Characteristics of Adult Development

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Introduction

Adult development study is concerned with the changes that take place during the growth of an individual. The development entails the changes that are experienced at the various levels of growth from childhood to adulthood. These changes are experienced at different times and usually vary from one person to the other. Studies have been done and different groups of adult development have been arrived at. These groups are young adulthood (18-25), early adulthood (25-40), middle adulthood (40-65), late adulthood (65-75), and late, late adulthood (75 +) (Bjorklund and Bee 5). Below is a graph showing potency or the degree of influence as compared to age.

Fig. 1: Degree of influence or potency compared to age (Bjorklund and Bee 5).

Parenting in middle age

Parenting refers to the bringing up of children. This comprises giving birth and the care given to the baby until he/she is of age. Parenting is usually faced with many challenges. Such challenges usually originate from socioeconomic, cultural, or gender dimensions. Economic challenges are such as funds required when raising a child, provision of health care, quality education, and housing.

In the case of financial constraints, the family may undergo some rough times and may end up breaking if enough measures are not taken. One of the cultural challenges facing parenting in middle age includes the problem of resistance posed by adolescents. Parents have a moral obligation to teach the children the ways of society and bring up a morally acceptable being. Fundamentally, parenting is a challenging task that requires cooperation from both parents.

Physical changes

With aging, come many physical changes in an adult. These may include whitening of the hair, disability, and development of wrinkles. Whitening of the hair comes at different stages of development for different people but is mostly associated with early adulthood. Another change that is experienced is the inability to use the body parts as effectively as during the early growth stages. This comes in late adulthood and becomes more and more severe in late, late adulthood. In most severe cases, loss of sight, hearing, and inability to use the limbs may be experienced. In middle adulthood, many adults develop wrinkles. This is a result of the body’s shedding of some of its flesh. The shrinks in the interior of the body are reflected on the exterior through skin shrinkage.

Cognitive abilities

The cognitive ability of an individual is the capacity to recall issues. This ability increases with age up to a certain limit and then starts decreasing. Across the gender, the cognitive ability does not vary widely. However, in some cultures, cognitive abilities may be affected by the emphasis that is placed on the education of the boy child as opposed to equal learning opportunities for the girl child.

The socioeconomic ability of the family set up may also affect the ability to have a better cognitive ability. Better information may be accessed by the wealthy as opposed to the poor in the community hence bring a difference. In old age, short memory is usually experienced. This may lead to an individual lacking any recollections of things that happened in their life. They may thus need care from others to ensure that they do not cause a social risk to themselves or other people.

Social roles

The community is organized in a way that different age groups have different roles to play. Young adults are entrusted with duties that require a sharp mind and in many cases, energy. This is mainly because they can be able to handle mentally demanding tasks and on the other hand their bodies have enough energy to handle energy-demanding tasks. These tasks are such academic and community protection.

The elders in the society are given the special task of passing information that will help the younger generation grow as the system dictates. This includes information like the culture of the society and the taboos that are held in respect by the society in question. The parents are given the special task of bringing up children and teaching them the ways of society. They endeavor to bring up a moral person that can live in society without being considered a social misfit.

Social relationships

During the young adulthood stage, most people start the process of coupling which is a preparation for the marriage life that the early adults are engaged in. This is an important relationship and is greatly influenced by ethnicity. Another influence is the socioeconomic status of an individual. Most of the adults tend to get into marriage life after they have established themselves so that they may be able to support any children that they may raise.

Gender also plays a role in this important adult development stage. In some societies, it is unacceptable for a female to approach a male for marriage while the opposite is widely acceptable. The strains that are experienced in the relationships go a long way in helping the individual appreciate their partner. Society should put in place a set of rules that govern the different relationships that are permitted and those that are prohibited.

Personality

These are set of characters that are specific to an individual and are the ones that define an individual. It is an individual’s personality that defines his/her ability to recall issues as well as to fit in society. Personality is a trait that is in constant improvement during the journey of adult development. It gets more refined with age and results in a better individual as they learn the things to do and those they should avoid. The traits of a person are determined by their gender as well as ethnicity. This is because in the struggle to fit in the society, individuals end up adopting the set standards depending on the background they are born in. The age of an individual is thus considered before judging him/her concerning his/her personality (Bjorklund and Bee 238).

Stress coping

When an individual does not accept the aging changes that occur in the body, the chances of getting stress are high. The ability to deal with stress encountered is different across the genders as age increases. Generally, males are better placed when dealing with adult development stress compared to their female counterparts. Females place so much emphasis on their outlook that a small change brought about by age is seen as a very serious issue.

The problem is more acute in women who are entering menopause. This is mainly because their body undergoes major changes in a very short period. Many results into means that preserve their youthful looks and any failure maintaining their looks lead to more stress. Coping with stress is usually simpler for the financially stable compared to the poor since they can easily access professional help (Bjorklund and Bee 317).

Resistance

Resistance is the difficulty with which an individual responds to a task or an issue. The problem is very prominent among adolescents and very old people. Many adolescents have a general feeling that society is against them and they do all in their power to rebel. They always tend to do the opposite of what is asked of them simply to satisfy their ego. With growth to middle adulthood, some of the resistance is shed off. This is then experienced in old age where the elderly create friction between themselves and their caretakers. This can be contained by understanding the special needs of recognition from the two groups. Resistance does not vary with ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

Conclusion

In conclusion, adult development is a gradual aging process that is characterized by physical and other types of changes. To be able to successfully go through the various stages of adult development, it is important to ensure that one accepts the stage he/she is in. This can help to avoid conflicts between different age groups as well as stress to an individual.

Work Cited

Bjorklund, Barbara, and Helen Bee. The Journey of Adulthood. London: Pearson Education, 2008.

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