Assignment: Middle Adulthood Health, Demography, and Social Work Practice

A health crisis can occur at any phase in an individual's life span. General health concerns, however, tend to increase with age. As a social worker, your awareness of the biological aspects of middle adulthood will inform your work with clients in this life-span phase.

In this Assignment, you address the health concerns that clients may face as they reach middle adulthood. You also address the potential impact of the environment on the health of individuals in this life-span phase.

By Day 7

Submit a 2- to 4-page paper that includes the following:

• A description of the health concerns that clients may face as they reach middle adulthood
• An analysis that explains how factors such as race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and other demographic characteristics might impact at least three of the health concerns you identified
• An explanation of how you, as a social worker, should take these potential health concerns and the environmental factors that influence them into account as you complete your assessments

Required Readings

Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2016). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (10th ed.). Boston, MA:  Cengage Learning.
Chapter 10, "Biological Aspects of Young and Middle Adulthood" (pp. 469-497)

Optional Resources

Use the link below to access the MSW home page, which provides resources for your social work program.
MSW home page

Magnusson, C., & Trost, K. (2006). Girls experiencing sexual intercourse early: Could it play a part in reproductive health in middle adulthood? Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology, 27(4), 237–244.

Temcheff, C. E., Serbin, L. A., Martin-Storey, A., Stack, D. M., Ledingham, J., & Schwartzman, A. E. (2011). Predicting adult physical health outcomes from childhood aggression, social withdrawal and likeability: A 30-Year prospective, longitudinal study. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 18(1), 5–12.

Wilson, H. W., & Widom, C. S. (2011). Pathways from childhood abuse and neglect to HIV-risk sexual behavior in middle adulthood. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 79(2), 236–246.