#dev psych

mental health

developmental psychology

psychology more broadly

The period of late adulthood is known to be the last stage of our lives. At this point, we often look back and wonder if we lived a good and fulfilling life and if the choices we made over the years are the right ones. And as morbid as it sounds, we are closer to death, and our years and perhaps days are numbered. During these years we are not able to do the things that we used to be able to do in the past due to our drastic physical changes and the like. 

The topic regarding late adulthood provided me with a lot of thoughts. One of the topics that piqued my interest was about the longevity of human life, and it mooted the term centenarians or people who are 100 years old or older. Usually the average lifespan of a person is less than one hundred years, and because of this it made me think about how it is possible to reach the age of 100 as well as the many factors that one needs to take note of in order to reach that age. It was also mentioned that the number of centenarians increases each year. This gave me thoughts on what these people did to reach such an age, such as their diet and other components related to their physical health as well as their mental health and external factors. Since the lifespan of an individual varies in different countries and the fact that there are more centenarians in some countries than in others, I wonder about the circumstances in those countries that have an effect on the wellbeing of the person. I found the biological theories relating to aging interesting as well, since they do try to find ways to explain how certain biological processes affect the way we age. In addition to natural selection, examples of these biological processes are cellular maintenance, nutrients, and hormones. 

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Early adulthood is the stage where individuals are characterized by facing a transition to another phase in their lives, and are given relatively more freedom than before in their adolescent years. Between the chapters on early adulthood and middle adulthood, I deem that chapter regarding the former is very essential and helpful to me as I have just started this stage in my life. 

With the freedom that those who have reached adulthood receive after reaching this stage comes with more dangers that they might face. It was mentioned in the chapter that there is a drastic increase in the mortality rate of young adults, with the most deaths due to unintentional injuries.  Furthermore, they are more likely to acquire physical and psychological illnesses, and suffer from obesity. They do not often properly address the health concerns that they may have despite being fully aware of the means to prevent it, and the resources in doing so. Bad habits are also worsened during this time. Taking note of the risks that young adults face during this time can assist me in making the right choices for my health and safety right now and for the years to come. In terms of combating obesity, being physically active and having a proper diet can help. 

The connection between one’s temperament in their childhood to their personalities once they reach adulthood was one topic that was brought up in one of the chapters, and it was something that I found interesting. It made me think about how I would be like in terms of my socioemotional development and my relationships with others. It was said that those who had an easy temperament faced no difficulty in adjusting in adulthood, while those with a difficult temperament were the opposite. Growing up I had a slow to warm up temperament, but was leaning towards easy. I assume that I would be fine in adjusting but I would face some difficulties along the way. Inhibition was also mentioned, where those who had this temperament faced difficulty in their adult lives. Attachment in childhood was another topic that was also brought up as well. Those with secure attachments (which I am guessing I had) felt secure with their romantic relationships in adulthood. This made me think about the relationships I might have in the future and what it would be like. 

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