1. 22 - Adulthood: Psychosocial Development

3. Major theories Erikson’s Stages Maslow’s stages
Generativity vs. stagnation
Maslow’s stages
5. Self-actualization
4. Success and esteem
3. Love and belonging
2. Safety
1. Physiology

4. Midlife crisis 40’s Anxiety, self-reexamination, transformation
Related more to developmental history than age

5. Intimacy

6. Intimacy needs are lifelong
Met by: family, friends, coworkers, & romantic partners (the social convoy)

7. Family bonds: Parent-Adult child relationships
Become closer as both generations mature (Improves with age)
May deteriorate if they live together
Familism
Belief that family members should support each other

8. Adult siblings Become more supportive than earlier
Help to cope with children, marriage, and elderly relatives

9. Family bonds

10. Marriage and happiness
Married people (In satisfying marriages)
Happier, Healthier, Richer
Learning to understand and forgive each other promotes happiness
Cohabitation before marriage
Decreases happiness after marriage
Domestic violence is most likely to occur early in a relationship

11. Children and happiness
Happiness is highest before children
Decreases with birth of first child
& additional children
Decreases again when children reach puberty
Teenage years
Happiness improves after child raising years (Empty nest)
Children become more independent

12. Empty nest (After children leave) Improves relationships
Parents are alone again
More time for their relationship
More money available
Longtime partners
Stay together because of love & trust

13. Divorce and separation
Almost 1 out of 2 marriages ends in divorce in the U.S.
About 1/3 of all first marriages end in divorce
Remarried people have a greater chance of divorce than first married
Adults are affected by divorce in ways they never anticipated
Very distressed marriages = happier after divorce
Emotionally distant marriages (most in U.S.) = less happy than they thought they would be

14. Consequences of divorce
Can last for decades
Divorce reduces income, severs friendships, and weakens family ties
Income, family welfare, and self-esteem = lower among formerly married than still married or never married

15. Generativity Erikson’s Generativity vs. Stagnation Satisfied by
Creativity
Caregiving
Guiding the next generation
Employment

16. Caregiving for children
Your biological children
Parent must change to adopt to developmental stages of child.

17. Caring for aging parents
Sandwich generation
Sandwitched between their children and their parents
Few adult children are full-time caregivers
Therefore, not technically sandwitched
Often only one child bears the burden
Creates resentment
Caregiving for parents is often based on the child’s personality

18. Employment

19. Employment = generativity
Unemployed = higher rates of child abuse, alcoholism, depression & other problems.
Happiness is not necessarily related to income
Income has doubled (in last 50 years) but happiness has not
Work meets generativity needs to:
Use personal skills
Be creative
Advise coworkers as a friend or mentor

20. Working for more than money
Extrinsic rewards (Outside - External)
Salary
Health insurance
Pension
Intrinsic rewards (Inside – internal)
Intangible rewards
Job satisfaction
Self-esteem
Pride in contributing
Feeling needed