Life Cycle For Older Adults An Older Person s Sense Of...

an older person’s sense of self-esteem and confidence that was once stronger in the eight stage is now at a weaken state and breeds a sense that hope and trust are diminishing fast (page 110 life cycle extended). In basic terms, in the ninth stage, elders have very limited mobility, are most likely entirely dependent on other as they can no longer depend on their mind or bodies for the stability they once had earlier in older adulthood. According Erikson (1997), the ability of elders to engage like they once did when younger is now â€Å"overshadowed by new incapacities and dependencies† (p. 115). Whereas the eighth stage focused on having wisdom and integrity and avoiding the despair losing them, the ninth stage of the life cycle for older†¦show more content†¦According to Biordi Nicholson (as cited in Elder Retrum (2012), social isolation is the distancing of an individual, psychologically or physically, or both, from his or her network of desired or needed relationships with other persons. Therefore, social isolation is a loss of place within one’s group(s) (p. 2). According to Elder Retrum (2012), social isolation appears to be a blended issue involving psychological, physical and social contributing factors. Once social isolation occurs, it has been shown â€Å"to impact the psychological and cognitive well-being of older adults (Nicholson, 2012), p. 140). According to Elder Retrum (2012), the psychological risk factors for social isolation in older adults tend to be reflected in mental health challenges such as dementia and depression. Physical risk factors that include such things as limited mobility; incontinence, vision/hearing loss and physical fatigue help to fuel the onset of social isolation (Nicolson, 2012). Social factors’ including death of friends and family and language barriers also contributes to social isolation (Elder Retrum, 2012). When combined, these psychological, physical and social factors can lead to full blown isolation in older adults causing them to feel they have a lack of