Introduction to Lifespan Theories of Health and Wellbeing

Week 1 Lifespan, Development, Health and Wellbeing 27.01.2020 Introduction to Lifespan Theories of Health and Wellbeing Lifespan development          Study of stability and change across the lifespan. Historically focused on childhood and old age, less on young adulthood and midlife. Adulthood seen as a period of psychological stability Research typically examines health using age-specific cross-sectional studies rather than age-comparison or longitudinal designs. However, development is a lifelong process: We cannot understand adult experiences without appreciating what came before in childhood and adolescence (Baltes & Graf, 1996). Transitions define and shape the life course of each person (Miller, 2010). ‘Everything is developmental’ (Skinner et al., 2019) Lifespan psychology is an orientation rather than a theory. The lifespan perspective aims to understand: • how individuals change and develop throughout the course of their lives (Cavanaugh & Blanchard-Fields, 2011). • the factors influencing change, including biological, social, psychological, historical, and geographic factors (Hendricks, 2012). The life-span perspective divides human development into two phases: • Early phase (childhood and adolescence): rapid age-related changes in people’s size and abilities. • Later phase (young adulthood, middle age and old age): characterised by slower changes, but abilities continue to develop as people continue adapting to the environment (Baltes, Lindenberger, & Staudinger, 2006). Lifespan transitions    Range of psychological processes and movements. Four forms (Zittoun, 2006): • Change in the cultural context (e.g. religiosity, faith) • Change of, or within, a person’s sphere of experience (e.g. having a baby) • Change in the relationships and interactions with objects and others (e.g. new romantic partner) • Change from within a person (e.g. chronic pain or illness) *These different forms are not mutually exclusive. Lifespan transitions as stressful; ‘life stressors’ (Miller, 2010), but pathologising lifespan overlooks positive change. Lifespan perspectives Age and Health  Life-span transitions elicit individual differences in health and wellbeing.  Yet Psychology was slow to adopt a lifespan framework for studying health and illness (Whitman et al., 1999).  Historically, health psychology viewed age as a static variable and took cross-sectional snapshots of health rather than a videotape that captures the ‘rich dynamics of change’ (Peterson, 1996).  Both health and age are dynamic: •  Ageing brings profound biological, cognitive, socioemotional, behavioural and environmental changes. A growing body of research examines how these changes, both normatively and abnormally, influence patterns of health and wellbeing. Individual differences in health and wellbeing    To understand health and wellbeing both in and across age groups, individual differences in biological, psychological and social characteristics must be considered= DIRECT RELATIONSHIP. Factors that determine health status across the lifespan, although sometimes similar, can also differ considerably depending on a person’s developmental status= INDIRECT RELATIONSHIP. Mediating relationship between multidimensional risk factors, health status and age. Age Risk factors Health and wellbeing A multidimensional lifespan approach  The following 4 interactive forces shape development throughout the life course: • • • • Biological forces: Genetic and health-related factors. Psychological forces: Internal perceptual, cognitive, emotional and personality factors. Sociocultural forces: Interpersonal, societal, cultural, and ethnic factors provide context. Life-cycle forces: Past experiences determine biological, psychological and sociocultural forces. (Cavanaugh & Blanchard-Fields, 2015) Biopsychosocial framework  One way to organise the interactive forces is to adopt a biopsychosocial framework.  Each of us is the product of a unique combination of these forces.  Expands our theoretical understanding of lifespan development from a purely psychological context to a model in which many different factors contribute to health and wellbeing (Miller, 2009). Theories of lifespan development: Person-centred approach   Stage theories Erikson (1958) psychosocial stages of development • • • Each stage of a person’s life requires the resolution of an ‘issue’ as part of that person’s ego development. Each stage consists of a crisis/conflict with alternative possibilities wherein the individual may move forward, backward or remain stuck. Successful development: sameness and continuity between the self and the outer world. •  Maladjustment: break in continuity of development, such as moving backward or becoming stuck, • The way each person resolves these issues results in the acquisition of a ‘virtue’; an ego strength or special quality.  Erikson’s (1958) theory was one of the first to explicitly recognise that psychological development continued throughout life.  Important emphasis on the relationship between the individual and society in affecting personal development.  Most developmental change is seen as occurring in early life.  Characterises later life in very narrow terms; a period of relative stability, where the primary concern is coming to terms with death and dying.  Latter two stages (40+) are supposed to represent all of the psychological crises and crisis resolutions of the last 40-45 years of life (Peck, 1968). Peck (1968) stages of psychological development in the second half of life: •  Subdivided middle and old age into additional sub-stages to attempt to characterise the crises in more detail. Middle age – 4 crises, old age – 3 crises • In doing this, Peck (1968) characterised later life more positively, as a time for growth. Evaluation of stage theories: • The defining characteristics of stage theories suggest that development is: − Sequential − unidirectional − contains an end state − irreversible − structural in transformation − universal  Normalising patterns of development • Stage theories are based on the premise that each stage is experienced universally, in the same way in all individuals. • Human development shows relative plasticity, so there is no single or ideal developmental pathway for any one person. • Presents problems to those who sit outside the parameters of what any given society considers ‘normal’.  Age-related focus on development • •     Stage theories view developmental change as related to chronological age. Individuals progress in very different ways; regression or stability is not always a bad thing! Culture, context and history • Universal nature of change undermines the role of culture, context, personenvironment interaction and individual, community and generational histories. Embeddedness: • Contemporary lifespan approaches attempt to acknowledge the full context of the individual and thereby offer a more fully informed account of influences on development. Developmental contextualism • Development doesn’t occur in isolation; it is affected by the context of a person’s life. • Internal influences on development such as biology and psychology interact with external influences such as their cultural context and interpersonal relationships. Dynamic interactionism • If one of the variables influencing development changes, this can cause changes in other variables at the same or a different level. • It is not possible to separate biology and psychology of a person from the environment in which they live. • It is important to view lifespan transitions through a sociocultural lens, in order to reflect our global and culturally diverse society. Theories of lifespan development: Function-centred approach  Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory: • the developing individual is always in interaction with an evolving environment. • The ecological environment is a ‘nest’ of interactive structures or settings placed within each other: − Microsystem: Face-to-face interactions, activities and roles, e.g. social relationships, language used, physical resources. − Mesosystem: Interaction between two or more microsystems inhabited by the same person, e.g. family vs work friends. − Exosystem: Links between two or more settings that the person is not actively part of, but may be affected by events within that setting, e.g. how a child might be affected by the stress a parent is experiencing at work. − Macrosystem: Patterns of micro-, meso- and exosystems that characterise attitudes, cultural values and resources within a given culture, e.g. the various health care policies in different countries influence policies that occur within a given nursing home.   Baltes’ (1987) SOC model of development: • Life-span development consists of dynamic interactions between growth (gains, e.g. new job) and decline (losses, e.g. health). • A person’s internal and external resources are finite. As we age: − We must devote more resources to maintain function and compensate for biological losses. − Resources are replenished less often and drawn upon more exhaustively. • The SOC model posits that the following three fundamental processes are essential for successful development: 1. Selection: Selecting functional domains on which to focus one’s limited resources 2. Optimization: Maximising gains 3. Compensation: Compensating for losses • These processes ensure the maintenance of functioning and minimisation of losses throughout the life course. Hendry and Kloep’s (2002) lifespan model of developmental challenge: • Challenges across the human life course can act as catalysts for change, dependent upon the resources available to the individual. • Individuals differ in the number and kind of challenges they encounter in their life, but the processes and mechanisms leading to development are the same. • Explains how and under which circumstances meeting challenges can lead to development, while avoiding challenges carries the risk of developmental stagnation. Critique of the lifespan approach  There are two key critiques of the lifespan approach to health and wellbeing (Skinner et al., 2019):  The notion that ‘everything is developmental’ • Lifespan approach has claimed the territory of all of psychology • Could this be diluting our in-depth understanding of development, health and wellbeing?  Emphasis on context • Lifespan approach assumes that the individual is a passive agent • What is the role of the individual in actively dictating what environments must provide? Lecture summary  Adult development is the outcome of complex interactions between biopsychosocial and life-cycle factors (Baltes, 1987).  The adult lifespan is cumulative and continuous so in order to make sense of any given period, we need to consider whole lives in context (Hendricks, 2012).  Lifespan theory presents a broad conceptual perspective for viewing the relationship between adult development, health and wellbeing.  No universal theory of lifespan development, each explain different aspects and complement the other.  Multidimensional, -perspective, -method and -disciplinary approach is necessary to understand the complexity of lifespan development, health and wellbeing.