Chapter 14: Socioemotional Development in Middle Adulthood

whether midlife is inevitably a time of crises.

- Lecinson (1978) views midlife as a crisis, believing that the middle -aged adult is suspended between the past and the future, trying to cope with this gap that threatens life's continuity. - Vailant's study-- "Grant study", that only a minority of adults experience a midlife crisis. - Today, adult development experts are belief that midlife crises have been exaggerated. Happiness and positive affect have an upward trajectory from early adulthood to late adulthood.

3. Explain the tendency toward gender role convergence during middle age.

A tendency for men and women to become more similar as they move through middle age. Gender convergence may be caused by reduced levels of sex hormones, which may allow men and women to express previously suppressed traits.

empty nest syndrome

A term used to indicate a decrease in marital satisfaction after children leave home.

generativity

Adults' desire to leave legacies of themselves to the next generation; the positive side of Erikson's generativity versus stagnation middle adulthood stage.

contemporary life-events approach

An approach emphasizing that how a life event influences the individual's development depends not only on the life event but also on mediating factors, the individual's adaptation to the life event, the life-stage context, and the sociohistorical context.

7. Discuss the reasons why grandparents sometimes are surrogate parents, and describe the benefits/costs to both grandparents and grandchildren.

Grandparents who are full-time caregivers for grand-children are at elevated risk for health problems, depression, and stress. - because full-time grandparent caregivers are often characterized by low- income, minority status and by not being married. - Grandparents who are part-time caregivers are less likely to have the negative health portrait that full- time caregivers have.

stagnation

Sometimes called "self-absorption," this state of mind develops when individuals sense that they have done little or nothing of the next generation; this is the negative side of Erikson's generativity versus stagnation middle adulthood stage.

tend-and-befriend

Taylor's view that when women experience stress, they are more likely to seek social alliances with others, especially female friends.

big Five

The five basic clusters of personality traits that remain quite stable throughout adulthood: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

cumulative personality model

The principle that with time and age, people become more adept at interacting with their environment in ways that promote stability of personality.

2. Explain why middle-aged adults are considered the "sandwich generation" and discuss their relationships with other generations.

The sandwich generation is another term used to describe the experience of couples in midlife. This refers to couples who must fulfill the needs of both their children and their aging parents. This concept is now largely considered a myth since some adults do feel pressured by obligations but do not feel themselves burdened by them. Some midlife adults simply choose not to take on the expected responsibilities (e.g., caring for a frail parent). In addition, young adults living at home are more independent than they were as children, and disabled adults usually require less care than when they were children. If major assistance is required for frail parents, it is usually another member of the older generation who provides the care, not the midlife child.

fight-or-flight

The view that when men experience stress, they are more likely to become aggressive, withdraw from social contact, or drink alcohol

Discuss the empty next syndrome and the impact on parents.

Which includes a decline in marital satisfaction after children leave the home. For most patents, however, marital satisfaction increases does not decline. and increase in the quality of time - but not quantity of time - spent with partners. the refilling of the empty nest is becoming a common occurrence as adult children return to the family home after taking a full-time job. there are both pluses and minuses when adult children live with their parents. the most common complaints is loss of privacy.

5. Describe how the balance among work, family and self often shifts during middle adulthood.

Work continues to be an important source of both stress & status in middle age. One of the improvements that occur over the decades of adulthood is that many adults learn how to coordinate the demands of a partner, children, & an employer. A "balance of life" is more likely reached in middle age. Job security usually increases during middle adulthood, and there is often a shift in the balance among work, family & self.

1. Discuss the changes that normally occur during middle age, including whether midlife is inevitably a time of crises.

Young and middle-aged adults experience more stress than do older adults, and as adults become older, they report less control over some areas of their lives and more control over other areas. Research, though, indicates that midlife crises are not pervasive.

midlife crisis

a stressful period of self-evaluation that begins at about age 40

sandwich generation

middle-aged adults needs to raise or launch children and to care for elderly parents at same time. Middle-aged adults have been described as the "sandwich", "squeezed",or "overload" generation because of the responsibilities they have for their adolescent and young adult children on the one hand and aging parents on the other hand.

social clock

the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement

life-events approach

the view that a person's state of well-being can be threatened by major life changes