Human DevelopmentThe Transitions of Early Adulthood

By Breann ThompsonPSY1170

College and the responsibilities that came

with it helped me transition from teenager to

adulthood-Lee Thompson Young

What is early adulthood?• The time between adolescence and

middle age (varies between ages 20-40)

• Physical abilities are at its peak• A bulk of our lives are spent in this

development• Intimate relationships begin to form

e.g. marriage, common law• Begin to develop an interest in

childhood development by becoming parents

Social Changes

• The timing of an early adulthood life changes will vary among individuals but they do however follow the same sequence known as the “social clock”

• Social clock- a sequence of life experiences in a particular culture such as: moving out of parents house, getting married

• There are still some people who do not follow the social clock. Others may refer to these types of people as atypical and unusual and will usually take criticism from others

Friendship• Gender differences.

Women are more personally involved than menFriendships of women are stronger than friendships of men

• After marriage cross-gender friendships are less common due to jealously

• Men tend to form their friendships with work colleagues• When people marriage, they become more dependant on their

spouses for social needs• After the arrival of children, women’s amount of friendships see a

decrease• When children become more independent, amount of women’s

friendships will increase

Marriage in Early Adulthood

• Marriage remains an important milestone of the young adult years

• Marriage consists of important psychological factors such as: love, nurture & comfort of each other, intimacy, conflict resolution

• People are getting married a lot later in life than compared to 30 years ago

• A good marriage is considered beneficial as greater life satisfaction is achieved compared to of those who don’t marry

Divorce in Early Adulthood

When the psychological factors of marriage have drifted and are no longer there, this may result in a divorce.

• Average age of divorce men 44 years, women 41 years

• Likelihood of divorcing is lower in a first marriage than it is in a remarriage

• Stress and depression are two major health problems associated with divorce

• Effects the social clock and timing for future family roles

Parenthood• Majority of young adult men and women want

at least 1 child• Couples who are in long-term intimate

relationships make having a child to be an important goal

• Even though physical abilities are at its peak at this stage, stress is often developed during the transition into parenthood

• 4 types of parenting styles: permissive, authoritative, authoritarian, uninvolved

Parenting StylesPermissive parenting style: parents who are warm, affectionate and high in nurturance but are overly accepting of their child’s behaviour good and bad

Authoritative parenting style: a style in parenting that is high in nurturance and warmth and are firm with restrictions and expectations of their child's behaviour

Authoritarian parenting style: is a type of strict parenting style that expects a child to obey the rules that are made by the parents with little or no input from the child

Uninvolved(neglect) parenting style: a parent is emotionally uninvolved in their child’s life

Martial satisfaction can decrease after the birth of a child. However, the longer that a couple has been together before having a child, followed by the amount of children they have as well as the amount of education each adult has, can all relate and benefit to martial satisfaction. If parents do not agree on the same parenting style, this too can sometimes lead to dissatisfaction of marriage.

Something to Consider

Establishing a Career• Men have more continuous careers whereas women

often have discontinuous careers due to family needs or having children

• People who enter their chosen field after their schooling is completed, are often disappointed

• As being new to the work force, people are often discouraged between their expectations and reality

• The average person in their 20’s relocates to a new job every 2 years

• Young adults can sometimes take a bit to get adjusted and settled into their jobs

Work and Family• Combining work and family can be stressful on most

parents• Especially families who are dual income earners (both

parents work)• Best to establish a career that has time-flexible policies

that are available (e.g. take time off work to take care of a sick child)

• Work/life balance is both beneficial to employers and employees

Employees Employers• Less stressed• Felt more

committed to work

• Flex to work from home

• Happier marriages

• More productive• Arrived to work

on time• Worked harder• Fewer missed

days

Physical Development• Physical abilities are at it’s peak• Senses are at their sharpest• Eyesight will not start to drastically

decrease until around the age of 40• During adulthood it is very important

to maintain physical health• Exercising 30 minutes a day can

prevent future health problems• Must be more aware of their

nutritional intake

Professional Life Reflection

When I finish school and enter the workforce, this will benefit me by knowing what challenges I will be facing within my career(s). This content will also be relevant to what I can expect between other young adults and myself while working parallel. Knowing some of the challenges I will eventually go through depending on my life choices, It will benefit me in the future to follow the path of a career that will work out well for me to be able to have a rewarding work life balance career.

Personal ReflectionThe transition of early adulthood is relevant

to me on a personal basis because this is the stage of development I am currently in. I have a better outlook on what some of the challenges I will be faced with and some of the different ways to cope with them. Relationships, marriage, career and child rearing are all some of the main events that are going to happen in this development period for me. I now have a better understanding as to what other young adults and myself are going through and to know that some of the stages will be perfectly normal and are very common among todays young adults.

I’ve heard this before from people: early 20s kind of screws with your head a little

bit because you’re transitioning into adulthood and actually becoming an adult with responsibilities and paying bills. So

all of a sudden, it’s like you’re responsible now.

-Dan Byrd

References• https://new.edu/resources/early-and-middle-adulthood-building-effect

ive-lives• http://catalogue.pearsoned.ca/assets/hip/us/hip_us_pearsonhighered/

samplechapter/0205748597.pdf• http://family.jrank.org/pages/664/Friendship-Friendships-Throughout

-Adulthood.html• http://www.the-positive-parenting-centre.com/types_of_parenting_sty

les.html