You make some comments in the following peers, the comments should be a minimum of one short paragraph. Whether you agree or disagree, explain why with supporting evidence and concepts from the readings or a related experience. Include a reference, link, or citation when appropriate.
Review the Chapters -Friendships and Love Relationships, and Families, Generations, and Communities
Question: Relationships
One thing the book talks about is the shifting role and status for aging adult. In fact, one expert in the field, Dr. Linda Fried (Unafraid of Aging-Profiles in Science By KAREN PENNAR ) claims that one thing our society needs to be aware of and prepare for is the shift in an older person's role. This change in role and status happens because of relationship changes, job changes, societal views. Talk about these shifts in role and status as it pertains to the older adult. What theory for role transition would work best for the examples you talk about?
Bellow is what my peers wrote based on the above question
Peer -1
Dr. Fried made some very important points in her interview. The idea that society can create roles for aging adults that would be very significant to both the aging group and the rest of society is noteworthy. As seniors gradually shift from being active members to society to not being engaged in anything meaningful, they begin feeling not useful or needed, which I can imagine a very depressive feeling. Therefore, if we could create meaningful roles for them at this stage, it would really enhance the aging experience making more positive and fulfilling. One example of that would be is becoming grandparents. Grandparents have a special status in the family and in society. However, that experience is not available to all aging adults since many people do not have children, are not in good terms with their children, or simply live too faraway from their family members. Therefore the aging role should be something that engages most older individuals. What seems to be more helpful in the stage of shifting towards retirement is to keep social network running. The mutual support and engaging in different cultural or any other activities can make the transition much smother. The Convoy Model of Friendship talks about choosing friends and people around us wisely so we can build a strong network of supportive individuals Mason, 2011). The reason for feelings of despair when moving toward retirement is that aging adults don't feel valued or validated. However, with a strong network of supportive friends this issue can be resolved efficiently.
References:
Pennar, K. (2012, June 25). Unafraid of Aging. New York Times.
Mason, Marion (2011), Adulthood and Aging, Allyn & Bacon publishers
Peer-2: Transitions
One type of shift that can happen to a person when they are older is the shift from working full time to being retired. People retire across a wide range of ages, but I think that no matter what the age it is still a significant transition to cope with. One part of it is the fact that a person might suddenly have a lot of free time on their hands and no real idea of what to do with it. People might become bored, despondent, or suddenly feel isolated because they no longer socialize at work. Another factor is that people might feel that they've lost their sense of identity. For example, they might have spent the previous fifty years describing themselves as a lawyer, teacher or nurse, and now they have to suddenly come up with a new way of explaining who they are and they might feel that they don't have the answer themselves. I thought that Dr. Fried's Experience Corps. (Pennar, 2012) sounds like a wonderful and creative idea which not only give seniors something to do, but that something is meaningful and purposeful and needed. I think that particularly seniors, who may be relying more and more on others, would appreciate being needed. And that's besides how positive it is for the kids they are tutoring. Her other plan, to integrate seniors in volunteerism prior to retirement that they can then continue afterwards (Pennar, 2012) is very smart because it would give seniors something constant that they can hold onto while everything else around them is changing.
I think that the theory for role transition that works best for the transition of retirement is the life-course model (Mason, 2011), because when a person retires and what they choose to do after retirement will likely be heavily influenced by choices made earlier in their lives. For example, if someone has an active social life and maintains close friendships throughout life then he/she will continue to have those friends to lean on after they retire. Or, if they chose to live near their children then that might mean that they could do more babysitting post retirement. I think that the cumulative disadvantage model (Mason, 2011) does also work in terms of retirement, because when a person retires could depend on what kind of job they have or their overall health, which are factors that could be influenced by the kinds of opportunities and resources they had when they were younger.
References
Mason, M.G. (2011). Adulthood and Aging. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon
Pennar, K. (2012, June 25). Unafraid of aging. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com
PEER-3: Transitions and Role Changes
There are many transitions people go through as they get older, a big one being about dependency and role changes. These role changes can be based on many different things, and sometimes many different role changes for the same individual. At my last company, we had a co-worker who lived in Staten Island and bussed to midtown every day. As he got older, he became a little more forgetful with certain work duties, and he also needed to devote more time at home to take care of his wife. While he became a bit more of a liability with work dependency, instead of letting him go, the company let him work at home and take a reduced role/workload.
The next example I have, I think is a mix of the compensation model and the life-course model (Mason, 2011), but please correct me if I'm wrong. My Grandfather looked after my grandmother from her early 60's on, because she had gone blind from shingles and diabetes. He would shepherd her everywhere, always making sure she was clean, warm, and got her insulin shot. While they visited with the grandkids often, they certainly couldn't shoulder the caretaker role like some grandparents could, although they most certainly would if able. After years of this, my grandmother's health rapidly decreased, mainly due to the complications from diabetes and the heart and circulatory problems it created. She passed away, and he was in shock for some time. All of a sudden, he was lost, without a role and someone to look after every waking moment. His kids and grandkids spent more time with him, but it seemed like losing that drive to love and care for his wife made him crumble more quickly, and the next few years had a steady decline.
An interesting aside is that I feel like my grandfather's kids did not see him as older or frail so much until my grandmother really started going downhill, and then passed. All of a sudden, they were thrust with him not driving, and needing to make decisions on his behalf.
Reference:
Mason, M.G. (2011). Adulthood and Aging. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon
Pennar, K. (2012, June 25). Unafraid of aging. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com