Chapter 16: psychosocial development in middle adulthood Flashcards
Psychosocial Development in Middle Adulthood
Objective evaluation
life pathways
subjective evaluation
how people construct their identities and structure their lives
Developmental Scientists
Change and continuity should be viewed in context of the entire life
Developmental Scientists
Lives do not progress in isolation
Personality
some say is formed by middle adulthood
theoretical appraches
growing consensus that midlife development changes as well as stability
Theoretical Approaches
Maslow & Rogers
Humanistic theorists
Theoretical Approaches
Maslow & Rogers
Middle age is an opportunity for positive change
more time/resources
Theoretical Approaches
Jung
Men & women at midlife express previously suppressed aspects of personality
Jung (I)
Necessary task
~ acknowledging mortality
Jung (II)
Necessary task
~giving up the image of youth
Erikson
7th psychosocial stage
GENERATIVITY (staying active) vs. STAGNATION (lazy)
~parenting/grandparenting, teaching or mentorship, productivity, creativity, self-development
Erikson
virtue
care
Vaillant & Levinson (I)
major midlife shifts in men
Vaillant & Levinson (II)
occupational striving (30s) -> reevaluation & restructuring (40s) -> stability (50s)
Vaillant & Levinson (III)
People still expect and evaluate certain events in terms of a social clock (end of reproductive years, retirement)
Mid-life crisis
more like a midlife review -> may be psychological turning point (if dissatisfied, decided to switch things up)
Identity development
people revise or confirm self-perceptions based on feedback from others & experiences
Psychological well-being
~midlife is generally a period of positive mental health & well-being
~SES is a factor (poor = less positive mental health and well-being)
Issues & Themes
generativity is related to psychological well-being (more things I do = better)
~Involvement in multiple roles (book club, parenting/grandparenting)
Women (50s)
prime time of life
Kahn & Antonucci
social convoy theory
(more social capital; friends, family, support = do better
Carstensen
socioemotional selectivity theory
Kahn & Antonucci / Carstensen
Both say social-emotional support is an important element in social interaction
Changes in realtionships
relationships are important to mental & physical health, but can present stressful demands
~problems are more likely to be traumatic = stressful
-parents, kids (stress)
marital satisfaction
improved relationship after children leave home
Cohabitation
half as common as in early adulthood
Cohabitation
Men report
~rates of depression in married men about same as men without parents (same as single)
~trend for babyboomers increasing
Divorce (women)
harder on middle-aged women
harder to find mate, more responsibilities
Consensual relationships (Divorce)
less threatening to well-being than in young adulthood
~abuse, differing values/lifestyles, infidelity
Divorce on both men and women
uncommon but increasing
~marital capital (financial & emotional benefit), SES, effects of the empty nest all play a role
(kids grown, dont have to worry about kids well-being)
marital status & health
~better mental and physical health bc looking out for one another
~social support
~socioeconomic resources
~encouragement of health-promoting behaviors
~quality is important
Gay and Lesbian relationships
~late intimate relationships due to delay in coming out
~more egalitarian (not going by typical gender roles)
~experience similar problems as heterosexuals
~friendship networks may provide more emotional support than family (not all families supportive)
Friendships
less time invested in friendships than younger adults
Social networks
smaller and more intimate
Friendships
depend on friends for emotional supports and practical guidance
~social capital in every age group
Relationships with maturing children
~must come to terms with loss of control over kids
~empty nest can be liberating or stressful
~more young adults are delaying departure from home
Middle-aged parents
tend to remain involved with their adult children
Children
most are happy with the way kids turned out (hand a hand in helping raise them)
Parent child conflict
may arise over the kids’s need to be treated like an adult and patent’s continuing concern
Parents relationships
~strong bond of affection with parents
~frequent contact
~Aid -> parent to child
Sibling relationships
less contact, but remain in touch
~relationships are important to well-being
Parents
~chances of becoming a caregiver to an aging parent increases through middle age
~FILIAL MATURITY -> parents become dependent on middle-age child
Caregiving for parent
source of stress and satisfaction
especially if they are living with you
Grandparenthood
Most US adults become grandparents during middle age & have average of 6 grandchildren
Grandparent involvement
less intimately involved than in past (distance)
Grandmothers
more involved than grandfathers
Affects of divorce on grandparents
doviorce and remarriage of an adult child can affect grandparent-grandchild relationships (may not see kids as often)
Raising of grandchildren
more grandparents are raising grandchildren than in past
~physical, emotional, financial strain may be created
