Biological Aspects of Later Adulthood

Biological Aspects of Later Adulthood

Biological Aspects of Later Adulthood

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LeRoy was a muscular, outgoing teenager. He was physically bigger than most of his classmates and starred in basketball, baseball, and football in high school. In football he was selected as an all-state linebacker in his senior year. At age16, he began drinking at least a six-pack of beer each day, and at 17 he began smoking. Because he was an athlete, he smoked and drank on the sly. Since LeRoy was good at conning others, he found it fairly easy to smoke, drink, party, and still play sports. That left little time for studying, but LeRoy was not interested in that, anyway. He had other priorities.Biological Aspects of Later Adulthood

LeRoy received a football scholarship andwent on to college. He did well in football and majored in partying. His grades suffered, andwhen his college eligibility in football was used up, he dropped out of college. Shortly after dropping out, he married Rachel Rudow, a college sophomore. She soon became pregnant and also dropped out of

A Be llo /G et ty Im ag es

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college. LeRoywas devastatedafter leaving college. Hehad beena jock for 10 years, the envy of his classmates. Now he couldn’t get a job with status. After a variety of odd jobs, he obtained work as a road construction worker. He liked working outdoors and also liked the macho-type guys with whom he worked, smoked, drank, and partied.

LeRoy and Rachel had three children, but he was not a good husband. He was seldom at home, and when he was, he was often drunk. After a stormy seven years of marriage that included numerous incidents of physical and verbal abuse, Rachel moved out and got a divorce. She and the children moved to Florida, along with her parents, so that LeRoy could not continue to harass her and the children. LeRoy’s drinking and smoking increased. He was smoking more than two packs a day, and he sometimes also drank a quart of whiskey. Biological Aspects of Later Adulthood

A few years later, he fathered a child for whom he was required to pay child support. At age 39, he married Jane, who was only 20. They had two children and stayed married for six years. Jane eventually left because she became fed up with being assaulted when LeRoy was drunk. LeRoy now had a total of six children to help support, but he seldom saw any of them. LeRoy continued to drink and also ate to excess. His weight went up to 285 pounds, and by age 48 he was no longer able to keep up with the other construction workers. The construction company discharged him.

The next several years saw LeRoy taking odd jobs as a carpenter. He didn’t earn much, and he spent most of what he earned on alcohol. He was periodically embar- rassed by being hauled into court for failure to pay child support. He was also dis- mayed because he no longer had friends who wanted to get drunk with him. When LeRoy was 61, the doctor discovered he had cirrhosis of the liver and told LeRoy he wouldn’t live much longer if he continued to drink. Since LeRoy’s whole life centered on drinking, he chose to continue to drink. LeRoy also noticed that he had less energy and frequently had trouble breathing. The doctor indicated that he probably had damaged his lungs by smoking and now had a form of emphysema. The doctor lectured LeRoy on the need to stop smoking, but LeRoy didn’t heed that advice either. His health continued to deteriorate, and he lost 57 pounds. At age 64, while drunk, he fell over backward and fractured his skull. He was hospitalized for three and a half months. The injury permanently damaged his ability to walk and talk. He is now confined to a low-quality nursing home. He is no longer allowed to smoke or drink. He is frequently angry, impatient, and frustrated. He no longer has friends. The staff detests working with him; his hygiene habits are atrocious, and he frequently yells obscenities. LeRoy frequently expresses a wish to die to escape his misery.

Elroy Karas is 14 months younger than his brother LeRoy. Elroy’s early years were in sharp contrast to LeRoy’s. Elroy had a lean, almost puny, muscular structure and did not excel at sports. LeRoy was his parents’ favorite, and also dazzled the young females in school and in the neighborhood. Elroy had practically no dates in high school and was viewed as a prude. He did well in math and the natural sciences. He spent much of his time studying and reading a variety of books, and he liked taking radios and electrical appliances apart. At first, he got into trouble because he was not skilled enough to put them back together. However, he soon became known in the neighborhood as someone who could fix radios and electrical appliances. Biological Aspects of Later Adulthood

614 Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment

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He went on to college and studied electrical engineering. He had no social life but graduated with good grades in his major. He went to graduate school and obtained a master’s degree in electrical engineering. On graduating, he was hired as an engi- neer by Motorola in Chicago. He did well there and in four years was named man- ager of a division. Three years later, he was lured to RCA with an attractive salary offer. The group of engineers he worked with at RCA made some significant advances in television technology.

At RCA, Elroy began dating a secretary, Elvira McCann, and they were married when he was 36. Life becamemuch smoother for Elroy after that. He was paid well and enjoyed annual vacations with Elvira to such places as Hawaii, Paris, and the Bahamas. Elroy and Elvira wanted to have children, but could not. When Elroy was in his early 40s, they adopted two children, both from South Korea. They bought a house in the suburbs and a sailboat. Elroy and Elvira occasionally had some marital disagreements but generally got along well. In their middle adult years, one of their adopted sons, Kim, was tragically killed by an intoxicated automobile driver. That death was a shock and very difficult for the whole family to come to terms with. But the intense grieving gradu- ally lessened, and after a few years Elroy and Elvira put their lives back together.

Now, at age 67, Elroy is still working for RCA and loving it. In a few years, he plans to retire and move to the Hawaiian island of Maui. Elroy and Elvira have already purchased a condominium there. Their surviving son, Dae, has graduated from college and is working for a life insurance company. Elroy is looking forward to retiring so that he can move to Maui and spend more time on his hobbies—photography and making model railroad displays. His health is good, and he has a positive outlook on life. He occasionally thinks about his brother and sends him a card on his birthday. Since Elroy never had much in common with LeRoy, he seldom visits him.

A Perspective Later adulthood is often the age of recompense (our return for the waywe lived earlier). Howwe live in our younger years largely determines howwewill live in our later years.

Learning Objectives This chapter will:

A. Define later adulthood. B. Describe the physiological and mental changes that occur in

later adulthood. C. Present contemporary theories on the causes of the aging

process. D. Describe common diseases and major causes of death among older adults. E. Presentmaterial on stressmanagement and on otherways tomaintain good physical and mental health throughout life. Biological Aspects of Later Adulthood