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Early Adulthood
Physical Maturation
and Aging Process
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Learning Objective
▪ Review the milestones of human physical development

▪ Review the milestones of human physical development in

early and middle adulthood
https://study.com/academy/lesson/human-development-stages-from-infancy-to-late-adulthood.html
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HUMANS GROWTH STAGES
▪ Areas of Development
1. Physical Development
2. Cognitive Development ▪ Stages of Development
1. The prenatal period From conception to birth
3. Emotional and Social 2. Infancy and toddlerhood From birth to 2 years
Development 3. Early childhood From 2 to 6 years
4. Middle childhood from 6 to 11 years
5. Adolescence From 11 to 20 years
6. Early adulthood From 20 to 40 years
7. Middle adulthood From 40 to 60 years
8. Late adulthood from 60 years
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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

▪ Humans will undergo changes in size

and height throughout their lives.
▪ General patterns of physical growth
are the same for all individuals.
▪ Considerable variation in the rate and
timing of growth and size achieved.
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http://psychology.iresearchnet.com/developmental-psychology/physical-development-and-growth/
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Early Adulthood (Ages 20–40)

▪ Early adulthood : a period of transition from adolescence to

adulthood.

▪ → Transition from dependence to an independent future both from

the economy, freedom of self-determination, and a more realistic
view of the future.

▪ Legally, early adulthood is when someone turns 21 years old (even if

they are not married) or when someone gets married (even though
they are not yet 21 years old)

▪ At 18-25 years old, their physical body reached maximum growth

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Early Adulthood
The Physiological Peak

▪ Physical maturation is complete, although height and weight may increase

slightly

▪ Physical abilities will be at their peak, including muscle strength, time to

react, sensory abilities, and heart function.

▪ The reproductive system, motor skills, strength, and lung capacity are all
operating at their best.

▪ Most professional athletes are at the top of their game during this stage,
and many women have children in the early-adulthood years (Boundless,
2016).
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Early adulthood

▪ A young person will be able to carry out their physical activities

to the fullest, such as running fast, walking or long-distance
running.

▪ They can do heavy physical work

▪ Pragnant
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Characteristics of Physical Maturity During
Early Adulthood include:

▪ Hand-eye coordination is at its best

▪ Individuals have grown to full height

▪ Maximum physical strength and stamina have been reached

▪ Women are at their most fertile

▪ Later phase of early adulthood, perimenopause may occur

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Pregnancy During Early Adulthood

▪ The early adulthood stage is when women are most likely to

become pregnant. Pregnancy and lactation are key characteristics
of early adulthood.

▪ During pregnancy, hormones change, and the levels of

progesterone steadily increase. Progesterone is responsible for
maintaining the pregnancy and is produced by the ovaries, the
placenta (when a woman is pregnant) and the adrenal glands.

▪ Oestrogen is needed for the correct development of the foetal

organs, including the liver, kidneys and lungs.
Aging factors: As an individual progresses through adulthood, a variety of factors can affect the aging process. This
includes primary factors like decline of cellular function and oxidative damage, and secondary factors like an unhealthy
lifestyle.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/early-and-middle-adulthood/
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Physical Development

Physical Performance and Development:

▪ Peak physical performance typically occurs before them age of 30

▪ Different types of athletes reach their peak performances at different ages

▪ Muscle tone and strength usually begin to show signs of decline around age 30

▪ Health:

▪ Young adults have more than twice the mortality rate of adolescents

Few chronic health problems

▪ Most college students know what behaviors will prevent illness and promote
health, but many of them do not apply this information

©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

 At 30 ?
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▪ The aging process, begins during early adulthood.

▪ Around 30 y.o, many changes begin (occur in different parts of the body).

For example:

▪ the lens of the eye starts to stiffen and thicken, resulting in changes in vision (usually affecting the ability to
focus on close objects). → need positive lens for their glasses

▪ Sensitivity to sound decreases; this happens twice as quickly for men as for women.

▪ Hair will start to thin and become gray around the age of 35 e, although this may happen earlier for some
individuals and later for others.

▪ Appearance skin turgor and moisture decrease. The skin becomes dry, and wrinkles begin to appear by the
end of early adulthood.

▪ The immune system becomes less adept at fighting off illness, and reproductive capacity starts to decline.
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Adulthood

Cancer and
Risky time for heart disease
violent deaths (fourth and fifth
(rates vary by top causes of
gender, race, A Healthy, death among
and ethnicity). young adults)
but Risky
Time

unintentional
injury,
suicide, and
homicide

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019), USA.

 Sexual Response
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Men and women tend to reach their peak of sexual response at different ages

MEN WOMEN
▪ The sexual response tends to peak in their ▪ Women often find that they become more
late teens and early twenties. sexually responsive throughout their 20s
and 30s
▪ Sexual arousal can easily occur in
response to physical stimulation or ▪ The peak in their late 30s or early 40s.
fantasizing.
▪ This may be due to greater self-confidence
▪ Sexual response begins to decline slowly and reduced barriers about sexuality.
in his late twenties and into his thirties
although a man may continue to be
sexually active throughout adulthood.

▪ Over time, a man may need more intense

stimulation to become aroused.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-lifespandevelopment/chapter/physical-development-in-early-adulthood/
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Example Health Case in Adulthood
▪ Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with
COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study

▪ Fei Zhou, MD † , Ting Yu, MD †, Ronghui Du, MD †, Guohui Fan, MS †,

Ying Liu, MD †, Zhibo Liu, MD †et al.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30566-3/fulltext
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REFERENCE

▪ Boundless Psychology, Early and MiddleAdulthood. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-

psychology/chapter/early-and-middle-adulthood/.

▪ Maricopa Community Collages. Chapter 9: Early Adulthood, https://open.maricopa.edu/devpsych/chapter/chapter-9-early-

adulthood/

▪ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019), USA.

https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/infographic/chronic-diseases.htm

▪ Fei Zhou, MD † , Ting Yu, MD †, Ronghui Du, MD †, Guohui Fan, MS †, Ying Liu, MD †, Zhibo Liu, MD †et al. Clinical course and risk
factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30566-3/fulltext

▪ ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 15: Physical and Cognitive Development in
Middle Adulthood Life-Span Development Twelfth,