HDF 201 1st Edition Lecture 11 Outline of Last Lecture I Intimacy vs Isolation II Sympathy vs Empathy III Love IV Exclusivity V Social Clock Outline of Current Lecture I Middle Adulthood II Crisis in Middle Adulthood III Relationships in Middle Adulthood IV Roll Overload V Role Conflict VI Role Spillover VII Family and Medical Leave Act FMLA Current Lecture I II Middle Adulthood Middle adulthood is the stage where a person is around the ages of 45 65 The psychosocial crisis of this stage is generativity vs stagnation Until the 1970 s adulthood used to be one stage however because they recognized cognitive and physical changes they felt it was important to divide adulthood into three stages because they each have their own tasks and crisis Crisis in Middle Adulthood Erikson stated that the primary psychosocial task of middle adulthood is to develop generativity the desire to expand one s influence and commitment to family society and future generations o The middle adult is concerned with forming and guiding the next generation o The middle adult who fails to develop generativity experiences stagnation or self absorption Perhaps middle adulthood is best know for its infamous mid life crisis a time of reevaluation that leads to questioning long held beliefs and values o Divorcing a spouse changing jobs or moving from a city to the suburbs These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute III IV During the male mid life crisis men may try to reassert their masculinity by engaging in more youthful male behaviors such as dressing in trendy clothes or dating younger women During the female mid life crisis women may try to reassert their femininity by dressing differently or dating younger men Relationships in Middle Adulthood The two main long term relationships during this stage are marriage and cohabitation More than 90 of adults will have married at least once by the time they reach this stage o U Curve marriage satisfaction are happiest during younger years but not as happy during the middle years and then increases again in later years Long term relationships share several factors including both partners regarding the relationship as a long term commitment both verbally and physically expressing appreciation both offering emotional support and both considering each other as a best friend Essential to preserving a quality relationship is the couple s decision to practice communication o Communication helps the partners relate feel close connected and loved In all age groups friends are a healthy alternative to family and acquaintances o Friends offer support direction guidance and a change of pace from usual routines As adults wait later to marry and start families more middle adults find themselves rearing small children o Middle adults and their adolescent children are both prone to emotional crises which may happen at the same time Parents respond to their children s adolescence in different ways o Some middle adults attempt to make their teenage children into improved versions of themselves Witnessing their children on the verge of becoming adults could trigger a mid life crisis Middle aged parents typically maintain close relationships with their grown children who may have left home Most middle adults characterize the relationship with their parents as affectionate One issue facing middle adults is that of caring for their aging parents the roles have changed o Daughters and daughter in laws are the most common caretakers of aging parents and in laws Role Overload V VI VII Role overload occurs when a person has too many expectations and demands on them Role Conflict Role conflict occurs when one of their roles interferes with another one of their roles Example a mother may want to go to her child s soccer game but she has work Role Spillover Role spillover occurs when you bring conflict or emotions from one role into another role Example having a bad day at work and letting it affect your home life thinking about work at home and thinking about home at work Family and Medical Leave Act FMLA Provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid job protected leave per years It also requires that their group health benefits be maintained during the leave FMLA is designed to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities FMLA seeks to accommodate the legitimate interest of employers and promotes equal employment opportunity for men and women FMLA applies to all public agencies public schools private schools and companies with 50 or more employees Employees are eligible for leave if they have worked at least 12 months worked at least 1 250 hours over the past 12 months and work at a location where the company employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles