Unit 6: Discussion- Oh No….A Pandemic!
Introduction
You have examined certain trends that occur middle adulthood which can make this developmental period a busy time! Experiences differ from person to person however, based upon an individual’s lifestyle and current situation. Recently we have experienced an unprecedented situation with a viral pandemic, which has changed the ways in which we work, socialize and communicate with one another. Stress levels have also changed as we adapt to that change. Think about the ways in which individuals in middle adulthood may have struggled adjusting to these changes. Interview an individual in this age group (or if you are in this age group, reflect on how you were impacted) about these changes. Your interview should include questions about any physical concerns, changes in the ways in which the individual had to adapt their cognition (ways of thinking), what skills they felt they were lacking when forced to socially isolate or work from home, how they changed their communication styles and social practices, how the pandemic impacted their relationships with others.
Directions
Respond to the following:
- Summarize your interview with your participant (be sure and give their age and occupation, but protect their anonymity).
- Did any of your interviewee’s responses surprise you? What about their experience might you have failed to consider prior to speaking to them (or evaluating your own experience if you are in this age group).
- What middle adulthood theories and concepts from your text are applicable to your participants responses (physical, cognitive, psychosocial)?
- Do you feel that development in middle adulthood has been significantly impacted by the pandemic? What theories/concepts do you anticipate needing adaptation or revision now that the world has undergone this experience?
Erika Garcia
11:27amJul 15 at 11:27am
Manage Discussion Entry
For this assignment, I interviewed a good friend of mine. We used to work together. She is 63 years old. Mrs. A. is currently working at a youth shelter as a youth care worker. She has been with the organization for six years. She enjoys her job.
Physical Development
Mrs. A. is very active and in great shape. She maintains her weight and has good eating habits. She is very energetic; she walks daily and always watches what she eats. If you would see her, you would not believe she is 63 years old. She looks very good for her age. Mrs. A. takes vitamins daily. She takes supplements for her bones and drinks a lot of natural juices. She says it gives her energy (not that she needs it). Her only concern is her sciatic nerve problem. She sometimes gets that horrific pain, and it will take several days to get better. That is the only thing that knocks her down. Other than that, she is very healthy and active.
Cognitive Development
Mrs. A. is alert, although she states that she needs to write things down because she tends to forget. But overall good memory. She tries to read at night and watches YouTube videos. This pandemic had her thinking about how things will change, and they will never go back to being “normal” and it saddens her a bit. During the pandemic, she did struggle at work. Many staff has been sent to work from home. She was afraid to be one of them because she is not computer literate. She struggles with programs and only knows the basics. Luckily, she never got chosen to work from home. She remained in the program and started learning how to use other work programs and take that fear away.
Psychosocial Development
Mrs. A.’s biggest struggle during the pandemic was being away from her granddaughters. On her days off, she would dedicate her time to her girls. Her son and daughter-in-law were very strict and they quarantined themselves not allowing anyone to come to their home. She would communicate with them over the phone or facetime. Mrs. A. states that this pandemic has made her feel very distant from others. She was very social, very outgoing and this pandemic changed it for her. At work, she had to practice social distance. She kept getting scolded for the social distance. It took her some time to change her ways of talking to people and that connection with others she says is different now. People are afraid to come close to you, they do not hug or shake hands. And to her, that is a loss of attention and courtesy.
Conclusion
Nothing about this interview surprised me. I think we all went through what she was going through. That isolation of family and the new “norm” of social distance was very hard to get used to. I do believe that middle adulthood has been greatly impacted by the pandemic. This generation of elders was raised to show respect by shaking hands or greeting with hugs. This pandemic took that away from them. For those whose families who were quarantined and not allowing them to see their grandchildren was also a great impact. Many seniors felt lonely and left out. For those who did not understand what was going on, they felt abandoned. What is next for everyone in the next years? Who really knows? We are now in a time of change and evolution. We need are heading towards a digital era, where social interactions are limited and sometimes by personal choice.
James Faggion
YesterdayJul 14 at 3:30pm
Manage Discussion Entry
Summarize your interview with your participant (be sure and give their age and occupation, but protect their anonymity).
For this assignment I did not perform an interview. I chose to use myself due to the fact that I will be 60 years old in 2 weeks. I am currently employed in the facilities department of a large nationwide retailer. During the pandemic I was furloughed from my job for 6 weeks. This was the most difficult time that I had during the pandemic due to the fact I have never not worked since the age of 13. The most difficult part of the pandemic was that I had to hospitalized for a few days for a cardiac procedure. During this stay at the hospital I was not allowed any visitors. I was very thankful that I could comfortably utilize technology to fill this void. Social distancing was not a problem since I have a very small circle of friends and working and attending distance learning, both on a full-time basis, kept me occupied even before the pandemic. I did find the politics involved and the difficulty in getting accurate numbers and information disheartening.
Did any of your interviewee’s responses surprise you? What about their experience might you have failed to consider prior to speaking to them (or evaluating your own experience if you are in this age group).
Much to my surprise, I finally quit smoking cigarettes after many many years. I did this as a precaution in the event that I contracted the virus. I did not want ant additional issue if I had breathing issues. One thing that I failed to consider was the amount of instilled in people. I understood being cautious and concerned but did not get the fear. Being a motorcycle enthusiast, I found it easy to break away from home isolation and go for a ride, this is how I kept from becoming a mental health case. The hoarding of goods was a surprise as well. My wife was fearful that we might run out of necessary goods. I was able to put her mind to rest as I purchase goods like Spam in the event thing’s got bad. Being an avid deer hunter and outdoorsman, I was not one bit concerned that me or my family would ever be hungry.
What middle adulthood theories and concepts from your text are applicable to your participants responses (physical, cognitive, psychosocial)?
As for the physical responses I did experience cardiovascular changes in the fact that I developed A-fib during the pandemic. I was concerned because I did have “other risk factors such as smoking” (Kraynok, et. al., 2017, p.505), and diet. In the cognitive areas I did not notice many changes. The one thing that I did notice that my grades were slightly lower (A’s and B’s) as an older adult compared to the grades I received in early adulthood. At the time I felt that the difference was because in my younger days I performed well in the brick and mortar classroom environment and I struggle at first doing online classes. My crystalized intelligence was much like stated in the text that it did “remain relatively stable with increasing age” (Kraynok, et. al., 2017, p.522). I also found that my fluid intelligence was good. I still have the “ability to process new information in novel situations” (Kraynok, et. al., 2017, p.523). Finally, in the physical area of my development, I feel that I have been going through a “non-normative life event” (Kraynok, et. al., 2017, p.540). I feel this because of the decision to achieve mt bachelors degree later in life and text defines a non-normative life event is “a life transition that occurs in the lives of people but is not associated with a particular stage of life” (Kraynok, et. al., 2017, p.540).
Do you feel that development in middle adulthood has been significantly impacted by the pandemic? What theories/concepts do you anticipate needing adaptation or revision now that the world has undergone this experience?
No, I do not feel my development was significantly impacted. If there was any impact it would be that the pandemic made me a little stronger emotionally and gave me a greater appreciation for my good health. I feel that the pandemic may fall under the normative crisis model for some people. This could be dependent on the traits that one may possess.
Reference,
Kraynok, M. C., Seifert, K., Hoffnung, R. J., & Hoffnung, M. (2017). Lifespan development. Academic Media Solutions.
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