Later Adulthood Development Report
September 2, 2013

Later Adulthood is a period of many changes. According to Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, “Later adulthood is the last major segment of the life span” (p.587). Individuals who are in going through their later adulthood are experiencing and dealing with an immense amount of emotions and feelings. There are several areas of an individual’s life that are effected by later adulthood. An individual’s work life, health, marriage, living situation, family relationships, and social relationships are all things that can be affected in some way by later adulthood. It is important for one to understand to the best of their ability the processes and events that take place in later adulthood,
When retirement is thought of, it is thought of as never having to work again and endless leisure time to do whatever is dreamed of. However, this is not the case for many individuals in later adulthood. Not all individuals can afford to be retired, but have to because they are not physically capable of working anymore. According to the article Life Review and Art Therapy in Late Adulthood by Charlene Slobodian Taylor, “When individuals fail to successfully master the developmental challenges during one stage of life they face increasing problems trying to master the developmental crises of the next”. There are some that retire, and then continue to work to supplement their retirement income. Even those who can afford to be retired start to feel bored with life and useless because they no longer have work to do every day. Some retirees have a hard time adjusting because they made their job a part of their self-image, and now have to find a new one. Other retiree’s enjoy their leisure time and continue to self-develop and build on their social relationships. This stage of life is a stage that most people will have to go through because as long as