Lecture
In recent decades, micro-age differences in the development and behavior of adults and of elderly people have come to be studied in a more differentiated way, and acmeology has emerged as a separate discipline concerned with a person's psychological and social maturity, made up of phases of development that not only precede but also counteract involutional processes (B. G. Ananiev, 1972; E. I. Stepanova, 1995; Yu. N. Kulyutkin, 1984; G. S. Sukhobskaya, 1975; A. A. Rean, 1994). Many authors argue that there are no more or less clear or universal markers that would allow this period to be singled out from the flow of life in which it is embedded. The fact that there is no significant difference between the end of maturity and the beginning of old age, and the absence of sharply defined starting and ending points of maturity, should not be taken to mean that old age is simply a continuation of the preceding period. Adult development at this age differs in that the preceding events are different from those operating in earlier periods. It is very difficult to determine the chronological boundaries of the onset of old age, since the range of individual differences in the appearance of signs of aging is enormous. These signs are expressed in a gradual decline in the functional capacities of the human body. However, old age should be characterized not only from the negative side, by singling out the decline of certain abilities compared with maturity. It is necessary to establish the qualitative differences in the psyche of the elderly person, to identify and show the features of psychological development occurring against the backdrop of deteriorating psychophysiology, under conditions of involutional changes in the nervous system.
Late adulthood, old age as a psychological age — is the final period of life, involving a change in the person's position in society and playing its own special role within the system of the life cycle. Old age is regarded as a complex biosociopsychological phenomenon. As a biological phenomenon, old age is associated with increasing vulnerability of the organism and an increased probability of death. As a social phenomenon, old age is usually associated with retirement, with a change (decline) in social status, with the loss of important social roles, and with a narrowing of the social world. Notions of old age as a heavy, inert, «sunset» time of life have long existed. Widespread stereotypes and social expectations regarding old age are reflected in many Russian proverbs and sayings: «time to be filed away in the archive», «time to drop out of the race», «time for the knacker's yard», «time to leave the fair», «the horse is spent», «the steep hills have worn the old nag out». G. S. Hall, the founder of social gerontology, wrote: «Knowing old age is a long, complex, agonizing experience: with each new decade the ring of Great Weariness tightens, limiting the intensity and duration of our activity». The aging period has its own peculiarities. It is characteristic that the decline of the organism's physiological capacities does not proceed in parallel with the psychological and personal involutional processes (table 1). Personality types of aging (K. Roshchak, 1990)
Characteristic of the elderly person is:
Tasks of old age (R. J. Havighurst, 1953):
R. Peck (R. C. Peck, 1968) identifies the most important problems, or
conflicts, in the development of the elderly person:
Scientists of various specialties (anthropologists, gerontologists, psychologists) hold differing views on the periodization of human life and the age reckoning of aging, but most empirically choose the age of 60—65 years as the onset of old age. Several viewpoints may be cited by way of illustration. The Czech professor B. Přihoda: aging — from 60 to 75 years, old age proper — from 75 to 100 years. E. B. Hurlock: old age or aging — from age 60 until death. J. Birren: late maturity — 50 – 75 years, old age — from 75 years.
D. B. Bromley: in England the aging cycle consists of 3 stages: withdrawal from affairs — 65—70 years; old age — 70 years and older; decrepitude, infirm old age and death — up to 110 years. One of the founders of Russian gerontology, I.V. Davydovsky, believed that no calendar dates exist for the onset of old age. Another well-known gerontologist, N.F. Shakhmatov, who developed an approach to the problems of aging from the standpoint of biological regularities and trends, regarded psychological aging as the result of age-related destructive changes in the higher parts of the central nervous system. He sought to demonstrate that although the process of aging — is a regular process of age-related changes in organs and systems in the course of ontogeny, leading to old age — it has a pronounced individual character. The place and time of onset, predominant distribution, and rate of progression determine the various forms, or variants, of psychological aging, as well as the length of life. Therefore, even from a biological point of view it is difficult to single out any particular date for the onset of old age. The term «aging», proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO), points to the gradual and continuous nature of the process.
According to the classification of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, aging (old age) lasts in men from 61 to 74 years, and in women — from 55 to 74 years. From age 75 old age proper (advanced age) begins. The period after age 90 — is longevity (extreme old age). The social criterion for the transition to old age is often linked to the official retirement age. However, in different countries, for different occupational groups, and for men and women, the retirement age varies (mostly from 55 to 65 years). Other socioeconomic indicators of the «threshold» of transition to an older age — are a change in the main source of income, a change in social status, and a narrowing of the circle of social roles. It is quite important to distinguish between so-called «young old age», the «third age» (usually up to 75 years) and «old old age», the «fourth age» (after 75 years). This distinction is based on applying a functional criterion — the ability of an elderly person to lead an active and independent life, or else the need for outside care. Psychological criteria for the completion, the exhaustion of the period of maturity, and the transition to old age have not been clearly formulated. The resolution of this question is largely tied to a discussion of the specific life tasks of this period and the essence of the crisis of transition to late adulthood and old age. It is evident that within the period of late adulthood (old age) separate stages of psychological development must be distinguished.
Stages of approaching death (E. Kübler-Ross, 1969)
Life departs in stages – in reverse order compared with how it develops. E. M. Pattison (E. M. Pattison, 1977) identifies four stages of this process:
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