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 subculture
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HOW DO YOU TELL
WHO IS AN ADULT?
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PHYSICAL INDICATIONS OF
ADULTHOOD
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Reproductive capacity
Facial hair in men
Maximum growth
Maximum agility
Body shape
Attire
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SOCIAL INDICATIONS OF
ADULTHOOD
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Autonomy
Respect
Driver’s license
Employment
Responsibility
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EARLY ADULT CHALLENGES: 1
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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
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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
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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
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Laughing together
Crying together
Accepting differences
Knowing your emotional
needs
• Not being an island
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