Chapter 14

Erikson's Generativity vs. Stagnation

Generativity: the desire to leave legacies to the next generation.

Kinds of Generativity:

• Biological generativity
• Parental generativity
• Work generativity
• Cultural generativity

Stagnation: develops when individuals feel they've done nothing for the next generation.

Levinson saw midlife as a crisis of transition.

Many other researchers maintain that only a minority of middle aged adults experience a midlife crisis.

Of the 26% who say they experienced a midlife crisis, most attribute it to negative life events.

According to the Contemporary Life Events Approach:

how a life event influences the individual's development depends on the life event, mediating factors, the individual's adaptation, the life-stage context and the sociohistorical context.

One study reports that young adults experience daily stressors...

while middle-aged adults experience "overload" stressors.

A social clock is the timetable of when individuals are expected to accomplish life tasks: getting married, having children, establishing a career.

Societal norms have a major impact on the social clock.

The big "5" personality factors:

• Openness
• Conscientiousness
• Extroversion
• Agreeableness
• Neuroticism

Vaillant's "happy-well", "sad-sick" & "dead" studies...

Alcohol abuse & smoking at 50 best predictors of "dead" at 75-80.

Linked with "happy-well"?

Exercise, healthy weight, being well-educated, stable marriage, future-oriented, thankful & forgiving, empathizing, being active & having good coping skills.

The dominant type of love in middle adulthood?

Affectionate, or companionate love!

DIVORCE

pROS:

• The perils of divorce at middle age are less intense
• They have more resources
• Children are older, and may can cope better
• Have a better understanding of self.

cons:

• Lengthy marriages are not easily given up.
• May be seen as failure in their best years.
• May involve betrayal of trust
• May lower SES of women and older women.

Men's explanation for divorce?

1) fell out of love
2) cheating
3) different values/lifestl

Women's explanation for divorce?

1) abuse
2) alcohol or drug abuse
3) cheating

Empty Nest

a decrease in marital satisfaction after the children leave home, because parents derive considerable satisfaction from their children.

Many people do NOT experience this.

"boomerang kids"

it is becoming common for grown children to move home after college....

Sibling Relationships

most are close & provide emotional support

Grandparent Roles

In 2009, the US saw a 64% increase in children living with a grandparent.

This puts them at elevated risk for health problems, stress and depression.