Part VI

1. Part VI Chapter Nineteen Emerging Adulthood: Psychosocial Development Identity Achieved Intimacy Emotional Development Prepared by Madeleine Lacefield Tattoon, M.A.

2. Emerging Adulthood: Psychosocial Development “In psychosocial development, even more than in physical or cognitive development, the hallmark of contemporary adult life is diversity.”

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

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

8. Identity Achieved • Ethnic Identity • 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. Intimacy • Intimacy versus Isolation • the sixth of Erikson’s eight stages • 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

12. 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

13. Intimacy • gateway to attraction • 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)

14. 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

15. 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

16. Intimacy • Romance and Relationships • couples are marrying later and divorcing more often than earlier cohorts • marriage is being postponed, not abandoned

17. 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

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

19. Intimacy • The Dimensions of Love • Sternberg described three distinct aspects of love • passion • intimacy • commitment

20. Intimacy • 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

21. Intimacy • Cohabitation • many people think that living together is a good prelude for marriage; researchers suggest they are mistaken • living together before marriage does not preclude problems that might arise after a wedding

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. Intimacy • 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

26. 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”

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

28. Emotional Development • Well-Being • allows emerging adults to • learn • explore • make friends • find lovers • take whatever job • journey • take risks

29. Emotional Development • positive emotions increase when adults have close relationships with • friends • lovers • parents • undergo successful transitions • leaving home • graduating from college • securing a good job

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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

33. Emotional Development • Mood Disorders • before age 30, 8% of U.S. residents suffer from a mood disorder • major depression is the most common • may be biochemical… imbalances in neurotransmitters and hormones (can also be triggered by a stressor

34. 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

35. 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

36. 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