Socioemotional Development in Middle Adulthood

The crisis of generativity versus stagnation Generativity -- adults’ desire to leave legacies of

themselves to the next generation Stagnation -- develops when individuals sense

that they have done nothing for the next generationo also known as self-absorption

Commitment to continuation and improvement of society as a whole

Biological generativity -- bearing offspring Parental generativity -- nurturing children Work generativity -- skills to pass on Cultural generativity -- creating, renovating, and

conserving some aspect of culture

Results of extensive interviews with middle-aged men

20s -- novice phase of experimentation and testing

28 to 33 years -- transition and adoption of goals 30s -- BOOM -- becoming one’s own man phase

40 to 45 years -- transition to middle adulthood requires facing four main issueso being young versus being oldo being destructive versus being constructiveo being masculine versus being feminineo being attached to others versus being separated

40s -- middle age

Levinson’s view of the crisiso being suspended between past and futureo trying to cope with threats to continuity

Vailliant’s “Grant Study”o a time of reassessing and recording the truth about

adolescence and adulthoodo only a minority of adults actually experience a crisis in

midlife(Levinson, 1978; Vailliant, 1977)

Some events tax ability to cope and force personality change

Contemporary life events approach emphasizes considering event as well as mediating factors, adaptation to the event, the life-stage context, and the historical context

May overemphasize change and discount the importance of everyday stressors

(Holmes & Rahe, 1967)

Do middle-aged adults experience stress differently than young adults and older adults?o Young and middle-aged adults had more stressful days

than older adultso Middle-aged adults experienced more “overload”

stressors that involved juggling too many activities at once

Historical contexts -- cohort effectso cohort -- individuals born in the same year or time

periodo cohort and context influence values, attitudes,

expectations, and behavior o social clock -- timetable according to which individuals

are expected to accomplish life’s major tasks; provides a guide for life

(Neugarten, 1986)

Cultural contextso midlife is unclear and/or absent in many non-

industrialized cultureso some cultures even divide the life course differently for

males and femaleso midlife is influenced by degree of modernity and

society’s gender roleso Eligibility for certain statuses is influenced by gender

Big five factors of personality -- openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism

Three longitudinal studieso Costa and McCrae’s Baltimore Study

• Personality traits changed most during early adulthood

o The Berkeley Longitudinal Studies• Results from early adolescence through a portion

of midlife did not support either extreme in the debate whether personality is characterized by stability or change

o Valliant’s Studies

Evidence does not support the view that personality traits become completely fixed at a certain age in adulthood

Cumulative personality model -- with time and age, people become more adept at interacting with their environment in ways that promote stability

Some people are likely to change more than others

Do you think the idea of “gender convergence” occurs earlier than what was first hypothesized?

Have the concepts of what makes an ideal man and woman changed from previous generations?

What characteristics/behaviors have changed and what has remained constant?

Love and Marriage at Midlifeo affectionate, companionate love increases in middle

adulthoodo security, loyalty, and mutual emotional interest become

more important as relationships mature• even difficult marriages become better adjusted in middle

adulthood• married people express satisfaction

Divorce in middle adulthoodo couples may be alienated and avoidanto marriages may have become “empty” -- lacking

laughter, love, and interest in one another o divorce may be more positive in some ways and

more negative in others• + -- often more resources• + -- children less “damaged” and can cope

better• minus -- may be seen as personal failure or as

betrayal

Empty nest syndrome -- decline in marital satisfaction after children leave the home; a time for pursuit of other interests, career, and time for each other

Refilling of the nest when young adult children return home to save money or recover from career setback

Parents continue to provide emotional and/or financial support

Sibling relationships persist over the entire life span

Majority of adults have at least one living sibling Most have been found to be close Siblings who were not “close” tend not to become

closer in midlife

Continue to be important just as they were in early adulthood

Enduring relationships become deeper

(Antonucci, 1989)

Grandmothers have more contact with grandchildren than grandfathers

Satisfaction -- easier than parenting Styles and roles -- 3 meanings

o source of biological reward and continuityo source of emotional fulfillmento remote role

Differing functions in families and in cultures or in situations

Divorce, adolescent pregnancy, and drug use have contributed to increasing numbers of grandparents assuming parental roles

Grandparents who are full-time caregivers for grandchildren are at elevated risk for health problems, depression, and stress

Grandparent visitation issues in divorced and stepfamilieso Grandparents’ legal rights for visitation

Middle-aged adults share experiences and transmit values to the younger generation

As children become middle aged, they develop more positive perceptions of parents

Family members maintain contact across generations

Most common conflicts are interaction style, habits and lifestyle choices, child-rearing practices, and values

Sandwich or Squeeze Generation -- responsibilities for adolescent and young adult children and for aging parents

Relationships between aging parents and their children are usually characterized by ambivalence

When necessary, responsibilities are assumed by daughters

Retiremento Average age is 62 in the U.S.o Have you thought about it?o At what age do you want to retire?o What are we giving up when we retire?o How does retirement affect the individual? Is it all fun

and games?o Are we really “retired” or just “slowing down”?