22 - Adulthood: Psychosocial Development
Major theories•Erikson’s Stages
▫Generativity vs. stagnation•Maslow’s stages
▫5. Self-actualization▫4. Success and esteem▫3. Love and belonging▫2. Safety▫1. Physiology
Midlife crisis•40’s•Anxiety, self-reexamination,
transformation•Related more to developmental history
than age
Intimacy
Intimacy needs are lifelong•Met by: family, friends, coworkers, &
romantic partners (the social convoy)
Family bonds: Parent-Adult child relationships•Become closer as both generations
mature (Improves with age)•May deteriorate if they live together•Familism
▫Belief that family members should support each other
Adult siblings•Become more supportive than earlier
▫Help to cope with children, marriage, and elderly relatives
Family bonds
Marriage and happiness•Married people (In satisfying marriages)
▫Happier, Healthier, Richer•Learning to understand and forgive each
other promotes happiness•Cohabitation before marriage
▫Decreases happiness after marriage•Domestic violence is most likely to occur
early in a relationship
Children and happiness•Happiness is highest before children•Decreases with birth of first child
▫& additional children•Decreases again when children reach
puberty▫Teenage years
•Happiness improves after child raising years (Empty nest)▫Children become more independent
Empty nest•(After children leave)•Improves relationships
▫Parents are alone again More time for their relationship
▫More money available•Longtime partners
▫Stay together because of love & trust
Divorce and separation• Almost 1 out of 2 marriages ends in divorce in
the U.S.▫About 1/3 of all first marriages end in divorce▫Remarried people have a greater chance of
divorce than first married• Adults are affected by divorce in ways they
never anticipated• Very distressed marriages = happier after
divorce• Emotionally distant marriages (most in U.S.) =
less happy than they thought they would be
Consequences of divorce•Can last for decades•Divorce reduces income, severs
friendships, and weakens family ties•Income, family welfare, and self-esteem =
lower among formerly married than still married or never married
Generativity•Erikson’s Generativity vs. Stagnation
▫Satisfied by Creativity Caregiving
Guiding the next generation Employment
Caregiving for children•Your biological children
▫Parent must change to adopt to developmental stages of child.
Caring for aging parents•Sandwich generation
▫Sandwitched between their children and their parents
▫Few adult children are full-time caregivers Therefore, not technically sandwitched
•Often only one child bears the burden▫Creates resentment ▫Caregiving for parents is often based on
the child’s personality
Employment
Employment = generativity•Unemployed = higher rates of child
abuse, alcoholism, depression & other problems.
•Happiness is not necessarily related to income▫Income has doubled (in last 50 years) but
happiness has not•Work meets generativity needs to:
▫Use personal skills▫Be creative▫Advise coworkers as a friend or mentor
Working for more than money•Extrinsic rewards (Outside - External)
▫Salary▫Health insurance▫Pension
•Intrinsic rewards (Inside – internal)▫Intangible rewards▫Job satisfaction▫Self-esteem▫Pride in contributing▫Feeling needed