1. Human Growth and Development
Chapter Nineteen
Early Adulthood:
Psychosocial Development
PowerPoints prepared by Cathie Robertson, Grossmont College
Revised by Jenni Fauchier, Metropolitan Community College

2. Theories of Adulthood
Many theories describe, analyze, and predict the transformations that occur during adulthood
Different theories about psychological needs reach similar conclusions

3. Love and Work Two basic needs: affiliation and achievement
or affection and instrumentality
Maslow: hierarchy of needs
Erikson: intimacy vs. isolation

4. Ages and Stages Patterns of the Past by 20s: identity by 30s: intimacy
by 40s: generativity
Adult lives today “are less orderly and predictable than stage models suggest”

5. The Social Clock
Culturally set timetable that establishes when various events and endeavors in life are appropriate
What are some of the appropriate timetables in the United States?

6. Developed vs. Developing Nations
The Social Clock, cont.
Developed vs. Developing Nations
developed nations now permit grandmothers to be college graduates, while developing nations do not
developing nations encourage teens to be mothers, while developed nations discourage this practice
Rich and Poor
the lower the SES, the sooner a person is expected to reach life’s milestones

7. Intimacy Need for Intimacy
meeting it depends on affiliation, affection, interdependence, love
Two primary sources are close friendships and romantic partnerships

8. Friendship
Better than the family in buffering against stress, as guide to self-awareness, and as a source of positive feelings like joy

9. Choosing Young-Adult Friends
Physical attractiveness
Apparent availability (willingness to chat)
Absence of exclusion criteria
Frequent exposure to each other

10. Gender Differences in Friendship
Conversations and Expectations
women - self-disclosure
men - external matters—sports, politics, work
female-female pattern may better reduce loneliness and self-absorption
male-male pattern may be more effective and efficient, especially in work situations

11. Gender Differences in Friendship, cont.
Friendships Between Men and Women
cross-sex friendships allow learning about common humanity and let people help each other gain skills
problems may arise when a platonic relationship is sexualized or there are conflicts of expectations
Same sex friendships may be most effective and efficient
especially in the workplace

12. Development of Love and Marriage
Sternberg’s Theory of love
1) passion 2) intimacy 3) commitment
7 forms of love based on presence or absence of three components above
in West, consummate love— a combination of all three—is the ideal form
difficult to achieve consummate love
familiarity and security diminish passion

13. Contact and Courtship Throughout history marriages commonly arranged
still common today in many nations and certain cultures
Typical U.S. pattern today—initiated and sustained by the two people involved
duration and seriousness increase until, couples marry, typically 10 years after their first love affair
Courtship follows predicable pattern—from passion to intimacy

14. Living Together
Cohabitation— a couple’s living together in a committed sexual relationship without being formally married
increasingly common
cohabitation not just for young adults
slightly more than half of all women aged years have cohabited

15. Cohabitation does not necessarily benefit the participants
Living Together, cont.
Cohabitation does not necessarily benefit the participants
one study found people who cohabitate much less happy and healthy, and less satisfied with financial status than are married couples
in another study, cohabiting relationships were 3 times as likely to be abusive than marriages
in a third, compared to single adults, cohabitants are likelier to have alcohol problems

16. Marriage Not like it “used to be”
proportion of unmarried adults is higher than at any time in the past century
10 percent of brides are virgins
nearly one-half of all births are to single mothers who are increasingly unlikely to marry the fathers of their babies

17. Marriage, cont.
Not like it “used to be,” cont.
20 percent of first births conceived before marriage
divorce rate is 49 percent of marriage rate
the rate of first marriages in young adulthood lowest in 50 years

18. Marriage, cont.
Marriage, still most enduring evidence of couple commitment, is celebrated in every culture in the world by a wedding
hoped-for-results: a love that deepens over the years, as bond cemented by
birth of children
weathering economic and emotional turbulence
surviving serious illness or other setbacks
sharing social and financial commitments

19. Marriage, cont.
Worldwide research says married people are happier, healthier, and richer

20. What Makes Marriages Work
Developmentally, marriage is a useful institution
children generally thrive when two parents are committed to their well-being

21. What Makes Marriages Work, cont.
One developmental factor affecting success of marriage is maturity of the partners
A second factor is degree of similarity, or homogamy—marriage within same group
heterogamy—marriage outside of group
social homogamy—similarity of couple’s interests and role preferences

22. What Makes Marriages Work, cont.
Marital Equity
social exchange theory
in modern marriages, what matters most is perception of fairness, not absolute equality

23. Same-Sex Partners
Long-term homosexual partnerships are more common and open today
2-5 percent of all U.S.adults spend some part of adulthood in such relationships
Homosexuals generally have same relationship issues as heterosexuals

24. Divorce Influenced by social and political context
affects many lives for years
United States has highest divorce rate
almost 1 in 2 first marriages end in divorce
Historically, an increase, but stabilizing
one reason: lower marriage rate

25. The Role of Expectations
People today expect more from marriage partners than in the past, but expectations are not always as well defined

26. The Developmental Impact of Divorce
Initially worse than expected in
health
happiness
self-esteem
financial stability
social interaction
achievement

27. Domestic Violence
Violence in intimate relationships has multiple causes
social pressures that create stress, cultural values, personality pathologies, and drug and alcohol addiction
common couple violence—1 or both partners engage in verbal and physical attack
intimate terrorism—1 partner systematically isolates, degrades, and punishes the other

28. Domestic Violence, cont.
Intimate terrorism less prevalent than common couple violence
Perpetrator usually anti-social and violent in many ways
Leads to battered-wife syndrome, with woman not simply physically beaten but broken socially and psychologically

29. Similarities Between 2 Types of Domestic Violence
jealous male partner doesn’t want female partner to talk to other men
male partner tries to limit female partner’s contact with family and friends
male partner insists on knowing who female partner is with and where she is at all times
Difference Between 2 Types of Domestic Violence
But in intimate terrorism, partner seeks to exert violent control over the other

30. Generativity
Defined as the motivation to achieve or the drive to be generative

31. Importance of Work Develops and uses personal skills and talents
Provides structure for daily life
Work can help a person to
develop and use personal skills
express unique creative energy
aid and advise coworkers, as a mentor or friend
contribute to larger community via product or service

32. New Patterns of Employment
Restructuring
work
workers
employers
schedule
teamwork
typical career sequence
Manufacturing estimated to shrink by 1/3 between

33. New Patterns of Employment, cont.
Workplace characterized by ongoing reorganization and growing automation
Timing and pace of jobs are changing
Burden of these new work patterns falls especially on young adults

34. Diversity in the Workplace
A major social change is most adult women are employed
motherhood no longer considered impediment to employment
Gender and ethnic diversity are increasing in every developed nation
glass ceiling (invisible barrier impeding rise of both groups)

35. Diversity in the Workplace, cont.
Work teams function best when they are diverse
Work requires same relationship skills as friendship or marriage

36. Parenthood Adult Development
having children, nurturing them, and launching them into the world has a major impact on the parent’s development
birth of a child brings conflict and challenges and begins the lifelong process of interdependence

37. Children Affect Their Parents
The bond is reciprocal
Challenges emerge at every stage of child’s development
Few young adults anticipate the time required for parenting

38. Employed Parents Benefits and Problems role overload role buffering
Logistics in Everyday Life

39. Children and Divorce Children make divorce more complicated
Financial burden of child rearing on custodial parent
Only one-half of fathers pay full child support

40. Alternative Routes to Parenthood
Roughly one-third of North American adults become
stepparents
adoptive parents
foster parents