Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
children and taking care of the house, despite the fact they increasingly also work and have
careers.
Despite the challenges of early and middle adulthood, the majority of middle-aged adults are not
unhappy. These years are often very satisfying, as families have been established, careers have
been entered into, and some percentage of life goals has been realized (Eid & Larsen, 2008). [20]
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- It is in early and middle adulthood that muscle strength, reaction time, cardiac output, and sensory abilities begin to
decline. - One of the key signs of aging in women is the decline in fertility, culminating in menopause, which is marked by the
cessation of the menstrual period. - The different social stages in adulthood, such as marriage, parenthood, and work, are loosely determined by a social
clock, a culturally recognized time for each phase.
EXERCISES AND CRITICAL THINKING
- Compare your behavior, values, and attitudes regarding marriage and work to the attitudes of your parents and
grandparents. In what way are your values similar? In what ways are they different? - Draw a timeline of your own planned or preferred social clock. What factors do you think will make it more or less
likely that you will be able to follow the timeline?
[1] Ekéus, C., Christensson, K., & Hjern, A. (2004). Unintentional and violent injuries among pre-school children of teenage
mothers in Sweden: A national cohort study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 58(8), 680–685.
[2] Moore, M. R., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2002). Adolescent parenthood. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting: Being and
becoming a parent (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 173–214). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
[3] Rohner, R. P., & Veneziano, R. A. (2001). The importance of father love: History and contemporary evidence. Review of
General Psychology, 5(4), 382–405.
[4] Amato, P. R. (1994). Father-child relations, mother-child relations, and offspring psychological well-being in
adulthood. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56, 1031–1042.
[5] Baumrind, D. (1996). The discipline controversy revisited. Family Relations, 45(4), 405–414; Grolnick, W. S., & Ryan, R. M.
(1989). Parent styles associated with children’s self-regulation and competence in school. Journal of Educational Psychology,
81 (2), 143–154.