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Chapter 14

Socioemotional Development in Middle Adulthood

PowerPoints developed by Nicholas Greco IV, College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL

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Erikson’s 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 generationalso known as self-absorption

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Generativity

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

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Levinson’s Seasons of a Man’s Life

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

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Levinson’s Seasons of a Man’s Life

40 to 45 years -- transition to middle adulthood requires facing four main issuesbeing young versus being oldbeing destructive versus being constructivebeing masculine versus being femininebeing attached to others versus being

separated

40s -- middle age

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Insert Figure 14.1

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Midlife Crisis

Levinson’s view of the crisisbeing suspended between past and futuretrying to cope with threats to continuity

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

about adolescence and adulthoodonly a minority of adults actually experience a

crisis in midlife(Levinson, 1978; Vailliant, 1977)

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Life Events Approach

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)

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Stress and Personal Control in Midlife

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

stressful days than older adultsMiddle-aged adults experienced more

“overload” stressors that involved juggling too many activities at once

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Contexts of Midlife Development

Historical contexts -- cohort effectscohort -- individuals born in the same year or

time periodcohort and context influence values, attitudes,

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

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

(Neugarten, 1986)

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Contexts of Midlife Development

Cultural contextsmidlife is unclear and/or absent in many non-

industrialized culturessome cultures even divide the life course

differently for males and femalesmidlife is influenced by degree of modernity

and society’s gender rolesEligibility for certain statuses is influenced by

gender

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Stability and Change Big five factors of personality -- openness to experience,

conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism

Three longitudinal studies Costa and McCrae’s Baltimore Study

Personality traits changed most during early adulthood 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

Valliant’s Studies

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The Big Five Factors of Personality

INSERT FIGURE 14.3 HERE

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Stability and Change

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

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Close Relationships

Love and Marriage at Midlifeaffectionate, companionate love increases in

middle adulthoodsecurity, loyalty, and mutual emotional

interest become more important as relationships matureeven difficult marriages become better

adjusted in middle adulthoodmarried people express satisfaction

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Close Relationships

Divorce in middle adulthoodcouples may be alienated and avoidantmarriages may have become “empty” -- lacking

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

negative in others+ -- often more resources+ -- children less “damaged” and can cope betterminus -- may be seen as personal failure or as

betrayal

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The Empty Nest and Its Refilling

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

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Sibling Relationships

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

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Friendships

Continue to be important just as they were in early adulthood

Enduring relationships become deeper

(Antonucci, 1989)

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Grandparenting

Grandmothers have more contact with grandchildren than grandfathers

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

source of biological reward and continuitysource of emotional fulfillment remote role

Differing functions in families and in cultures or in situations

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The Changing Role of Grandparents

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 stepfamiliesGrandparents’ legal rights for visitation

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Intergenerational Relationships 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

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Intergenerational Relationships

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