1. Emerging Adulthood: Psychosocial Development
Part VI
Chapter Nineteen
Emerging Adulthood: Psychosocial Development
Identity Achieved
Intimacy
Emotional Development
Prepared by Madeleine Lacefield Tattoon, M.A.

2. Emerging Adulthood: Psychosocial Development
“In psychosocial development, even more than in physical or cognitive development, the hallmark of contemporary adult life is diversity.”

3. Identity Achieved
the search for identity begins at puberty, and continues through adulthood
each stage’s crises provides the foundation for each new era… as is evident in the emerging adult

4. Identity Achieved Ethnic Identity
in the U.S. and Canada 1/2 of the 18 – 25- year-olds are either children of immigrant or native-born Americas of African, Asian, Indian, or Latino descent
most individuals identify with very specific ethnic groups, e.g. Vietnamese, Pakistani, or Korean Americans, not simply Asian

5. Identity Achieved Ethnic Identity
emerging adults meet many more people of other backgrounds
European Americans also understand the importance of their own ethnicity, e.g., Ukrainian Catholic or Russian Jewish

6. Identity Achieved Ethnic Identity
everyone struggles to forge an identify, but immigrants combining their parent’s past and their future new social context often have conflicts

7. Identity Achieved Ethnic Identity
choices affect language, manners, romance, employment, neighborhood, religion, clothing, and values

8. Identity Achieved Ethnic Identity is complex:
it is reciprocal, both a personal choice and a response to others
it depends on context and therefore changes with time and circumstances
it is multifaceted… emerging adults choose some attributes and rejects others

9. Identity Achieved Ethnic Identity
the changing contexts of life require ethnic identity to be reestablished at each phase… with one identity in adolescence, another in emerging adulthood

10. Identity Achieved Vocational Identity is a part of growing up
college is considered an important step towards a career
a correlation between college education and income has been evident… few unskilled jobs have been created in the 21st century

11. Identity Achieved
Vocational Identity

12. Intimacy intimacy versus isolation
the sixth of Erikson’s eight stages of development… adults seek someone with whom to share their lives in an enduring and self-sacrificing commitment… without such commitment they risk profound aloneness and isolation

13. Intimacy
Friendship
friends defend against stress and provide joy throughout life
friends are chosen for understanding, tolerance, loyalty, affection, humor
friends are earned; they choose us, unlike family

14. Intimacy Choosing Friends gateway to attraction
the various qualities, such as appearance and proximity, that are prerequisites for the formation of close friendships and imitate relationships
physical attractiveness (even in platonic same-sex relationships)
apparent availability (willingness to talk, to do things together)
frequent exposure
absence of exclusion criteria (no unacceptable characteristics)

15. Intimacy Choosing Friends
absence of exclusion criteria (no unacceptable characteristics)
exclusion criteria
a person’s reasons for omitting certain people from consideration as close friends or partners… exclusion criteria vary from one individual to another, but they are strong filters

16. Intimacy Gender and Friendship
men and women have the same friendship needs
humans seek intimacy, lifelong
men tend to share activities and interests
women have friendships that are more intimate and emotional

17. Intimacy Gender and Friendship more men than women are homophobic
male-female differences may be cultural and seem to be less stereotyped among contemporary emerging adults
cross-sex friendships have potential problems
outsiders may believe the relationship is sexual
heterosexual couples tend to have fewer cross-sex friendships to avoid partner jealousy
keeping a sexual relationship “just friendly” is sometimes difficult

18. Intimacy Romance and Relationships
couples are marrying later and divorcing more often than earlier cohorts
marriage is being postponed, not abandoned

19. Intimacy Romance and Relationships
the relationship between love and marriage depends on the culture
In 1/3 of all nations, people fall in love and then decide to marry, with the young man asking the young woman
North Americans and Europeans expect to fall in love several times but not to marry until they are financially and emotionally independent

20. Intimacy The Dimensions of Love love is not a simple emotion
not something universally recognized as the glue that holds a relationship together

21. Intimacy The Dimensions of Love
Sternberg described three distinct aspects of love
passion
intimacy
commitment
Sternberg believes that the relative presence or absence of these three components give rise to…

22. Intimacy
The Dimensions of Love

23. Intimacy Living Together, Not Married cohabitation
an arrangement in which a man and a women live together in committed sexual relationship but are not formally married
more than ½ of all emerging adults cohabit during emerging adulthood

24. Intimacy Living Together, Not Married cohabitation
many people think that living together is a good prelude for marriage; researchers suggest they are mistaken
contrary to widespread belief, living together before marriage does not preclude problems that might arise after a wedding

25. Intimacy What Makes Relationships Work
marriage is not what it once was… a legal and religious arrangement that couple sought for sexual expression
most adults aged 20 to 30 are not yet married
compared to any year in the past, fewer adults are married (58%) and more are divorced
the divorce rate is ½ the marriage rate (3.4 compared to 7.8 per, 1000)—not primarily because more people are divorcing but because fewer people are marrying

26. Intimacy What Makes Relationships Work homogamy heterogamy
marriage between individuals who tend to be similar with respect to such variables as attitudes, interest, goals, socioeconomic status, religion, ethnic background, and local origin
heterogamy
marriage between individuals who tend to be dissimilar with respect to such variables as attitudes, interest, goals, socioeconomic status, religion, ethnic background, and local origin

27. Intimacy What Makes Relationships Work social homogamy
the similarity of a couple’s leisure interests and role preferences
social exchange theory
the view that social behavior is a process of exchange aimed at maximizing the benefits one receives and minimizing the costs one pays

28. Intimacy What Makes Relationships Work intimate terrorism
Domestic Violence:
common couple violence
a form of abuse in which one or both partners of a couple engage in outbursts of verbal and physical attacks… also called situational couple violence
intimate terrorism
spouse abuse in which, most often, the husband uses violent methods of accelerating intensity to isolate, degrade, and punish the wife

29. Intimacy Family Connections
“It is hard to overestimate the importance of the family at any time of the life span.”
families are “our most important individual support system,” a “problem-solving system”

30. Intimacy Family Connections
made up of individuals, families are more than the people who belong to them
children grow
adults find support
everyone is part of an ethos (culture, philosophy, nation) that gives meaning to, and provides models for personal aspiration and decisions

31. Emotional Development
during emerging adulthood people are at their peak:
strength
sexual impulse
health
cognitive growth

32. Emotional Development
Well-Being
allows emerging adults to
learn
explore
make friends
find lovers
take whatever job
journey
take risks

33. Emotional Development
Well-Being
positive emotions increase when emerging adults have close relationships with
friends
lovers
parents
undergo successful transitions
leaving home
graduating from college
securing a good job

34. Emotional Development
Well-Being
some of the depression and anxieties of adolescence lift when young people leave their high schools and distance themselves from dysfunctional families

35. Emotional Development
Psychopathology
not all young adults benefit from independence… some adults have too many choices and too little guidance
diathesis-stress model
the view that mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, are produced by the interaction of a genetic vulnerability (the diathesis) with stressful environmental factors and life events

36. Emotional Development
Substance Abuse Disorders
emerging adulthood is the most common time for substance abuse
1 in 8 is addicted before age 27
substance abuse can be a common interest for friends and romantic partners
most sufferers manage to put an end to abuse without professional counseling

37. Emotional Development
Mood Disorders
before age 30, 8% of U.S. residents suffer from a mood disorder
major depression is the most common
major depression may be biochemical… imbalances in neurotransmitters and hormones (can also be triggered by an arrest, or romantic break-up)

38. Emotional Development
Anxiety Disorders
¼ of U.S. residents below the age of 25, including
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
panic attacks
age and genetic vulnerability shape the symptoms of anxiety disorders

39. Emotional Development
Schizophrenia
1% of all adults experience at least one episode of schizophrenia
partly genetic
malnutrition when the brain is developing
symptoms typically begin in adolescence
diagnosis is most common from ages 18-24

40. Emotional Development
Continuity and Discontinuity
most emerging adults have strengths as well as liabilities
many overcome anxieties, substance abuse, etc… through “self-righting,” social support and ongoing maturation