overview

Things to consider about young adulthood:

• One size does not fit all for adulthood. For instance, a 21-year-old in the military will have different experiences than a 21-year-old junior in college. Watch for any answer choices on the exam for scenario assessment/intervention questions that stereotype or generalize. Adulthood does not happen inside a vacuum. Experiences during childhood and adolescence impact young and middle adulthood.

Jeffrey Arnett suggests emerging adulthood is the distinct period between 18 and 25 years of age where adolescents become more independent and explore various life possibilities.

There are certainly many positives to aging, and social workers should remember strengths. With that said, some challenges experienced during adulthood include: infertility, miscarriage, parenting challenges, sandwich generation (i.e., caring for children and aging parents), employment, and financial issues.

developmental tasks Highlights in early adulthood

Source of the following content: 8.1 Introduction to Early Adulthood is adapted and shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Laura Overstreet via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

Early adulthood can be a very busy time of life. Developmental tasks of young adults include:

• Achieving autonomy: trying to establish oneself as an independent person with a life of one’s own.
• Establishing identity: more firmly establishing likes, dislikes, preferences, and philosophies.
• Developing emotional stability: becoming more stable emotionally which is considered a sign of maturing.
• Establishing a career: deciding on and pursuing a career or at least an initial career direction and pursuing an education.
• Finding intimacy: forming first close, long-term relationships.
• Becoming part of a group or community: young adults may, for the first time, become involved with various groups in the community. They may begin voting or volunteering to be part of civic organizations (scouts, church groups, etc.). This is especially true for those who participate in organizations as parents.
• Establishing a residence and learning how to manage a household: learning how to budget and keep a home maintained.
• Becoming a parent and rearing children: learning how to manage a household with children. Making marital adjustments and learning to parent.

Cognitive development in early adulthood

Source of the following content:  16.3: Cognitive Development is adapted and shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

Postformal thought is practical, realistic and more individualistic. As a person approaches the late 30s, chances are they make decisions out of necessity or because of prior experience and are less influenced by what others think. Of course, this is particularly true in individualistic cultures such as the United States. In addition to moving toward more practical considerations, thinking in early adulthood may also become more flexible and balanced. Abstract ideas that the adolescent believes in firmly may become standards by which the adult evaluates reality. Adolescents tend to think in dichotomies; ideas are true or false; good or bad; right or wrong and there is no middle ground. However, with experience, the adult comes to recognize that there is some right and some wrong in each position, some good or some bad in a policy or approach, some truth and some falsity in a particular idea. This ability to bring together salient aspects of two opposing viewpoints or positions is referred to as dialectical thought and is considered one of the most advanced aspects of postformal thinking. Such thinking is more realistic because very few positions, ideas, situations, or people are completely right or wrong. So, for example, parents who were considered angels or devils by the adolescent eventually become just people with strengths and weaknesses, endearing qualities and faults to the adult.

psychosocial development in young adulthood

Source of the following content:16.4 Psychosocial Development is adapted and shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

Many of the developmental tasks of early adulthood involve becoming part of the adult world and gaining independence. The focus of early adulthood is often on the future, with an emphasis on building and rebuilding one’s life.

Intimacy vs. Isolation: Erikson believed that the main task of early adulthood was to establish intimate relationships. Intimate relationships are more difficult if one is still struggling with identity. Achieving a sense of identity is a life-long process, but there are periods of identity crisis and stability. And having some sense of identify is essential for intimate relationships. In early adulthood, intimacy (or emotional or psychological closeness) comes from friendships and intimate partners.

Friendships as a Source of Intimacy: Intimacy needs may be met in friendships rather than with partners during a person’s 20s. This is especially true in the United States today as many young adults postpone making long-term commitments to partners either in marriage or in cohabitation. The kinds of friendships shared by women tend to differ from those shared by men, which is influenced by gender norms and not related to biological differences. In general, friendships between men are more likely to involve sharing information, providing solutions, or focusing on activities rather than discussion problems or emotions. Men tend to discuss opinions or factual information or spend time together in an activity of mutual interest. Friendships between women are more likely to focus on sharing weaknesses, emotions, or problems. Women talk about difficulties they are having in other relationships and express their sadness, frustrations, and joys.

Middle Adulthood

Physical Changes

Biological changes occur during middle adulthood including:

• Appearance
  • Skin changes
  • Hair changes
  • Body changes
• Mobility
  • Changes in muscles
  • Bone density changes
• Reproductive System and Sexuality
  • Female- Changes in production of hormones (slows) as well as changes to fertility.
  • Males- Changes in levels of testosterone and may experience erectile dysfunction.

Cognitive Development

Fluid vs. Crystallized Intelligence: Refers to the capacity to learn new ways of solving problems and performing activities quickly and abstractly and crystallized intelligence, which refers to the accumulated knowledge of the world people have acquired throughout their lives. This intelligence is distinct, and crystallized intelligence increases with age, while fluid intelligence tends to decrease with age.

Tacit knowledge is the knowledge that is pragmatic or practical and learned through experience rather than explicitly taught, and it also increases with age. Tacit knowledge might be thought of as “know-how” or “professional instinct.” It is referred to as tacit because it cannot be codified or written down. It does not involve academic knowledge, rather it involves being able to use skills and to problem-solve in practical ways. Tacit knowledge can be understood in the workplace and used by blue-collar workers, such as carpenters, chefs, and hairdressers.

Psychosocial Development

Generativity vs. Stagnation: Generativity encompasses procreativity, productivity, and creativity. This stage includes the generation of new beings, new products, and new ideas, as well as self-generation concerned with further identity development. Erikson believed that the stage of generativity, during which one established a family and career, was the longest of all the stages. Individuals at midlife are primarily concerned with leaving a positive legacy of themselves, and parenthood is the primary generative type. Erikson understood that work and family relationships may be in conflict due to the obligations and responsibilities of each, but he believed it was overall a positive developmental time. In addition to being parents and working, Erikson also described individuals being involved in the community during this stage. A sense of stagnation occurs when one is not active in generative matters; however, stagnation can motive a person to redirect energies into more meaningful activities.