Lifespan Development - Chapter 14

Definition: Emerging Adulthood

A new transitional period of development, extending from the late teens to the mid-twenties, during which young people have typically left adolescence but have not yet assumed adult responsibilities. Rather, they continue to explore alternatives in educat

Factors: Emerging Adulthood

-Multidimensional, multidirectional
-Gradual transition from late teens until early twenties
exploring education, work, values, relationships
few strict social expectations
attitudes and values broaden
-Can explore in breadth (weighing multiple possibilit

Dual-Cycle Model in Early College Years

-Cycle between making and evaluating commitments
-In-depth exploration and certainty
better social adjustment
better academic adjustment
-Personal agency

Emerging Adulthood and Cultural Change, Variations

-Rapid cultural change offers new challenges.
-Entry-level jobs require more education.
delays in financial independence
delays in career commitment
typical in wealthy nations
-In developing nations, only for privileged
-Unknown in traditional, rural-base

Emerging Adulthood in Collectivist Cultures

social considerations
role attainment as sign of adulthood
self-control

Emerging Adulthood in Low-SES

-emerging adulthood limited or nonexistent
-floundering period
unemployment
low-paying jobs

Fostering Success in Emerging Adulthood

Resilience
-Cognitive attributes
-Emotional attributes
-Social attributes
-Social support

Intimacy versus Isolation

Erikson's theory of psychological conflict in early adulthood, reflected in the young person's thoughts nad feelings about making a permanent commitment to an intimate partner.

Intimacy

making a permanent commitment to intimate partner
involves redefining identity
a secure identity helps
affects friendship, work

Isolation

loneliness, self-absorption
stuck in a state of searching
negatively associated with fidelity and love

Levinson's Early Adult Season

-Early adult transition
dream
mentor
-Early adulthood life structure
men: "settling down"
women: split dreams
-Age-30 transition
reevaluate life structure
often focus on underdeveloped aspects
can be time of crisis

Definition: Life Structure

a key concept in Levinson's theory, is the underlying design of a person's life, consisting of relationships with significant others-individuals, groups, and institutions.

Vaillant's Adaptation to Life

Twenties - intimacy concerns
Thirties - career consolidation
Forties - generativity
Fifties to Sixties - "keepers of meaning"
Seventies - spiritual and reflective

Social Clock

-Age-graded expectations for life events
-Following social clock lends confidence, contributes to social stability
-The stability of a society depends on following social-clock patterns

Selecting a Mate

-Physical proximity
-Most select partners who are similar.
-Gender differences
women: intelligence, ambition, financial status, morals
men: attractiveness, domestic skills

Childhood Attachment and Adult Romantic Relationships

1. Secure - comfortable with intimacy; unafraid of abandonment - trust, happiness, friendship
2. Avoidant - stress independence, mistrust, anxiety about closeness - jealousy, emotional distance, little physical pleasure, unrealistic beliefs
3. Resistant -

Definition: Triangular Theory of love

3 components: intimacy, compassion, and commitment. Shifts in emphasis as romantic relationships develop

Factors: Triangular Theory of Love

-Three components:
intimacy
passion
commitment
-Passionate love early; companionate love later
passion gradually fades while intimacy, commitment grow
-Cultural differences

Passionate Love

intense sexual attraction

companionate love

warm, trusting affection and caregiving

Friendships in Early Adulthood

-Friends usually similar age, sex, SES
-Common interests, experiences, needs
add to pleasure of friendship
-Enhance self-esteem, make life more interesting
-Trust, intimacy, and loyalty continue to be important.
-Siblings often friends

Gender and Friendship: Same-sex friendship

-gender differences
women's more intimate
-individual differences
longer friendships more intimate
single people more intimate with friends

Gender and Friendship - Other sex friendship

-fewer, shorter-lasting
educated, employed women have most
-benefits to both genders
men: opportunity for expression
women: new views
-Sexual attraction must be considered

Definition: loneliness

unhappiness resulting from a gap between the social relationships we currently have and those we desire

Factors in loneliness

1. Age:
peaks in late teens, early twenties
declines through seventies
2. Circumstances:
separated, divorced, widowed
uninvolved men
immigrants to individualist from collectivist cultures
3. Personal Characteristics:
socially anxious
insecure models of at

Loneliness and Emotional Distress at Different Ages

More than 700 Canadian 13- to 18-year-olds responded to a questionnaire assessing the extend to which they experienced emotional distress due to loneliness. Loneliness rose sharply from the early teens to the late teens and early twenties and then decline

Definition: Family life cycle

a sequence of phases characterizing the development of most families around the world

Factors: Family Life Cycle

1. Early adulthood
leaving home
joining families in marriage
parenthood
2. Middle adulthood
launching children
3. Late adulthood
retirement
death of spouse

Leaving Home

-Average age decreasing
50% of 18- to 25-year-olds live with parent
depart for education earlier, marriage later
too early may be long-term disadvantage
-Many return briefly
-Culture, SES, ethnicity affect ability, interest in leaving
-Family relationship

Trends in Marriage

-Marrying later
-Nearly 90% marry at least once
-Fewer marriages
staying single, cohabiting, not remarrying
-Legalization of same-sex marriage in some places
-"Mixed" marriages increasingly common

Definition: Traditional Marriages

involves a clear division of husband's and wife's roles, still exist in Western nations. The man is the head of household; his primary responsibility is the economic well-being of his family. The woman devotes herself to caring for her husband and childre

Definition: egalitarian marriages

partners relate as equals, sharing power and authority. Both try to balance the time and energy they devote to their occupations, their children, and their relationship.

Gender and Housework

In each nation, women devote considerably more time than men to housework. Men's participation is greater in Sweden, which places a high value on gender equality. In Japan, where traditional gender roles prevail, men devote the least time to housework.

Factors Related to Marital Satisfaction

Family backgrounds
Age at marriage
Length of courtship
Timing of first pregnancy
Relationship to extended family
Financial and employment status
Family responsibilities
Personality characteristics

Partner Abuse

1. Men and women both become violent.
-Same-sex or other-sex partnerships
-Women more likely to get seriously injured.
2. Violence-remorse cycles common
-Factors include: personality and developmental history,
family circumstances, & culture
3. Much treat

Assaults Against Women by Intimate Partners

Always underreported, high in all nations. especially high in countries that endorse traditional gender roles and suffer from widespread poverty.

Trends in Having Children

-In United States, fewer married couples have children (70%)
mothers' careers
less social criticism
-Delay first child
-Smaller numbers of children
average of 2 or fewer

Decision to Have Children: advantages

warmth and affection
stimulation and fun
growth and learning experiences
carry on family name
sense of accomplishment

Decision to Have Children: disadvantages

loss of freedom
financial strain
role overload
affect mother's job

Transition to Parenthood

-Many profound changes
-Roles often become more traditional.
roles get less traditional with second birth
-Marriage can be strained.
problems before children predict problems after
sharing care predicts happiness.
-Later parenthood eases transition.
coupl

Parenting

-Powerful source of adult development
-With young children
best parents work together as coparenting team
challenges: few social supports, hard to find child care
-With adolescents
brings sharp changes
challenges: negotiation of roles, dip in marital sati

Parent Education

-Parenting books, magazines
-Doctors
-Social networks
especially mothers
-Classes

Singlehood

-Increasing
one-third of males, one-fourth of females
8-10% single for life
-Stressful periods
late twenties
mid-thirties for women
-Gender differences
women more likely to stay single
more high-SES women, low-SES men single after age 30
-Ethnic differenc

Definition: Cohabitation

the lifestyle of unmarried couples who have sexually intimate relationship and who share a residence

Cohabitation

-Unmarried, sexually intimate, living together
-Increasing
-Can be preparation for marriage
North Americans who cohabit before marriage are more likely to divorce.
-Can be alternative to marriage
more accepted in Western Europe
-Cohabiting gay and lesbian

Childlessness

-Involuntary
no parenthood partner
infertile
may be dissatisfied
-Voluntary
usually college-educated, committed to prestigious jobs
-About 20% of women
-Negative stereotypes weakening

Divorce Rates

-Stabilized since 1980s
-About 45% in United States
about 10% higher for remarriages soon after first marriage
-First seven years, midlife most common times
young and adolescent children involved

Causes and Factors in Divorce

Causes:
-ineffective problem solving
-separate lives
-major problems:
infidelity
money issues
substance abuse
Factors:
-background factors:
age
religion
prior divorce
family background
-SES
-gender roles, expectations

Consequences of Divorce

-Major change of life and self
opportunities for positive and negative change
-Immediate consequences generally subside in 2 years.
disrupted social networks, support
increased anxiety, depression, impulsive behavior
traditional women, noncustodial father

Remarriage After Divorce

-Most remarry within 4 years of divorce.
men sooner than women
-Vulnerable to breakup
reasons for marriage (often too pragmatic)
carry over negative patterns
view divorce as acceptable resolution
stepfamily stress
-Takes 3-5 years to blend new family
educ

Stepparenting

Higher levels of tension, disagreement
Stepmothers most likely to experience conflict
Higher divorce rates

Never-Married Single Parents

Affects about 10% of U.S. children
Largest group is young African-American women
Often rely on extended family
Children lacking father's involvement fare poorly

Gay and Lesbian Parents

Heterosexual partner, adoption, assisted reproduction
Children similar to peers in cognitive measures
May build "families of choice

Career Development in Early Adulthood

-Disappointment near start of career common
many job changes in twenties
most settle in after evaluation and adjustment
-Adjust expectations to opportunities to advance
fewer opportunities
-Self-efficacy, mentoring affect adjustment, success

Challenges to Women's Career Development

-Discontinuous employment
leave for child rearing, family care
hinders advancement
-Concentration in low-paying, low-advancement jobs
contributes to salary gap
-Low self-efficacy for male-dominated fields
-Gender stereotyping
-Few mentors

Challenges to Ethnic Minorities' Career Development

-Racial bias in workplace still remains
harder to find job
harder to advance
-Ethnic minority women face combined discrimination.
Successful women have high self-efficacy.

Work-Family Balance

-Dual-earner marriages are the dominant family form.
most also parents
-Role overload is a common problem.
linked to psychological stress, poorer marital relations, less-effective parenting
-Workplace supports can help.
time flexibility
-Effective balanci