© Allyn & Bacon Prenatal Development And Birth Social and Personality Development in Middle Adulthood This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Theories of Social and Personality Development Erikson’s Generativity versus Stagnation –Generativity Involves an interest in establishing and guiding the next generation –Bearing children, teaching, serving as a mentor, taking a leadership role in civic, religious or charitable organizations –Stagnation Failure leads to a pervading sense of stagnation and personal impoverishment; they indulge themselves as if they were their own child.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Erikson’s Theory The impact of childlessness –The way a man had responded earlier to his childlessness was predictive of his psychological health at age 47. –Suggests that rearing one’s own or another’s child who calls forth one’s nurturing qualities may be important for psychological growth.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Mid-Life Crisis: Fact or Fiction? Levinson and Erikson argue for a crisis –Each person must confront a constellation of difficult tasks at mid-life Accepting one’s own mortality Recognizing new physical limitations and health risks Adapting to major changes in most roles

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Mid-Life Crisis: Fact or Fiction? Research offers diametrically opposite conclusions –Serious mid-life problems are experienced by only 2% to 5% of middle agers (Chiriboga). –Mid-life is an important psychological transition marked with deep-seated self-doubts or confusion (Tamir). –Using a mid-life crisis scale, researchers could find no age at which scores were significantly high. –Longitudinal research fails to support the idea of midlife crisis.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Role Transitions Roles are at least partially culture and cohort specific. Each of us must occupy multiple roles at the same time, which produces frictions of various kinds. Role Conflict – any situation in which two or more roles are at least partially incompatible Role Strain – stress that occurs when a person lacks the resources needed to fulfill a role Certain roles shift predictably with age.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Role Transitions Duvall described a sequence of 8 family life stages. Because an individual’s behaviors and attitudes are shaped by their roles, role change with age will lead to systematic and predictable change in the individual. Model omits a number of important roles. Model does not reflect the years beyond 65. People don’t move through the sequence in the listed order.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Role Transitions Sociologists suggest that changes in status and bounded in duration should be thought of as life course markers. –Markers for early adulthood have been found to be more unpredictable than in the past. –Markers in middle and late adulthood have become more predictable. –Dealing with some sequence of roles is part of adult life.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Changes in Relationships Partnerships –Marital stability and satisfaction increase in mid-life. Conflicts over child-rearing decline Increased sense of control Identification of successful problem-solving strategies Use of skilled diplomacy to ease tensions

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Children and Parents In middle adulthood the family role involves giving assistance in both directions of the generational chain. –Helping grown children –Supporting aging parents Must shoulder responsibility for maintaining affectional bonds Between 40 and 65, adults give help more than they receive in both directions within the family

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Figure 16.1

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Children and Parents Gunhild Hagestad –Middle-aged adults spent more effort trying to influence their children than their parents. –Young adult children receive advice aimed at shaping children’s transition to key adult roles. –Aging parents receive advice on where to live, and how to manage household and money. –Inter-generational discussions tended to have a particular theme and agenda.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Emptying the Nest When women are asked about positive and negative transitions in their lives, they are more likely to describe this event as positive. A significant portion of women report that the transition involved a distinct mellowing and an increase in marital satisfaction. Those who do experience some distress appear to have a self-identity that is heavily focused on the role of mother.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Grandparenting New roles for middle-aged adults –Becoming in-laws as children marry –Becoming grandparents Grandparenting may shift to a slightly later age. Most grandparents express high levels of satisfaction with this role. Grandparents can have a positive impact on children’s development. –Especially important source of stability for children of divorced parents

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Grandparenting 29% of grandparents had remote relationships Saw grandkids infrequently Little direct influence on their development Most common reason was physical distance

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Grandparenting 51% of grandparents report having a companionate relationship. –Warm, pleasurable relationships –Glad they no longer had day-to-day responsibilities 16% reported involved relationships. –Everyday participants in the rearing of their grandchildren –Living in multi-generational housing –Nearly full-time care –Most common in African American families –More common in poor families

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Grandparenting Full-time custodial grandparenting is more likely with an unmarried mother. –Daughter can continue school or work. –Teenage mothers who have such help complete more schooling and have more successful careers. Role of grandmother is broader and more intimate than that of grandfather. For most adults in middle age, grandparenthood is not central to their lives, their sense of self, or to their overall morale.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Questions to Ponder Which kind of relationship do you have with your grandparents? What kinds of influence do they try to exert upon your life? From your viewpoint, do people go through a mid-life crisis? Are they major events or minor adjustments? Please give examples.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Caring For Aging Parents Adults feel a strong sense of filial responsibility – when parents need help, children try to provide it. 18% of elderly live with their children. Only 11% of adults between 40 and 65 were providing as much as 3 hours per week of assistance to an older parent.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Caring For Aging Parents Longitudinal research suggests that 40% of women will provide at least minimal caregiving to elders in their lifetimes. –25% will provide significant care to parents or parents-in-law. –90% of caregivers for those with Alzheimer’s disease are daughters or daughters-in-law. The intense nature of this type of care is associated with negative health and depression for the caregiver.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Friends Total number of friends is less in middle adulthood than at earlier points. –Friendships are more intimate and close at this age. –The number of shared friends increases as the number of non-shared friends decreases. –Friendships endure, even with less frequent contact.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Continuity and Change in Personality Negative emotional traits in adolescence strongly predicted less- than-optimal mental health status in both early adulthood and middle age. Most people believe personality changes with age. –Declines in achievement striving, independence, assertiveness, and individualism –Increases in prosocial behaviors –Increases in ability to maintain control over emotions –Growth of personal flexibility

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Mid-Life Career Issues Work satisfaction is at its peak despite few work promotions in middle age. –For men, the issue of work is less central to their lives. The quality of work performance remains high in spite of declines in some cognitive or physical skills. When work provides a greater sense of control and social-cognitive skills are good, work satisfaction remains high.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Mid-life Career Issues Work Satisfaction for Middle-Age Women –More complex than men –Empty nest does not mean return to work Exceptions – divorce or widowhood –Satisfaction tied to how they view the career decisions made in early adulthood

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Job Performance Remains high throughout middle adulthood –Exceptions are jobs that require speedy reactions or physical strength Baltes and Baltes argue that adults engage in selective optimization with compensation to remain highly productive. Link between selection, optimization, and compensation and the quality of work performance got stronger with increasing age.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Unemployment and Career Transitions Can be more difficult in middle age –Must overcome ageism in obtaining new employment Involuntary career changers –Experience heightened levels of anxiety and depression and health risks after job loss Financial pressures Changes in family relationships Loss of self-esteem

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Figure 16.3

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Unemployment and Career Transitions African American adults show higher rates of distress and lower levels of life satisfaction when unemployed. –Unemployment rate is typically twice that of white workers –Vulnerable to job loss with less education, less portable skills, less job seniority –A sense of victimization occurs, with increased ill health and depression

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Unemployment and Career Transitions Mid-life career changers who have good coping skills are less likely to become depressed. Adequate social support acts as a buffer. Formulating goals and obtaining training to buffer future transitions helps avoid mental health issues.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Voluntary Career Changers Twin studies suggest a genetic basis for voluntary career changes in mid-life. Studies suggest voluntary changes are a product of personality. –Better sense of control –Higher tolerance for risk-taking –Not stressed by job-seeking –Not willing to pursue further career advancement in current field

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Figure 16.4

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Preparing for Retirement Boomers are projected to be the healthiest, best educated, and longest-living retirees in history. Baby Boom cohorts who are now middle-aged make retirement plans for both wives and husbands. –Expect to retire in early 60’s and live into the 80’s –Believe they need higher retirement incomes than parents –Do not expect Social Security to help their standard of living –May not have saved enough and have accumulated too much debt

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