Chapter 10 Early Adulthood Ages 20-30

Becoming an Adult In the US, the law often treats teens as adults when they become 18 years of age. The transition from teen to independent adult varies for everyone. Social expectations of adulthood vary by culture and are often tied to social clock expectations. As people transition out of high school, they often become more responsible for making decisions that can affect their lifestyle for years to come.

Becoming an Adult (Cont.) Early adulthood is often a time experimentation and new emotions. In many cultures, leaving the family home is a mark of independence and adulthood. As young adults establish their self-dependence, living situations often change.

Physical Qualities and Changes During young adulthood, adults no longer grow physically. You adults are in better physical condition than middle age or older adults. By the age of 30, physical abilities often start to decline, and weight gain is common. The peak performance of this stage related to skeletal maturity. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend adults participate in 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity a week.

Physical (Cont.) and Cognitive Change On average, adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. ________________________________________________ Fluid intelligence, the ability to reason abstractly, is at a peak in young adulthood. Crystallized intelligence (knowledge need in life) is the focus of much of this stage. Piaget’s final stage of cognitive development, or formal operations, emerges in adolescence and continues throughout adulthood.

Cognitive (Cont.) The prefrontal cortex of the brain, which regulates emotions and impulse control, is not fully developed until about 26. After this age, young adults relay less on emotional in their cognitive reasoning. They are able to think deeply and more realistically about many issues. Kohlberg's final stage of moral development is post conventional morality. During this stage, adults begin to care about the community, environment, and society. Values and ethics become factors in making decisions.

Socio-emotional Erikson captured early adulthood as the stage when faced with making social decisions. He referred to this as the intimacy versus isolation phase. Intimacy refers to the self-disclosure and sharing of private thoughts and emotions. Intimacy can occur in friendships, family relationships and romantic relationships. Developing trusting and intimate relationships is a key task during early adulthood.

Socio-Emotional (Cont.) There are different types of love people experience in relationships. Friendly love is care and consideration for another. Affectionate love involves romantic ways of expressing love for each other, which are not necessarily sexual. Romantic love creates feelings of security and care and appreciation for each other. Consummate love is the combination of affectionate love and a desire to commit to the relationship.

Socio-emotional (Cont.) Love differs from infatuation. All relationships experience conflict, which a healthy, normal part of relationships. When making decisions or arguing, individuals need to learn to compromise. Choosing to become a parent is a permanent decision that requires careful consideration. Parents often have unconditional love for their children.

Socio-emotional (cont.) To meet the physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional needs of children, parents make personal sacrifices and adjustments. When conflicts arise, open communication can help resolve and issue and relieve tensions and stress. Breakups, separation, and divorce can feel tragic to those involved. About half of divorces adults remarry. Stepfamilies present their own challenges.

Socio-emotional (cont.) Individuals face many cultural influences and expectations. Individuals may deviate from expected timelines or choose not to follow expectations. For example, one rising trend in US is singlehood. John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth’s theory of levels of intimacy: secure attachment style (view relationships positively and easily establish relationships), avoidant attachment style (avoid getting too close), anxious attachment (possessive, demanding and lack trust)

Special needs Adults with severe cognitive disorders may need frequent help from caregivers.