Exam 16: Middle Adulthood: Social Emotional Development

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Answers will vary. Once their children become emerging adults or young adults, most parents in the United States are content to "launch" their children to live on their own or with roommates. In many cases, the children remain at least partly financially dependent, sometimes for several years. If they have been close to their parents, they may also remain somewhat emotionally dependent once they are out on their own as well-or at the very least, it may hurt when their parents disapprove of their personal choices. Parents are usually satisfied with their children living apart if they call or e-mail regularly and drop by (or allow the parents to drop by) with some sort of reasonable frequency. Parents often try to find a balance between staying in touch and "interfering," especially once their children have partners or children of their own. When the children of middle-aged adults take partners or get married, new challenges can emerge. First of all, it may seem that nobody can be "good enough" for their child, but, sometimes their child does apparently make a poor choice-or at least a poor match. The parents must then deal with the issues of whether, and how, they express their feelings about it. Regardless of the partner or spouse chosen by their child, there are also in-laws and the extended family of the in-laws. Sometimes there is a good match between the families of both partners, but more often the families would not have chosen each other as friends. Still, for the sake of the children, the parents may try to act friendly when they get together. But the new relationships can be another source of stress.

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Answers will vary. Research shows that people who are involuntarily unemployed have lower physical and psychological well-being than employed subjects, and unemployed middle-aged subjects have lower well-being than unemployed young adults. Within the samples of unemployed middle-aged adults, those for whom work was more important, who had fewer financial resources and less social support, and who tended to blame themselves for losing their jobs fare worst. Those who had emotional and financial resources and social support, who could structure their time, and who had realistic strategies for job hunting or finding substitutes for jobs fare best.