Discuss psychosocial changes during early adulthood.

Psychosocial changes during early adulthood:

Early adulthood is the stage of our life between the ages of about 20-40 years old, who are typically vibrant, active and healthy, and are focused on friendship, romance, child bearing and careers. It is the first stage of adulthood in which the body physically changes and is one of the hardest times in our lives after teenage years. One has to deal with so much in this time and it seems to be the time for self search as well as preparation for the future coming years of old age.

During this time in one’s life, people find themselves with a new sense of independence and for the first time in life they really feel free. However, along with that comes a lot of added personal responsibility to both individuals and others and the persons really start learning more about themselves as well as others through social interaction.

1. Eric Erikson’s Theory:

According to Erikson, the socialisation process consists of eight phases – the “eight stages of man.” His eight stages of man were formulated, not through experimental work, but through wide-ranging experience in psychotherapy, including extensive experience with children and adolescents from low – as well as upper – and middle – social classes.

Each stage is regarded by Erikson as a “psychosocial crisis,” which arises and demands resolution before the next stage can be satisfactorily negotiated. Some of the important crises of the adulthood include the following: Intimacy vs. Isolation: Intimacy requires that an independent persons give up some of their independence and redefine their identity to include the interests of another person or others in their lives.

The adult life is a conflict of intimacy vs. independence, and includes differing needs for connection, fears of abandonment or being overwhelmed, and it’s a challenging work in progress. People who have achieved intimacy are cooperative, tolerant, and accepting of differences. They can accept times of aloneness without fear of loneliness. If there is too great a sense of isolation, there will be fears of forming close ties, due to fears of loss of identity or freedom.

2. Levinson’s Seasons of Life Theory: Levinson sought to find a common path of change in adulthood. He believed that there were stages with tasks inherent to each one. He was of the view that each stage began with a transition, lasting about 5 years. Between transitions there are periods of 5 – 7 years that are stable, during which a person builds a life structure.

Life structure is the underlying design of a person’s life, which involves relationships with significant others and occupations. This structure is designed to harmonize inner and outer demands to enhance quality of life. Early adulthood is the time of greatest energy, contradiction and stress. It is also a time of intense satisfaction, as a person charts his/her own course in love, sexuality, family, occupation, setting life goals, etc.

Dreams and mentors: In Levinson’s theory, during the early adult transition most people construct a dream, an image of themselves in the adult world that will guide their decision making. Continued instability for Women occurs as women often get side-tracked from a professional focus by child-bearing and family responsibilities. Most women don’t attain the stability that men achieve in the early 30s until middle age. The Social clock is the age-graded expectations that we hold for life events, such as first job, getting married, having children, buying a house, retirement.

Women who followed a feminine social clock are considered to be responsible, self-controlled, tolerant, and caring, but do seem to feel their selfesteem decline, and are said to feel more vulnerable as they aged. Women who followed a masculine social clock (early career development) became more dominant, sociable, independent, and intellectually effective.

Companionate love is formed with intimacy and commitment, as partners develop warm, trusting affection and offer caregiving. Solid long-term relationships involve both types of love at different stages. It requires this glue to hold a couple together as the newness of a relationship wears off. Commitment determines if a relationship will survive. Communication of commitment requires warmth, forgiveness, sensitivity, acceptance, and respect.

3. Attachment Patterns and Romantic Relationships: Early attachment patterns predict the quality of later intimate relationships. That early attachment bond sets up an internal working model, or expectations about love figures.

It also relates to quality of parenting and attachments formed in those relationships. The attachment is itself of various types which are discussed below:

i) Secure attachment: those with secure attachments to a caregiver viewed themselves as likable, open to others, comfortable with intimacy, with few fears of abandonment or intimacy.

They describe their love relationships as trusting, happy, and the partner as a friend. They were willing to turn to the partner for comfort, and they described satisfying sexual behaviour.

ii) Resistant attachment: this includes parents who were unpredictable or unfair. These people set up intense relationships characterised by fears of abandonment and smothering of the partner.

They experienced extreme highs and lows in a relationship. They have poor boundaries with others, disclosing inappropriately to others too early in the relationship.

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