integrated discussion utilizing solid organization H u m a n i t i e s

The purpose of the paper is to interview two different older adults (ethnically, racially, or culturally) and make a comparative analysis of how each experience their journey with regards to the biopsychosocial perspective in the context of their lives.

These two people cannot be related to you. You must interview each individual for at least an hour. Treat this as an open-ended interview allowing time for the person to tell their story. Use solid references when appropriate throughout the paper.

1. Describe the life stages you have chosen and include the biopsychosocial developmental tasks of the life stages as outlined in your textbook and course discussions.

2. Introduce the reader to the two people interviewed by placing them into context: Discuss important demographics about the two people you interviewed such as age, residence, how you know this person, the context in which the interview occurred and the steps you took to protect their confidentiality for the paper.

3. Describe and analyze in a culturally sensitive manner the physical, cognitive, moral, social, emotional, and spiritual domains of each individual: Discuss the significance of family and other close relationships. Include both healthy and not so healthy relationships relevant to your discussion.

4. Describe and analyze in a culturally sensitive manner the cultural and social contexts in which the person lives (i.e. class, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation) expounding on the strengths and resiliency drawn from that culture as well as any oppressions being experienced by the person.

5. Include a brief summary of the individual and systemic factors that have shaped the person’s life, the challenges or issues he/she currently faces, and how you understand the person to be navigating those current challenges.

6. Compare and contrast differences you have observed between the two interviewees and critically analyze the significance of culture, social context, physical, cognitive and emotional aspects that may have influenced these differences.

7. At the end of this formal analysis comment on your own experience of conducting this interview and consider how your cultural lens affected your observation and analysis and the way or degree to which the interview confirmed and or challenged your prior assumptions about these life stages.

The paper should be properly cited in APA format and no more than 10 pages (this does not include cover and reference pages). The paper will be graded based on your ability to cover the topics in depth in an integrated discussion utilizing solid organization, supporting references, and theoretical concepts to illustrate your analysis.

The following questions may be helpful in organizing your thoughts for the paper:

· Which theories explored in class can you integrate into your paper?

· Did earlier developmental stages seem to predict later functioning?

· What major life themes seem to be present? How does this person make meaning of his/her life? How do they convey a sense of self?

· How does this person balance work and intimacy now and if relevant, how did they balance them during other times in their life?

· How do they cope with the tasks of their developmental stage?

· If appropriate, how has this person been affected by strengths or weaknesses of their physical health?

· How does this individual relate to formal and informal support systems?

· How is the cultural context of this person uniquely expressed by the individual?

· How did the role of time and location help in understanding the relevance of issues reported?