Learning Journal

Prepare a summary of your readings from this week. Be sure that your Learning Journal entry
is a minimum of 500 words.

In the Learning Journal, be sure to describe:

1. A summary of key themes and concepts related to family formation and mid-life
touched on in the readings.

2. Any preconceived ideas or notions on the readings and how the readings may have
strengthened or changed your understanding or opinions about this topic.
 Unit 6: Learning Journal

Life course development: Family Formation and Mid life

Introduction

At each stage, life course stages start right from early life conception and follow through the
period of childhood and progresses to adolescence (transition age), mid-life (adult hood), and
late life (old age). At these stages, different events take place that have the potential to
determine how well a person's health outcomes would be at that stage and the next stage
subsequently. Therefore, it is important to note that any life improvement strategy would
have a positive impact on the health outcome of that person at that particular life stage and as
well at a later stage (Lachman, Teshale, & Agrigoroaei, 2015). The notion that any negative
life course adversities at each stage would therefore determine the resultant negative health
outcomes at a later stage is a flawed assumption. It does not work anymore.

The following are except of some key themes and concepts regarding family formation and
mid-life experience as touched on in this week's readings.

First Reading: Topic: Life Course Partnership History and Midlife Behaviours in a
Population-based Cohort

The major themes from this reading include the following:

Marriage and family formation are strongly linked to problem drinking, heavy drinking, and
smoking during adolescence and middle age. And it is very common in men and women who
have experienced divorce or who have never married or cohabited (Keenan et al., 2017).

However, life course improvement can happen at that stage. For example, according to
Keenan et al. (2017), "women who married later had a lower prevalence of smoking and were
less likely to be overweight than those who married earlier" (p, 1).

Lastly, in this reading, it was revealed that marriage was associated with a higher body mass
index (Keenan et al., 2017). Individuals who had never married or cohabited also spent less
time exercising (Keenan et al., 2017).

Second Reading: Topic: Midlife as a pivotal period in the life course: Balancing growth and
decline at the crossroads of youth and old age.

The major themes from this reading include the following:

There are two key concepts used in describing the life course at midlife and these are
"Individuation," which is based on the strengths and weaknesses of the person, is manifested
in the most critical period (the afternoon of life) for linking earlier (the morning) and later
(the evening) periods (Lachman, Teshale, & Agrigoroaei, 2015). And "generativity", which is
the process of highlighting the importance of a linkage between those younger and older in
the life course (Lachman, Teshale, & Agrigoroaei, 2015).
These two themes form the pivotal nature of midlife in terms of negotiating and regulating
growth and decline and integrating youth and old age, within individuals and across
generations (Lachman, Teshale, & Agrigoroaei, 2015).

The Third Reading: Topic: The Role of Family Routines in the Intergenerational
Transmission of Depressive Symptoms Between Parents and Their Adolescent Children

The major themes from this reading include the following:

Depressive symptoms;

Depression in adolescents can lead to psychiatric co-morbidities such as drug and substance
abuse, and it is more common in early adulthood and mid-life due to the challenges of
meeting life demands at that age (Manczak, Williams, & Chen, 2017).Therefore, it is very
important to watch out for those symptoms in order to help a person at that particular age.

Intergenerational transmission;

Is the likelihood of transmission of depression from parent to child based on the family
structure? This is because there is a strong link to how the family routine provides an
opportunity for parents to directly impose conditions on their youth that will later manifest in
intergenerational depression (Manczak, Williams, & Chen, 2017).

Inflammation;

Inflammation occurs as a result of an acute response to pain inflicted on the body; however, if
a person experiences a very low grade of inflammation over time, it will become chronic.
Chronic inflammation has very negative psychological and physical effects on a person, and
this directly results from prolonged exposure to depression in young adults and later in life
(Manczak, Williams, & Chen, 2017).

The Fourth Reading: Topic: The Evolution of Fathering Research in the 21st Century:
Persistent Challenges, New Directions

The major themes from this reading include the following:

Coparenting, Maternal Gatekeeping, and Fathering

Coparenting relationships are one of the key concepts in child care under family formation,
which is the relationship that involves individuals who share "responsibility for rearing
particular children together, and the quality of these relationships is chiefly characterized by
the extent to which coparents support versus undermine each other’s parental roles, parenting
behavior, and relationships with children" SchoppeSullivan, Sullivan, and Fagan (2020, p. 8).

The Fifth Reading: Topic: Mindful family routines and the cultivation of executive function
skills in children

Major concepts from this reading include the following:

Executive function is one of the major concepts in this reading because it is an important skill
in a person's early and mid-life. It is a "set of attention-regulation skills that make it possible
to hold information in mind, inhibit irrelevant responses, respond flexibly to changing
circumstances, and more generally, to act in a goal-directed fashion." Semenov & Zelazo
(2019, p. 113). Because strong executive functions in a person have the potential to allow for
the top-down (cognitive) regulation of attention, thoughts, and actions at different life course
stages,

Emotion Regulation

This is achieved through mindfulness, which directly aids in emotion regulation by

improving somatic awareness (Semenov & Zelazo, 2019). This is very helpful for adolescents
because if one is able to control his or her emotions well, he or she will reduce the possibility
of having an adverse life event that will alter the health outcomes.

Self-Awareness

"Is paying attention to interpersonal objects (thoughts, sensations, feelings) or intrapersonal"

Semenov and Zelazo (2019, p 120). This is very beneficial for personal improvement because
becoming familiar with one environment is the first step to averting a possible life
eventuality.

Conclusion.

All these readings, in one way or another, have themes or concepts relating to both family
formation and mid-life experience in the life course. In all, mid-life is the mid-age at which a
person stabilizes in most of the life events, including marriage and family support, and it is at
this age that a lot of adjustments need to be made by a person to live well at a later age. It is
prone to making one experience a lot of depression because of the pressure to keep up with
unfinished priorities in life. As a result, it is critical that one prepares early for life, including
modern life, so that one can manage other life demands well later in life. 

References

Keenan, K., Ploubidis, G. B., Silverwood, R. J., & Grundy, E. (2017). Life-course partnership
history and midlife health behaviours in a population-based birth cohort. Journal of
Epidemiology & Community Health, 71(3), 232-238. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2015-
207051

Lachman, M. E., Teshale, S., & Agrigoroaei, S. (2015, January 1). Midlife as a pivotal period
in the life course: Balancing growth and decline at the crossroads of youth and old
age. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 39 (1), 20-
31. http://europepmc.org/articles/pmc4286887

Manczak, E. M., Williams, D., & Chen, E. (2017). The role of family routines in the
intergenerational transmission of depressive symptoms between parents and their adolescent
children. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 45(4), 643-
656. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5243935/  
Schoppe‐Sullivan, S. J., & Fagan, J. (2020). The evolution of fathering research in the 21st
century: Persistent challenges, new directions. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82(1), 187-
189. https://www.scinapse.io/papers/2999975624#fullText

Semenov, A. D., & Zelazo, P. D. (2019). Mindful family routines and the cultivation of
executive function skills in childhood. Human Development, 63(2), 112-
131. https://doi.org/10.1159/000503822