Discussion Question

PSY3540_Week 4 L1 Supplemental

Stress and Coping

The two scenarios below describe events in the lives of two men, Jorge and Bill. Both are 75 years old

and each has gone through a traumatic event.

Scenario 1

Jorge is now living alone. His wife of forty-nine

years, Luisa, left him for another man. To make

matters worse, the other man was Jorge’s best

friend, Ramón. Jorge has been alone for a week

and he still does not understand why his wife

left.

Scenario 2

Bill was reading the newspaper. He read about

an estate sale on Saturday. Bill yelled out to his

wife, Mary, to see if she wanted to go. It has

been a year since Mary passed away, but

sometimes Bill still forgets that she is no longer

with him.

Of Jorge and Bill, which one seems to be going through what is considered a normative life event?

Which one is going through a non-normative life event? Normative life events are those life experiences

that are considered common for a particular age group. For Bill, being a widower at 75 is a normative

life event. Although the loss of his wife may be tragic, it is an event that many older adults go through.

Furthermore, the loss of a spouse is much more common for people in their seventies than for people in

their thirties.

On the other hand, Jorge seems to be going through a non-normative life event. Older adults do get

divorced, but it is less common, especially for couples that have been married as long as Jorge and his

wife were married, when older adults divorce, infidelity is rarely the cause.

Coping Strategies

The question becomes, would a non-normative event such as divorce be more difficult to cope with than

the death of a spouse? For an older adult, the death of a spouse is a normative event; divorce is not.

Both are significant life stressors. However, even though a couple has divorced, that doesn’t necessarily

mean the former spouses wouldn’t be able to maintain contact with each other.

Individual coping strategies are derived from a person’s sense of self-esteem and self-efficacy. Self-

esteem is an individual’s evaluation of his or her own self-worth. Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in

his or her ability to accomplish personal tasks and goals.

As a person ages, that person develops or grows into certain roles, whether in a career or in family life.

As you have already learned, those social roles help to define a person. Someone who spent thirty years

as a teacher may have difficulty adapting to a new role after retirement. A person’s self-esteem is also

influenced by social roles within the context of family, and, to a lesser extent, with friends and social

acquaintances.

As children grow and leave home to raise their own families, older adults may become less central in the

family dynamics. Membership in social organizations and friendships also changes over time, especially

for older adults. Close friends pass away. Individual roles within organizations change as activity levels

change. All of these issues can have an effect on an older adult’s self-esteem and self-efficacy. How

might older adults cope with such change in their life?

Change is gradual. For the most part, the changes described in this week’s lectures are anticipated,

normative life events and experiences. An individual may have had many years to prepare for such

changes. Also, the transition is not without support, as roles change, new roles can develop and emerge.

Older adults may not be active in parenting their grown children, but that doesn’t mean that their

parenting skills are no longer needed. It is very common for grandparents to take an active role in the

lives of their grandchildren.

In recent years healthy aging and living has become a common idea for older adults. Many adults have

turned to a more active and productive lifestyle. The old stereotype of older adults retiring to the

rocking chair on the porch is a thing of the past. An active and healthy living lifestyle provides strong

coping mechanisms even when facing chronic illness (Schneller & Vandsbuger, 2008).

References

Schneller, D., & Vandsbuger, E. (2008). Self-efficacious behaviors for reducing stress in older adults.

Ageing International, 32(1), 78–91.