© 2009 Allyn & Bacon Publishers 16 Social and Personality Development in Middle Adulthood This multimedia product and its contents are protected under

© 2009 Allyn & Bacon Publishers

16

Social and Personality Development in Middle Adulthood

This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law:• any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network;• preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or part, of any images;• any rental, lease, or lending of the program.


Ageism

• Form of prejudice; beliefs that older adults less competent than younger ones– Not supported by research evidence

• A factor in job seeking for middle aged applicants– Employer worries that older workers won’t “fit in”

with younger ones

• Appearance cues such as gray hair can trigger ageism, especially for middle aged women applicants


Positive Overall Changes

• Social roles change in middle age

• Some workers at epitome of careers

• Children often grown and on their own

• Roles less constricting

• May have more time for oneself


Theories of Social and Personality DevelopmentErikson’s Generativity versus Stagnation

• Generativity involves an interest in establishing and guiding the next generation– Rearing children, teaching, mentoring, taking

leadership roles in civic, religious or charitable organizations

– May continue through old age

• Stagnation– Failure leads to pervading sense of stagnation and

personal impoverishment; possible overindulgence


Erikson’s Theory

• The impact of childlessness– How a man responded earlier to his

childlessness was predictive of his psychological health at age 47

– Suggests that rearing one’s own or another’s child who calls forth one’s nurturing qualities may be important for psychological growth


Erikson’s TheoryVaillant’s Revision

• Adds a “career consolidation” stage– Create a new social network– Generate satisfaction with work-related

choices

• Another new stage: “keeper of the meaning”– Preserve values and institutions to benefit

future generations


Mid-Life Crisis: Fact or Fiction?

Levinson and Erikson argue for a crisis

• Each person must confront a constellation of difficult tasks at mid-life

– Accepting one’s own mortality– Recognizing new physical limitations and

health risks– Adapting to major changes in most roles


Mid-Life Crisis: Fact or Fiction?

Research offers different conclusions• Serious mid-life problems are experienced by a minority

—maybe 25% at most

• Possibly triggered by life events rather than an age, for example, the death of a parent

• Midlife does present some physical challenges

• Variations such as optimism can affect how one constructs their midlife “life story”


Role Transitions

• Each of us occupies multiple roles at the same time, which produces frictions of various kinds

• Role Conflict – any situation in which two or more roles are at least partially incompatible– For example, simultaneously caring for teenage

children and aging parents (thus both parent and child)

• Role Strain – stress that occurs when a person lacks the resources needed to fulfill a role– Midlife adult may need to return to college to learn

new work skills, provoking anxiety


Changes in Relationships

Partnerships

• Marital stability and satisfaction increase in mid-life.– Conflicts over child-rearing decline– Increased sense of control– Identification of successful problem-solving

strategies• Use of skilled diplomacy to ease tensions


Children and Parents

• In middle adulthood the family role involves giving assistance in both directions of the generational chain– Helping grown children– Supporting aging parents– The “sandwich generation”

• Must shoulder responsibility for maintaining affectional bonds

• Between 40 and 65, adults give help more than they receive in both directions within the family


Figure 16.1 The “Middle Age Squeeze”


Emptying the Nest

• When women are asked about positive and negative transitions in their lives, they more often describe this event as positive

• “Boomerang” or “Adultescents”—adult children who use a “revolving door” in and out of parental home– Young adults marrying and having children later can

foster this development

• The revolving door may be stressful for middle-aged parents


Grandparenting

• New roles for middle-aged adults– Becoming in-laws as children marry– Becoming grandparents

• Grandparenting may shift to a slightly later age

• Most grandparents express high levels of satisfaction with this role.

• Grandparents can positively influence children’s development– Especially important source of stability for children of

divorced parents


Grandparenting

29% of grandparents have remote relationships

• See grandchildren infrequently

• Little direct influence on their development

• Most common reason cited is physical distance


Grandparenting

• Just over half of grandparents report having a companionate relationship– Warm, pleasurable relationships– Glad they no longer have day-to-day responsibilities

• 16% report involved relationships– Everyday participants in rearing their grandchildren– Living in multi-generational housing– Nearly full-time care– More common in poor families


Grandparenting

• Full-time custodial grandparenting more likely when grandchild’s mother is unmarried– Daughter can continue school or work

• Role of grandmother broader and more intimate than that of grandfather

• For most adults in middle age, grandparenthood not central to their lives, their sense of self, or to their overall morale


Questions to Ponder

• Which kind of relationship do you have with your grandparents? What kinds of influence do they try to exert upon your life?

• From your viewpoint, do people go through a mid-life crisis? Are they major events or minor adjustments? Please give examples.


Caring For Aging Parents

• Adults feel strong sense of filial responsibility – when parents need help, children try to provide it

• Parents symbolically important as “elders”

• Caregivers report more depression and less marital satisfaction than comparison groups: “caregiver burden”


Caring For Aging Parents

• Caregivers more often don’t have children at home and live closer to aging parent

• 90% of caregivers for those with Alzheimer’s disease are daughters or daughters-in-law

• Intervention can help ease caregiver burden by providing information about resources or encouraging support groups


Friends

• Total number of friends is less in middle adulthood than at earlier points

• Friendships may be more intimate and close at this age

• Friendships endure, even with less frequent contact


Continuity and Change in Personality

The “Big Five”: OCEAN• Openness

• Conscientiousness

• Extraversion

• Agreeableness

• Neuroticism


Continuity and Change in Personality

• The Big Five are relatively stable from childhood through old age

• Openness, extraversion, neuroticism decline as adults age

• Agreeableness and conscientiousness tend to increase through age 70


Mid-Life Career Issues

• Work satisfaction is at its peak despite few work promotions in middle age

• Quality of work performance remains high in spite of declines in some cognitive or physical skills

• Middle aged workers experience less burnout than younger ones

• Careers are more stable in middle age


Job Performance

• Remains high throughout middle adulthood– Exceptions are jobs that require speedy reactions or

physical strength

• Baltes and Baltes argue that adults engage in selective optimization with compensation to remain highly productive

• Link between selection, optimization, and compensation and the quality of work performance strengthens with increasing age


Unemployment and Career Transitions

• Can be more difficult in middle age– Must overcome ageism in obtaining new

employment• Involuntary career changers

– Experience heightened anxiety, depression and health risks after job loss

• Changes in family relationships• Loss of self-esteem• Good coping skills are critical• Reemployment restores sense of well-being


Unemployment and Career Transitions

Voluntary career changers• May not wish to pursue advancement in current

occupations

• Express a new side of their personality

• But the transition can still be stressful


Voluntary Career Changers

• Twin studies suggest genetic basis for voluntary career changes in mid-life

• Studies suggest voluntary changes are a product of personality. – Better sense of control

– Higher tolerance for risk-taking

– Not stressed by job-seeking


Preparing for Retirement

• Boomers projected to be the healthiest, best educated, and longest-living retirees in history

• Baby Boom cohorts who are now middle-aged make retirement plans for both wives and husbands

– Expect to retire in early 60’s and live into the 80’s

– May not have saved enough and have accumulated too much debt for their desired lifestyle


Planning for Retirement

Dychtwald’s Survey of Baby Boomers

• Wealth Builders

• Idealists—interested in volunteer work

• Empowered Trailblazers—travel, courses

• Stretched and Stressed Boomers—concerned about sufficient finances

• Leisure Lifers—recreational pursuits

Documents

© 2009 Allyn & Bacon Publishers 16 Social and Personality Development in Middle Adulthood This multimedia product and its contents are protected under