EARLY ADULT DEVELOPMENT:
PART 2
1
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
COLLEGE OF PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AT BOSTON
©2009 WILLIAM HOLMES
CHANGES IN MARITAL BEHAVIOR: 1
2
 Marriage at older age—27, men; 25




women (2003)
Unmarried increasing—86%, 20-24
year olds
Cohabiting increasing—numbers
and percent
Cohabiting more tied to marriage
Marriage more civil, less religious
CHANGES IN MARITAL BEHAVIOR: 2
3
 More mixed marriages, except for





class
Increase in homosexual marriage
More divorce
More remarriage
Fewer children, more only children
Later age at first birth
EARLY ADULT PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: 1
4
 Levinson Life Course Theory
 Sequence of eras
 Life structure building and changing
 Novice phase of early adulthood
1.
Obtaining a dream
2.
Finding a mentor
3.
Finding a vocation/occupation
4.
Establishing a love relationship
EARLY ADULT PERSONEL DEVELOPMENT: 2
5
 Erikson’s sixth stage of
development—intimacy and
solidarity versus isolation
1. Mutuality of intimacy
2. Sharing with a loved partner
3. Sharing with other sex
4. Sharing mutual trust
5. Able to regulate work, procreation,
recreation
EARLY ADULT GENDER ROLES
6
 Solidification of gender identity
 Gender-role orientation—confidence in




identity
Gender-role preference—discomfort in
identity
Gender-role adaptation—behavioral
conformity
Genes, adaptation, and biology factors
Social, religious, and political factors
ADULT GENDER DIFFERENCES
7
 Fight or flight versus bend-and



bond
Machismo versus feminism
Abstinence versus hooking-up
Attractiveness versus occupation,
values, and children
Work, childrearing, romance, and
sexuality
DEVELOPING ADULT LOVE
8
 Sternberg—passion, intimacy, commitment
 Liking—intimacy
 Infatuation—passion
 Empty—commitment
 Romantic—intimacy and passion
 Fatuous—commitment and passion
 Companionate—commitment and intimacy
 Consummate—commitment, intimacy, and
passionate
DEVELOPING ADULT RELATIONSHIPS
9
 Attending to the




relationship in the present
Acceptance of ourselves
and others as we are
Appreciation of ourselves
and others
Affection with others
Allowing things of be,
without controlling others
Richo, 2002.