Physical:
While young adults do not grow significantly taller in their 20's, they typically grow stronger and healthier as their bodies reach adult size. In terms of overall health, as well as peak physical condition, early adulthood is the prime of life. With each year from 20 to 40, signs of senescence-the state of physical decline, in which the body gradually becomes less strong and efficient with age-become more apparent. All the body systems gradually become less efficient (though at different rates) and homeostasis takes increasingly longer to reach.
Cognitive:
As an individual takes on the responsibilities and commitments of adult life, thinking may become more adaptive, practical, and dialectical to take into account the inconsistencies and complexities encountered in daily experiences. Partly as a result, moral thinking becomes deeper and religious faith becomes more reflective, with more appreciation of diverse viewpoints and also more commitment to one's own convictions.
College students today are more often part-time and older than they were 40 years ago. The majority of college students are females. Most college students are more concerned about their current financial status and their future careers. Nevertheless, college education still seems to foster openness to new ideas as well as higher lifetime earnings. Life experiences-marriage, childbirth, promotion, job loss and dramatic events of every kind-can also foster cognitive growth.
Social and Personality:
The need for affiliation is fulfilled by friends and often by a romantic commitment to a partner. Friendships are important throughout adulthood but are particularly so for individuals who are single. The developmental course of marriage depe...
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...al life, older adults develop ways to compensate for memory loss and slower thinking. Many older individuals develop or intensify their aesthetic and philosophical interests and values at this stage.
Social & Personality
The variability of life in late adulthood is even greater than at other periods. Several self theorists hold that adults make personal choices in ways that allow them to become fully themselves. Erikson believed that individuals seek integrity that connects them to the human community.
Elders usually remain active whether working or retired. Older adult's satisfaction with life depends largely on continuing contact with friends and family. Generally, marital satisfaction continues to improve. The greatest source of social support is likely to be other elders, either friends or relatives, particularly those of longstanding importance.
Becoming older is a natural progression of life. Late adulthood is the period of life in every individual that follows the period of his or her life after he/she turns 60 years of age. Being active, eating healthy foods and handling stress have been shown to greatly improve the quality of life for senior citizens.
As the economy evolves and the job market continues to get more competitive, it’s becoming harder to have a successful career without some kind of college degree. This creates a belief in many young students that college actually is a commodity, something they must have in order to have a good life. There’s many different factors that influence this mindset, high schools must push the importance of the student’s willingness and drive to further their education. College isn’t just a gateway to jobs, but it is an opportunity to increase knowledge and stretch and challenge the student which in return makes them a more rounded adult and provides them with skills they might lack prior to
Emerging Adulthood represents the period of development from late teens through their twenties, mainly focusing on the ages 18-25. This is the period which people start exploring and realizing the capabilities of their lives, which then helps them characterize as adults and no longer teenagers. This topic of psychology is compelling to me because it’s a stage that every adult has lived through, it’s interesting that we have all experienced it differently based on our life circumstances and demographics. It’s interesting to see the changes throughout the years and eventually it will be easier for young people to explore these years as more young adults are going to school nowadays. It teaches me to further understand why emerging adults go through
“Though the age boundaries are not set in stone, we will consider middle adulthood as the developmental period that begins at approximately 40 to 45 years of age and extends to about 60 to 65 years of age” (Santrock, 2013, p. 485). I interviewed two individuals for this paper. Each person was asked the same fifteen questions (Appendix). I interviewed a male and a female who fell in the midrange of middle adulthood.
Barry et al. (2009) surveyed 710 emerging adults, ages 18 to 26, to examine the interrelations of identity development and the achievement of adulthood criteria with the qualities of romantic relationships and friendships during emerging adulthood. In their study, they found that as emerging adults take on adult roles and responsibilities, the quality of their friendships and romantic relationships are affected. Barry et al. argue that “relationships with friends and romantic partners serve distinct functions” during emerging adulthood (p. 220). According to Barry et al., friendships “satisfy social integration needs [such as companionship], feelings of worth, and to a lesser degree, intimacy” whereas “romantic relationships primarily satisfy intimacy needs and provide emotional support” (p. 210). Although both friendships and romantic relationships satisfy intimacy and emotional needs to different degrees, romantic partners fulfill intimacy and emotional needs on a more profound note that may be more suitable and “useful in supporting emerging adults for subsequent development tasks of establishing a marriage, family, and career” (p. 218). Essentially, romantic relationships deeply satisfy intimacy needs and provide emerging adults with the proper emotional support necessary to successfully complete the traditional
Aging and old age for a long time presented as dominated by negative traits and states such as sickness, depression and isolation. The aging process is not simply senescence most people over the age of 65 are not Senile, bedridden, isolated, or suicidal (Aldwin & Levenson, 1994). This change in perspective led the investigation of the other side of the coin. Ageing is seen as health, maturity and personal Royal growth, self-acceptance, happiness, generatively, coping and acceptance of age-related constraints (Birren & Fisher, 1995). Psychological und...
Late adulthood should be a time in a person's life where they feel fulfilled. They can look back on their memories and be happy with the way they have lived their life. Now, too many elderly people are not satisfied and look at this stage as depressing. Most fear death of either a loved one or for themselves. This topic is interesting to me because elderly people should make the best of their last stage of life. This topic discusses about getting older, the life changes that they go through physically, emotionally, and mentally. We should know more about it so that we can help our family and friends get through one of the best, yet toughest part of our mortal life.
From the life course perspective, midlife behavior has both antecedents and consequences. Earlier life experiences can serve either as risk factors or as protective factors for the health and well-being during this stage of development. According to the study Journey from Childhood to Midlife completed by Werner and Ruth Smith in 2001, by middle adulthood, most people have noted a balancing in their lives and improvement in overall quality of their lives. The period of early adulthood had provided positive turning points such as community college, marriage to a stable partner or military service. A contributing factor is relationships that provided emotional support as well. The presence of a nurturing caregiver from infancy, as well as emotional support along the way from extended family, peers, and caring adults outside the family created a positive environment for the person to continue along the life course. Erik Erikson, Karl Jung and Daniel Levinson are three prominent developmental theorists on human development on the journey of life.
In the body-transcendence versus body-preoccupation stage, one must be able to learn and accept physical changes that happen as we get older, we refer to this as transcendence. If someone is unable to do so, they become preoccupied with the physical deterioration, to the detriment of their personality development. Although the physical capabilities are not the same in the elderly as when they were young, many older people stay regularly fit considering their age. The changes that began in middle adulthood are becoming more unmistakable by the time one finds themselves in late adulthood. The two distinct types of aging are primary aging and secondary aging. Primary aging involves the irreversible changes that occur as people get older due to genetic programming. Secondary aging refers to the changes that are bought on by illnesses and diseases, not increased by age itself. Late adulthood is a very interesting period of life. Since people are now living longer than ever before, late adulthood is increasing in length. Whether we say it starts at 65 or 70 years, the amount of people included in this stage is larger than ever before, due to medicine and technological advances. One of the most obvious signs someone is in late adulthood would be a person’s hair. Most people’s hair become distinctly gray and eventually white, which may thin
An analysed qualitative study of 120 active elderly subjects found out that marital status, income and leisure activities as well as psychological factors assessed by the Geriatric Depression scale had an impact on the quality of life of the seniors citizens (Alexandre, Cordeiro, & Ramos,
After reviewing Erikson’s eight stages of life, I believe I am currently in the seventh stage. The seventh stage is known as the mature adulthood (generativity vs. stagnation (or self-absorption)). I am only 22 years old; however, I have completed stage six of young adulthood (intimacy vs. isolation). According to McAdams (2009), “In intimacy versus isolation, the young adult seeks to form long-term bonds with others, epitomized in marriage or long-term romantic commitments,” (p. 382). I have seized my identity and have found intimacy. The intimacy I have found has been characterized into marriage. Since my husband and I have high levels of identity, we were able to establish and maintain a stable relationship with one another.
Also, Erikson’s Intimacy versus Isolation theory explained that young adults at this stage will think about being intimate or having a close relationship with a person (Miller, 1983). This could be a friend who they can confide in or a sexual partner (Miller, 1983). Those who engage in marriage at a you...
Late adulthood is known as the period of life after middle adulthood, usually from around 65 years old to death (Santrock, 2013, p. 485). There are many varying stages of development and health in late adulthood, along with steady changing of life expectancy. Aging is a part of life, and with it comes changes in every area of living. Many diseases find late adulthood as an opportune time to affect people. Eventually, whether caused by disease or another reason, every individual dies. Death is unique to every person, and healthcare in America is changing to reflect that. This stage of life is a time when bodily processes and functions may be decreasing, but depending on lifestyle choices, death can come at different times.
Some health concerns come with aging into middle adulthood. Physical changes that one might see is that of gray and thinning hair, wrinkles,
Weiss, Robert S., and Scottq A. Bass, eds. Challenges of the third age: Meaning and purpose in later life. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2002. 41-43. Print.