CHAPTER FOURTEEN

SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY

DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY
ADULTHOOD

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 1

 I. THEORIES OF SOCIAL & PERSONALITY
DEVELOPMENT

• In early adulthood individuals take on a series of roles that

involve new relationships with other people
• The timing and content of the various adult roles obviously
differ from one culture to another, from one cohort to
another, and even from one individual to another
• Adults’ social connections become far more complex
between the ages of 20 and 40—through marriage,
divorce, parenthood, and career development

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 2

 A. Erikson’s Stages of Intimacy
versus Isolation
• Intimacy versus isolation: Erikson’s early
adulthood stage, in which an individual must find a
life partner or supportive friends in order to avoid
social isolation
• Intimacy: the capacity to engage in a supportive,
affectionate relationship without losing one’s own
sense of self
• Successful resolution of the intimacy versus
isolation stage depends on a good resolution of the
identity versus role confusion crisis encountered in
adolescence
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 3
 B. Levinson’s Life Structure
• Life structure: a key concept in Levinson’s theory -
the underlying pattern or design of a person’s life at
a given time, which includes roles, relationships, and
behaviour patterns
• Adults cycle through periods of stability and
instability
• An adult passes through three phases when a new
life structure is required: novice phase, mid-era
phase and the culmination phase

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 4

 C. Emerging Adulthood
• A growing number of developmentalists view
the period between ages 17 and 22 as a
transitional one
• Emerging adulthood is the period from the
late teens to early 20s when individuals
explore options prior to committing to adult
roles
• Neuroimaging studies have provided some
support for the notion that emerging
adulthood is a unique period of life
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 5
 II. INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS
• Intimate relationships form the secure base from
which most young adults move out into the adult
world
• Marriages in Canada are quickly starting to mirror
our sociodemographic diversity
• In addition to the legalization of same-sex marriages,
we’ve seen a dramatic increase in mixed unions
among those with differing sociodemographic and
cultural characteristics
• Internet relationships have added a whole new
dimension to courtship and dating
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 6
 A. Theories of Mate Selection
• Evolutionary theories often cite research on sex
differences in mate preferences and mating
behaviour to support their views
• Men prefer physically attractive, younger women
• Women look for men with higher socioeconomic
status, offering earning potential and stability
• Parental investment theory says that sex differences
in mate preferences and mating behaviour are based
on the different amounts of time and effort men and
women must invest in child-rearing
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 7
 B. Social Role Theory
• Social Role Theory: the idea that sex differences in mate
preferences and mating behaviour are adaptations to
gender roles
• Both men’s and women’s mate preferences change as
women gain economic power; women’s emphasis on
potential mates’ earning power declines, and men’s focus
on potential mates’ domestic skills decreases
• People are drawn to those who are of a similar age,
education, social class, ethnic group membership,
religion, attitudes, interests, and temperament
• Assortative mating (homogamy): sociologist’s term for
the tendency to mate with someone who has traits
similar to one’s own
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 8
C. Psychological Aspects of Marriage
• In predicting the quality of relationships as well as
who mates with whom, several psychological
factors seem to be of importance
– Attachment
– Love
– Conflict management
• Relationship Quality
– A large majority of adults believe that intimacy
issues are more important than material aspects
– Each partner brings skills, resources & traits
– Personality is especially important
– Attitudes toward marriage affect marital stability
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
(continued)
14 - 9
 Psychological Aspects of Marriage
(continued)
• The Role of Attachment
– Adults create internal models of attachment to a
prospective spouse that are similar to their
attachment to their parents
– New couples must let go of families of origin in
favour of their new family
• The Role of Love
– Sternberg suggests 3 key components of love:
Intimacy, passion, commitment
– When these components combine in all possible
ways, the result is 7 sub-varieties of love
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 10
 Sternberg’s Theory of Love

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 11

 Psychological Aspects of Marriage
(continued)
• Conflict Management
– How a couple manages conflict is a predictor of
relationship quality
– Couples with stable or enduring marriages may be
• Validating
• Volatile
• Avoidant
– Couples with unsuccessful marriages may be
• Hostile/engaged
• Hostile/detached
– Most often, couples become unhappy because they
are negative
– Successful marriages are like secure attachments
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 12
 D. Divorce
• Longitudinal studies show that 38% of
marriages in Canada will end in divorce within
30 years of marriage
• Men divorce at the average age of 43.1 years
and women at the age of 40.5
• The divorce rate generally peaks during the
fifth year of marriage
• The average marriage lasts 14.2 years
(continued)
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 13
 Divorce (continued)
Psychological Effects:
• Divorce is associated with increases in mental health
problems, especially depression

• Compared to those who stay married

– Men are 3 times more likely to become depressed
following marital breakdown
– Women are 2½ times more likely to become depressed
following marital breakdown

(continued)
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 14
 Divorce (continued)
Economic Effects:
• Most men commonly leave a marriage with far greater
earning power than women
– They are more likely to have had continuous work
histories
• Women usually retain custody of the children
• Divorced men generally increase their economic positions to
above average
• Divorced women are strongly adversely affected, with an
average decline in income to below average
• For many women, the financial effect never disappears,
unless they were above-average earners before divorce
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
(continued)
14 - 15
 Divorce (continued)
• Effects on Life Pathways:
– It may lengthen the total number of years of child
rearing
– If the individual remarries, there may be a
reduction in the number of years that the
remarried couple has between the departure of
the last child and the time when their elderly
parents may need economic or physical assistance

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 16

 E. Cohabiting Heterosexual Couples
• Many young people want to be sure the person they
marry is someone they want to be with for the rest of
their lives
• Studies in Canada, the U.S., and several European
countries show that those who cohabit before marriage
are less satisfied with their subsequent marriages
• The divorce rate for those who cohabit before marriage is
double that of couples who did not cohabit
• Cohabiting leads to development of a life structure for
cohabiting, not for marriage
• Adults who choose to cohabit before marriage are
different, in key ways, from those who do not
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 17
 F. Gay and Lesbian Couples
• One in three same-sex couples is married while
the majority are in common-law relationships
• Attachment security is just as important in same-
sex unions as in heterosexual ones
• Gay and lesbian partners are often more
dependent on each other for social support
• Homosexual couples seem to be more egalitarian
than heterosexual couples
• Monogamy is important to gay male couples but
is considered to be negotiable by most
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 18
 G. Singlehood
• Mature singles who do not intend to marry do not
value being part of a couple or a family as highly as
singles who expect to marry
• Continual singlehood has benefits over singlehood
that follows a divorce or the death of a spouse
• Many singles still have intimate relationships
• Once singles have determined that they expect to
stay single, this self-affirmation may help protect
singles from some of the negative aspects of
singlehood
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 19
 III. PARENTHOOD & OTHER
RELATIONSHIPS

• The second major new role typically acquired in

early adulthood is that of parent
• The transition into this new role brings with it
unique stresses and, to make matters more
complicated, it usually happens when most
other social relationships are in transition as
well

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 20

 A. Parenthood
• The Desire to Become a Parent
– The great majority of young adult women and men
expect to have a child
– 92% of parents believe parenting is the most important
thing they could do
– More men than women see parenting as positive

(continued)
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 21
 Parenthood (continued)
• The Transition Experience
– New parents may argue about child-rearing
philosophy as well as how, when, where, and by
whom child-care chores should be done
– Parents are usually also physically exhausted,
perhaps even seriously sleep-deprived, because
their newborn keeps them up for much of the night
– Some cultures have ritualized rites of passage that
help the new parents cope
(continued)
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 22
 Parenthood (continued)
Postpartum Depression
– a severe mood disturbance resulting in feelings of
sadness lasting a few weeks or, rarely, for a year or
more
– Between 10% and 25% of new mothers
experience a severe mood disturbance called
postpartum depression (PPD)
– The greatest predictor of PPD is depression during
pregnancy, but hormones also play a role

(continued)
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 23
 Parenthood (continued)
• Developmental Impact of Parenthood
– Positive behaviour changes, such as decreased risky
behaviours, often accompany parenthood
– The general pattern is that marital satisfaction is at its
peak before the birth of the first child, after which it drops
and remains at a lower level until the last child leaves
home
• Achieving a balance between work and family is an
important but elusive goal that affects satisfaction
• Pre-existing positive conflict-resolution strategies and
having both parents in the home are predictors for less
dissatisfaction after the child is born
(continued)
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 24
Marital Satisfaction over the Family Cycle

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 25

 Parenthood (continued)
• Life Without Children
– Marital satisfaction fluctuates less over time for
childless couples
– Childless couples report higher cohesion than do
couples with children
– Women without children are much more likely to
have full-time continuous careers
– Motherhood earnings gap: a measure showing
how much the earnings of women with children
are below those of women without children

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 26

 B. Social Networks
• Family
– Parents remain significant parts of the young adult's
life
– Relationships are strongly influenced by proximity
– Family connectedness over time has strong cultural
influences
• Friends
– Friends are chosen from among those we see as like
ourselves in education, social class, interests, family
background, or family life cycle stage

(continued)
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 27
 Social Networks (continued)
• Sex Differences in Relationship Styles
– Women have more close friends, and their
friendships are more intimate, with more self-
disclosure and more exchange of emotional support
(female friends talk to one another)
– Male friends are less likely to agree with each other
or to ask for or provide emotional support to one
another (male friends do things together)
– Kin-keeper: a family role, usually occupied by a
woman, which includes responsibility for
maintaining family and friendship relationships
– Women have a larger relationship role than men do
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 28
 IV. THE ROLE OF WORKER

• Most young people need to take on this role to

support themselves economically
• Satisfying work also seems to be an important
ingredient in mental health and life satisfaction,
for both men and women

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 29

 A. Choosing an Occupation
• Family Influences
– Young people tend to choose occupations at the
same general social class level as those of their
parents—although this is less true today than it
was in decades past
– Families also influence job choices through their
value systems
– Parental moral beliefs influence young adults’
willingness to enter various occupations

(continued)
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 30
 Choosing an Occupation (continued)
• Gender
– More women than men are now enrolled in all the
major fields of study except for architecture/
engineering, mathematics/computer sciences, and
personal/protective/transportation services
– In 2007, women’s median full-time wages were roughly
75% of men’s
– Non-stereotypical job choices are much more common
among young people who see themselves as
androgynous, or whose parents have unconventional
occupations
• Personality
– People whose personalities match their jobs are also
more likely to be satisfied with their work
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 31
Holland’s Personality Types and Work Preference

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 32

 B. Career Development
• Career development: the process of adapting
to the workplace, managing career transitions,
and pursuing goals through employment
• Super’s Stages of Career Development:
– Growth stage (birth to 14 years of age)
– Exploratory stage (roughly from 15 to 24)
– Establishment stage (roughly from 25 to 45)
– Maintenance stage (45 to retirement)

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 33

 Career Development (continued)
• Job satisfaction
– Is at its lowest in early adulthood and rises
steadily until retirement
– Individual personality traits affect job satisfaction
– Young adults in careers for which they prepared in
high school, college or university are more
satisfied

(continued)
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 34
C. Gender Differences in Work Patterns
• It takes the average Canadian youth ~7 years to make the
transition from school to full-time work
• The transitional delay means that young men are
economically worse off in comparison to men of previous
generations
• Young women, especially those who have continued to
advance their education, are better off than young women
of earlier generations
• From a heterosexual couple’s standpoint, the woman’s
greater financial contribution compensates for the man’s
losses as most couples form a two-worker family
• Overall, it is advantageous to delay the transition into work,
provided that one pursues an advanced education and puts
off starting a family (continued)
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 35
 Gender Differences in Work Patterns
(continued)

• The great majority of women move in and out of the

work force at least once, often many times
• Women who work continuously have higher salaries
and achieve higher levels in their jobs than do those
who move in and out of employment
• Short bursts of work, or part time work, allow
women to do better economically in the long run
• Women continue to have a conflict between work
and childrearing
(continued)
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 36
 Gender Differences in Work Patterns
(continued)

• While women continue to do the majority of in-

house work, Canadian men are gradually doing more
• Young Canadian adults aged 25 to 44 experience the
most time pressure of all age groups
• Working women have more power in their marriages
or partnerships than non-working women do
• Women feel more role conflict between family and
work roles than men do

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 37

 Gender and Work

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc. 14 - 38