HDFS 249NAdult Development and Aging

3 credits · Human Development and Family Studies · Penn State

This course provides a basic introduction to concepts, theoretical perspectives, and key empirical studies on adult development and aging. Students will become familiar with key developmental trends and challenges that must be addressed to achieve healthy growth and development throughout adulthood and late life. The course addresses changes in physical health, cognition, and psychosocial functioning (including mental health, social roles and relationships, and transitions in work and retirement); and the implications of these changes for issues such as risk of disability, dementia, caregiving, and end-of-life decisions. For each topic, students will become familiar with major theoretical frameworks, approaches to empirical research, and findings from empirical studies. Key features of this course are its attention to: how biological, cognitive and social changes combine to influence overall adaptation and throughout the aging process; the ways in which adult development and aging occurs in the context of families, social relationships, neighborhoods and communities, and the larger cultural context; and how theories and empirical findings can be applied to promote healthy adult development and aging. Students pursuing the HDFS major option must complete HDFS 129 plus two of the three 200-level developmental courses ( HDFS 229 , HDFS 239 , HDFS 249N ). This course may count toward the minor in HDFS. Students who are not pursuing a major in Human Development and Family Studies can apply credits from this course towards the General Education Integrative Studies requirement: as an Inter-domain Course, the course puts approximately equal emphasis on learning objectives for Social and Behavioral Sciences (GS) and for Health & Wellness (GHW) knowledge domains.