Chapter 17
Emerging Adulthood:
Biosocial Development
Balance
Homeostasis
– The adjustment of all the
body’s systems to keep
physiological functions in a
state of equilibrium.
– As the body ages, it takes
longer for these adjustments
to occur, so it becomes
harder for older bodies to
adapt to stress.
– Nutrition and exercise
underlie health at every age.
Growth and Strength
–Muscle growth and fat accumulation
continue into the early 20s, when women
attain adult breast and hip size and men
reach full shoulder width and upper-arm
strength.
–Death from disease almost never occurs
during emerging adulthood.
– By age 20, the immune system is well-developed
Growth and Strength
– Senescence
–The process of aging,
whereby the body becomes
less strong and efficient.
–Begins in late adolescence
Emotional Health
What Is Good emotional
Health?
Emotional Health
People who have awareness
• Thoughts
• Feelings
• Behaviors
Emotional Health
• They have learned healthy ways to cope with
the stress and problems that are a normal
part of life. They feel good about themselves
and have healthy relationships.
Affects on Emotional Health
• Being laid off from your job
• Having a child leave or return home
• Dealing with the death of a loved one
• Getting divorced or married
• Suffering an illness or an injury
• Getting a job promotion
• Experiencing money problems
• Moving to a new home
• Having a baby
Emotions affect on Health
Emotions affect on Health
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Back pain
Change in appetite
Chest pain
Constipation or diarrhea
Dry mouth
Extreme tiredness
General aches and pains
Headaches
High blood pressure
Insomnia (trouble sleeping)
• Lightheadedness
• Palpitations (the feeling that
your heart is racing)
• Sexual problems
• Shortness of breath
• Stiff neck
• Sweating
• Upset stomach
• Weight gain or loss
Affects on Health
Excercise
• Reduces blood pressure, strengthens the
heart & lungs.
• Makes depression, osteoporosis, heart
disease, arthritis and some cancers less
likely.
• Those who are not fit during emerging
adulthood are 4 times more likely to have
diabetes and high blood pressure 15 years
later.
Dieting
Appearance
Due to being in such good health, and past the
awkward phase of puberty, those in emerging
adulthood tend to look “vital and attractive”
Emerging adults usually exercise to “look better” not
to have the better body
They work out to lose weight, not to have a
stronger heart, or lungs
Desire for a nice appearance can be linked to sexual
drive and desires
This desire is also linked to those seeking
employment
Sexual Activity
Sexual reproductive system is strong in emerging
adulthood
Fertility is high, miscarriage rate and serious
birth complications are low
Most moms are under the age of 25
The survival of the child, the child survival rate
peaking when the mother was between 18-25
These natural assets become probalmatic when the
hormones want sex, but the person is not prepared
children
There are many contraceptive options for both
women and men who do not want to have a child
Today’s emerging adults (18-24 yrs) are more
okay with the idea of sex before marriage than
older citizens (65+)
Premarital sex can also cause disease and even
distress
Emotional Stress
Sexual activity can cause stress in relationships
Young adults have more sex and more partners, than those slightly
older
Emerging adults in the US most commonly practice serial monogany,
having one steady partner at a time
Even those who paricipate in casual sex, can want that
attachment, resulting in “unanticipated emotional entanglement”
Reproduction - One fourth of all Americans believe sex is
primarily for reproduction
Relationship - One half of all Americans believe sex is
primarily for strengthing relationships, the dominant beliefs
of emerging adults
These people usually fall in love, become faithful,
have sex, and then think about marriage and creating
a family
Recreation - One fourth of all Americans believe sex is
primarily to cure sexual desires, and for enjoyment
Emotional Stress
Couples usually have the same view on the purpose of sex when they are from similar
backgrounds (culture, religion, etc.)
The most comon practice is to have a number of sex partners in the late teens and early
twenties, before setling down with a spouse, causing two people who may not agree on
the purpopse of sex, to become partners and risk one feeling used or misled
The more the partners, the more commin the breakups, causing more stress for the
person
Gender Identity
Male, female, transgender
Gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual, asexual
It can be difficult for someone to find the word to use to define themselves, causing
stress for not only that person, but their relationships as well
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Also known as STIs
Have before more commin in today’s society
STI’s are often untreated due to there being no symptoms half of the time, and the need of lab tests to
determinte if the infection is actually there; STIs can lead to infertility or death
The best prevention is lifelong, or even serial monogamy, as well as getting tested regulary if you are active
in nonmonogamous sex
Psychopathology
• First symptoms may occur in early childhood.
• Symptoms worsen in adolescence and become
evident in early childhood.
• Emerging adults experience more of every
diagnosed disorder than any older group, except
for dementia.
• The rate of serious mental illness is almost
double for adults over 25.
• Most psychologist’s and psychiatrist’s accept
the diathesis-stress model which examines
the effect of stress on the patient for a
specific disorder.
• Contributing Factors: genetic interactions,
early childhood experiences, social
circumstances.
Mood Disorders
• 8 % U.S. residents suffer from a mood disorder
before they reach 30.
• Mood disorders can often be treated with
medication and therapy.
• The social cost of a mood disorder is estimated
to be higher than that of most physical illness’s
• Mood disorders can prevent a person from fully
functioning for decades.
Types of Mood disorders
• Bipolar Disorders
• associated with mood swings that range from
the lows of depression to the highs of mania
• Begins in childhood and becomes more severe
in adulthood.
• Bipolar disorder can affect the whole family.
• Most people with bipolar disorder need to live in
supervised environment.
Depression
• Is the most common mood disorder.
• Shown by a loss of interests or pleasure in
nearly all activities for 2 weeks or more
• Trouble sleeping, concentrating, eating,
carrying on friendships, and feeling hopeful are
all attributes that depression patients have.
• One quarter of people begin in adolescence,
another quarter in young adulthood.
• About half of depressed people have episodes
of depressed people have episodes of
depression all of their lives.
• Contributing factors: imbalances in
neurotransmitters and in hormones, stress,
social factors.
• Diathesis-stress model explains that problems
that happen early on can cause a downward
spiral later in life.
• Younger people with psychological problems
have fewer supportive friendships, this is shown
to cause problems to sprout earlier in life.
• Women at all ages are more depressed then
men, but men are particularly vulnerable to the
ups and downs of their love lives.
•Affects every day life: higher education,
vocational choices, and romantic commitments
•People of all ages with depression believe
nothing will help , and are very unlikely to seek
treatment themselves.
Anxiety Disorders
• Seen in one-fourth of U.S. residents
• Includes panic attacks, post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), and obsessive compulsive
disorder (OCD)
• According to the world health organization in
2009 anxiety disorders are more prevalent
than depression
• Age and genetic vulnerability shape the
symptoms of anxiety disorder
PTSD
• People who suffer from PTSD have it
because a traumatic experience in their life
such as a near death experience
• Only 15 % of people experience such
traumas in their lives.
• Young adults are more likely to develop
PTSD problems, and have a higher rate of
experiencing them
Other types of Anxiety disorders
• Social phobia: most common anxiety disorder
• Is fear of talking to other people and coming
in contact with them
• In Japan there is a severe social phobia
problem, they even have a name for it being
“hikikomari” meaning pull away
• The sufferer can be seen to stay in his or her
room for 6 months or more
Schizophrenia
• Schizophrenia includes becoming
overwhelmed by disorganized and bizarre
thoughts, delusions, hallucinations, and
emotions
• About 1 percent of all adults experience
schizophrenia
• There have been studies that show that some
cultures and contexts have a higher rate of
schizophrenia
• It is genetic however, most people with
schizophrenia do not have other people in the
family suffering from it
• Besides genetics, malnutrition when the brain is
developing, especially when a women is
pregnant and is malnourished
• Social pressure has been shown to contribute
as well
• Among immigrants, rates triple for young adults,
especially when they don’t have family support
• Most commonly diagnosed between the ages
of 18 and 24.
• Men who have no symptoms by age 35 almost
never develop schizophrenia, but women have
been shown to develop it at a later age
Fun Facts
• Where are the People with Schizophrenia?
• Approximately:
• 6% are homeless or live in shelters
• 6% live in jails or prisons
• 5% to 6% live in Hospitals
• 10% live in Nursing homes
• 25% live with a family member
• 28% are living independently
• 20% live in Supervised Housing (group homes,
etc.)
Fun Facts
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After 10 years, of the people diagnosed with schizophrenia:
25% Completely Recover
25% Much Improved, relatively independent
25% Improved, but require extensive support network
15% Hospitalized, unimproved
10% Dead (Mostly Suicide)
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After 30 years, of the people diagnosed with schizophrenia:
25% Completely Recover
35% Much Improved, relatively independent
15% Improved, but require extensive support network
10% Hospitalized, unimproved
15% Dead (Mostly Suicide)
Good Health Habits
Chapter 17
Exercise
Many emerging adults engage in
adequate exercise, protecting their
long-term health by so doing.
Ideally, they choose friends and
neighborhoods that will keep them
active.
Exercise (cont.)
Young adults today can choose friends and communities that
support staying active.
Friendship: People exercise more if their friends do so, too.
Because social networks tend to shrink with age, adults need
to maintain friendships that involve being active.
Communities: Health experts cite extensive research showing
that community design can have a positive effect on the levels
of obesity, hypertension, and depression.
Exercise (cont.)
Good exercise and eating habits established
in young adulthood contribute greatly to
overall health in middle age and beyond, while
sedentary individuals are more likely to
develop diabetes and high blood pressure.
Eating Well
Good nourishment is important lifelong.
For body weight, there is a set point which
makes people eat when they are hungry
and stop eating when they are full.
Eating Well (cont.)
The body mass index (BMI) indicates whether an adult is of normal weight
or is too heavy or too light.
The BMIs of most emerging adults are normal, but some continue to
display serious eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa, and
others are obese.
Eating Well (cont.)
Today’s emerging adults are fatter than those in
the past.
Because they earn less money and healthy
foods have become more expensive while
unhealthy foods have become cheaper in the
past 20 years.
Taking Risks
Risk taking increases during emerging
adulthood, with the thrills of edgework.
Edgework: living on edge by skillfully managing
stress and fear in order to attain some goal).
Many risks can have life-threatening
consequences, including drug abuse and
addiction, unprotected sex, and extreme sports.
Taking Risks
(cont.)
Risk taking is common during young adulthood.
Some risks are beneficial, others are not. In
general, males take more risks than females.
Some choose edgework occupationsfirefighting, for instance- that involve a degree of
danger, others choose extreme sports because
they are risky.
Drug Abuse
Emerging adults- especially those in
college- have high rates of drug and alcohol
abuse.
Drug abuse occurs whenever a person
uses a drug that is harmful to physical,
cognitive, or psychosocial well-being.
Drug Abuse
(cont.)
Drug abuse can lead to drug addiction:
a condition of dependence in which the
absence of a drug causes intense
cravings for it in order to satisfy a need.
Social Norms
Social normals are powerful.
Knowledge about other’s behavior and
attitudes may help reduce alcohol abuse
and other problems.
Social Norms
Social norms approach is an
attempt to reduce risk taking by
conducting surveys of emerging
adults and using the results to make
them aware of the prevalence of
various behaviors.
(cont.)
Implications of Risks and Norms
Cultural as well as gender variations
are evident in risk taking and violent
death.
Social norms are particularly powerful
during these years.
Implications of Risks and
Norms
(cont.)
These two facts can reduce the hazards
of risk taking, a lesson applied on many
college campuses.
Summary
Good exercise and eating habits established in
young childhood contribute greatly to overall
health.
Risk taking is common during young adulthood.
Emerging adults have high rates of drug and
alcohol abuse.
Social norms are powerful; knowing about other’s
behavior may help reduce alcohol abuse and other
problems.