EARLY ADULTHOO
Ages 18 - 40 Notes from Human Development II: Adolescence and Adulthood By Michael Harris
First published 2016 by Fedex Office Print & Ship Center 10141 Wadsworth Pkwy #100, Westminster, CO 80021 Simultaneously published in Great Britain and Canada by Ain’t Nobody Publishing Copyright © 2016 Michael Harris The right of Michael Harris to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him, and him alone, but not in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988 because why would he do that. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieveal system, without permission in writing from God. Barely any effort has been made to trace the copyright holders and obtain permission to reproduce material from other sources. Any omissions brought to our attention might be remedied in future editions or reprints. Trademark notice: product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Harris, Michael David, Esq. RA. MD. PE. PhD. Early Adulthood : Notes from Human Development Part II/Michael Harris. -- 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-415-60235-91 (hbk) - ISBN 978-0-415-60236-92 (pbk.) 1. Psychology. 2. Well-being. I. Title. BF204.6.C384 2016 150.19’899 -- dc234 ISBN 978-0-415-60235-91 (hbk) ISBN 978-0-415-60236-92 (pbk.) Typset in Libre Baskerville by Impallari Type Cover and book design by Carrie Cardona Printed and bound in the United States by Fedex Corporation
But actually, all text derived from Michael’s notes from Human Development II, taught by Dr. Joan Bihun at UC Denver and this textbook: Development Through the Lifespan, 6th Edition By Laura E. Berk
03 TABLE OF CONTENTS Physical Development in Early Adulthood 07 - Physical 15 - Health & Fitness
Emotional & Social Development 35 - Emerging Adulthood 41 - Erik Erikson’s Development Theory 43 - Other Theories of Adult Psychosocial Development 49 - Close Relationships 59 - The Family Life Cycle 71 - The Diversity of Adult Lifestyles 83 - Career Development
04
Though the timing of these changes differs greatly among individuals, there are many important milestones in early adulthood: leaving home, completing education, beginning full-time work, attaining economic independence, establishing a longterm relationship, and starting a family.
Par t 1 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD Physical Changes Health & Fitness
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
HYSICAL CHANGES
Organ or System
Timing of Change
Description
Sensory Vision
From age 30
As the lens stiffens and thickens, ability to focus on close objects declines. Yellowing of the lens, weakening of muscles controlling the pupil, and clouding of the vitreous (gelatin-like substance that fills the eye) reduce light reaching the retina, impairing color discrimination and night vision. Visual acuity, or fineness of discrimination, decreases, with a sharp drop between ages 70 and 80.
Hearing
From age 30
Sensitivity to sound declines, especially at high frequencies but gradually extending to all frequencies. Change is more than twice as rapid for men as for women.
Taste
From age 60
Sensitivity to the four basic tastes -- sweet, salty, sour, and bitter -- is reduced. This may be due to factors other than aging, since number and distributation of taste buds do not change.
Smell
From age 60
Loss of smell receptors reduces ability to detect and identify odors.
Touch
Gradual
Loss of touch receptors reduces sensitivity on the hands, particularly the fingertips.
Cardiovascular
Gradual
As the heart muscle becomes more rigid, maximum heart rate decreases, reducing the heart’s ability to meet the body’s oxygen requirements when stressed by exercise. As artery walls stiffen and accumulate plaque, blood flow to body cells is reduced.
Respiratory
Gradual
Under physical exertion, respiratory capacity decreases and breathing rate increases. Stiffening of connecting tissue in the lungs and chest muscles makes it more difficult for the lungs to expand to full volume.
Immune
Gradual
Shrinking of the thymus limits maturation of T cells and disease-fighting capacity of B cells, impairing the immune response.
Muscular
Gradual
As nerves stimulating them die, fast-twitch muscle fibers (responsible for speed and explosive strength) decline in number and size to a greater extent than slow-twitch fibers (which support endurance). Tendons and ligaments (which transmit muscle action) stiffen, reducing speed and flexibility of movement.
Skeletal
Begins in the late thirties, accelerates in the fifties, slows in the seventies
Cartilage in the joints thins and cracks, leading bone ends beneath it to erode. New cells continue to be deposited on the outer layer of the bones, and mineral context of bone declines. The resulting broader but more porous bones weaken the skeleton and make it more vulnerable to fracture. Change is more rapid in women than men.
Reproductive
In women, accelerates after age 35; in men, begins after age 40
Fertility problems (including difficulty conceiving and and risk of having a baby with chromosomal disorder increase.
Nervous
From age 50
Brain weight declines as neurons lose water content and die, mostly in the cerebral cortex, and as ventricles (spaces) within the brain enlarge. Development of new synapses and limited generation of new neurons can, in part, compensate for these declines.
Skin
Gradual
Epidermis (outer layer) is held less tightly to the dermis (middle layer); fibers in the dermis and hypodermis (inner layer) thin; fat cells in the hypodermis decline. As a result, the skin becomes looser, less elastic, and wrinkled. CHange is more rapid in women than in men.
Hair
From age 35
Grays and thins.
Height
From age 50
Loss of bone strength leads to collapse of disks in the spinal column, leading to a height loss of as much as 2 inches by the seventies and eighties.
Weight
Increases to age 50; declines from age 60
Weight change relects a rise in fat and a decline in muscles and bone mineral. Since muscle and bone are heavier than fat, the resulting pattern is weight gain followed by loss. Body fat accumulates on the torso and decreases on the extremeties.
carrying
a
pregnancy
to
term)
07 OVERVIEW •
Biological aging is already underway in early adulthood.
The early 20s represent the peak of strength, endurance, sensory acuteness, and immune system responsiveness in humans. •
During your 20s and 30s, changes in physical appearance and declines in body functioning are so gradual that most are hardly noticeable.
•
When reading the table to the left, it’s important to realize that early adults today have experienced better healthcare and nutrition than the groups previously studied, so this may exaggerate some impairments associated with aging
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
HYSICAL CHANGES
In her early thirties, professional tennis champion Serena Williams recently became the oldest player to be ranked World No. 1 in the history of Women’s Tennis Association. Sustained training leads to adaptations in body structures that minimize motor decline into the sixties.
09 CARDIOVASCULAR & RESPIRATORY SYSTEMS •
Hypertension is high blood pressure, a condition in which the force of blood against the artery walls is too high. It can lead to heart disease if untreated. Heart disease is responsible for 10% of US male and 5% of US female deaths between 20 and 34, so it’s nothing to ignore.
Diets with less salt, more potassium, and regular exercise lower blood pressure (leading to less chance of hypertension and heart disease).
•
In healthy people, the heart’s ability to meet oxygen requirements does not change during adulthood.
•
The lungs, however, do show slight age-related change. Maximum vital capacity (the amount of air your lungs can hold) declines by 10% per decade after 25. We typically use less than half of vital capacity, but this continual decrease does contribute to an older adult’s difficulty in getting enough oxygen while exercising.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
HYSICAL CHANGES
Ten-kilometer running times with advancing age, based on longitudinal performaces of hundreds of master athletes. Runners maintain their speed into the mid-thirties, followed by modest increases in running times into the sixties, with a progressively steeper increase thereafter. (From H. Tanaka & D.R. Seals, 2003, “Dyanmic Exercise Performance in Masters Athletes: Insight into the Effects of Primary Human Aging on Physiological Functional Capacity.� Journal of Applied Physiology, 5, p. 2153. The American Physiological Society (APS).
11 MOTOR PERFORMANCE • • • • •
As long as athletes continue intensive training, their attainments at each age approach the limits of what is biologically possible. Many athletic skills peak between age 20 and 35, then gradually decline. What peaks in your early 20s? Athletic tasks requiring speed of limb movement, explosive strength, and gross motor coordination (e.g. sprinting, jumping, tennis) What peaks in your late 20s and early 30s? Tasks that depend on endurance, arm-hand steadiness, and aiming (e.g. long-distance running, baseball, golf) But age isn’t everything. In a large study of amateur marathoners, 25% of 65 to 69-year-olds were faster than half of the 20 to 54-year-olds, yet many of the older runners had only started running in the past few years.
IMMUNE SYSTEM • •
Immune system defined: the combined work of specialized cells that neutralize or destroy antigens (foreign substances) in the body. The capacity to offer protection against disease decreases after age 20.
Stress has a serious negative effect on immune function:
Psychological stress Conflict-ridden relationships, caring for aging parents, sleep deprivation, and chronic depression are examples. Physical stress Pollution, allergens, poor nutrition, rundown housing - these tend to be even more significant in weakening the immune response.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
HYSICAL CHANGES
First births to American women of difference ages in 1970 and 2010. The birthrate decreased during this period for women 20 to 24 years of age, whereas it increased for women 25 years of age and older. For women in their thirties, the birthrate increased six-fold, and for those in their early forties, it doubled. Similar trends have occurred in other industrialized nations. (From U.S. Census Bureau, 2012b.)
13 REPRODUCTIVE CAPACITY •
Physically speaking, pregnancy during the 20s may be ideal, due to low risk of miscarriage, less chance of chromosomal disorders, and because younger parents have more energy to keep up with active children.
•
But this is not the trend (nor the psychological ideal, as we will see). Many are delaying childbearing until education is finished, careers are established, and parents know they can support a child.
Fertility problems by age: Age 15-29: 11% 30 to 34: 14%
Age 35 to 44: over 40% of mothers have fertility problems
•
The uterus does not change much during this time, so the decline is due to reduced number and quality of ova. In males, semen volume, sperm motility, and percentage of normal sperm decrease gradually after 35.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
EALTH & FITNESS
SES variations in health in the United States -- larger than in other industrialized nations -- are in part due to lack of access to affordable health care. This Los Angeles free clinic helps address the problem by offering preventative services, including eye exams, to over 1,200 patients per day.
15 OVERVIEW •
Death rates for all causes in the US exceed those of other industrialized nations. This is likely due to higher rates of poverty, extreme obesity, more lenient gun control policies, and a historical lack of universal health insurance.
•
From childhood to adulthood, health inequalities associated with SES increase.
Income, education, and occupational status show strong relationships with almost every disease and health indicator. •
Low income and poverty-stricken US families are financially less well-off than families classified this way in other countries.
•
Early adulthood is an excellent time to prevent later problems.
•
Leading causes of death between 25 and 44 years in early adulthood in the U.S (note that half of unintentional injuries are car accidents):
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
EALTH & FITNESS
Obesity trends among U.S. adults, 1990 and 2011. The maps show that obesity has increased sharply. In 2011, twleve states (Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Caroline, Texas, and West Virginia) had rates equal to or greater than 50 percent. (From Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012a.)
17 NUTRITION OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY • 36% of US adults are now obese and 33% of all other Americans are overweight. The total, 69% obese and overweight, makes Americans the heaviest people in the world. Worldwide, 1.4 billion people are overweight. 500 million are obese, and 108 million of those obese individuals are American.
• Many people show large weight gains between 25 and 40, and young adults who are already overweight typically get heavier. • •
As we age, we naturally lead more sedentary lives and eat more sugar and fat. Adding some weight between 25 and 50 is normal because the amount of energy the body uses at complete rest gradually declines.
• Diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and early death are much more likely when one is overweight. •
Social discrimination is also much more likely. Overweight people are less likely to find mates, be rented apartments, receive financial aid, and be offered jobs.
FACTORS FOR OBESITY EPIDEMIC IN U.S: • The availability of cheap commercial fat and sugar, which is now in most processed foods (1970s discovered high fructose corn syrup),
• Portion supersizing (which is now considered normal portioning), •
Increasingly busy lives (86% of employed US men work over 40 hr weeks), which
•
leads to , and declining rates of physical activity. For example, we’ve seen TV viewing rise to an average of more than 4 hours per day. Ways to combat this in society: - Massive public education efforts by the government. - Putting high priority on building parks and recreation centers, and replacing fast food outlets with healthy food outlets in poor areas. - Creating incentives for promoting healthy eating and daily exercise. - Increasing obesity-related medical coverage.
no time for meal preparation
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
EALTH & FITNESS
A permanent lifestyle change that includes an increase in physical activity is essential for treating obesity.
19 OBESITY TREATMENT • Successful intervention is difficult. Once obese, the body has trouble not reverting when you lose weight, but these strategies tend to work: Lifestyle change to a nutritious diet lower in calories, sugar, and fat - plus regular exercise. Reducing fat to no more than 20-30% of calories has been shown to help. Keep a record of food intake and body weight. About 35% of obese people sincerely believe they eat less than they do. Social support - whether that’s friends, family, or a trained weight loss counselor. Learning problem-solving skills - acquiring cognitive-behavioral strategies for coping with tempting situations and periods of slow progress is associated with long-term change. Longer treatments and interventions (25 to 40 weeks is most effective).
DIETARY FAT • The U.S. dietary guide says to reduce fat to 30% of total calorie intake, with no more than 7% saturated fat. • Saturated fat typically comes from meat and dairy products and is solid at room temperature.
• Total fat consumed is strongly connected to obesity and saturated fat is strongly connected to cardiovascular disease. •
•
When we have too much fat, especially saturated, some is converted to cholesterol which builds up as plaque on our artery walls (leading to atherosclerosis). Replace saturated fat with unsaturated fat (found in nuts, seeds, and olive oil) and with complex carbohydrates (found in peas, beans, whole grains, and vegetables).
• The UDSA recommends eating 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
EALTH & FITNESS
Regular exercise of at least moderate intensity predicts a healthier, longer life. Participants in this kickboxing class reap both physical and mental health benefits.
21 EXERCISE •
Only 47% of Americans engage in the nationally recommended 150 minutes per week of moderately intense leisure-time physical activity
•
This is 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.
Only 24% engage in the recommended two sessions per week of weight exercises, which places a moderately stressful load on each of the major muscle groups.
•
Over half of Americans are inactive, with no regular brief sessions of even light activity.
•
Exercise fosters resistance to disease, bolsters the immune system, lowers risk of the cold & flu, and promotes faster recovery. It is also linked to reduced cancer of various types.
In animal studies, exercise directly inhibits the growth of
cancerous tumors.
• Physical activity also reduces anxiety and depression, while improving mood, alertness, and energy. •
Exercise also enhances neural activity in the cerebral cortex and improves overall cognitive functioning.
•
The impact of exercise on a positive outlook is most obvious just after a workout and can last for several hours (the post-workout high).
• As physical activity enhances cognitive functioning and psychological well-being, it promotes on-the-job productivity, self-esteem, stress coping, and life satisfaction. •
Regular, vigorous exercisers show large reductions in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, colon cancer, and obesity.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
EALTH & FITNESS
In cultures where alcohol is a traditional part of religious ceremonial activities, people are less likely to abuse it. For Jewish families, holiday celebrations, such as this Passover Seder, include blessing and drinking wine.
23 SUBSTANCE ABUSE • • •
Alcohol and drug use peaks among U.S. 19 to 25-year-olds and then declines steadily with age. Risks include brain damage, lasting impairments in mental functioning, unintentional injury, and death. Of the above age group, 12% of men and 6% of women are substance abusers.
ALCOHOL • • •
• •
• • •
10% of men and 3% of women are heavy drinkers. An alcoholic is someone who cannot limit their alcohol use. Many are also addicted to other substances like nicotine and illegal mood-altering drugs. Genetics and environment contribute to one’s predisposition to alcoholism.
But where access to alcohol is carefully controlled and viewed as a sign of adulthood (like in the U.S.), alcoholism is more likely.
College students drink more heavily than young people not enrolled in college. Alcohol is a depressant, leading to a lack of mental control. Alcohol also leads to: liver disease, cardiovascular disease, inflammation of the pancreas, irritation of the intestinal tract, bone marrow problems, disorder of the blood, and some forms of cancer. It also causes brain damage over time. About 30% of fatal car crashes in the U.S. involve drivers who have been drinking. Nearly half of convicted felons are alcoholics. Most successful treatments combine personal and family counseling, group support, and aversion therapy (use of a medication that produces a physically unpleasant reaction to alcohol, such as nausea and vomiting).
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
EALTH & FITNESS
25 CIGARETTE SMOKING • •
• • • •
•
40% of US adults smoked in 1965, but this is now under 19%. However, most of that drop comes from college graduates; there has been very little change for the less educated, especially those not finishing high school. More than 90% of men and 85% of women who smoke started before age 21. Also, the earlier the start, the greater the daily cigarette consumption and likelihood of continuing. Harmful ingredients: nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide. Results in damage to the retina of the eye, painful vascular disease, skin abnormalities, premature aging, poor wound healing, hair loss, declining bone mass, decrease in reserve ova, uterine abnormalities, earlier menopause in women, reduced sperm count in men, and sexual impotence in men. Also leads to highly increased risk of: heart attack, stroke, leukemia, melanoma, and nearly all types of cancer.
• 1/3 of young people who become regular smokers will die from a smoking-related disease and the vast majority will have at least one serious smoking-related illness. • •
Quitting leads to return of most normal disease risk to non-smoker levels within 1 to 10 years. Nearly 70% of U.S. smokers say they want to quit, but as many as 90% of serious quitters start smoking again within six months. Successful treatments last longer, combine counseling with medications, and teach skills for avoiding relapse.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
EALTH & FITNESS
The Internet is an increasingly popular way to initiate romantic relationships. Here, young people attend a speed-dating event, organized online, where they have brief conversations with potential partners.
Half of people over 30 have had 5 sexual partners or more. Contemporary men and women actually differ little in the average number of lifetime sexual partners. 18 to 59-year-olds reported sex frequency: * 1/3 have sex twice a week. * 1/3 have sex a few times a month. * 1/3 have sex a few times a year or not at all.
27 SEXUALITY • • •
At end of high school, 65% of American young people have had intercourse. By age 25, nearly all have. Compared with earlier generations, contemporary adults display a much wider range of sexual choices and lifestyles. Heterosexual attitudes and behaviors Since the 1950s, Public display of sexuality in movies, magazine, and books has steadily increased, giving the impression that Americans are more sexually active than ever before. Just like the sex lives of adolescents do not dovetail with exciting media messages of adolescent sexuality, the same is true of adults in western nations according to large studies:
Monogamous, emotionally committed couples are more typical (and shown to be more satisfied) than people involved in brief sexual encounters.
•
Sexual partners tend to be similar in age (within five years), education, ethnicity, and (to a lesser extent) religion. The Internet has become an increasingly popular way to initiate relationship. More than 1/3 of single adults use dating sites 22% of Americans in committed
relationships or marriages said they met on the Internet. This makes it the second most common, just behind meeting through friends.
Knowing someone who has successfully Internet-dated strongly predicts single adult’s willingness to do the same. Especially when computer-mediated communication persists for a long time (six weeks or more) people form idealized impressions that often lead to disappointment in face-to-face meetings.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
EALTH & FITNESS
SEXUAL COERCION An estimated 18% of US women have been raped. About 45% of women have experienced other forms of sexual coercion. Majority of victims are under 30, usually abused by a man they know well. The best predictor of rape is the offender’s characteristics. Men who sexually assault tend to: Be manipulative Lack empathy/remorse Pursue casual sex over intimacy Accept rape myths (women actually want it) Interpret women’s social behaviors inaccurately: friendliness as seductiveness, for example. Half of all rape takes place while people are intoxicated.
U.S. cultural forces also contribute: the notion of men as dominant and women as submissive.
Violence in media also plays a role. About 7% of men have been victims of coercive sexual behaviors.
CONSEQUENCES OF RAPE AND SEXUAL COERCION Immediate: shock, confusion, withdraw, and psychological numbing. After time passes: chronic fatigue, substance abuse, disturbed sleep, social anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and tension. 1/3 to 1-2 of female rape victims are injured. 5% get pregnant. Prevention and treatment for rape and sexual coercion Therapy is essential. These things help: Routine screening for victimization during healthcare visits. Validation of the experience (“this has happened to many, it does create many problems, but they can be overcome.”) Safety planning to prevent recontact and re-assault.
29 Sexual activity increases through the 20’s and 30’s, then it declines even though hormone levels don’t change much. The demands of daily life are likely responsible. 80% of couples report extreme physical and emotional satisfaction, 88% if they are married. Statistics do not back up the notion that marriage is sexually dull or that casual dating leads to the hottest sex. In reality, those prone to unsatisfying relationships are likely to prefer hookups or “friends with benefits.” Biggest sexual difficulties for men: Climaxing too early and anxiety about performance. For women: Lack of interest in sex (39%) and inability to achieve orgasm (20%). More sexual difficulties are linked to low SES, psychological stress, having more than five lifetime partners, and sexual abuse or coercion. Satisfying sex seems to be attained in the context of love, affection, and fidelity. HOMOSEXUAL ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR
Majority of Americans support civil liberties and equal employment opportunities for LBTQ individuals.
Nations with the greatest acceptance for homosexuals tend to have a greater proportion of highly educated and economically well-off citizens low in religiosity.
An estimated 3.5% of US men and women (about 8 million adults) identify as LGBTQ.
Gays & lesbians tend to be more well-educated than average.
SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES
1/4 of US citizens are likely to contract an STD at some point. It’s twice as likely for men to infect women. HIV infections remain the 6th leading cause of death among US young adults. The amount that die each year is higher than any other industrialized nation
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
EALTH & FITNESS
31 PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS • Stress is measured in terms of poor social conditions, traumatic experiences, negative life events, and daily hassles. •
As SES decreases, exposure to diverse stressors rises.
•
Stress is related to a wide variety of unfavorable health outcomes.
•
Chronic stress is linked to:
Being overweight or obese, diabetes, hypertension,
and atherosclerosis.
Heart attacks (in some individuals with intense
stress).
Poor cardiovascular health (especially in individuals
who perceive stress as unsolvable).
• Young adulthood is stressful, so young adults are more likely to feel depressed than older adults. This is also because older adults are better at stress management. They are more likely to use problem-centered coping when situations can be changed and emotion-centered coping when they cannot. •
Helping young adults establish and maintain satisfying, caring social ties is an important stress intervention.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
32
The decade of the twenties is accompanied by more feelings of control over events in one’s life than at any other time in the lifespan. Identity, love, and work are intertwined; they collectively define an early adult’s social and emotional development. When an early adult’s decisions are in tune with themselves as well as their social and cultural world - they acquire many new competencies and life is full and rewarding.
Par t 2 EMOTIONAL & SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Emerging Adulthood Erik Erikson’s Development Theory Other Theories of Psychosocial Development Close Relationships The Family Life Cycle The Diversity of Adult Lifestyles Career Development EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
MERGING ADULTHOOD
Volunteers with Habitat for Humanity’s Brush with Kindness program help low-income home owners with major repairs. Despite a widespread view of today’s young adults as self-centered, many emerging adults are committed to improving their communities, nation, and world.
35 OVERVIEW •
People feel adulthood later in industrialized nations. Only in the late 20’s and early 30’s do most young people report feeling like true adults in industrialized nations.
This is called emerging adulthood, a new period of development extending from the late teens to the late 20’s. It involves leaving adolescence but have not yet assuming full adult responsibilities. Emerging adults continue to explore alternatives in education, work, personal beliefs, values, and love. 1/3 of US college graduates now enroll in graduate school. More time to explore means the development of a more complex self-concept; exposure to multiple viewpoints causes deeper self-introspection.
IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT • Emerging adults explore in breadth - weighing multiple possibilities across a broad range of careers, partners, etc.
• And in depth - establishing a commitment to an area and exploring within that •
area. College students who move toward career certainty and evaluation in depth are higher in self-esteem, psychological well-being, and academic, social, and emotional adjustment.
• Those who spend excessive time exploring in breadth without making commitments tend to be poorly adjusted: anxious, depressed, higher in drug
and alcohol use, and in casual and unprotected sex. Increasingly more arenas in life that used to be socially structured are now up to the individual (e.g. marriage, parenthood, religion, career path). As result, emerging adults are required to “individualize” their identities. This requires self-efficacy, purpose, determination to overcome obstacles, and responsibility for out•
comes. This is collectively known as personal
agency.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
MERGING ADULTHOOD
U.S. 18- to 29-year-olds’ religiosity across generations. The percentage of unaffiliated young people rose substantially from the 1970s to 2000s. At the same time, among those in the 2000s cohort who are religiously affiliated, about one-third say they are strong members of their faith -- similar to the 1990s cohort. (Adapted from Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life 2010.)
37 RELIGION & WORLDVIEW •
• • •
Most emerging adults say constructing a worldview and/or set of values is essential for attaining adult status, even more than finishing education and settling into a career and marriage. In the late teens and twenties, religious service attendance drops to its lowest levels in life. 1/4 of US 18-29 year-olds are religiously unaffiliated but about 50% of U.S. young people are stable in religious commitment. In some ways, U.S. young people are quite traditional in religious belief and practice. Religion is more important in their lives than for those in other developed nations. More than half of US 18-29 year-olds say they believe in God with certainty. And 1/3 of the religiously affiliated say they are ‘strong’ members of their faith.
• An early adult’s worldview is often weaved from eastern and western traditions, science, entertainment, music, and pop culture. •
U.S. emerging adults who are religious or spiritual tend to be better adjusted: higher in self-esteem, less substance use, less antisocial acts, and more community service
GENERATION ME • • • •
•
Millennials are more narcissistic and materialistic, and have less empathy for the less fortunate. However, some scientists say these changes are too small to be meaningful. The average self-esteem of young people today is no better than that of past generations. Over the years, adults feel more competence from making identity commitments, entering and succeeding at their careers, and becoming involved in their communities.
pluralistic orientation - a disposition for living in a diverse society that includes respect for differing beliefs and a willingness to discuss controversial issues. Those who volunteer tend to have a stronger
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
MERGING ADULTHOOD
Resources That Foster Resilience in Emerging Adulthood Type of Resource
Description
Cognitive Attributes
•
Effective planning and decision making
•
Information-gathering cognitive style and mature epistemic cognition
Emotional and social attributes
•
Good school performance
•
Positive self-esteem
•
Good emotional self-regulation and flexible coping strategies
•
Good conflict-resolution skills
•
Confidence in one’s ability to reach one’s goals
•
Sense of personal responsibility for outcomes
•
Persistence and effective use of time
•
Healthy identity development -- movement toward exploration in depth and commitment certainty
•
Strong moral character
•
Sense of meaning and purpose in life, engendered by religion, spirituality, or other sources
Social supports
•
Positive relationships with parents, peers, teachers, and mentors
With few economic resources, this young woman in Burma already has adult responsibilities, caring for her baby while working as a food vendor. Like the majority of young people in developing countries, she has no emerging adulthood.
39 EMERGING ADULTHOOD • •
Emerging adulthood doesn’t happen in developing countries expect for with the wealthy. Emerging adulthood is also nonexistent or very limited for low SES people even in the U.S. -Instead of excitement and personal expansion, they encounter a “floundering period” during which they alternate between dead-end, low paying jobs. -Some think that emerging adulthood shouldn’t be a distinct period of development for these reaons. Others say that as globalization continues, it will be ubiquitous in the world. Globalization here is defined as the exchange of ideas, information, trade, and immigration among nations. It may may lead to a more global identity among young people. -Adulthood has never been a distinct transition. -Emerging
• •
adulthood is not experienced by the majority of the world’s youths.
Emerging adulthood also may encourage too much lack of commitment. The 2008 recession leaves large numbers of bachelors degree holders under 25 with few options. This is anxiety inducing, not empowering.
RISK & RESILIENCE • •
In early adulthood, due to big goals, big disappointments in love and work often happen that require radical adjustments. As emerging adults move through school and employment settings, they must constantly separate from friends and forge new relationships; this often leads to loneliness.
To
get through these years successfully:
1. Complete your college education. 2. Forge a warm, stable intimate relationship. 3. Find and keep a well-paying job. 4. Volunteer in your community.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
RIK ERIKSON’S THEORY
41 INTIMACY VS ISOLATION ERIK ERIKSON’S DEVELOPMENT THEORY OF INTIMACY VS ISOLATION •
Intimacy and isolation refer to the young person’s thoughts and feelings on making a permanent commitment to an intimate partner
• Intimacy requires adults to give up some of their independent self and redefine their identity to include their partner’s values and interests. •
Without intimacy, young adults face the negative outcome of Erikson’s stage: loneliness and self-absorption.
•
Secure identity fosters an attainment of intimacy. Identity achievement is correlated positively with fidelity and love.
But identity moratorium is correlated negatively with
fidelity and love.
• In friendships and work ties, young people who have achieved intimacy are cooperative, tolerant, and accepting of different backgrounds/values. •
Erikson thought resolution of this stage (intimacy) prepares us for generativity, the middle adulthood stage.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
THER THEORIES
43 SEASONS OF LIFE THEORY DANIEL LEVINSON’S SEASONS OF LIFE THEORY •
The life structure is the underlying design of a person’s life, consisting of relationships with significant others: individuals, groups, and institutions. Usually only a few are central.
•
During the transition to early adulthood, most young people construct a dream, an image of themselves in the adult world that guides their decision-making.
Men’s dream was usually career-related, women’s was
marriage and career-related.
•
A mentor was also common - helps facilitate realization of the dream
• Around age 30 can be a time of crisis for those without an intimate partner •
To create an early adulthood culminating life structure (end of early adulthood), men usually “settle down” by focusing on certain relationships and aspirations in an effort to establish a niche in society consistent with their values.
These values might be wealth, prestige, artistic or scientific
achievement, or family and community participation.
ex: one fulfilled man, in the process of settling down, became
partner in his firm, coached his son’s soccer team, and was
elected treasurer of his church. He reported less golf, travel,
and music than previously in his life.
•
For women, this takes longer due to more personal commitments to family that compete with career aspirations.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
THER THEORIES
45 ADAPTATION TO LIFE THEORY GEORGE VAILLANT’S ADAPTION TO LIFE THEORY •
Longitudinal study of 250 men born in the 1920s
Reported intimacy concerns in the 20s Career consolidation in the 30s
Generativity in the 40s
More generativity in 50s and 60s.
Became “keepers of meaning”/guardians of their culture.
Reported need to teach
others what they learned in life experience.
In 70s, men became more spiritual, reflective, and
contemplated the meaning of
life. •
A later lifelong study of well-educated women identified similar changes
•
But development is far more variable today. Many researchers doubt that adult psychosocial stages can be organized as distinctly as this.
•
These themes are more likely to be organized into dynamic systems of interacting biological, psychological, and social forces.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
OTHER THEORIES
Because the social clock has become increasingly flexible, this 30-year-old attorney, committed to her challenging, demanding career, may not feel pressure to conform to a strict timetable for major life events such as marriage and parenthood.
47 THE SOCIAL CLOCK •
Social clock: a combination of age-graded expectations for major life events in a given society, such as beginning one’s first job, getting married, having a child, buying a home, and retiring.
The social clock has become more flexible in developed na-
Among economically better-off young people, finishing one’s education, marrying, and having children occur much later in life than a generation ago. tions.
•
This creates intergenerational tensions when parents expect their young adult children to attain adult milestones on an outdated schedule.
•
Flexibility is a pro, but our society’s current ill-defined social clock causes young people to feel inadequately grounded and unsure of what others or they should expect.
following a social clock of some type does foster confidence and social stability However,
This is because it guarantees that young people will
develop skills, engage in productive work, and gain
an understanding of self and others. In contrast,
completely “crafting a life of one’s own” is more prone
to breakdown.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
LOSE RELATIONSHIPS
The warmth and intimacy of this couple’s communication form the basis for mutual affection, caring, acceptance, and respect, which are vital for a satisfying, enduring bond.
49 ROMANTIC LOVE •
Finding a life partner is a major milestone of early adult development, with profound consequences for self-concept and psychological well-being
•
Selecting a mate:
People usually select partners who resemble themselves in attitude, personality, educational plans, intelligence, physical attractiveness, and even height
Partners usually have complementary personality traits, one self-assured/dominant, the other hesitant/submissive
Besides this, partners differing in other ways are usually not
Partners similar in personality and other attributes tend to be more satisfied and stay together
In cross cultural studies, women look for intelligence, ambition, financial status, and moral character. Men look for physical attractiveness and domestic skills
In countries with greater gender equity, men and women want more similar things of each other
Both genders put the most value on mutual attraction, caring, dependability, emotional maturity, and a pleasing disposition. Men emphasize physical attractiveness, and women emphasize earning capacity in a mate.
complementary. Opposites
do not typically attract
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
LOSE RELATIONSHIPS
Keeping Love Alive in a Romantic Partnership Suggestion
Description
Make time for your relationship
Effective planning and decision making
Tell your partner of your love
Express affection and caring, including the powerful words “I love you,” at appropriate times. These messages increase perceptions of commitment, strengthen intimacy, and encourage your partner to respond in kind.
Be available to your partner in times
Provide emotional support, giving of yourself when your partner is distressed.
Communicate constructively and positively about relationship problems
When you or your partner is dissatisfied, suggest ways of overcoming difficulties, and ask your partner to collaborate in choosing and implementing a course of action. Avoid the four enemies of a gratifying, close relationship: criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling.
Show an interest in important aspects of your partner’s life
Ask about your partner’s work, friends, family, and hobbies and express appreciation for his or her special abilities and achievements. In doing so, you grant your partner a sense of being valued.
Confide in your partner
Share innermost feelings, keeping intimacy alive.
Forgive minor offenses and try to understand major offenses
Whenver possible, overcome feelings of anger through forgiveness. In this way, you acknowledge unjust behavior but avoid becoming preoccupied with it.
51 •
The components of love:
Robert Sternberg’s triangular theory of love identifies
three components – intimacy, passion, and commitment – that shift in emphasis as romantic relationships develop.
Intimacy: the emotional component - involves warm communication, expressions of concern about the others well-being, and a desire for the partner to reciprocate.
Passion: the arousal component - desire for sexual activity and romance.
Commitment: the cognitive component - leads partners to decide that they are in love and to maintain that love.
• Beginning of a relationship shows passionate love – strong sexual attraction. As passion declines in favor of intimacy and commitment, we see emphasis on companionate love – warm trusting affection and caregiving. Both are important in the long term.
•
Newlyweds in the first year gradually feel less in love. They do less activities and talk less, so their accuracy in reading each other’s feelings declines. After increasing number of interactions, they try less hard to grasp the other’s point of view.
•
In moving from passionate to companionate, commitment may be the aspect of love that determines if the relationship works. Communicating commitment in ways that strengthen intimacy – through warmth, attentiveness, empathy, caring, acceptance, and respect – strongly predicts relationship maintenance and satisfaction.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
LOSE RELATIONSHIPS
Although arranged marriages are still common in parts of Southeast Asia, young couples increasingly expect love to be a prerequisite for marriage, and their parents are likely to acquiesce.
53 •
Partners who consistently express their commitment report higher-quality and longer lasting relationships
• Constructive conflict resolution entails directly expressing wishes and needs, listening patiently, asking for clarification, compromising, accepting responsibility, forgiving your partner. It also means avoiding escalation of negative interaction sparked by criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling. •
In longitudinal studies, newlywed negativity during problem-solving predicted marital unhappiness and divorce
•
The capacity for constructive conflict resolution is a vital ingredient, but a tender, caring bond seems to energize that capacity.
• Men are less skilled at communicating in ways that foster intimacy, offering less comfort and support. CULTURE AND EXPERIENCE OF LOVE
• Romantic love only became the dominant basis for marriage in 20th-century western nations as individualism strengthened. •
Eastern culture is very different. The Japanese word for love means to depend on another’s benevolence. The traditional Chinese collectivist culture is similar. It discourages the intensity of any one relationship, distributing affection across a broad social network.
•
Japanese place greater weight on companionship and practical matters – background, career promise, likelihood of being a good parent. Chinese couples report less passion but equally strong feelings of intimacy and commitment as Americans.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
LOSE RELATIONSHIPS
Male friends usually like to “do something” together, whereas female friends prefer to “just talk.” But the longer-lasting men’s friendships are, the more intimate they become, increasingly including disclosure of personal information.
55 FRIENDSHIPS • Friends increase self-esteem and psychological well-being, provide expanded social opportunities, and lead to new knowledge and points of view. • • •
Seeing friends often contributes to continuity. Women do this more, so they have longer lasting friendship ties. Social media allows friends to not be limited by physical proximity. 3/4 of 18 to 29-year-olds use social networking sites.
• Social networking sites lead young adults to form a large number of acquaintances at the expense of intimate friendships. •
Research shows that those with 500 or more Facebook friends only interact individually (by liking, leaving comments, or chatting) with just 10 friends – for men – and with just 16 friends – for women.
SAME SEX FRIENDSHIPS • Women have more than men • A strong barrier to male friendship is competitiveness.
• The more warmth, social support, and self disclosure, the more satisfying and long-lasting the relationship and the greater its contribution to well-being. • •
With relationships and marriage, young adults – especially men – disclose more with their partners. Still, a “best friendship” can augment well-being when a marriage is not fully satisfying
OTHER SEX FRIENDSHIPS • From college to career exploration to actual work, other-sex friendships increase. After marriage they decline for men but continue to rise for women.
• Highly educated, employed women have the largest number of other-sex friends.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
LOSE RELATIONSHIPS
Changes in emotional distress due to loneliness from adolescence to late adulthood. More than 700 Canadian 13- to 80-year-olds responded to a questionnaire assessing the extent 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 declined. (Adapted form Rokach, 2001.)
57 SIBLINGS AS FRIENDS • After marriage, sibling bonds become stronger usually, especially for sisters. • Close friendships and sibling relationships become very similar. • This rise in loneliness is understandable; young people move quickly through school and employment and must continually develop new relationships.
• Young adults also expect more from their friendships than older adults, who have learned to live with imperfection. With • •
age, people accept loneliness and use it to sharpen awareness of their fears and needs. Loneliness is very intense after a relationship loss of some sort. Immigrants who leave a collectivist society and come to our individualistic society feel intense isolation.
LONELINESS • •
•
• • •
You can be lonely in regards to friends or romantic relationships; the feeling is different This rise in loneliness is understandable; young people move quickly through school and employment and must continually develop new relationships. Young adults also expect more from their friendships than older adults, who have learned to live with imperfection. With age, people accept loneliness and use it to sharpen awareness of their fears and needs. Loneliness is very intense after a relationship loss of some sort. Immigrants who leave a collectivist society and come to our individualistic society feel intense isolation. Healthy personality development strikes the balance between gratifying relationships and contentment with ourselves.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
HE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE
A father helps his osn, a recent college graduate, move belongings back into the parental home. Parents usually respond to their children’s return with generous financial and emotional support, doing everything possible to help them move into adult roles.
59 OVERVIEW • •
Family life cycle: a series of phases characterizing the development of most families around the world Stress seems to be greatest during transitions
LEAVING HOME •
• •
Young adults today live with parents as long as they did in the early 1900s, but that age similarity is only because young adults then were working for the family income. In Scandinavian countries, young adults move out earlier because government support is available. Many leave for college at 18, but those from divorced and single-parent homes tend to leave earlier.
• Just over half of 18 to 25-year-olds return to their parent’s home for brief periods after first leaving. • • • •
By the early 30s, 90% of young adults live on their own. The parental home offers a safety net and a base of operations for launching adult life. Black, Hispanic, and Native American young people leave home later and less. Parents of returning young adults often provide material resources, advice, companionship, and emotional support alongside financial help.
• Leaving home early contributes to long-term disadvantage. It is as•
sociated with lack of parental financial and emotional support, immediate job-seeking instead of education, and early child-bearing. Non-college-bound youths who move out in their late teens tend to have less successful educational, marriage, and work lives.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
HE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE
Factors Related to Marital Satisfaction Factor
Happy Marriage
Unhappy Marriage
Family backgrounds
Partners similar in SES, education, Partners very different in SES, edureligions, and age cation, religion, and age
Age of marriage
After mid-20s
Before mid-20s
Timing of first pregnancy
After first year of marriage
Before or within first year of marriage
Relationship to extended family Warm and positive
Negative; wish to maintain distance
Marital patterns in extended family
Stable
Unstable; frequent separations and divorces
Financial and employment
Secure
Insecure
Family responsibilities
Shared; perception of fairness
Largely the woman’s responsibility; perception of unfairness Personality characteristics and Emotionally positive; common inter- Emotionally negative and impulsive; behavior ests; good conflict-resolution skills lack of common interests; poor conflict-resolution skills
61 JOINING OF FAMILIES • Average age for marriage in 1960: 20 for women, 23 for men • Average age for marriage in 2014: 26.5 for women, 29 for men • • • •
Older ages in Europe 20% of those aged 18-29 are married today, 60% were in 1960. More people now stay single, cohabit, or do not remarry after divorce. Today, just 51% of US adults live together as a married couple Evidence suggests same-sex marriage relies on the same happiness factors as heterosexual marriages.
MARITAL ROLES • Couples must work together to decide when and how to eat, sleep, talk, work, relax, have sex, and spend money. • Couples today must work harder to define the relationship for themselves since traditional structures are waning.
• 15% of new marriages are between partners of a different race or ethnicity. This is double the rate of 1980. • •
Highly educated young adults are more likely to marry partners of another race or ethnicity. But couples whose backgrounds differ face extra challenges in transitioning to married life.
• Age at marriage is the most consistent predictor of marital stability: teens and mid-20s marriages are more likely to divorce.
Those who marry younger have usually not developed secure identity or sufficient independence.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
HE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE
•
•
• • •
Traditional marriages involve clear division of roles – the husband is the head of household, responsible for money. The wife is the caregiver and homemaker. These have changed recently, though. Many women who focused on motherhood return to work after their children leave. 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. Most well-educated, career oriented women expect this form of marriage. In dual earner marriages, fathers now put 85% as much time as mothers do into childcare. But housework (cooking, laundry, cleaning, picking up clutter) does not require immediate attention like children.
• •
•
Women spend twice as much time on housework as their husbands when they are employed, and four to five times as much time when they are not.
Men’s housework hours do not change as their wive’s employment does In interviews with husbands, women’s careers are viewed as secondary to their husbands, regardless of how much they earn. True equality in marriage is still rare, and those who strive for it usually attain something between traditional and egalitarian.
63 TAKEAWAYS • Marry after completing education and only have children once careers are underway. • Wait to have children till you build a sense of togetherness that allows each individual to thrive. • Develop patience. • Men report feeling slightly happier with their marriages than women do on average. • Sharing of responsibilities and having equal power builds satisfaction for both.
• Those who interpret critical remarks from their partner as unintentional are far more likely to express both current and long-term marital satisfaction. •
•
• •
In fact, partners who hold overly positive (but still realistic) biases concerning each other’s attributes are happier with the relationship. These positive illusions enhance self-esteem and psychological well-being, and over time, partners try to live up to the generous perception their partner has of them. But people who feel devalued by their partner react with anxiety and insecurity. High school and college courses in family life education can promote better mate selection and teach communication skills.
• Counseling that helps couples listen with empathy and understanding, focus on positive traits and memories, and use effective conflict resolution strategies can be very beneficial.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
HE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE
65 SOCIAL ISSUES PARTNER ABUSE • Men and women actually report similar rates of assault • Getting a partner’s attention, gaining control, or expressing anger are reasons people give for abuse. • In 1/3 to 1/2 of cases, both partners are violent. • When abusers are asked to explain, they place greater blame on their partner than themselves. WHO ABUSES? • High percentage of spouse abusers grew up in homes where parents were hostile or abusive.
• Stressful life events like financial problems increase partner abuse likelihood. •
Cultural norms that endorse male dominance and female submissiveness play a role, too. Males endorsing traditional gender roles are more likely to engage in abuse.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
HE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE
67 PARENTHOOD • •
Today in the west we actually have a choice whether or not we have kids In 1950, the average child per woman was 3.1. In 2014, it was 2.1 in the US, 1.4 in Germany, and 1.3 in Italy.
THE DECISION TO HAVE CHILDREN • Affected by finances, values, and health. • Women with traditional gender identities usually decide to have children. • Women in high status careers have less children and/or have them later.
• People want kids for the warmth, fun, growth and learning, and to pass on something before death. •
Disadvantages cited include loss of freedom and concern about role overload (family and work too much together).
• Today’s parents spend $280,000 (conservative estimate) on a child from birth to age 18, not including college. •
More ppl are carefully weighing pros and cons than ever before, meaning we have more willing and thoughtful parents, meaning more loved children. So, our world may get substantially better as new generations grow up.
TRANSITION TO PARENTHOOD • In the first weeks after a baby is born, gender roles typically become more traditional. FIRST AND SECOND BIRTHS • For most new parents, there is mild decline in relationship satisfaction and communication quality, but no significant marital strain.
• But troubled marriages get worse after childbirth • • •
The less equal care-giving is between spouses, the worse marital satisfaction. Equal care-giving predicts parental happiness and sensitivity to the baby. Father’s willingness to emphasize parenting is strongly linked to mother’s adjustment after the second baby.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
HE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE
Men are less likely than women to learn about child rearing through informal social networks. Fathers especially may benefit from parent education programs that help them clarify child-rearing values, learn about child development, and parent effectively.
69 FAMILIES W/YOUNG CHILDREN •
• •
Parents who effectively co-parent, collaborate, and show respect for each other as parents are more likely to grow in marital warmth, feel competent as parents, and have well-developed children. When they forge this supportive co-parenting alliance within the first few months after childbirth, it is most likely to persist. Low-income parents have many difficulties.
• Many say parenting enriches their lives, helps them tune into other’s feelings and needs, increases tolerance, confidence, and responsibility
FAMILIES W/ADOLESCENTS • •
Sharp changes in parenting roles Guidance blended with freedom and a gradual lessening of control is associated with the teen’s adjustment.
•
Parents complain adolescents are more focused on peers and not family.
Many
report a dip in marital and life satisfaction during this time, and this is when family therapy is most often sought.
PARENT EDUCATION •
Contemporary parents eagerly seek information on child rearing.
•
This heightens the parent’s understanding of their role as educators of their children.
• Parental education courses exist to clarify child-rearing values, improve family communication, understand how children develop, and apply more effective parenting strategies.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
IVERSITY OF LIFESTYLES
Compared with single men, single women more easily come to terms with their lifestyle, in part because of the greater social support available to women through intimate same-sex friendships.
71 OVERVIEW •
The diversity of lifestyles we now see has roots in the cultural revolutions of the 1960s.
SINGLEHOOD •
• • •
Defined as not living with an intimate partner. It has increased in recent years among young adults. The rate of never-married Americans in their 20s has tripled since 1960; it is now 75% Young men stay single longer, but women are far more likely to remain single for many years or their whole life. There is a tendency for women to “marry up” and men to “marry down,” educationally. The percentage of never married African-Americans is nearly twice that of whites. The rates come closer together in the late 30s and 40s.
• Most mentioned advantages of singleness: freedom and mobility • Disadvantages: loneliness, the dating grind, limited sexual and social life, reduced sense of security, feelings of exclusion from the world of married couples. • • •
Single men have more physical and mental health problems than single women. Those over 35 who have always been single are still content with their lives, though not quite as happy as married people. However, single people do go through a stressful period in their late 20s and early 30s when friends have married.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
IVERSITY OF LIFESTYLES
Among U.S. couple, making a long-term commitment by becoming engaged before cohabiting predicts an enduring marriage. U.S. young people who cohabit prior to engagement are at increased risk for divorce.
73 COHABITATION • • • • • • • • •
Cohabitation refers to the lifestyle of unmarried couples who have a sexually intimate relationship and who share a residence. Until the 1960s, cohabitation in western nations was largely limited to low SES adults. Since then, it has increased in all groups, especially in well-educated, economically advantaged young people. 60% of couples in committed intimate relationships cohabit. For some, this is a preparation/test for marriage; for others it is an alternative to marriage. In Europe, 70 to 90% of young people cohabit in their first intimate partnership and they are nearly as committed to each other as married people. In America, 50% of cohabiting unions break up within two years. (Only 6 to 16% end in Western Europe). US couples who cohabit before they are engaged are more prone to divorce than couples who wait to live together until after engagement.
But this association is less strong or even absent in Europe.
US young people who cohabit have had more sexual partners, are more politically liberal, less religious, and more androgynous. Also, many have parents who divorced.
• The open-ended nature of the cohabiting relationship in America may reduce the motivation to develop effective conflict resolution skills. • • •
A history of parental divorce increases cohabitor’s willingness to dissolve the union when it becomes less satisfying. Cohabitation is often an alternative to marriage among low SES couples. Bitter fights over property, money, rental contracts, and children are the rule rather than exception when unmarried couples split up.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
IVERSITY OF LIFESTYLES
75 CHILDLESSNESS •
9% of women 20-44 years old were childless in 1975, that’s 20% today.
•
Involuntarily childless - woman finds mate or fertility treatments unsuccessful
Leads to dissatisfaction or ambivalence,
depending on other life circumstances that
compensate. •
Voluntarily childless - most make this choice after establishing married lifestyle they don’t want to give up. Some later change their minds
Reasons: marital satisfaction, freedom from
child-care responsibilities, women’s career, over
all economic security.
•
Usually these people are college educated and have prestigious careers they’re highly committed to.
•
Negative stereotypes of the voluntarily childless (self-indulgent and irresponsible) have weakened in western nations. Acceptance is greatest among highly educated women.
• Voluntarily childless adults are just as content with their lives as parents who have warm relationships with their children.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
IVERSITY OF LIFESTYLES
77 DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE • Divorce rates have stabilized since the 1980’s, partly due to the rising age of first marriage (again, linked to greater financial stability • •
• •
and marital satisfaction). Cohabitation also curtails divorce. But the divorce rate is still 45%. Most divorce in the first 7 years. That’s why many involve young children. Divorce is also high during the midlife transition, when adolescent children are common. 2/3 of divorced adults remarry. Marital failure is 10% higher in the first years of a second marriage.
CONSEQUENCES OF DIVORCE • Divorce involves the loss of a certain sense of self sustained by a previous way of life. • Right after, men and women have disrupted social networks, less social support, more anxiety, depression, and impulsiveness. • For most, this subsides within 2 years. • Finding a new partner gives the biggest boost to life satisfaction of divorced adults. • Men have a harder time with divorce, and seek a new partner more. REMARRIAGE • People remarry on average within 4 years of divorce. • Divorce more likely in 2nd marriage because: • Practical matters factor into remarriage more (like help with previous kids/finances, social acceptance, reducing loneliness) and this is not good foundation for marriage. • People transfer bad habits from first marriage. • Since divorced once, more likely to see it as a solution. • Remarried couples experience more stress from step-family situations. • Blended families take 3-5 years to have the comfort of normal family. • Family life education, couples counseling, and group therapy help all this.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
IVERSITY OF LIFESTYLES
79 FACTORS RELATED TO DIVORCE • • • •
Disrupted husband-wife relationship Ineffective problem solving style, leading to weakened attachment Demand-withdraw pattern Women more often insist on change; men more often retreat Having no shared interests and leading separate lives - In a large longitudinal study, wives reported more problems than husbands, largely regarding anger and hurt feelings.
-Husband’s had difficulty sensing wife’s distress. -Biggest predictors of divorce: infidelity, poor money use,
drinking/drugs, expressing jealousy, irritating habits, and moodiness.
• Background factors of those who divorce: younger age at marriage, not • • • •
attending religious services, previous divorce, having parents who divorced. All of these also linked to marital difficulties. Couples who marry younger are more likely to report jealousy and infidelity. Low religious involvement subtracts an influential context for instilling positive marital attitudes and behaviors. Poorly educated, economically disadvantaged couples who suffer multiple life stresses are especially likely to divorce. Another trend is rising divorce among well-educated, career-oriented, economically independent women. - When a woman’s work status and income exceed her husband’s, risk of divorce increases. - This has much to do with husband’s typical lack of support for their wive’s care ers.
• Women in general are twice as likely to initiate divorce proceedings •
American individualism, the belief that each person has the right to pursue self-expression and personal happiness, contributes to the unusually high divorce rates here.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
IVERSITY OF LIFESTYLES
81 VARIED STYLES OF PARENTHOOD STEPPARENTS • Often move into parental role too quickly. • Stepparents usually view the biological parent as too lenient. • Remarried parents have more tension and disagreement, especially with kid issues. When both adults have children from previous marriages, it’s worse. NEVER-MARRIED SINGLE PARENTS
• 40% of US births today are to single mothers, double the rate in 1980. • • •
• •
11% of US children live with a never-married mother. About half of never-married women live in poverty. Children of never-married mothers with no dad involvement do less well in school and display more antisocial behavior. But kids who feel close to their nonresident father do better than those who don’t. Most unwed fathers are less educated and don’t do well financially. They gradually spend less time with their children Strengthening parenting skills, social support, education, and employment opportunities for low SES parents would help these mothers and their kids a lot.
GAY AND LESBIAN PARENTS • 20-35% of lesbians and 5-15% of gay couples are parents, most through previous heterosexual marriages. • They are as committed and effective at parenting and sometimes more so. • However, most research has been limited to volunteer samples.
• Children of gay parents are normal. There is no difference in mental health, gender, sexual orientation, or peer relationships. • • • •
Though some evidence shows adolescents experiment more often with same-sex attraction. When extended families are not accepting, homosexual parents often build “families of choice” with friends who assume the roles of relatives. Usually these family rifts are not permanent, though. Usually positivity and support are victorious eventually. There is also not more bullying for the kids of gay parents.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
AREER DEVELOPMENT
83 ESTABLISHING A CAREER •
Over half of adults in their 20s with bachelors or graduate degrees do manage to enter their chosen field, but initial experiences can be discouraging.
•
Disappointments in productivity pressure, salary, supervisors, and coworkers can be difficult to adjust to.
•
Resignations are common at this time.
•
Career progress can depend on the quality of a mentoring
• Workers in their 20s change jobs often; 5 or 6 changes are not unusual. relationship
•
The best mentors are not usually the top dogs, but those just above you in experience and advancement or members of their professional associations.
Mentoring early in one’s career increases the likelihood of mentoring later on.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
AREER DEVELOPMENT
85 WOMEN & ETHNIC MINORITIES •
Women, especially minorities, remain concentrated in occupations with little opportunity for advancement.
• The wage gap is largely due to gender differences in college majors:
women choose education and service fields more often. Men choose scientific and technical fields.
• The unexplained wage gap as of 2014 was 10%, and is usually attributed to on-the-job discrimination. • • • •
Pregnancy is difficult because time away from a career greatly hinders advancement. The trend for accomplished professional women is to leave work for child rearing. This is often due to a high-pressured and inflexible work environment. When a powerful male leader sponsors the advancement of a talented woman, senior-level decision-makers are far more likely to take notice.
• Racial bias, unfortunately, is still high. In the following graphic, even though • • •
the white applicant had a criminal record and the others did not (and they were matched on all other traits), the white candidate got more callbacks: For whites, quality of resume matters a lot. For blacks, it often does not. Blacks spend longer searching for work, have less stable jobs, get less work experience than whites with equal qualifications. Ethnic minority women often must surmount combined gender and racial discrimination to realize their career potential.
• Those who succeed frequently display an unusually high sense of self efficacy, attacking problems head-on despite repeated obstacles to achievement. •
Women in rewarding careers generally report higher levels of psychological well-being and life satisfaction - this may mean that the frequent discontent of married women may have more to do with the lack of a gratifying work life.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
AREER DEVELOPMENT
87 COMBINING WORK & FAMILY •
The majority of women with children are in the workforce, most in dual-earner marriages or cohabiting relationships.
• Women more often experience role overload, conflict between the demands of work and family. •
•
•
It is linked to stress, physical health problems, bad marital relations, less effective parenting, child behavior problems, and poor job performance. Some handle it well, but in studies, most cope with role overload by scaling back at home by leaving things undone or restructuring family roles, with women doing this more than men. Overall, couples expect family life to accommodate to work demands. They seldom adjust work roles to meet family needs.
• In studies, the more time-flexible policies, the better work performance. These included time off to care for sick children, •
choice in work hours, and working from home. Flexibility in work also lead to missing less days, being late less, being more committed to one’s employer, and working harder, in addition to less stress-related symptoms.
• Effectively balancing work and family leads to a better standard of living, improved productivity, higher well-being, greater self fulfillment, and happier marriages. •
Effectively dealing with challenges (family and work) bolsters and fortifies self-esteem.
EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD