Chapter 7 Section 1

life structure

(Men have it)combination of statuses, roles, activities, goals, values, beliefs, and life circumstances that characterize an individual.

Chief tasks of Entering the Adult world

1. Individual expected to explore variety of relationships and career opportunities 2. Expected to become a responsible member of society and to form a stable life structure.

leaving home

According to Levinson, the most important task of the period of Early transition is this both physically and psychologically

Men in their twenties

According to Sales, women (usually early thirties) who go back to work after kids grow up a bit find themselves in situations such as

Limites

According to Sales, women's job advancement possibilites become limited when they remain out of labor force while their children are young

Mentor

Acts as a role model and helps the individual get started in adult life

Birth of first child

Age of mothers at this has risen since 1970s

Marriage and Gender

American attitudes on these roles seem to be changing

Marriage

Americans are delaying

Settling Down Period

During this period, individuals form true commitments to things such as work, family, leisure, friendship, community, or whatever is important in their lives

Early Adulthood

Early Adulthood Transition, Entering the Adult World, Age 30 transition, Settling down period

Ages 17 through 22

Early Adulthood begins with the early adult transition period

Issues Daniel Levinson's interviews focused on

Education, work, leisure, politics, and relationships with family and friends

Midlife transition

Escaping from the pressure of unattainable dreams is one of the major tasks of this

Marriage

Even when women plan to combine marriage with a career, this is often considered the most important step

Career Goals

Fewer obligations at home make it possible for women who return to work to actively pursue their career goals

Early Adulthood Transition, Entering the Adult World, Age 30 transition, Settling down period, and midlife transition

First five periods of adulthood

26.8 years

For men, average age of first marriage

Careers

For men, this takes priority, as seen in relationships where for women, marriage is priority

less on career than on marriage

For some women the emphasis is

25.1 years

For women, average for age of first marriage

Male and female

Have two separate adult development processes due to the traditional patterns

1/3

In this, wife earns more than husband does

Settling Down Period

Individuals try to establish themselves in society, usually by advancing in their chosen occupations.

Ages 33-39

Last stage of early adulthood, Settling Down Period

Late Adulthood

Late Adult Transition, Late Adult Transition

Age 30 transition

Levinson considered this to be crucial to future development because it is often characterized by shifts in direction

Same stages of adult development

Levinson discovered that men and women go through these

Novice phase

Levinson referred to the first three periods of the early adulthood era

Early Adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood

Levison concluded that there are three basic eras of adulthood

first 5 periods of adulthood

Levison placed the greatest stress on the

Age 30 transition

Major task in this phase to make a place for themselves in the adult world and to construct a life structures that fits them and works in the adult world

Settling Down Period

Major task of this period is known to Levinson as "Making it" in the adult world.

30%

Marriage rate has dropped by more than this since 1960s

social roles and identites

Men and women differ in terms of their

Middle Adulthood

Midlife Transition, Entering Middle Adulthood, Age 50 transition, Culmination of Middle Adulthood

married

More and More Americans are not getting

Becoming One's Own man (B.O.O.M)

Near end of settling down period, men realize how much they are relying on others as role models for guidance, begin conscious effort to establish their own identities

Ages 23 through 27

Next period, Entering the Adult world

Increasing

Number of women in full-time executive, administrative, and managerial positions is

School age

Once children reach this, many mothers who left labor force again seek employment

Ages 28- 32

Period of The Age 30 Transition

begin to have serious doubts about own careers

Sales notes its ironic women develop commitment to their careers when they return to work when husbands

debate

Since 1970s, Levinson's ideas of similarity of male and female adult development have been a subject of some q

development processes

Some people argue that the differences Levinson noted exsist between women and men because these are different

6-8 years

Stable periods last

All subjects in study went through periods in order and about same age

Support for Levinson's theory

4-5 years

Transitional periods last

Becoming a mentor

Way many men worked through crisis of midlife transition

59%

Women who are new mothers who return to labor force before child is one.

Irene Frieze and Esther Sales

Women who have done work that lends support to this argument that women and men have different development processes

leaving home, making a psychological break from parents, developing a life plan

Women's entry into adult world (Much same as men)

boarder status

Young adults can continue to live at home in what amounts to a

break in employment

another factor that distinguishes female development from male development in adulthood

midlife transition

characterized by self-examination, individuals again question their life structures

Men & Women

deal differently with the development tasks in each stage

emphasis on marriage over career

factor that distinguishes female development from male development in adulthood

ages 40-44

first stage in middle adulthood is the midlife transition

Midlife transition

for 80 percent of subjects in Levinson's study this was a period of moderate to severe crisis, both internal conflicts and conflicts around them, death is more real

Midlife transition

for those who successfully completed the transition, this proved to be a fulfilling and creative period

marriage

for women, Specifies of life plan are likely to be determined by

"Apprentice Adults"

individuals stop viewing themselves as this, once they break with their mentor

midlife transition

individuals take stock of likelihood of achieving the dreams they formed in early adulthood (usually realize their earlier dreams are beyond fufillment) Majority of people able to make them more realistic

dual roles of motherhood and a career

many mothers find these to be a workable combination, they tend to put a strain on women

twenties

most women marry and become mothers in their

Early transition period

period that represents the bridge between adolescence and adulthood

Daniel Levinson

psychologist study to determine the adult male development stages

Men

remain in labor force for most of adulthood

success in mastering in previous period

research findings also say the degree of difficulty that an individual experiences in a period depends on his

First step of BOOM

seperating onself from a mentor

midlife transition

serves as bridge between early and middle adulthood

work world

some young adults achieve economic independence when they enter the work world

Mentor

somone who fosters an individual's development by believing in the person, sharing the person's dreams, and helping the person achieve those dreams

Levinson

suggested his findings were equally valid for women, he repeated his life-structure study with women

development of a dream of adult accomplishment

the period of Entering the Adult World also characterized by

Changes

these signal that development patterns of working-age men and women are merging

Age at first marriage

this has been rising since the 1960s in the United states

Leaving the Family, Entering the adult world, and entering the adult world again

three phases in adult female development

Age 30 transition

time to look back on the choices that have been made up to this point

Women

typically enter work force, take time to have children, then go back to work once children are grown

Mentor

usually someone of older experienced person in world of work

69 percent

women with children under the age of 18 work at least part-time