KEY THEME

Late adulthood does not necessarily involve a steep decline in physical or cognitive capabilities.

KEY QUESTIONS

The average life expectancy for men in the United States is currently about 76 years, and for women, about 81 years (Xu & others, 2009). Thus, the stage of late adulthood can easily last a decade or more. It has been projected that by the year 2050, the number of United States residents over the age of 65 will double, going from 40 million today to 89 million (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009). The fastest-growing segment of the population is made up of those aged 85 and older.

Although we experience many physical and sensory changes throughout adulthood, that’s not to say that we completely fall apart when we reach our 60s, 70s, or even 80s. Contrary to many young people’s misconceptions of late adulthood, most older adults live healthy, active, and self-sufficient lives (National Institute on Aging, 2007; Wurtele, 2009). Even adults 85 years and older report good health and functioning despite increasing prevalence of disease and impairment (Collerton & others, 2009). For many people, good health and well-being reaches well into the latest stages of adulthood (Charles & Carstensen, 2010).

During which decade of life do you think people reach their intellectual peak? If you answered the 20s or 30s, you may be surprised by the results of research. Decades of work by K. Warner Schaie (1995, 2005) and his colleagues has shown that mental abilities remain relatively stable until about the age of 60. After age 60, slight declines begin to appear on tests of general intellectual abilities, such as logical reasoning, math skills, word recall, and the ability to mentally manipulate images (Alwin, 2009; Siegler & others, 2009).

But even after age 60, most older adults maintain their previous levels of ability. A longitudinal study of adults in their 70s, 80s, and 90s found that there were slight but significant declines in memory, perceptual speed, and fluency. However, measures of knowledge, such as vocabulary, remained stable up to age 90 (Singer & others, 2003; Zelinski & Kennison, 2007). When declines in mental abilities occur during old age, Schaie (2005) found that the explanation is often simply a lack of practice or experience with the kinds of tasks used in mental ability tests. Even just a few hours of training on mental skills can improve test scores for most older adults.

Some research suggests that physiological functioning of the brain begins to slow with age (Salthouse, 2009). Neurons appear to become less efficient at communicating with one another, and this seems to result in slowed and sometimes inhibited cognitive performance (Bucur & others, 2008). According to one hypothesis, older brains appear to compensate for this decline in processing speed by outsourcing some of the work to other parts of the brain (Dennis & Cabeza, 2008). However, the need to recruit more regions of the brain comes at a price—slower processing.

Is it possible to minimize declines in mental and physical abilities in old age? In a word, yes. Consistently, research has found that those who are better educated and engage in physical and mental activities throughout older adulthood show the smallest declines in mental abilities (Boron & others, 2007; Colcombe & Kramer, 2003; Winningham, 2010). Aerobic exercise has been shown to be especially effective in improving cognitive functioning in late adulthood (Hertzog & others, 2009). The Focus on Neuroscience “Boosting the Aging Brain” provides a look at a new experiment that demonstrated the remarkable effects of a moderate exercise program on the brains of elderly adults.

In contrast, the greatest intellectual declines tend to occur in older adults with un-stimulating lifestyles, such as people who live alone, are dissatisfied with their lives, and engage in few activities (see Calero-Garcia & others, 2007; Newson & Kemps, 2005).

One theory of social development in late adulthood holds that older adults gradually “disengage,” or withdraw, from vocational, social, and relationship roles as they face the prospect of their lives ending (Lange & Grossman, 2010). But consider your author Sandy’s father, Erv. Even after Erv was well into his 80s, he bowled in a league every Tuesday night, and would join about a dozen other retired men in their 70s and 80s for lunch and a monthly poker game.

What Erv and his buddies epitomized is the activity theory of aging. According to the activity theory of aging, life satisfaction in late adulthood is highest when you maintain your previous level of activity, either by continuing old activities or by finding new ones (Lange & Grossman, 2010).

Just like younger adults, older adults differ in the level of activity they find personally optimal. Some older adults pursue a busy lifestyle of social activities, travel, college classes, and volunteer work. Other older adults are happier with a quieter lifestyle: Reading, pursuing hobbies, or simply puttering around their homes. Such individual preferences reflect lifelong temperamental and personality qualities that continue to be evident as a person ages.

For many older adults, caregiving responsibilities can persist well into late adulthood. Sandy’s mother, Fern, for example, spent a great deal of time helping out with her young grandchildren and caring for some of her older relatives. She was not unusual in that respect. Many older adults who are healthy and active find themselves taking care of other older adults who are sick or have physical limitations.

Along with satisfying social relationships, the prescription for psychological well-being in old age includes achieving what Erik Erikson called ego integrity—the feeling that one’s life has been meaningful (Erikson & others, 1986). Older adults experience ego integrity when they look back on their lives and feel satisfied with their accomplishments, accepting whatever mistakes or missteps they may have made (Torges & others, 2008, 2009).

In contrast, those who are filled with regrets or bitterness about past mistakes, missed opportunities, or bad decisions experience despair—a deep sense of disappointment in life. Often the theme of ego integrity versus despair emerges as older adults engage in a life review, thinking about or retelling their life story to others (Bohlmeijer & others, 2007; Kunz & Soltys, 2007).