Analysis Of Behavioural Perspective Of Lifespan On The Example Of A Midlife Woman
Aging is a universal process of a human experience. As a person aged gracefully, their social, psychological, and emotional development evolved. The role transitioned, from being an infant to an elderly, from being a parent to a grandparent, from a healthy wellbeing to having poor health; development processes change rapidly. A woman for instance, goes through many transitional periods during her life course. This involves her first menarche age to her first pregnancy and motherhood and followed by menopausal age. This report summaries my understanding of the social, biological and psychological development of a midlife woman, Madam Maria (not her real name) and how does her past and current events influence her growth and development through the life course.
Participant Selection
The participant has fulfilled the criteria as follow:
- aged more than 60 years old,
- have no direct relation with me,
- have not interacted with me regularly, and
- does not have cognitive impairment.
I was informed by an acquaintance that the participant had undergone a series of events through her life course and it draws my attention to explore more on how those events influenced her biosocial, psychological and emotional as she transitioned into an older adult. A written consent is obtained from the participant and a comprehensive information of the study was provided.
Data Collection
There are three components to the data collection:
- naturalistic observation,
- informal interaction and
- interview.
During the naturalistic observation, the participant is required to perform her daily task. Each activity carried out by the participant will be listed down minute by minute and the observation will last for an hour. There is not any form of interaction between the participant and me during naturalistic observation.
In the informal interaction, I will engage a conversation with the participant to explore about her sociodemographic background as well as her development as she aged.
During the interview, I am using the SF36 questionnaire as a guideline however, I have prepared a few questions (kindly refer to Appendix C) to gather more data. Background InformationMadam Maria (not her real name), a 65-year-old Malay-Muslim elderly woman, have been a homemaker for the past 30 years. She used to work at a now defunct electronic factory as an assembler, however, left the company in the amidst of her second pregnancy. She is married to Mr. Mat, who is 59 years old and have three grown up children (a son and two daughters), aged between 26-33 years old. Mr. Mat and her three children are gainfully employed, and she received monthly contributions from them. The family have been living in a four-room residential flat in the Northeast region of Singapore for almost 17 years. Prior to that, they lived in a three-room flat, approximately 3. 4km away from their current home. Madam Maria grew up in a Chinese school with her three brothers, as her father worked as the school attendant, whereas her mother, was a homemaker. She witnessed a racial riot between Chinese and Malays in 1964. She began to study in an Arabic school at the age of 10 and completed her studies when she was 18 years old. The family of five moved to the central of Singapore in early 70s. She was gainfully employed then.
Biological Factors
Madam Maria shared that she grew up as a heathy young girl, with no medical or genetic disorders, however, she had undergone a surgery when she was 16 years. The surgery caused her to be away from school for a year. She mentioned that the growth in her abdomen grew bigger day by day, to the extent that being assumed of being pregnant (see appendix C). Nonetheless, she is an active older woman as she is babysitting her grandchild, and actively participates in family gathering, evening walks at the park and at times cycling with the family on a weekend (see appendix C). Whitbourne (2001) mentioned that health in the middle-aged adults is generally good, and most physical changes do not cause disability or alter lifestyles. Golob (2011) states, that healthy, balanced diet, consistent and moderate physical activity, as well as one's connection with one's environments, less stress and maintaining one's mental health are the key to one's healthy and active old age. Madam Maria also practices healthy eating habit and is very selective with the intake to prevent her from getting chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension or hyperlipidemia (see appendix A & C).
Consuming healthy food is a basic precondition to sustain individual’s health, well-being and quality of life (Bilban,2010). Madam Maria have never used tobacco and alcohol. Madam Maria’s loss of height is supported by my observation, as she was standing beside her daughters (see appendix A); obvious height discrepancy. As a woman, she reached the menopausal age. Fogel & Woods (1995) mentioned that midlife for women encompasses the perimenopausal years (ages 35-50) to menopause (ages 50-65). She shared that during the menopausal period, she experiences hot flashes, feeling lethargy, loss of interest in doing activities. Fogel & Woods (1995), reported that women who experienced mood changes maybe caused by hormonal changes, which is normal aging process. Madam Maria added that she experienced turmoil of emotions during menopausal stage. Attitudes toward menopause and stress can affect symptoms during menopause (Rossi, 2004)As a person grows older, the sleeping pattern changes. An older adult experience more frequent shifts in sleep cycles, decrease in rapid eye movement sleep, and trouble maintaining sleep. (Schubert et al, 2001). Madam Maria expressed that she has been having trouble in sleeping at night and would stay awake until in the wee hours. She mentioned that she did not take daytime naps, afraid that it will affect her night time sleep. She also added that her spouse snores at night and that worsen the situation. Wiggins et al. (1990) said that when evaluating the sleep pattern of an older person, consider questioning the bed partner, as the partner may have additional insight into patient’s sleep difficulty.
Psychological Factors
Impaired cognitive and mental capacity changes as a person progresses. Madam Maria started school at the age of 10 years old, a later age than any other children during her era. She shared that due to gender biases, her father was hesitant to send her to school. However, with her mother’s persistence and good willed, she managed to be enrolled in an Islamic school. She graduated at the age of 18. That have been 47 years ago. She could still remember the first experience of being in class and being able to read and write. Through my observations and interview with her, Madam Maria can perform multitask (see Appendix B). One study found that an older person outperforms young adults in parallel processing when at least one task is automatic (Lien et al. , 2006). Parallel process refers to the capability to cognitively process and complete two or more tasks at a time. In other words, the older person must be completing tasks that they have been doing for years.
Madam Maria shared that she is contented with her present age. She accepted the changes she had throughout her life and reflected on her beliefs and life accomplishments. She believed that she have reached to a satisfaction in life. She mentioned that she has everything that she needed in her life: education, job, getting married & a family, a shelter above her head, friends; which are congruent with the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Jung (1930) cited that one ages successfully when he or she accepts the past and adapts to physical declines. This is supported by Erikson’s theory stage of development, ego integrity versus despair, which is the last stage. At this stage, the older person will search for the meaning of their lives and evaluate their accomplishments. Madam Maria is in ego integrity. Social FactorsThrough my observations and interaction with Madam Maria, it was clear that she has a great socialization skill and she enjoyed socializing with people around her proximity (see appendices A & B). It was evident by her words and body language that she has a pleasant time meeting new people (see appendix C).
According to Cavallero, Marino-Abele and Bertocci, 2007, elderly who actively participates in social activities, are able to develop good social networks and integrate into the society. Cavallero et al (2007), added that the socialization prevents social isolation and reduce the risk of morbidity. Also, Carstensen (1992) reported that the elderly report more satisfactions when interacting with family membersMadam Maria has children and a grandchild who are living with her. Her relationship dynamic with her extended family was clearly demonstrated (see appendix A & B). She enjoys the company of the children and grandchild and mentioned that it gives her a sense of satisfaction. Rook (2003) mentioned that social relations with family and friends can provide a major source of satisfaction and contributed to well-being and health.
On top of that, Deep & Jeeste (2006) finds that an elderly considers spending time with family members as positive experiences in aging and maintaining close contact with family is considered healthy aging (Chong, Ng, Woo, Kwan, 2006). Additional to that, she shared that being with her family and closest friends, makes her life complete (see appendices A & B). Social support from family and friends overcome loneliness and health problems related to ageing (Moorer, 2001). Social support received from families and friends are important for emotional, physical and spiritual well-being of an older people (AG, 2005). Although she has a down-to-earth personality, she added that she prefers a small circle of closest friends (see appendix A). This was supported when she mentioned that she has two great acquaintances whom she have known for more than 20 decades. It is said that smaller networks that have higher concentrations of emotionally close partners appear to benefit mental health (Lang & Carstensen, 1994).
