“Though the age boundaries are not set in stone, we will consider middle adulthood as the developmental period that begins at approximately 40 to 45 years of age and extends to about 60 to 65 years of age” (Santrock, 2013, p. 485). I interviewed two individuals for this paper. Each person was asked the same fifteen questions (Appendix). I interviewed a male and a female who fell in the midrange of middle adulthood. Generativity versus stagnation, Erikson's seventh developmental stage, occurs during middle adulthood. By generativity Erikson means primarily “a concern for helping the younger generation to develop and lead useful lives. The feeling of having done nothing to help the next generation is stagnation” (Santrock, 2013, p. 23). Both …show more content…
489). The area of greatest disagreement was the area of midlife crisis. “Levinson (1978) views midlife as a crisis, arguing that the middle-aged adult is suspended between the past and the future, trying to cope with this gap that threatens life’s continuity (Santrock, 2013 p. 512). This is particularly interesting because the female responded that she was experiencing a midlife crisis and the male did not. However, in this instance, the female is still in the workforce and the male is retired. The experiences that the female related closely resemble the conditions of the male during the time of Levinson’s study. In addition to still working, the female had recently changed her place of employment, and within the past five years lost both of her parents. While the male was retired and took care of the house and children, his stress level had been reduced as he became the primary care giver to this in-laws and their passing reduced his overall daily responsibilities. Both maintain close relationships with their siblings and frequently get together with them. Both have related that they now have to actively work to maintain their previous mental acuity. In their 20’s, both did well in college and were well respected in their
Later Adulthood is a period of many changes. According to Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, “Later adulthood is the last major segment of the life span” (p.587). Individuals who are in going through their later adulthood are experiencing and dealing with an immense amount of emotions and feelings. There are several areas of an individual’s life that are effected by later adulthood. An individual’s work life, health, marriage, living situation, family relationships, and social relationships are all things that can be affected in some way by later adulthood. It is important for one to understand to the best of their ability the processes and events that take place in later adulthood,
Berger (2008) state that late adulthood, which begins at age 65, is the final stage of the life span development process that culminates through the death of an individual. During the course of the twentieth century the notion of late adulthood changed significantly (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). The average person’s life expectancy increased probably by 30 years. This changed the proportion of North Americans over 65 years from 1900s one in 30 to a projection by the year 2040 that it will be one in five. This drastically changed the perceptions of late adulthood (Kowalski & Westen, 2009). For example,
Adulthood in the later years of life is different from the previous stages of life. Unlike the stages in later adulthood, the earlier stages emphasize developmental growth and achievements. In the later years in life, a person must deal with deteriorating health and death. The developmental theories in late adulthood involve the methods in which an individual can deal with their relationships with their bodily changes, mental abilities, changes in close relationships, families, overall society, and intended and unintended relocations (Rathus, 2013).
Cherry, K. Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development Psychosocial Development in Young Adulthood, Middle Age, and Old Age. (2014). Retrieved on July 6, 2014 from http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/psychosocial_3.htm
Someone who would be going through a “Mid-life crisis” is that of the age between 40 and 60("Development in midlife," 2004). It is the point during our lives where we go through periods of self-doubt, this is a natural and normal process ("Development in midlife," 2004). A mid-life crisis can be triggered by different experiences, for instance, children leaving the home, death of a parent or someone close, mid-life transition to
The late adulthood interview took place on March 29, 2017 at approximately 4:30 p.m. The interviewee’s name was Doris Cotton, who is one of my close cousins. The interview took place in her home in Scooba, MS. The atmosphere of her home was very warm and cozy. Hanging from her living room ceiling was a large chandelier, and she had shiny hardwood flooring of a teak color. Her home also had a sweet smelling aroma of lavender scent. Doris is a 68-year-old, African American, female. She is the second oldest child of five girls. Doris regards herself as a Christian woman who attends church regularly, where she sings in the choir. When asked what she most and least enjoyed about getting older, she stated that she most enjoyed the flexibility of doing things at her own will. She also enjoys that she gets to spend more time with her daughter and granddaughter. She has the freedom to enjoy life and do things that she values, especially since she is retired. One of her least things about getting older is that health issues and
According to Erikson stages of human development, late adulthood stage is between the ages 65 to death (Erikson, 1982). This stage is ego integrity versus despair involves individual to look back over one’s life and feel a sense of contentment and satisfaction (Erikson, 1982). Success at this stage leads to feeling of wisdom and failure to achieve results in bitterness, regret, and despair. This negative resolution manifests itself as a fear of death, a sense that life is too- short, and depression (Erikson, 1982).
We as humans are constantly evolving each day. Our mentalities change with us for the better or worse. For many individuals, female or male, our mid-life crisis affects middle age adults from ages 37- 50’s. Everyone is different; people may experience a mild or severe case of a mid life crisis. The typical stereotype we know occurs when a big event has taken place in our lives such as retiring from a job, or even when a loved one passes on. Todays, the old midlife crisis is more likely to be called a midlife transition. Yale psychologist, Daniel Levinson states that experiencing a mid life crisis or transition is a normal and natural part of a human’s life. His theory claims that adult’s development a series of stages in their
Middle Adulthood: Care – Generativity vs. Stagnation – This is the period of development during which most people have children. People who are able to provide guidance or a legacy to the next generation feel a sense of purpose, while people who do not do so may feel stuck.
Human development is a process that starts right from childhood to adulthood. Individuals’ success and life satisfaction depends on what they develop in the society from their childhood period. This is a topic that has always drawn the attention of many scholars and theorists who try to explain what development entails through various stages of life. This paper provides an analysis of various relevant theories and research that focus on the developmental changes that take place in early, middle, and late adulthood. It focuses on Schaie’s stage of achieving, and Erikson’s theory on intimacy, generativity, and identity development. It also explores life satisfaction in middle adulthood, and lastly, the common illnesses of the elderly.
Middle age is the period between early adulthood and old age, usually from about 40 to 65 years of age. It is a peak time for most people in many areas, including earnings, career, leadership in the family, self-confidence, and contributions to society. The people of this age group are found mostly in positions of influence and decision making. They tend to carry the burden of the whole family and take responsibility in which they are expected to deal with public problems. It is the peak of their life’s prime.
Middle adulthood begins at the age of 40 - 60. This is a time when you can’t believe where the time went. It seems like just yesterday you were graduating from college, got married, and had children. Your children are now approaching young adulthood, pushing you into the next stage of life, middle adulthood. You look in the mirror and all the signs of middle age are starting to set in. You notice wrinkles, gray hair, flabby skin and you’re having trouble reading the menu. You begin to reassess you life. Are you happy with what you have accomplished in life so far? Do you have good family
Mid-life crisis, a term coined by psychoanalyst Elliot Jacques, is a psychological phenomenon which occurs in middle-aged adults around the age of 45-64 (Midlife, n.d.). When an individual endures a mid-life crisis, he or she become skeptical of his/her identity and self-confidence. A plethora of questions then arise, which commonly produce depression, doubt, anxiety, recklessness, and the urge to drastically modify one’s current life. Though simple in definition, a mid-life crisis is quite complex and has many facets entangled within it. As such, I have chosen the topic of mid-life crisis because of its nature and its effects on mentality of middle-aged individuals. The existence of mid-life crises brings about many questions. What causes
The stage that follows early adulthood is known as middle adulthood where people are generally caught between being productive and being stagnant. This stage reflects the need to create a living legacy: they would either need to feel they have become an important figure for the next generation to follow or they would develop a sense of purposelessness which is generally known as a “mid-life crisis”. This crisis can be solved by having the adults care and nurture children or help the fore-coming generation in other ways or means, however if the crisis remains the person would persist in random non-age-appropriate behavior as well as a continued feeling in stagnation. During this stage adults lose some of their physical aspects as their muscular strength, ability and agility weakens. Women will go through a menopausal
Middle-aged adults experience change in many different areas of their life at this time, they will find that not only their health is changing, but their appearance, their family, their thinking, and their emotions are changes as well. When discussing people that fall into the middle adulthood age of life, the term “midlife crisis” is often used, but according to an article titled Middle Adulthood Developmental Psychology, “most people during middle adulthood are satisfied and pleased with their lives”, ("Physical Changes," 2008-2013, expression 1). This article also states that the age range for middle adulthood is approximately age thirty-five to sixty-four. Midlife crisis is a when an individual views themselves and are unhappy with