Psych Development III: Older Adults

Catalog description

This course introduces students to development in middle age and later life from a biopsychosocial perspective. Topics covered include theories of adult development and aging, methodological issues in aging research, physical, cognitive, social, and emotional changes associated with aging, person-environment interactions, romantic relationships/marriage/divorce in this phase of life, parental issues with adult children, occupational changes and retirement, caregiving for aging parents and/or significant others, and end of life issues. Attitudes towards aging, the distinct challenges facing many older adults of minority (e.g., racial/ethnic, sexual identity, gender, religious, non-traditional, family, etc.), backgrounds, the array of factors that shape development over the life-span, including cohort differences, and the role of interdisciplinary collaboration in care of middle age and older adults will be emphasized.