Prepared by Madeleine Lacefield Tattoon, M.A.

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Kathleen Stassen BergerPart

VIEmerging Adulthood: Psychosocial

Development

Chapter Nineteen

Identity Achieved

Intimacy

Emotional Development

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Emerging Adulthood: Psychosocial Development

“In psychosocial development, even more than in physical or cognitive development, the hallmark of contemporary adult life is diversity.”

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Identity Achieved• the search for identity begins at puberty, and continues through adulthood

• each stage’s crises provides the foundation for each new era… as is evident in the emerging adult

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Identity Achieved• Ethnic Identity

– in the U.S. and Canada 1/2 of the 18 – 25- year-olds are either children of immigrant or native-born Americas of African, Asian, Indian, or Latino descent

– most individuals identify with very specific ethnic groups, e.g. Vietnamese, Pakistani, or Korean Americans, not simply Asian

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Identity Achieved• Ethnic Identity–emerging adults meet many more people of other backgrounds

–European Americans also understand the importance of their own ethnicity, e.g., Ukrainian Catholic or Russian Jewish

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Identity Achieved• Ethnic Identity

– everyone struggles to forge an identify, but immigrants combining their parent’s past and their future new social context often have conflicts

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Identity Achieved• Ethnic Identity–choices affect language, manners, romance, employment, neighborhood, religion, clothing, and values

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Identity Achieved• Ethnic Identity

– is complex:•it is reciprocal, both a personal choice and a response to others

•it depends on context and therefore changes with time and circumstances

•it is multifaceted… emerging adults choose some attributes and rejects others

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Identity Achieved• Ethnic Identity–the changing contexts of life require ethnic identity to be reestablished at each phase… with one identity in adolescence, another in emerging adulthood

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Identity Achieved• Vocational Identity–is a part of growing up–college is considered an important step towards a career

–a correlation between college education and income has been evident… few unskilled jobs have been created in the 21st century

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Identity Achieved• Vocational Identity

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Intimacy–intimacy versus isolation•the sixth of Erikson’s eight stages of development… adults seek someone with whom to share their lives in an enduring and self-sacrificing commitment… without such commitment they risk profound aloneness and isolation

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Intimacy• Friendship

–friends defend against stress and provide joy throughout life

–friends are chosen for understanding, tolerance, loyalty, affection, humor

–friends are earned; they choose us, unlike family

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Intimacy• Choosing Friends

– gateway to attraction•the various qualities, such as appearance and proximity, that are prerequisites for the formation of close friendships and imitate relationships– physical attractiveness (even in platonic same-sex relationships)

– apparent availability (willingness to talk, to do things together)

– frequent exposure– absence of exclusion criteria (no unacceptable characteristics)

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Intimacy

• Choosing Friends–absence of exclusion criteria (no unacceptable characteristics)•exclusion criteria–a person’s reasons for omitting certain people from consideration as close friends or partners… exclusion criteria vary from one individual to another, but they are strong filters

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Intimacy

• Gender and Friendship–men and women have the same friendship needs

–humans seek intimacy, lifelong –men tend to share activities and interests

–women have friendships that are more intimate and emotional

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Intimacy• Gender and Friendship

– more men than women are homophobic– male-female differences may be cultural and seem to be less stereotyped among contemporary emerging adults

– cross-sex friendships have potential problems•outsiders may believe the relationship is sexual

•heterosexual couples tend to have fewer cross-sex friendships to avoid partner jealousy

•keeping a sexual relationship “just friendly” is sometimes difficult

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Intimacy

• Romance and Relationships–couples are marrying later and divorcing more often than earlier cohorts

–marriage is being postponed, not abandoned

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Intimacy

• Romance and Relationships–the relationship between love and marriage depends on the culture•In 1/3 of all nations, people fall in love and then decide to marry, with the young man asking the young woman

•North Americans and Europeans expect to fall in love several times but not to marry until they are financially and emotionally independent

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Intimacy• The Dimensions of Love–love is not a simple emotion–not something universally recognized as the glue that holds a relationship together

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Intimacy• The Dimensions of Love

–Sternberg described three distinct aspects of love•passion•intimacy•commitment

–Sternberg believes that the relative presence or absence of these three components give rise to…

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Intimacy• The Dimensions of Love

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Intimacy

• Living Together, Not Married–cohabitation•an arrangement in which a man and a women live together in committed sexual relationship but are not formally married

–more than ½ of all emerging adults cohabit during emerging adulthood

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Intimacy

• Living Together, Not Married–cohabitation•many people think that living together is a good prelude for marriage; researchers suggest they are mistaken

•contrary to widespread belief, living together before marriage does not preclude problems that might arise after a wedding

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Intimacy

• What Makes Relationships Work– marriage is not what it once was… a legal and religious arrangement that couple sought for sexual expression•most adults aged 20 to 30 are not yet married

•compared to any year in the past, fewer adults are married (58%) and more are divorced

•the divorce rate is ½ the marriage rate (3.4 compared to 7.8 per, 1000)—not primarily because more people are divorcing but because fewer people are marrying

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Intimacy• What Makes Relationships Work

– homogamy• marriage between individuals who tend to be similar with respect to such variables as attitudes, interest, goals, socioeconomic status, religion, ethnic background, and local origin

– heterogamy• marriage between individuals who tend to be dissimilar with respect to such variables as attitudes, interest, goals, socioeconomic status, religion, ethnic background, and local origin

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Intimacy

• What Makes Relationships Work–social homogamy•the similarity of a couple’s leisure interests and role preferences

–social exchange theory•the view that social behavior is a process of exchange aimed at maximizing the benefits one receives and minimizing the costs one pays

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Intimacy• What Makes Relationships Work

– Domestic Violence:•common couple violence

– a form of abuse in which one or both partners of a couple engage in outbursts of verbal and physical attacks… also called situational couple violence

•intimate terrorism– spouse abuse in which, most often, the husband uses violent methods of accelerating intensity to isolate, degrade, and punish the wife

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Intimacy

• Family Connections–“It is hard to overestimate the importance of the family at any time of the life span.”•families are “our most important individual support system,” a “problem-solving system”

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Intimacy

• Family Connections– made up of individuals, families are more than the people who belong to them•children grow•adults find support•everyone is part of an ethos (culture, philosophy, nation) that gives meaning to, and provides models for personal aspiration and decisions

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Emotional Development• during emerging adulthood people are at their peak:–strength–sexual impulse–health–cognitive growth

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Emotional Development• Well-Being

– allows emerging adults to •learn•explore•make friends•find lovers•take whatever job•journey•take risks

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Emotional Development• Well-Being

– positive emotions increase when emerging adults have close relationships with •friends•lovers•parents•undergo successful transitions

– leaving home– graduating from college– securing a good job

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Emotional Development• Well-Being–some of the depression and anxieties of adolescence lift when young people leave their high schools and distance themselves from dysfunctional families

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Emotional Development• Psychopathology

– not all young adults benefit from independence… some adults have too many choices and too little guidance

– diathesis-stress model•the view that mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, are produced by the interaction of a genetic vulnerability (the diathesis) with stressful environmental factors and life events

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Emotional Development• Substance Abuse Disorders

– emerging adulthood is the most common time for substance abuse

– 1 in 8 is addicted before age 27– substance abuse can be a common interest for friends and romantic partners

– most sufferers manage to put an end to abuse without professional counseling

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Emotional Development• Mood Disorders

– before age 30, 8% of U.S. residents suffer from a mood disorder•major depression is the most common

– major depression may be biochemical… imbalances in neurotransmitters and hormones (can also be triggered by an arrest, or romantic break-up)

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Emotional Development•Anxiety Disorders–¼ of U.S. residents below the age of 25, including•post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)•obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)•panic attacks

–age and genetic vulnerability shape the symptoms of anxiety disorders

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Emotional Development• Schizophrenia

– 1% of all adults experience at least one episode of schizophrenia

– partly genetic– malnutrition when the brain is developing

– symptoms typically begin in adolescence•diagnosis is most common from ages 18-24

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Emotional Development•Continuity and Discontinuity–most emerging adults have strengths as well as liabilities

–many overcome anxieties, substance abuse, etc… through “self-righting,” social support and ongoing maturation