Good Research Paper On Social And Emotional Development

Theories of development in middle adulthood

Middle age is a period in the beings life. The period is between young adulthood and old age. Many authors voice their opinions regarding the age in persons regarded as middle age. According to Collins Dictionary, middle age is the age group between 40 years and 60 years. There are a number of theories that try to explain adult development. The paper will cover just but a few of them.

Levinson’s theory

Levinson describes his method as the seasons of life theory. In his theory, he develops and identifies stages in which an individual passes through to reach adulthood. According to him entering middle adulthood occurs between the ages of 45 and 50. At this stage of life, people must make choices about the type of future their want for themselves. They start considering retirement. People, as he puts it at middle adulthood, start looking for new tasks to achieve and start thinking about the legacy they intend to leave behind.

Erikson’s theory

He calls his theory Generativity vs. Stagnation. At middle age, people start contributing to the next generation just as Levinson puts it they get into new tasks. People at middle age start carrying out tasks they believe meaningful to the society that can benefit the community as a whole. At middle age, people settle down a concentrate on raising their families. Or otherwise it is at the middle age that people become stagnant. They become inactive altogether. Erikson’s theory suggests that at middle age, people can become cynical more frequently. They start doubting their decisions and choices. They re-evaluate their goals in life. At times, they tend to shift family responsibilities and opt to deal with their morality.

Stability in middle adulthood

The theories above are similar in some ways when describing middle adulthood. At middle age, people tend to settle down. They assess all they have done in terms of family, career and community development. Careers achievement is a great satisfaction in middle adulthood. In generality vs. stagnation, Erikson says that women benefit the most at middle age. They have time for their families as they are out of work. They have a relationship with whatever they see necessary to them.

Work in middle adulthood

At middle adulthood work reduces. At this point, the people have achieved their goals in their careers. They are thinking about retiring as they see they have accomplished all they intended. According to Erikson in stagnation, those that fail or feel have failed start looking deep down and assessing their actions. At middle age, people take on creative activities. They set out to prepare a world that the next generation will see as a good place to live.

Relationship in middle adulthood

Middle-life adults find themselves in between two different generations. They have the option of taking care of their children who are growing up or acting as caregivers to their aging parents. Middle-life adults face new role in society. They are now grandparents and need to be there for their grandchildren. They also face the challenge of not living with their children who move out as time passes. There is a crisis at middle age. Middle-life adults deal with health issues. Their bodies start getting wrinkles, and their hair starts growing white. They have to maintain their image and fight getting old. Family is the one responsibility they have at middle age. They fend for those they love.

Reference

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