Chapter 13 Physical and Cognitive Development in Emerging and Young Adulthood Adulthood What are the markers for adulthood o Sexual maturity arrives in adolescent o Legal adulthood Buy tobacco and alcohol vote marry enter into contracts etc People may be considered adults when they are self supporting or have chosen a career o Psychological maturity Discovering ones identity becoming independent of parents Emerging Adulthood Emerging adulthood transitional period between adolescence and adulthood late teens to mid to late twenties 3 functional criteria for adulthood o Accepting responsibility for oneself o Making independent decisions o Becoming financially independent Physical Development Health o Most say they are in good health Whites and Asians are most likely to be in good health o Accidents are the leading cause of death o Overweight and too little exercise o Highest poverty rate and lowest level of health insurance of any age group Behavior and Health High cholesterol fat and heart disease Cancers o Soy based food for women linked to deceases in breast cancer o Fish for men linked to decreases in colorectal cancer Obesity linked to lifestyle behaviors rather than knowledge Emotion focused coping attempts to manage the emotions associated with experiencing a particular event by tactics such as refusing to think about an issue or reframing the event in a positive light o College women use more Problem focused coping involves addressing an issue head on and developing action oriented ways of managing and challenging a bad situation o College men use more Other Health Issues Exercise Sleep Smoking o Should engage in 2 hours 30 minutes of moderate intense exercise weekly o This age group most likely to smoke than any other Most common eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia Alcohol use o Peaks in emerging adulthood o Binge drinking drinking and driving HIV infection drug use o Risky drinking consuming more than 14 drinks a week or 4 drinks on any single day for men and more than 7 drinks a week or 3 drinks on a single day for women Relationships and Health Social relationships are vital to health and well being o Social integration active engagement in a broad range of social relationships activities and roles Ex parent spouse neighbor friend etc o Social support material informational and psychological resources derived from the social network which a person can rely on for help in coping with stress Main goal according to Erikson is for people to develop intimacy Marriage and Health Marriage has health benefits especially for men Married people especially in young adulthood tend to be healthier than those who are single divorced never married widowed etc Married people especially husbands are more likely to be obese Mental Health Some mental health disorders have a genetic component which is signaled to occur in early adulthood Stressors of being out on one s own and making own decisions can influence mental health problems o Alcoholism drug use and abuse o Depression Alcoholism chronic disease involving dependence on use of alcohol causing interference with normal functioning and fulfilment of obligations Sexual Behavior and Attitudes Less adults are waiting to have sex until marriage 75 have had sex by age 20 Compared to older age groups emerging adults o Tend to have more sexual partners o Have sex less frequently o Have more casual sex Premenstrual syndrome PMS disorder producing symptoms of physical discomfort and emotional tension for up to 2 weeks because a menstrual period Infertility inability to conceive a child after 12 months of sexual intercourse without the use of birth control Cognitive Development Reflective thinking logical thinking involving continuous active evaluation of information and beliefs in the light of evidence and implications o Emerges between 20 25 o Not all adults reach the skill to apply think thinking to all types of problems but most adults develop the capacity for it Postformal thought mature thinking that relies on subjective experience and intuition as well as logic useful in dealing with ambiguity uncertainty inconsistency contradiction imperfection and compromise o Sees shades of gray vs black and white Can t always find the right answer o Useful when emotions are involved Schaie A Life Span Model of Cognitive Development Seven stages include o Acquisitive stage children and adolescence acquire information and skills for their own o Achieving stage young adults use what they know to pursue goals like family and sake career o Responsible stage middle aged people use their minds to solve practical problems o Executive stage middle aged people are responsible for societal systems and deal with o Reorganizational stage late adulthood people enter adulthood and reorganize their complex relationships lives around meaningful pursuits o Legacy creating stage near the end of life leave a legacy behind for their loved ones Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence the ability to perceive use understand manage and regulate emotions An important component of effective intelligent behavior Measured by use of the test MSCEIT Mayer Salovey Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test o College men who scored low on this engage in more drug use and alcohol consumption o College kids who scored high report positive relationships with friends and family Moral Reasoning Education and Work Women think less about abstract justice and fairness than men do and more about their responsibilities to specific people C Gilligan Other researchers found no gender differences Young adults are more able to live with moral contradictions o Ex I don t like people who sleep around but I sleep around Women now make up a larger percentage of the student population o Also more likely to go to graduate and doctoral school Commitment within relativism college students make their own judgments and choose their own beliefs and values despite uncertainty and the recognition of other valid possibilities Substantive complexity degree to which a person s work requires thought and independent judgment Spillover hypothesis cognitive gains from work carry over into nonworking hours Chapter 14 Psychosocial Development in Emerging and Young Adulthood o Finish school leave home get a job get married have children Currently 1 in 4 follow this path Time of experimentation on what one wants to do Influenced by gender academic ability expectations attitudes and social class Recentering process
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