Adulthood

Saba Aslam

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Objectives
At the end of this unit the learners will be acquainted with:
• Early and middle adulthood
• Interpersonal relationships ( work and family)
• Erickson’s intimacy VS Isolation stage
• Mid-life crises and life satisfaction

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 Three Phases of Adulthood
Period Significant Events

Early (young) Adulthood •Begins when adolescence

reaches maximum height
•Girls –age 20 yr
•Boys – age 22 yr
•Lasts until age 40 yr
Middle Adulthood •Ages 40-60 yrs

Late (old) Adulthood •Age 60 until death

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Early (Young) Adulthood

 Early adulthood is a time of establishing personal and

economic independence
 Identity exploration, especially in love and work
 Instability; Self-focused
 Feeling in-between

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 Young Adulthood Physical
Development
 Physical strength typically peaks in early adulthood (the 20’s and
30’s)
 Although physical changes are minimal during this phase ,
the weight and muscle mass change as a result of diet ,
exercise ,pregnancy and lactation.
 Growth and strength in early adulthood, then slow process of
decline afterwards
 Decline affected by health and lifestyles
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 Cognitive Development in Early
Adulthood
 Piaget believed that the formal operational stage (ages 11 to
15) is the highest stage of thinking
 Adults gain knowledge, but ways of thinking are the same
as those of adolescents
 Some researchers disagree with Piaget and believe that
thinking i02/08/2024n early adulthood becomes more
realistic and pragmatic
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Cont..

Post-formal thought
 Thought that is reflective and relativistic
– Realistic, their idealism decreases
– Emotion & subjective factors can influence thinking
– Late adolescence to early adulthood is the main
age window for wisdom (expert knowledge about the
practical aspects of life that permits excellent
judgment about important matters).
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 Emotional Development in
Early Adulthood
 In his theory of psychosocial development, Erikson
described two fundamental themes that dominate
adulthood: love and work
 During early adulthood, individuals enter Erikson's intimacy versus
isolation stage (developmental task of forming intimate
relationships with others or becoming socially isolated)
 Independence : separation from family of origin
– Learn to function without using parents as major source of
comfort, security, direction
– Establish sense of “equality” with parents
– Develop adult friendships
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 Becoming a Parent
Advantages of Having Children Early:
Parents are likely to have more physical energy
Mother is likely to have fewer medical problems with pregnancy
and childbirth
Parents may be less likely to build up expectations for their
children
Advantages of Having Children Later:
Parents will have had more time to consider life goals
Parents will be more mature and will benefit from their life
experiences
Parents will be better established in their careers and typically
have more income

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 Friendships
 The focus of adult friendships is somewhat different for men and
women
Female friends tend to:
 confide in one another about their feelings, problems, and
interpersonal relationships
Male friends typically:
 minimize discussions about relationships or personal feelings or
problems;
 Instead, male friends tend to do things together that they find
mutually interesting, such as activities related to sports or hobbies

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 Middle Adulthood
 Period from 40 years of age to about 60
 Middle adulthood is time of:
– expanding personal and social involvement and
responsibility
– assisting next generation in becoming competent, mature
individuals
– reaching and maintaining satisfaction in a career
– A decline of physical skills
– Balancing work and relationships
– A reassessment of life’s priorities

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 Height, weight and strength:
 Height reaches a maximum during the 20’s for most people,
and remains stable til about age 55.
 After age 55, bones become less dense and ultimately women
lose 2 inches and men lose 1 inch in height.
 People get shorter with aging due to bone loss in their
vertebrae
 Weight typically drops after we reach age 50; likely because
we lose muscle
 Joint stiffness and difficulty of movement usually accompany a
progressive loss of bone in middle age

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 Physical Development
– Females may experience bone loss as early as age 35.
Men may not experience it until age 65.
– Muscle strength and stamina may begin to
decline.
– Hair may begin to turn gray and thin; wrinkles
appear in the skin.
– Chronic health problems such as hypertension, heart
disease, and diabetes may surface.

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 Sensory Effects of Aging
 Vision:
– Decline in vision becomes more pronounced
– Adaptation to dark and driving at night becomes
especially difficult
– Color vision may decline as a result of the
yellowing of the lens of the eye
– Eye lenses become hard and cannot
accommodate for near vision; result is
farsightedness in many people by age 45

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 Hearing in Middle Age
 Hearing undergoes a gradual decline beginning in middle
adulthood.

 The primary sort of loss is for sounds of high pitched, a

problem called Presbyopia.
 Men are more prone to hearing loss than women.

 Because the two ears are not always equally affected by

hearing loss, sound localization, the ability to detect the origin of
a sound, is diminished.

 Some (but not all) hearing problems can be corrected by

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hearing aids
 Cognitive Development in
Middle Adulthood
 Some intellectual abilities decline in middle age, but
others increase
 Crystallized intelligence [acquired store of information,
skills, strategies] increases in middle adulthood
 Fluid intelligence [ability to deal with new situations]))
begins to decline in middle adulthood

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 Emotional Development in Middle
Adulthood
 Generativity versus stagnation - Erikson’s seventh stage, in
which individuals leave a legacy of themselves to the next
generation (generativity)
 Active involvement in teaching/guiding the next
generation
 Stagnation involves not seeking outlets for
involvement / being self-centered.
 Guiding the next generation, or improving society in general or
may be self- centered, isolated and unable to participate
meaningfully in the world

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 Grand parenting
 Many adults become grandparents during middle age
 Three prominent meanings:
 Source of biological reward & continuity
 Source of emotional self-fulfillment
Grand parenting styles:
 Fun-seeking style (source of pleasure).
 Formal style

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 Interpersonal relationship
development
 Interpersonal relationship refers to social and emotional
interaction between two or more individuals in an
environment.

 Interpersonal relationship is also defined as the close

association between the individuals who share common
interest and goals .

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Types of interpersonal relationship..
 These relationships are basically classified based on
relational interaction and mutual expectation between
communicators.

1.Friendship
2.Family
3.Professional relationship
4.Love
5. Marriage
6.Brotherhood &sisterhood

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Barriers of interpersonal relationship
1. Situational barriers .
2. Personal barriers .
3. Sociocultural barriers .

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What Is Intimacy?

 It is defined as the sense that one could be open and honest in

talking with a partner about personal thoughts and feelings
not usually expressed in other relationships.

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What is isolation?

 Isolation is the experience of being separated from others. An

isolated person may experience loneliness or low self-
esteem. Over time, a person may develop social anxiety,
depression, or other mental health concerns.

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 A stage model for personal
development
 Several different theories have been put forward to account for
personal development during early adulthood.

 From a psychoanalytic perspective, Erikson (1997) sees the

dominant focus of this stage as the development of intimacy –
the ability to love and trust another person.

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 The period of entering the adult world (22–28) is partly organized around the
world of work. (Fig.10.6)

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 Intimacy vs. isolation:
 This is the 6th stage of Erickson's theory of psychosocial
development.
 People in early adulthood (20s through early 40s) are concerned
with intimacy vs. isolation.
 After we have developed a sense of self in adolescence, we are
ready to share our life with others. However, if other stages have
not been successfully resolved, young adults may have trouble
developing and maintaining successful relationships with others.

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Cont...

 Erikson said that we must have a strong sense of self before

we can develop successful intimate relationships. Adults who
do not develop a positive self-concept in adolescence may
experience feelings of loneliness and emotional isolation.

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Intimacy – are you secure, anxious
or avoidant?
 According to developmental models such as Erikson young
adults are developing a sense of personal identity along with a
need for closeness to others.

 Interestingly, there are strong similarities in the ways people

develop early relationships with caregivers during infancy and
intimate adult relationships later on.

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 ‘Securely’ attached lovers find intimate relationships comfortable and
rewarding; they trust their partner and feel confident of his or her
commitment.

 ‘Anxious’ lovers experience uncertainty in their relationships;

sometimes, they fret that their partner does not love them enough and
might leave, and they may respond to this anxiety by putting pressure
on the partner, running the risk of causing the very outcome they fear.

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 ‘Avoidant’ lovers find getting close to others uncomfortable,
find it difficult to trust others, and are reluctant to commit
themselves fully to a relationship.

 Shaver and colleagues found that the proportions of adults who

fall into these types is very similar to those of infant attachments.

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 Midlife crises
 A Mid Crises Is experience between the ages of 40 & 60.It was
identified by the psychologist Carl Jung & is a normal part of
the maturing process.

 Most people will experience some form of the emotional

transition during that time of life. A transition that might cause
you to take stop in where you are in life and make some needed
adjustment to the way you live your life.

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 Cont…
 Most seem to come through the process smoothly without
making major life changes. For some, A midlife crises more
complicated.

 It can be an uncomfortable time emotionally which can lead to

depression and the need for psychotherapy.

 Those who have a hard time with this transitional states might
experience a range of feelings such as :

 Unhappiness with life and the life style that may have provided
them with happiness for many years.
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 Midlife Crisis In Men
 A midlife depression can result in as much anxiety and stress for
the individual as the people around him.

 A person in the grips of a midlife crises may have trouble sleeping

or may sleep of all the time.

 Men experience a decrease in sex drive and impotence.

 A drastic change in appearance is also a common sign of a midlife

crisis.
In short, a midlife crisis means that men are feeling their age and
freaking out about it.
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 Midlife crisis in women

 They may doubt their value in life.

 Lose body confidence with the physical changes they are

undergoing.

 Question their career successes.

 Women experience a decrease in sex drive and impotence.

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 Life Satisfaction

Life satisfaction :

is the way in which people show their emotions,

feelings (moods) and how they feel about their directions and
options for the future. Life satisfaction is a key part of
subjective wellbeing.

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Life Satisfaction
 Abrams (1973):
quality of life as the degree of satisfaction or
dissatisfaction felt by people with various aspects of their
lives.
 Andrews (1974): the extent to which pleasure and
satisfaction characterize human existence.
 Dalkey and Rurke (1973) : a persons sense of well-being ,his
satisfaction or dissatisfaction with life ,or his happiness or
unhappiness.

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 There are six distinct attributes of
LS
Self-acceptance : possesses positive attitude toward self,
acknowledges and accepts good and bad aspects of self, feels
positive about past life.

Positive relations with other : has healthy relationships with others,

concerned about the welfare of others, capable of empathy, affection
and intimacy, understands the give/take of human relationships.

Autonomy: self-determined and independent, can resist social

pressures, regulates behavior from within, evaluates self by personal
standards.

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 Cont…
Environmental Mastery :
competent in dealing with the environment, controls
complex array of external activities, makes use of opportunities, able
to choose or create contexts suitable to personal needs and values.
Purpose in life :
has goals in life and a sense of direction, feels there is
meaning to present and past life, thinks life has purpose, has aims and
objectives for living.
Personal growth :
has a feeling of continued development, sees self as growing
and expanding, open to new experiences, sees improvement in self
over time, changes in ways that reflect more self-knowledge and
effectiveness.
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Degree of Personal Life Investment at
Different Points in Life

dr.Shaban 41
02/08/2024 dr.Shaban
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References
 Amabile, T. M., & Hennessey, B. A. (1992). The Achievement and
motivation: A social developmental perspective New York: Cambridge
University Press.

 Ayres, J., & Hopf, T. S. (1990). Visualization: Is it more than extra-

attention? Communication Education, 38, 1–5.

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