• Definition

• Young adulthood is most often defined as the age between 20 and 40

years.
• The stage may also be referred to as early adulthood.
• The legal age of adulthood is 18 years, when the individual can vote
,be drafted into the military, and enter into marital relationships
without parental consent.
• Developmental tasks of young adulthood
• The major developmental task or crisis of young adulthood is -
Intimacy versus isolation. - Transition from the safety of the parents,
home and the structure of the high school to achieve the tasks of self-
support. -Independence. - By age 21 some adults live separately from
parents, - Establish a commitment to a work identity - Develop an
adult social role of their own design
• Physiological changes
• Physical growth in height and weight and organ and sexual maturation are
generally complete by young adulthood .
• Physical health, motor coordination, and physiological performance typically peak
between ages20 and30 .
• Hard physical work and exercises are often enjoyed and are productive.
• Wise food choices provide optimum nutrition, and regular exercise can help
maintain health and prevent obesity or cardiovascular disease.
• The priority areas include maintaining physical activity , fitness , and nutrition ;
decrease in use of tobacco and alcohol ; positive mental heath health practice ;
and adequate information concerning family planning options
• Physiological changes
• The priority areas for health promotion during the young adulthood years
include:
• Maintaining physical activity
• Fitness and nutrition
• Decrease use of tobacco and alcohol.
• Positive mental health practices.
• Adequate information concerning family planning
• The major cause of death in young adulthood are most often related to
accident or violence and are both preventable
• WOMEN HEALTH ISSUES
• - Women have great influence on childrearing and learning.
Maintaining women's health, there fore, may enable them to
influence generation of children to practice good health habits and
choose health lifestyles. - The major risk factors contributing to the
mortality rate include lack of prenatal care, inadequate knowledge of
health needs , and poor nutrition. -Recent public education effort
have increased awareness of the need for testicular self examination
(TSE) and Breast self examination as a part of gender specific
preventive health programs.
• ncouraging breast self-examinations and mammograms at
appropriate intervals can lead to early detection and early
intervention for breast cancer -Violent behavior against women is an
epidemic and contributes to the morbidity and mortality statistics of
young adult women
• Cycle of Violence Phase I Tension Building Limited control
• Minor incident
• External influences
• Minor incident
• Minor incident
• Phase II explosion no control
• Minor incident
• Minor incident
• Minor incident
• Phase III
• Home moon
• Calming, loving, respect
• Longer than phase II but shorter than 1
• Men’s Health Issues
• Men’s may be higher risk for injury due to their work environment .
• Men may also smoke and drink alcohol more often as compared with
women, contributing to the development of many health problems.
• Education concerning the harmful effect of smoking, alcohol,
substance abuse and obesity .
• Psychosocial development
• There are many developmental tasks and challenges that occur during the young
adult years. These tasks include
• developing mature sense of right and wrong.
• successful separation from family control.
• initiating lifestyle practice.
• establishing friends.
• intimate relationships.
• deciding on marriage and career goals.
• and developing parenting skills.
• Psychosocial development
• Intimacy
• Erikson described establishing intimacy as one of the major tasks of young
adulthood .
• It includes the ability to develop warm, trusting, honest relationship with
another person with whom it is a safe to be open and express and share
private thoughts
• Cognitive ability
• The young adults cognitive process involves realizing that knowledge is
the integration of multiple points of view
• Moral reasoning;
• Kohlberg was theorist who believed that the individual must be
capable of the formal operational level of thought before achieving
mature moral reasoning
• Parenting
• In today's society, not all adults achieve or desire marriage and family.
When parents learn they are to have baby, both positive and negative
feelings are evoked. The may want the baby and want to be perfect
parents.
• eaching techniques for the young adult
• Successful adult learning always involves relating the information to
the appropriate develop- mental tasks they are experiencing .
Teaching goals should be made clear, outlining how the new
knowledge can be applied and how it will benefit their current life
roles. learning is lifelong process. Teaching techniques for young adult
should be interactive, problem oriented, and related to daily
psychosocial tasks at work, home ,or school
• Respiratory System: Changes
• Muscles of respiration become less flexible.
• Decrease in functional capacity results in dyspnea on exertion or stress.
• Effectiveness of cough mechanism lessens,
• increasing risk of lung infection.

• 23 Respiratory System: Changes

• Alveoli thicken and decrease in number and size.
• Structural changes in the skeleton can decrease diaphragmatic expansion.
• Cardiovascular System: Changes
• Cardiac output and recovery time decline. The heart requires more time to return to normal rate after a
rate increase in response to activity.
• Heart rate slows.
• Blood flow to all organs decreases.
• Arterial elasticity decreases, causing increased rise in blood pressure.
• Veins dilate and superficial vessels become more prominent.

• 25 Gastrointestinal System: Changes

• Tooth enamel thins.
• Periodontal disease rate increases.
• Taste buds decrease in number, and saliva production diminishes.
• Effectiveness of the gag reflex lessens, resulting in increased risk of choking.