mental health issues concerns, such as loneliness, idleness, helplessness, and hopelessness, may be considered when developing treatment options for aging individuals (1956). In Benjamin Pollack’s article, the impacts of emotional distress due to aging are discussed and management or treatment options are introduced. Difficulties for the elderly, which may cause emotional strife, include the inability to perform ordinary tasks, unwillingness to slow down, and loss of social contacts may cause further degeneration mentally and may impact them physically. Management strategies for retirement coping may include; flexibility in thinking, replacement of physical activities to more manageable activities, and social involvement.

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Improper attitudes by healthcare staff toward the elderly can lead older patients to become complicit with their physicians, believing that the stereotypical symptoms of aging, such as cognitive decline, functional impairment, pain and others are to be expected to accompany all people into old age (Williams 2012). This shared, semiotic attitude of fatalism can prevent physicians and older patients alike from seeing the elderly as capable and productive managers of their own lives.

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Regarding the issue of “aging”, there have been several theoretical perspectives that address the issue of the growing number of elderly in our society. Social gerontologists study aging and the elderly, and recently, this has grown in importance as the elderly have become the fastest growing segment of the population. Aging is the combination of biological, psychological, and social processes that affect people as they grow older, yet these biological, psychological, and social processes are not the same and may vary considerably within and across cultures. Beginning with functionalism, which was brought about in the 19th century by Comte and Durkheim, it emphasized large-scale social institutions and processes. It focused on understanding the role or contribution of some event, activity or institution to the working of society as a whole, not individuals.

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One study reported that older adults who held negative views about old age faced life expectancies that were, on average, 7 and a half shorter than those peers (Levy et al, 2002). This is a concerning statistic when considering the nature of ageism. In another study, 70 percent of older adults reported that they had been insulted or mistreated based on their age. In a survey of eighty-four people, ages 60 and older, nearly 80 percent of participants reported experiencing ageism (Dittmann, 2003) There is a debate going stating ageism will either ease or grow worse in the coming decades of booming senior

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788 Words | 4 Pages

Lord Ganesha The Applications of Erikson’s Stages of Psychological Development Trust vs. Mistrust (Birth – 1 year) When I was born in this auspicious earth the first face I saw was my parents face. I used to cry a lot and mom usually thinks I’m hungry and feeds me every time when I do so. So I got to know my mom a lot

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3836 Words | 16 Pages

The purpose of the current study is to find out moral identity, religiosity, and loneliness as predictors, While death anxiety, psychological well-being, societal engagement, and symptoms of psychopathology as outcomes of generativity: further, the role of social support and integrity in the relationship of predictors and outcomes of generativity were also explored. Ageing is the progression of becoming older. It signifies the growth of changes in a person over time (Bowen et al, 2004; Birbrair et al,. 2013). In human beings, ageing ris referred to a multidimensional procedure of social, physical, and psychological change. For example, Reaction time, may slow with age, on the other hand knowledge of wisdom may increase.

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Martens, Greenberg, Schimel and Landau (2004, p.56) showed that when young people are reminded of their own mortality they had a more negative view of older individuals. Mortality issues may hold true as well for older adults when they think about their age. Another important point to be made with aging has to do with the “double standard” in sex differences. Older men benefit more from positive age stereotypes concerning wisdom and status than older women do. Kogan and Mills, 1992 explanation of aging hinges on the reproductive value of women versus men.

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312 Words | 2 Pages

Ego - integrity or despair, the last stage, happens in late adulthood. People in this stage face many self - contemplations. They desire to promote intellectual enthusiasm, focus attentiveness on new roles and activities, and begin to recognize their believes about death. Older adults use more of their time reconsidering and reflecting about their past than before. They also tend to be more sensible to the decisions made years ago than those they have done during this stage.

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Late Adulthood is the stage of the human life cycle where an individual nears the end of their life. The life expectancy in the United States has slowly increased over the years therefore allowed many to further analyze the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development during late adulthood. The stage of late adulthood has been emphasized by ageism and the stereotypical "old" person but, will be further educated by the normative development of the life cycle of late adulthood. For the “old” experience dramatic changes in their development as they face loss, death, and illness.

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