Hutchison, Dimensions of Human Behavior, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Lecture Notes
Chapter 10: Very Late Adulthood
Learning Objectives
10.1: Compare one’s own emotional and cognitive reactions to three case studies.
10.2: Summarize major themes in the historical and cultural contexts of people in
very late adulthood, including centenarians.
10.3: Describe approaches for evaluating functional capacity in very late adulthood.
Chapter Summary
As you read this chapter, take note of these central ideas:
1. People aged 85 and older are the fastest growing segment of the older-adult population.
Never have so many people lived so long.
2. Among very-late-life adults, women outnumber men 2 to 1, and 4 out of 5 centenarians
are women.
3. Because the more frail individuals die sooner, those surviving to very late adulthood tend
Annotated Chapter Outline
I. Introduction
Hutchison, Dimensions of Human Behavior, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
A. Case Studies 10.1, 10.2, and 10.3
i. 10.1 Margaret Davis Stays at Home
II. Very Late Adulthood: Charting New Territory
i. Centenarian: a person who is 100 or more years old
ii. Chronological age may not be the best marker for categorizing very–
late-life adults. There is great variation in health at this age and for
iv. Knowledge and research about this age-group is growing
III. Very Late Adulthood in Historical and Cultural Perspective
i. 85-and-older population is the fastest growing segment of the
population around the world and, like other age-groups, is increasingly
more diverse.
a. Age-group is projected to grow from 6.1 million in 2015 to
IV. What We Can Learn from Centenarians
i. Questions about human health and longevity, such as:
a. What does it take to live a long life?
V. Functional Capacity in Very Late Adulthood
i. Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs): activities that are not
necessary for fundamental functioning but do allow an individual to
live independently
Hutchison, Dimensions of Human Behavior, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
VI. Relationships in Very Late Adulthood
A. Relationships With Family and Friends
i. Increased likelihood of having lost a partner, friend, child, or family
resources
B. Intimacy and Sexuality in Very Late Adulthood
i. Women generally more alone in this life stage than at any other time
ii. Major components of intimacy
a. Commitment: feeling of cohesion and connection
iii. Barriers to meeting one’s sexual desires, such as low interest in sex or
loss of partner
C. Relationships With Organizations and Community
i. Community-based programs, such as Meals on Wheels, can become
VII. The Housing Continuum
i. Financing is a major problem for low- to middle-income people and
women, especially women of color
Hutchison, Dimensions of Human Behavior, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
b. Status and role
c. Health
d. Control and independence
IX. The Dying Process
A. Introduction
i. Dying is considered “on time”
ii. Attempts to embrace, acknowledge, and tame death into one’s life
iii. Kübler-Ross’s stages of grief:
a. Denial
B. Advance Directives
i. Advance directives: documents that give instructions about desired
health care if, in the future, individuals cannot speak for themselves
a. Living will: describes the medical procedures, drugs, and types
C. Care of People Who Are Dying
i. Palliative care: a form of care focusing on pain and symptom
management as opposed to curing disease
iii. As of 2015, 6,100 hospice programs in the United States
D. End-of-Life Signs and Symptoms
i. Exhibit 10.4 Signs and Symptoms of Impending Death
X. Loss, Grief, and Bereavement
Hutchison, Dimensions of Human Behavior, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
ii. Loss: the severing of an attachment an individual has with a loved one,
a loved object, or one’s self or identity
B. Theories and Models of Loss
i. Exhibit 10.5 Four Stage Models of Grief
C. Culture and Bereavement
i. Cultural differences shape mourning rituals, traditions, and behavioral