FAD3343 Exam Two Chapter 6 o Family Development in Later life 10 26 2014 There are many family and relational transitions in later life o Divorce remarriage o Becoming a grandparents o Changing relationships with adult children o Becoming a parenting figure to grandchildren o Becoming a caregiver to aging parents o Become a caregiver to a spouse o Death of friends family and spouse o Siblings in older adulthood Sibling relationships are likely to be the longest relationships in an individual s life negative manner The relationship can be emotionally intense both in a positive and Baby boomers often have more siblings than children because of declining birth rates this will change There are many different possible combinations types of sibling relationship Women tend to be the kin keepers o Organize family things keep family members connected o Especially with more sisters Siblings maintain contact and increase contact in older age o Variations in Kin Relationships o Grandparenting Women typically maintain closer relationships with other family members than men o Single men do a good job of keeping in contact with family but once married they pass that torch onto wife Having more sisters in a family increases the likelihood that parents will receive support in their older age Blue collar families are likely to live closer to each other than white collar families and thus have more contact with their families Rural elders may be less likely to see family because of smaller income health problems and negative outlook on life Three are many different types of grandparenting relationships o Some distant authoritative or fun seeking o Some serve as substitute parents Grandmothers often look forward to the grandparent role than grandfathers o Look forward to having fun and spoiling without burden of parenting punishing Grandparents may have difficulty having relationship with grandchildren following the divorce of the children s parents o Grandparents do not have legal rights unless outlined in divorce decrees o Grandparenting Relationships into 3 broad categories o 1 companionate Family researchers classify grandparent grandchild relationships o 2 remote grandparents and grandchildren have fun together enjoy recreation together on a regular basis and are important to one another s lives the grandparents grandchild relationship is emotionally distant visits may be infrequent grandparents are only minimally involved in their grandchildren s lives o 3 involved grandparents are highly involved in their grandchildren s lives they may take care of their grandchildren on a regular basis and perhaps even live together o Social Networks Confidants o Someone to confide in Companions o Someone with whom you spend time and share activities Memberships and leadership in community lodge organizations increase in older age Church participation increases in older age social support joining activities especially increase in middle and upper classes o perceived support from family friends and other resources social engagement o Religion and Spirituality o active participation in social relationships and activities What is the difference between religion and spirituality o Religion is an organized practice and understanding of a set of beliefs What you do o Spirituality is having a sense of meaning and purpose How you think feel your attitude o can have one without the other o intrinsically and extrinsically religious extrinsically religious people get benefits of religion by interactions with people listen to music intrinsically religious people get benefits of religion because of the internal effects and how they think and feel inside o higher intrinsically religiosity and spiritual well being related to higher hope and positive moods in older age religion and spirituality are culturally defined and practiced non organized aspects of religions are more common than organized aspects in older age o older adults aren t as concerned about going to all church activities more concerned with prayer or meditation different ethnic groups may report varying levels of importance of religion o African Americans report religion and church as power sources of support o Religion and well being Religion becomes increasingly important to peoples as they age o Social support o Encouragement of healthy lifestyles o Sense of control over life through prayer o Fostering of positive emotional states o Reduction of stress o Faith in God to interpret misfortunes Chapter 7 o Later Life Couples o Older women are more likely to be widowed and less likely to be married o Marriage maintains health and quality of life for both partners in the marriage but benefits men more o Caregiving of spouse may occur o Retirement is an adjustment period for the couple especially if it is involuntary retirement Marital satisfaction may change with respect to retirement and other partner s working status o Marital satisfaction actually increases during this time Marital satisfaction scale inverted U shape highest point is newly weds lowest is having teenagers high again once children leave home retirement o Older Adult Singles Widowhood o Women are more likely to be widowed than men Men die younger plus women tend to marry older men Over 2 3 of women over 75 are widows Widowed men are more likely to remarry than widowed women o Death of a spouse is a huge life transition role change especially for women in traditional marriages o Stages of widowhood 1 Official recognition of the event 2 temporary disengagement or withdrawal from established lines of communication 3 limbo happy about 4 reengagement not married but don t feel single mourning death of spouse but other things in live to be with friends and family society dating etc o Support for Widows a source of stress o Family can be a great source of support for widows but also can be o Adult children are grieving the loss of parents as the spouse is grieving loss of partner this may make communication between them difficult o Widows perceptions of support may be more influential than actual o The higher the widow s personal resources education income social support community participation the better she can cope o Gender Differences in Widowhood o Males widowers experience widowhood differently than females support widows Less likely to move in with his children Less likely to have high interaction with family Less likely to have close friends More likely to have increased interaction with