A Successful Middle Adulthood
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Carmen is on her way to meet her aunt Julia for their monthly catch-up lunch. Julia always asks the same thing once they have put in their…
Transitions in Caregiving Roles in Middle Adulthood
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Terrell is celebrating his fiftieth birthday surrounded by all the people who matter most to him. His husband Mike and daughter Lina thoughtfully planned every detail down…
Households and Parenting in Middle Adulthood
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Maya is a single working mother raising two daughters. She is responsible for all the household bills, transportation, and childcare, and sometimes it feels impossible to do…
Love and Romance in Middle Adulthood
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Sarah and Alex’s relationship started out with lots of passion and intimacy when they were in their twenties. Once each other’s safe haven in times of uncertainty…
Development of Self, Personality, and Identity in Middle Adulthood
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Forty-year-old Amir’s life is much different than it was fifteen years ago. At twenty-five-years-old, he never could have pictured that his hours, days, and weeks would be…
What Does Psychology Say?
Figure 14.1 Middle adulthood is characterized by an expansion of roles and responsibilities at home, work, and in the community. (credit top left: modification of work “Grandpa” by NappyStock/nappy, Public Domain; credit top middle: modification of work “Smartphone in Hands” by Alyssa…
Summary
Physical Development in Middle Adulthood Reproductive and Sexual Changes in Middle Adulthood Cognition in Middle Adulthood Maintaining Health and Well-Being in Middle Adulthood
Maintaining Health and Well-Being in Middle Adulthood
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Carson remembers her twenties well. She was proving herself in a stressful job and frequently grabbed a quick (and not necessarily healthy) meal to eat at her…
Cognition in Middle Adulthood
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Charlie was only twenty-two years old when they began graduate studies in science. They spent five years earning a PhD in biology and decades afterward teaching, conducting…
Reproductive and Sexual Changes in Middle Adulthood
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Fifty-six-year-old Patricia considers herself to be in a happy long-term partnership. Even though sex is less frequent, there is more focus on emotional intimacy, and she is…