Young Adulthood

King saud university College of Nursing Gorwth & Development

:: PREPARED TO Dr. Muneeb Mohammad Al-Zghool :: PREPARED BY Hatem Al-srour

1

Young Adulthood (Age: Young Adulthood , 19 to 40 years)

Introduction: According to Erik Erikson's stages of human development, first enumerated in Childhood and Society (1950) a young adult is a person between the ages of 20 and 39, whereas an adolescent is a person between the ages of 13 and 19. The young adult stage in human development precedes middle adulthood. A person in the middle adulthood stage is between the ages of 40 and 65. In maturity, a person is 65 years old or older. In fact, in modern societies, young adults in their late teens and early 20s encounter a number of issues as they finish school and begin to hold full-time jobs and take on other responsibilities of adulthood. In the late teens and early 20s, young adults become individuals and will set themselves apart. Self becomes the main reliance. Young adults will strive to become independent from parents, take responsibility for themselves and make their own decisions. During the young adult stage, mainly the majority think in a more mature manner and take issues more seriously. They focus on the construction of a better future. To say, Young adults in this stage of human development learn value in both tangible and intangible objects. Their relationships with their parents and older adults change. However, in many cases, young adults and adolescents have enormous talent that can, in cases, outstrip some adults' talents. In many cases, problems such as lack of time (schooling and other commitments) and lack of money can arrest the adolescent's development in terms of intellectual and talent growth.

2

Description of Young Adulthood: According to Erikson, the young adult stage involves the personal need for intimacy and sex. Failure to achieve this need results in isolation, which is avoided, and as a result the young adult strives for love and compassion. The young adult learns that love and compassion may get him what he wants. In this stage, the most important events are love relationships. Intimacyrefers to one's ability to relate to another human being on a deep, personallevel. An individual who has not developed a sense of identity usually will feara committed relationship and may retreat into isolation. It is important tomention that having a sexual relationship does not indicate intimacy. People canbe sexually intimate without being committed and open with another. Trueintimacy requires personal commitment. However, mutual satisfaction willincrease the closeness of people in a true intimate relationship.

Health of Young Adulthood: We can say that young adults are generally in good health, subject neither to disease nor the problems of senescence.

3

Biological function and physical performance reach their peak from 20-35 years of age, waning after 35. Strength peaks around 25 years of age, plateaus through 35 or 40 years of age, and then declines. Flexibility also decreases with age throughout adulthood. However, there are large individual differences and a fit 40-year-old may outcompete a sedentary 20-year-old.

For Women: Women reach their peak fertility in their early 20s. Assuming unprotected intercourse with a man of the same age, women aged 19-26 have about a 50% chance of becoming pregnant during a given menstrual cycle, compared with 40% in the 27-34 age group and below 30% for women 35-39.

Developed Countries: In developed countries, mortality rates for the 18-40 age group are typically very low. Men are more likely to die at this age than women, particularly in the 18-25 group: reasons include car accidents and suicide. Mortality statistics among men and women level off during the late twenties and thirties, due in part to good health and less risk-taking behavior.

4

Young Adulthood & Cnacer: Cancer is much less common in young than in older adults. Exceptions are testicular cancer, cervical cancer, and Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Settling down After the upheaval of the early 30's, the middle to late 30's (roughly ages 34-39) are often characterized by settling down. People in their 30's may increase the financial and emotional investments they make in their lives. Many have been employed long enough to gain promotions and raises. They often become more focused on advancing their careers and gaining stability in their personal lives. They may have started a family.

5

Major Factors that Affect the Transition into Early Adulthood Often, our relationships with our parents change. We feel too old to Trying to find our live with our Acknowledging our own strengths and parents, but we are needs and impulses. weaknesses. We have not quite ready to We know what we to try to enhance the form a family of want to do and what strengths and to our own. We want needs to get done. overcome our to try to form an weaknesses. identity as an individual, apart from our family. Learning to live Learning to live in While trying to comfortably in our our new form our identity, own bodies. We are surroundings (if we we need to keep the individuals, no two leave home) and the ties with our alike. At this point in loss of the financial families. If we don't our lives we need to security we had with we are losing a learn to accept who our parents. We are great support we are. Self esteem now in charge of our network. can make a world of own space and lifedifference. style.

Needs of Youth in this Lifestage Freedom to take steps into the world.

Explore all possibilities.

Independent choices.

Intimacy with Others in Young Adukthood:

6

Young people should learn more about intimacy with others. In other words, a relationship should not rely solely on sexual intimacy. Rather, it should gear toward emotional intimacy. Young relationships, along with any relationships must have commitment to be successful. In any relationship, we must be friends with the other individual in order to totally respect them as a person. This puts you both on the same level, and tends to make couples more compatible. This is because we understand one another. You most likely have the same interests, same thoughts, similar accomplishments. You are alike and that's good. Proximity is a critical factor in beginning a relationship. Clearly, we will never fall in love with someone we do not know. Physical attraction is also a major determinant in choosing a mate.

Elements For A Positive Outcome: The young adult must develop intimate relationships with others. Notresolving this conflict leaves the young adult feeling isolated. The young adultmust be willing to be open and committed to another individual.

Elements for a negative outcome:

7

An individual may retreat into isolation if a sense of identity is notdeveloped and will fear a committed relationship.

Changes In Young Adulthood: Dramatic Change: A large and relatively new body of research is revealing that young adulthood is a time of dramatic change in basic thinking structures, as well as in the brain. Consensus is emerging that an 18-year-old is not the same person she or he will be at 25, just as an 11-year-old is not the same as he or she will be at 18. They don't look the same, feel the same, think the same, or act the same.

Three Categories: Across theories and research frameworks, a sequence of developmental shifts emerges, which can be organized into three overall categories: • Adolescence (generally defined as puberty through age 18) • Young adulthood (generally defined as 18 to 22 or 18 to 25) • Later adulthood (generally defined as mid-20s and older)

8

Many researchers and theorists divide these three broad areas into several smaller shifts, depending on the aspect of development they are measuring, such as reflective judgment, moral development, or cognitive structural development. There remains much division within and between disciplines, but, at the broader level, they share significant common ground.

The Mental Visor: Fundamentally, what changes in these developmental shifts is not just what people think, but also what they think about. Everyone, including young adults, has a kind of mental "visor" that screens out some kinds of phenomena while letting in others for consideration. As development unfolds, one can "see" and think about more and more complex phenomena such as abstractions, relationships, and moral problems, offering more and more powerful thinking tools. Why does development happen? Most researchers see a role both for nature and nurture. In healthy people, some changes evolve on a biological timetable, as long as the environment is "good enough," and some changes are prompted by demands in the environment, as long as the biological underpinnings are "good enough."

9

When teens enter young adulthood, their thinking capacities, relationship skills, and ability to regulate emotions are unlikely to be at a developmental level where they can cope easily with the demands of a diverse, global, technological, rapidly-changing world. If all goes well, biology and environment bring a surge of growth paralleling those of childhood and adolescence.

An Emerging Field: Acknowledging these findings, researchers have begun to define young adulthood as its own developmental period, referring to it as "emerging adulthood," "the frontier of adulthood," or, earlier, "the novice phase." Here at the start of the 21st century, researchers are creating a new field around young adulthood, just as, at the turn of the 20th century, researchers defined a new field around adolescence. Much of the impetus and focus for the research has come from the lengthening period in the U.S. between the onset of puberty and the fulfilling of cultural expectations around adult roles like financial independence and family formation. Significant differences can be expected across culture and circumstance.

10

Obesity & Young Adulthood: Childhood obesity increases the risk of obesity in adulthood, but how parental obesity affects the chances of a child's becoming an obese adult is unknown. We investigated the risk of obesity in young adulthood associated with both obesity in childhood and obesity in one or both parents. Height and weight measurements were abstracted from the records of 854 subjects born at a health maintenance organization in Washington State between 1965 and 1971. In fact, obese children under three years of age without obese parents are at low risk for obesity in adulthood, but among older children, obesity is an increasingly important predictor of adult obesity, regardless of whether the parents are obese. Parental obesity more than doubles the risk of adult obesity among both obese and nonobese children under 10 years of age.

Some types of changes in Young Adulthood: Relatively neglected in the literature on young adulthood is a thorough consideration of changes in geography and changes in the neighborhood environment occurring during this period. In the current analysis I focus attention on a specific element of the transition to adulthood:

11

the move out of the parental home. Based on a sample of young adults living in Chicago in the late 1990s, I find that white and nonwhite young adults in Chicago approach the “frontier of adulthood” from severely unequal environments. Whereas the typical white young adult lives in an economically diverse neighborhood as she prepares to forge her own path, the typical African-American lives in a segregated neighborhood consisting mostly of neighbors at the bottom of the income distribution and few at the top.

Some Psychosocial Matters ( Intimacy vs. Isolation): This stage covers the period of early adulthood when people are exploring personal relationships. Erikson believed it was vital that people develop close, committed relationships with other people. Those who are successful at this step will develop relationships that are committed and secure. Remember that each step builds on skills learned in previous steps. Erikson believed that a strong sense of personal identity was important to developing intimate relationships. Studies have demonstrated that those with a poor sense of self tend to have less committed relationships

12

and are more likely to suffer emotional isolation, loneliness, and depression. To add, we can say that human development is a lifelong process of physical, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional growth and change. In the early stages of life—from babyhood to childhood, childhood to adolescence, and adolescence to adulthood—enormous changes take place. Throughout the process, each person develops attitudes and values that guide choices, relationships, and understanding.

Physical Development: Most young adults aged 18 and over will Complete the process of physical maturation, usually attaining full adult height [Secondary sexual characteristics, such as size of penis and breasts, are completed.]

Cognitive Development: Most young adults aged 18 and over will Move into adult roles and responsibilities and may learn a trade, work, and/or pursue higher education. They fully understand abstract concepts and be aware of consequences and personal limitations. They identify career goals and prepare to achieve them. They secure their autonomy and build and test their

13

decision making skills . they develop new skills, hobbies, and adult interests .

Emotional Development: Most young adults aged 18 and over will Move into adult relationships with their parents. They see the peer group as less important as a determinant of behavior. They feel empathetic. They have greater intimacy skills. They complete their values framework. They carry some feelings of invincibility. They establish their body image.

Sexual Development: Most young adults aged 18 and over will enter into intimate sexual and emotional relationships. They understand their own sexual orientation, although they may still experiment. They understand sexuality as connected to commitment and planning for the future. They shift their emphasis from self to others. They experience more intense sexuality To illustrate: ,we can say that sexuality is also a lifelong process. Infants, children, teens, and adults are sexual beings. Just as it is important to enhance a young adult's physical, emotional, and cognitive growth, so it is important to lay foundations for his/her sexual growth. Adults have a

14

responsibility to help young people understand and accept their evolving sexuality.

Conclusion: To conclude, we can say that each stage of young adulthood with its development encompasses specific markers. There should be developmental guidelines apply to most youth in this age group. However, each young person is an individual and may reach these stages of development earlier or later than others the same age. When concerns arise about a specific young adult's development, parents or other caregivers should consult a doctor or other developmental professional.

15

References 1. ^ Martin Briner, Erik Erikson Page, 1999, On Briner's Site About Learning Theories, USMA Department Of Mathematical Sciences, Center For

Assessment And Program Evaluation (CAPE), United States Military Academy At West Point. Accessed 24 November 2006. 2. ^ Shephard, Roy J. (7 March 1998). "Aging And Exercise". Encyclopedia Of Sports Medicine And Science (T.D.Fahey). Http://Www.Sportsci.Org/Encyc/Agingex/Agingex.Html. Retrieved On 26 June 2007. 3. ^ [ Http://Www.Nlm.Nih.Gov/Medlineplus/Ency/Article/001191.Htm

Infertility] Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia Update Date: 5/15/2006 Updated By: Melanie N. Smith, M.D., Ph.D., Department Of Obstetrics And Gynecology, Brigham And Women's Hospital, Boston, MA. Review Provided By Verimedhealthcare Network. 4. ^ Study Speeds Up Biological Clocks: Fertility Rates Dip After Women Hit 27

Carl T. Hall, San Francisco Chronicle April 30, 2002 5. ^ "Life Expectancy Profiles". BBC (6 June 2005). Retrieved On 2007-

06-26. 6. ^ "UK Cancer Mortality Statistics By Age". Cancer Research UK (May

2007). Retrieved On 2007-06-26. 7. ^ "Cancers At A Glance". Cancer Research UK (May 2007). Retrieved

On 2007-06-26. 8. ^ Ngom, Pierre And Clark, Samuel (18 August 2003). "Adult Mortality In The Era Of HIV/AIDS: Sub-Saharan Africa" (Pdf). Population Division,

Department Of Economic And Social Affairs, United Nations Secretariat. Retrieved On 2007-06-26. 9. En.Wikipedia.Org/Wiki/Young_Adult 10. Http://Psychology.About.Com/Od/Theoriesofpersonality/A/Psychosocial_3.Htm 11. Http://Www.Advocatesforyouth.Org/Parents/18_Over.Htm

12.Http://Www.Medscape.Com/Viewarticle/584528

16