Aging—A Developmental Reality Ignored by Psychoanalytic Theory

Psychoanalytic theory with its developmental and genetic thrust has focused primarily on the early years of the life cycle. The adult was seen as a product of his genetic endowment and his early interpersonal experiences; and whatever the later difficulties in living, they were to be traced back to the earliest experiences. Psychoanalysis was uninterested in the later years of life since the elderly* were seen as rigid and therefore limited in their adaptive potential. Today's demographic reality—the so-called “greying of the population” necessitates a reassessment of the adaptive potential of the older person, and this in turn requires examination of our understanding of the developmental aspects of later life.

What are the demographic realities that characterize today's population? Newspapers, population statistics, medical journals all agree that people live longer. While medical and nutritional knowledge has extended life, family relationships and networks have become more tenuous. Geographic mobility puts distance between family members. Older individuals may be more independent and healthier than in the past, but they are also more alone and isolated for longer periods of time. And despite the improvements in the quality of life the older individual is more exposed to illness and losses than his younger counterpart.

Until recently the older individual who experienced psychological stress was considered to fall within the purview of the social worker