EARLY ADULTHOOD

Human Development

College of Public and Community Service

University of Massachusetts at Boston

©2009 William Holmes

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RECOGNITION AS ADULT

• Rites of passage—bar bat mitzvah,

confirmation, quinceañera, “coming out”

• Adult status position—job, marriage,

parenting, military, deviant acts

• Legal status

• Getting your own domicile

• Varies by subculture2

HOW DO YOU TELL

WHO IS AN ADULT?

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PHYSICAL INDICATIONS OF

ADULTHOOD

• Reproductive capacity

• Facial hair in men

• Maximum growth

• Maximum agility

• Body shape

• Attire

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SOCIAL INDICATIONS OF

ADULTHOOD

• Autonomy

• Respect

• Driver’s license

• Employment

• Responsibility

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EARLY ADULT CHALLENGES: 1

• Racial and ethnic changes

• Increase in immigration

• Completing education

• Independent living

• Obtaining stable work with

living wage

• Establishing adult identity

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EARLY ADULT CHALLENGES: 2

• Establishing intimacy in

relationships

• Establishing giving and

exchange

• Marriage and child-rearing

• Health risky behavior

• Civic participation

• Imprisonment and dislocation

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DEVELOPING ADULT ETHICS: 1

• Perry—issues in male ethics

– Dualism

– Relativism

– Commitment and authority

– Risk of “temporizing” (fixation),

formulaic

– Risk of “escape” (rejection)

– Risk of “retreat” (devolution)

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DEVELOPING ADULT ETHICS: 2

• Belenky—issues in female ethics

– Silence (dualism)

– Received (authority)

– Subjective (relativism)

– Procedural (formulaic)

– Constructed

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WHERE DO YOU GET

YOUR ETHICS?

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CHANGING ADULT WORK

PATTERNS

• Variable primary cash earner

• Two parents working

• Dual career families

• Single adults

• Home-Based work

• Multiple job holding

• Structural unemployment

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WHAT DO YOU ENVISION

AS YOUR WORK SITUATION?

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INDICATIONS OF

EMOTIONAL INTIMACY: 1

• Turning to someone for comfort

• Willingness to cry and show anger

• Speaking about sensitive topics

• Expressing respect or love with words and

deeds

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INDICATIONS OF

EMOTIONAL INTIMACY: 2

• Confidence you won’t be abandoned in a crisis

• Museums not kept or prior complaints

• Passive aggression and name calling not used

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ESTABLISHING EMOTIONAL INTIMACY

• Laughing together

• Crying together

• Accepting differences

• Knowing your emotional

needs

• Not being an island

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