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The crisis of generativity versus stagnation
Generativity -- adults’ desire to leave legacies of themselves to the next generation
Stagnation -- develops when individuals sense that they have done nothing for the next generation o also known as self-absorption

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Commitment to continuation and improvement of society as a whole
Biological generativity -- bearing offspring
Parental generativity -- nurturing children
Work generativity -- skills to pass on
Cultural generativity -- creating, renovating, and conserving some aspect of culture

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Results of extensive interviews with middle-aged men
20s -- novice phase of experimentation and testing
28 to 33 years -- transition and adoption of goals
30s -- BOOM -- becoming one’s own man phase

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40 to 45 years -- transition to middle adulthood requires facing four main issues o o o o being young versus being old being destructive versus being constructive being masculine versus being feminine being attached to others versus being separated
40s -- middle age

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Levinson’s view of the crisis o being suspended between past and future o trying to cope with threats to continuity
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Vailliant’s “Grant Study” o a time of reassessing and recording the truth about adolescence and adulthood o only a minority of adults actually experience a crisis in midlife
(Levinson, 1978; Vailliant, 1977)

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Some events tax ability to cope and force personality change
Contemporary life events approach emphasizes considering event as well as mediating factors, adaptation to the event, the life-stage context, and the historical context
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May overemphasize change and discount the importance of everyday stressors
(Holmes & Rahe, 1967)

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Do middle-aged adults experience stress differently than young adults and older adults?
o o
Young and middle-aged adults had more stressful days than older adults
Middle-aged adults experienced more “overload” stressors that involved juggling too many activities at once

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Historical contexts -- cohort effects o o o cohort -- individuals born in the same year or time period cohort and context influence values, attitudes, expectations, and behavior social clock -- timetable according to which individuals are expected to accomplish life’s major tasks; provides a guide for life
(Neugarten, 1986)

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Cultural contexts o midlife is unclear and/or absent in many non- industrialized cultures o o o some cultures even divide the life course differently for males and females midlife is influenced by degree of modernity and society’s gender roles
Eligibility for certain statuses is influenced by gender

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Big five factors of personality -- openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism
Three longitudinal studies o o o
Costa and McCrae’s Baltimore Study
• Personality traits changed most during early adulthood
The Berkeley Longitudinal Studies
• Results from early adolescence through a portion of midlife did not support either extreme in the debate whether personality is characterized by stability or change
Valliant’s Studies

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Evidence does not support the view that personality traits become completely fixed at a certain age in adulthood
Cumulative personality model -- with time and age, people become more adept at interacting with their environment in ways that promote stability
Some people are likely to change more than others

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Do you think the idea of “gender convergence” occurs earlier than what was first hypothesized?
Have the concepts of what makes an ideal man and woman changed from previous generations?
What characteristics/behaviors have changed and what has remained constant?

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Love and Marriage at Midlife o affectionate, companionate love increases in middle adulthood o security, loyalty, and mutual emotional interest become more important as relationships mature
• even difficult marriages become better adjusted in middle adulthood
• married people express satisfaction

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Divorce in middle adulthood o o o couples may be alienated and avoidant marriages may have become “empty” -- lacking laughter, love, and interest in one another divorce may be more positive in some ways and more negative in others
• + -- often more resources
• + -- children less “damaged” and can cope better
• minus -- may be seen as personal failure or as betrayal

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Empty nest syndrome -- decline in marital satisfaction after children leave the home; a time for pursuit of other interests, career, and time for each other
Refilling of the nest when young adult children return home to save money or recover from career setback
Parents continue to provide emotional and/or financial support

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Sibling relationships persist over the entire life span
Majority of adults have at least one living sibling
Most have been found to be close
Siblings who were not “close” tend not to become closer in midlife

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Continue to be important just as they were in early adulthood
Enduring relationships become deeper
(Antonucci, 1989)

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Grandmothers have more contact with grandchildren than grandfathers
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Satisfaction -- easier than parenting
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Styles and roles -- 3 meanings o o o source of biological reward and continuity source of emotional fulfillment remote role
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Differing functions in families and in cultures or in situations

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Divorce, adolescent pregnancy, and drug use have contributed to increasing numbers of grandparents assuming parental roles
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Grandparents who are full-time caregivers for grandchildren are at elevated risk for health problems, depression, and stress
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Grandparent visitation issues in divorced and stepfamilies o
Grandparents’ legal rights for visitation

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Middle-aged adults share experiences and transmit values to the younger generation
As children become middle aged, they develop more positive perceptions of parents
Family members maintain contact across generations
Most common conflicts are interaction style, habits and lifestyle choices, child-rearing practices, and values

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Sandwich or Squeeze Generation -- responsibilities for adolescent and young adult children and for aging parents
Relationships between aging parents and their children are usually characterized by ambivalence
When necessary, responsibilities are assumed by daughters

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Retirement o
Average age is 62 in the U.S.
o o o o o
Have you thought about it?
At what age do you want to retire?
What are we giving up when we retire?
How does retirement affect the individual? Is it all fun and games?
Are we really “retired” or just “slowing down”?