HUMAN DEVELOPMENT COLLEGE OF PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY SERVICE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AT BOSTON ©2009 WILLIAM HOLMES EARLY ADULT DEVELOPMENT: PART 2 1

CHANGES IN MARITAL BEHAVIOR: 1 2 Marriage at older age—27, men; 25 women (2003) Unmarried increasing—86%, year olds Cohabiting increasing—numbers and percent Cohabiting more tied to marriage Marriage more civil, less religious

CHANGES IN MARITAL BEHAVIOR: 2 3 More mixed marriages, except for class Increase in homosexual marriage More divorce More remarriage Fewer children, more only children Later age at first birth

EARLY ADULT PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: 1 Levinson Life Course Theory Sequence of eras Life structure building and changing Novice phase of early adulthood 1. Obtaining a dream 2. Finding a mentor 3. Finding a vocation/occupation 4. Establishing a love relationship 4

EARLY ADULT PERSONEL DEVELOPMENT: 2 Erikson’s sixth stage of development—intimacy and solidarity versus isolation 1. Mutuality of intimacy 2. Sharing with a loved partner 3. Sharing with other sex 4. Sharing mutual trust 5. Able to regulate work, procreation, recreation 5

EARLY ADULT GENDER ROLES Solidification of gender identity Gender-role orientation—confidence in identity Gender-role preference—discomfort in identity Gender-role adaptation—behavioral conformity Genes, adaptation, and biology factors Social, religious, and political factors 6

ADULT GENDER DIFFERENCES Fight or flight versus bend-and- bond Machismo versus feminism Abstinence versus hooking-up Attractiveness versus occupation, values, and children Work, childrearing, romance, and sexuality 7

DEVELOPING ADULT LOVE Sternberg—passion, intimacy, commitment Liking—intimacy Infatuation—passion Empty—commitment Romantic—intimacy and passion Fatuous—commitment and passion Companionate—commitment and intimacy Consummate—commitment, intimacy, and passionate 8

DEVELOPING ADULT RELATIONSHIPS Attending to the relationship in the present Acceptance of ourselves and others as we are Appreciation of ourselves and others Affection with others Allowing things of be, without controlling others 9 Richo, 2002.