Early Adulthood, Psychosocial

Development and Gender Influences

 Learning outcomes

1 2 3 4
Describe the Infer on the key Discuss the Reflect how
transition from features developmental androgyny manifest
adolescence to characterize of tasks in early in the development
emerging adulthood
adulthood. adulthood
 Some highlights from previous lesson:
• Erik Erikson fifth developmental stage, which
individuals experience during adolescence, is identity vs
role confusion
• James Marcia reasons that Erikson’s theory of identity
development contains four identity statuses :
foreclosure, identity diffusion, moratorium, and identity
achievement.
• Stanley Hall proposed the “storm-and-stress” view that
adolescence is a turbulent time charged with conflict
and mood swings.
 Some highlights from previous lesson:
• The storm-and-stress view examines 3 key aspects : ​
conflict with parents, ​ mood disruptions, ​and risk
behavior.
• Some risk behaviors in adolescence: engaging in
unprotected sex, not wearing a seatbelt/helmet,
distracted driving due to cellphone, binge drinking,
cannabis use, vaping and smoking and criminal activity
• The personal fable (PF) yields a sense of invulnerability
and specialty commonly associated with behavioral
risk-taking.
“Early adulthood is a
time for work and a time
for love, sometimes
leaving little time for
anything else”

When does an
adolescent become an
adult?
 BECOMING AN ADULT

• The transition from adolescence to adulthood has

been referred to as emerging adulthood, which
occurs from approximately 18 to 25 years of age
(Arnett, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015a).
• Experimentation and exploration characterize the
emerging adult:
Career Path
Identity
Lifestyle (e.g., single, cohabiting, or married
Five key features characterize emerging adulthood
(Jeffrey Arnett, 2006)
3. Self-focused - emerging adults “are self-focused in
the sense that they have little in the way of social
obligations, little in the way of duties and commitments
to others, which leaves them with a great deal of
autonomy in running their own lives.”
4. Feeling in-between. Many emerging adults
don’t consider themselves adolescents or full-
fledged adults.
5. The age of possibilities, a time when
individuals have an opportunity to
transform their lives. Arnett (2006)
describes two ways in which emerging
adulthood is the age of possibilities:
(1) many emerging adults are optimistic
about their future; and
(2) for emerging adults who have
experienced difficult times while
growing up, emerging adulthood
presents an opportunity to chart their
life course in a more positive direction.
Havighurst
(1972) 1. Achieving autonomy
describes some 2. Establishing identity
of the 3. Developing emotional
developmental stability
tasks of young 4. Establishing a career
adults. These 5. Finding intimacy
include
 6. Becoming part of a group or
Havighurst community
(1972) 7. Establishing a residence and
describes some learning how to manage a
of the household
developmental 8. Becoming a parent and rearing
tasks of young children
adults. These 9. Making marital or relationship
include adjustments and learning to
parent
 • Many of the developmental tasks of early
adulthood involve becoming part of the
adult world and gaining independence.
• Young adults sometimes complain that
they are not treated with respect,
Gaining Adult especially if they are put in positions of
Status authority over older workers.
• Consequently, young adults may
emphasize their age to gain credibility
from those who are even slightly younger.
The focus of early adulthood is often on
the future.
• Many aspects of life are on hold while
people go to school, go to work, and
prepare for a brighter future.
• There may be a belief that the hurried
life now lived will improve ‘as soon as I
finish school’ or ‘as soon as I get
promoted’ or ‘as soon as the children
get a little older.’
• As a result, time may seem to pass
rather quickly. The day consists of
meeting many demands that these
tasks bring. The incentive for working
so hard is that it will all result in a
better future.
 Intimacy vs. Isolation
• Erikson (1950) believed that the main
task of early adulthood is to establish
intimate relationships and not feel
isolated from others.
• Intimacy does not necessarily involve
romance; it involves caring about
another and sharing oneself without
losing oneself.
• This developmental crisis of
“intimacy versus isolation” is affected
by how the adolescent crisis of
“identity versus role confusion” was
resolved (in addition to how the
earlier developmental crises in
infancy and childhood were resolved)
• Intimate relationships are
more difficult if one is still
struggling with identity.
• Achieving a sense of identity
is a life-long process, but
there are periods of identity
crisis and stability.
• And, according to Erikson,
having some sense of identity
is essential for intimate
relationships.
Friendships as a source of
intimacy
• At the age of 20’s, intimacy needs
may be met in friendships rather
than with partners
• Many young adults postpone
making long-term commitments
to partners either in marriage or
in cohabitation
The kinds of friendships
shared by women tend to
differ from those shared
by men (Tannen,1990).
Friendships between men are
more likely to
involve sharing information,
providing solutions, or
focusing on activities rather
than discussing problems or
emotions

Men tend to discuss opinions or

factual information or spend time
together in an activity of mutual
interest.
Friendships between
women are more likely to
focus on sharing
weaknesses, emotions, or
problems.
Women talk about
difficulties they are having
in other relationships and
express their sadness,
frustrations, and joys.
• These differences in approaches could lead to
problems when men and women come together.
• She may want to vent about a problem she is having;
he may want to provide a solution and move on to
some activity. But when he offers a solution, she
thinks he does not care!
• Effective communication is the key to good
relationships.
Many argue that other-
sex friendships become
more difficult for
heterosexual men and
women because of the
unspoken question
about whether the
friendships will lead to a
romantic involvement.
Men's and Investigating how sex role
transitions in education, work,
women's marriage, and parenthood
pathways to intersected and were linked
across time to form pathways
adulthood from age 18 to age 30 led to the
(Oesterle, identification of three latent
pathways for both men and
2010) women.
Men's and A pathway characterized by
involvement in postsecondary
women's education and postponed
family formation, as indicated
pathways to by marriage and living with
children, existed for both men
adulthood and women. It was the most
(Oesterle, common pathway in this sample,
characterizing 43% of women
2010) and 42% of men.
Men's and The second most common
women's pathway (for 29% of women
pathways to and 32% of men) entailed
getting married and living
adulthood with children by the mid-20s,
(Oesterle, with much less involvement
2010) in postsecondary education.
Men's and Slightly more than a quarter
women's of women (26%) and men
pathways to (27%) fit a third pathway,
also characterized by limited
adulthood participation in
(Oesterle, postsecondary education but
2010) without getting married.
In the mid-20th
century, it was widely
accepted that boys
should grow up to be
masculine (powerful,
assertive, for
example) and girls to
be feminine
(sensitive to others,
caring, for example).
In the 1970s, however, as
both females and males
became dissatisfied with
the burdens imposed by
their stereotypic roles,
alternatives to femininity
and masculinity were
proposed.
This thinking led to the
development of the
concept of androgyny, the
presence of positive
masculine and feminine
characteristics in the same
person (Bem, 1977, 1993).
The androgynous male
might be assertive
(masculine) and nurturing
(feminine).
The androgynous female
might be powerful
(masculine) and sensitive to
others’ feelings (feminine).
Psychological androgyny has
often been described as
associated with increased
behavioral flexibility, with
the availability of skills in
both traditionally masculine
and feminine areas (Schwarz
& Robins, 1987)
 • Oesterle, S., David Hawkins, J., Hill, K.
G., & Bailey, J. A. (2010). Men's and
women's pathways to adulthood and their
adolescent precursors. Journal of
Marriage and Family, 72(5), 1436-1453.
References: • Santrock, J. W. (2019). Life-span
development. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Schwarz, K., & Robins, C. J. (1987).
Psychological androgyny and ego
development. Sex Roles, 16(1), 71-81.
• lumenlearning.com
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