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Human Development Across the Lifespan Cover Image
Human Development Across the Lifespan, 5/e
John S. Dacey, Boston College
John F. Travers, Boston College
Middle Adulthood
Psychosocial Development in Middle Adulthood

Outline

  1. Dealing with the stresses of adulthood
    1. The general adaptation syndrome
      1. Three stages
        1. Alarm reaction
        2. Resistance
        3. Exhaustion
      2. Physical and psychological manifestations
      3. Reactions to stress
    2. Risk and resilience
      1. Risk factors
      2. Protective factors
      3. Prevention of psychological difficulties
  2. Marriage and family relations
    1. Marriage at middle age
      1. Emotional divorce and the empty nest syndrome
      2. The happy marriage
        1. Types of interactions between husband and wife and the effect on marital satisfaction
      3. The unmarried individual
    2. Relationships with aging parents
      1. Effects of early family experiences
      2. Daughter as primary caretaker
      3. Well-being of caretaker
    3. Relationships with siblings
    4. Friendships
    5. The middle-aged divorced person
      1. Economic impact of divorce
      2. Decreased support for children
      3. No-fault divorce
  3. Sex and love in middle adulthood
    1. Physiological changes in male and female sexual systems
    2. Sexual activity in middle adulthood
    3. Attitudes toward love
  4. Personality development: continuous or changing?
    1. Continuity versus change
      1. Trait theorists
      2. Stage theorists
    2. Seasons of a man's life: Levinson
      1. Settling down
        1. Establish a niche in society
        2. Advance up the ladder of the occupational group
      2. The mid-life transition
        1. The review, reappraisal, and termination of the early adult period
        2. Decisions about how middle adulthood should be conducted
        3. Dealing with the polarities that represent the continual struggle toward greater individuation
          1. Young/old
          2. Destruction/creation
          3. Masculinity/femininity
          4. Attachment/separation
    3. Seasons of a woman's life: Levinson
      1. Gender splitting
      2. The traditional marriage enterprise
      3. The gender revolution
    4. Generativity versus stagnation: Erikson
    5. Continuous traits theory
      1. NEO model of personality by McCrae and Costa
        1. Neuroticism
        2. Extroversion
        3. Openness to experience








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