Assignment: Middle Adulthood Health, Demography, and Social Work Practice
You may have heard young adulthood described as "the prime of life," and biologically speaking this is certainly true. Individuals at this stage are generally at their peak strength and stamina. In middle adulthood, however, when metabolism begins to slow, maintaining fitness becomes more difficult. Health concerns also tend to increase with age, becoming more prevalent during this time. What other physical changes occur as individuals move into middle adulthood?
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 people in this stage.
To Prepare:
• Review the Learning Resources on biological aspects of middle adulthood.
• Search online and in the Walden Library to find at least one scholarly resource describing demographic factors associated with health.
Submit a 2 to 4 page paper that includes the following:
• A description of at least three 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 the three health concerns you identified
• An explanation of how you, as a social worker, would take these potential health concerns and the environmental factors that influence them into account as you complete your assessments
Use the Learning Resources and additional research to support your analysis. Make sure to provide APA citations and a reference list.
Readings:
1. Is 60 the New 50? Examining Changes in Biological Age Over the Past Two Decades
By Morgan E. Levine & Eileen M. Crimmins
2. Depression in middle and older adulthood: the role of immigration, nutrition, and other determinants of health in the Canadian longitudinal study on aging
By Karen M. Davison, Yu Lung, Shen (Lamson) Lin