1. Socio-Emotional Development in Middle Adulthood CH:16 Lecture Prepared By: Dr. M. Sawhney, Ph.D. 1

2. Where we are going...  Personality Theories & Adult Development  Stability & Change  Close Relationships

3. Stages of Adulthood Erikson’s generativity versus stagnation  Generativity  Stagnation  Generativity can be developed in a number of ways  Biological generativity  Parental generativity  Work generativity  Cultural generativity

4. Levinson’s Season’s of a Man’s Life  Being young vs. being old  Being destructive vs. being constructive  Being masculine vs. being feminine  Being attached to others vs. being separated from them

5. Is There a Midlife Crisis?  How pervasive are midlife crises?  The 40s are a decade of reassessing and recording the truth about the adolescent and adult years  Only a minority of adults experience a midlife crisis

6. A Contemporary Life-Events Framework for Interpreting Adult Developmental Change

7. Costa & McCrae’s Baltimore Study

8. Marriage at Midlife  Most frequent pattern of marital satisfaction is U-shaped Marital Satisfaction and Years Married For most couples, marital satisfaction rises once their children grow into emerging adulthood and beyond. Source: Vaillant & Vaillant (1993)

9. Marriage at Midlife  Married individuals in middle adulthood, most voice considerable satisfaction with being married  Reasons:  Greater financial security  Few stresses from daily responsibility  Less time spent on household chores

10. Divorce in Middle Adulthood  Rate for U.S. 50- to 65-year-olds has doubled over past 20 years (Brown & Lin, 2012)

11. Discussion What are the advantages and disadvantages of marriage???

12. The Gray Divorce Revolution: (Brown & Lin, 2012) Data from U.S. Vital Statistics Report 1990, & ACS, 2010 ObjectiveFindings 1.How has the divorce rate changed from 1990- 2010,among age group 50-64 65> Divorce rate has doubled More women than men initiating divorce 2. What are the sociodemographic correlates of divorce https://www.youtube.com /watch?v=U9uJ5CPbAe Main reasons/risks for divorce: Cultural shift in meaning of Marriage and acceptance of divorce Higher order marriage Rising female labor force participation Lengthening life expectancies

13. Divorce in Middle Adulthood  Divorce in middle adulthood can be less intense than in early adulthood  Reasons

14. The Empty Nest & Its Refilling  Empty Nest Syndrome (ENS): Parents experience significant and profound loss, feelings of unhappiness, worry, loneliness and depression resulting from their children’s departure from home

15. Discussion Empty Nest Experiences???

16. Empty Nest Syndrome  Experience of ENS is dependent on culturally and socially acceptable time of departure  More myth than reality

17. When children leave home  Most parents: Positive psychological consequences after children leave  Increased personal growth  Leisure time  Improved marital relationships

18. When children come back home  Boomerang Children: Refilling the Empty Nest  40% of American Young adults come back home  Cultural variations

19. Discussion What are problems children face when return home???

20. Grandparenting  On average, begins in early fifties; Due to longevity, can spend one third of life as grandparent  Significance of the role:  Satisfy generative needs  Source of emotional self-fulfillment  Remote role

21.  Grand parenting Styles  Fun Seeking style  Distant-figure style  Formal style  Role of Culture in grandparenting  Gender Differences Grandparenting

22. Changing Profile of Grandparents  2.4 million (4-5 %) U.S. grandchildren live with their grandparents, but apart from parents (U.S. Census Bureau, 2013)  Most common reasons are divorce, adolescent pregnancies, substance abuse and neglect and abuse of children  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0FztEZzp30

23. Intergenerational Relationships: Children Relationship with Children: Children of middle adults are mostly in young adulthood or emerging adulthood Decrease in intergenerational gap Increase in appreciation for parent’s commitment towards them Frequently reported conflicts by middle adult parents and their children: Parents Children

24. Intergenerational Relationships: Parents Relationship with parents is mutually supportive & depends on: Who is more affluent Health of the Parents Caring for aging parents: Approx. 25 percent of US adult children provide unpaid care to an aging adult (Metlife, 2011).

25. Sandwich Generation The Sandwich Generation : Middle adults who have simultaneous commitment to help their children adjust to adulthood and help their elderly parents as they deal with issues of later life (Raphael & Schlesinger, 1993). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhXrHD7qWDk