Key terms

affectionate love – любовь-привязанность

amidst – между, посреди, среди, в середине

coherence – связь, логичность, последовательность, слаженность (действий)

companionate love – дружественная любовь, любовь- дружба

empty nest – опустевшее гнездо

explore – исследовать, анализировать, выяснять

long-term relationships – долгие отношения

longitudinal studies – лонгитюдные исследования

male bias – предпочтение мужскому полу

mediating factors – промежуточные факторы

nonindustrialized societies – неиндустриальные общества

sandwich generation – сэндвич-поколение, «промежуточное» поколение (возрастная группа, которая ухаживает за престарелыми родителями и одновременно заботится о своих детях и внуках)

strain – напряжение, нагрузка, переутомление, напрягать

One of the common themes of middle adulthood is close relationships. Friendships during this period are deeper and more intimate than in any previous developmental period.

Love relations during middle adulthood continue to grow deeper and more intimate as long-term relationships build on an affectionate or companionate love. Divorce during this period is more positive or more negative than in the early adult period.

Adult children leave home to explore their adulthood, leaving the nest empty. This flight is accompanied by increases in marital satisfaction as couples now have more time for each other and more time for themselves.

Current financial and educational problems make adult children return to live with their parents. The strain on both children and parents is apparent, but can be reduced with adequate space, mutual respect, and clear communication. If the relationships were strained throughout childhood they will continue to be strained.

Contact among generations is an important role mediated by individuals in the middle adult period, particularly the women. Men are more likely to spend time with their wives' relatives. The closest relationship among kin occurs between mothers and their daughters. Part of the continuing contact among generations may put middle-aged adults in the middle between caring for adolescent and adult children and caring for aging parents. The strains of the sandwich generation are numerous and need to be recognized.

Erikson argues that changes in middle adulthood focus on four conflicts: being young versus being old; being destructive versus being constructive; being masculine versus being feminine; being attached to others versus being separated from them. Vaillant expands Erikson's stages and focuses on career consolidation (age 23 to 35) and the search for meaning (age 45 to 55). Adult development begins with a change from identity to intimacy; then from career consolidation to generativity, and finally from searching for meaning to some final integration. Critics argue that not enough emphasis is placed on individual differences and the importance of life events.

Critics of adult stage theories claim they have a male bias by emphasizing career choice and achievement. The stage theories do not adequately address women's concerns about relationships, interdependence, and caring. The stage theories assume a normative sequence of development, but as women's roles have become more varied and complex, determining what is normative is difficult.

Midlife is a heterogenous age period for women, just as it is for men. Midlife is truly the prime of their life. Cultural differences are also missing from the stage theories and deserve some attention. In many nonindustrialized societies, a woman's status often improves in middle age. In many cultures, the concept of middle age is not clear. Some cultures do not have words for "adolescent," "young adult," or "middle-aged adult;" however, most cultures distinguish between the young and the old.

The life-event approach, unlike the stage approach, focuses on the impact of life events, stressful factors that forces individuals to change their personality. Contemporary life-event approaches incorporate mediating factors, individual variation, life-stage considerations, and sociohistorical factors into their explanations for developmental change. Life-event approaches have been characterized for ignoring the stability of development and the impact of daily experiences.

The adult stage approach emphasizes similarities. However, there is substantial individual variation in adult development.

There have been several longitudinal studies of personality. These longitudinal studies portray adults as becoming different but still remaining the same—amidst change there is still some underlying coherence and stability.