Dimensions of Early Childhood, Essay Example

Early Adulthood

The transition from adolescence into adulthood is psychologically challenging. Young adults are moving into adult roles and responsibilities, gaining higher education, entering the workforce, taking on new financial burdens, and even starting families. It is this period where young adults establish their own autonomy and identity. There are several notable theories about the stages of development from childhood to adulthood. Erik Erikson proposed eight stages of development, and one of the challenges of young adulthood he describes was the need to develop intimate friendships to avoid isolation (Mcleod, 2018). In Daniel Levison’s Theory of Adult Development, Levinson proposed four seasonal cycles of adulthood, and early adulthood is when people begin careers and families (Capps, 2000).

Work Identity

Developing an individual identity is part of normal psychological development, and for adults the idea of a work identity is a big part of that process. Researchers have noted that social media “are known to be useful in supporting life transitions for young people” (Thomas, Briggs, Hart, & Kerrigan, 2017).  The way that people use social media varies depending on the life transition, but there are usually examples of the stages of affirmation, assimilation and integration that all adults go through as they join new social or work groups (Thomas, Briggs, Hart, & Kerrigan, 2017). The way the people use social media to showcase their work skills and background can influence their own sense of self (Thomas, Briggs, Hart, & Kerrigan, 2017).

Types of Marriages

Cuber and Haroff identified five different marriage typologies, in two primary categories. One category of marriage is the institutional marriage where the husband and wife each fill traditional roles (Bernardes, 2008). The companionate marriage is when the couple are more on an equal footing with shared responsibilities (Bernardes, 2008). The five typologies proposed by Cuber and Haroff are: conflict habituated, devitalized, passive-congenial, vital, and total (Bernardes, 2008). Institutional marriages typically included the husband being the main income earner and the wife being the homemaker.  In a conflict-habituated marriage the couple fights, verbally and sometimes physically. The passive-congenial marriage is almost the opposite. In that kind of marriage, the partners do not have much emotional investment in each other anymore and they often have separate lives or interests.

Middle Adulthood

How people do in middle adulthood depends at least somewhat on how they lived when they were younger. Those with good health habits in younger adulthood will be more likely to be healthy in middle adulthood (Osler, Avlund & Mortensen, 2012). By this age people have reached peak cognitive development but they also may be experiencing the signs of decline like vision problems or weight gain (Osler, Avlund & Mortensen, 2012).

Extended deployments

Extended deployments can have significant effects on marriages and parent-child relationships. While narrated soldiers sometimes report positive consequences related to extended deployment, the majority report negative consequences where marriage is concerned (Newby et al., 2005). Extended deployments can have effects on the relationship between parents and children, and they can also impact childhood development in different ways at different stages of development . Families also go through stages together when a deployment is announced, as they all prepare in different ways for the departure of a parent and then go through other stages as the deployment goes on. This is known as the Cycle of Deployment (Barbee, Correa & Baughan, 2016). In Stage 5: Post Deployment, families must learn to reintegrate after a long separation. This stage can last from months to years, and research has shown that it can be the most stressful part of the entire Deployment Cycle (Barbee, Correa & Baughan, 2016).

References

Barbee, E., Correa, V., & Baughan, C. (2016). Understanding the Effects of Deployment on Military Families: Implications for Early Childhood Practitioners. Dimensions Of Early Childhood, 44(3).

Bernardes, J. (2008). Family Studies: An Introduction. London: Routledge.

Capps, D. (2000). Levinson’s Theory of the Life Structure: The Case for Its Universality. Journal Of Pastoral Care, 54(1), 3-10. doi: 10.1177/002234090005400102

Mcleod, S. (2018). Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages of Development. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html

Newby, J., McCarroll, J., Ursano, R., Fan, Z., Shigemura, J., & Tucker-Harris, Y. (2005). Positive and Negative Consequences of a Military Deployment. Military Medicine, 170(10), 815-819. doi: 10.7205/milmed.170.10.815

Osler, M., Avlund, K., & Mortensen, E. (2012). Socio-economic position early in life, cognitive development and cognitive change from young adulthood to middle age. The European Journal Of Public Health, 23(6), 974-980. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/cks140

Thomas, L., Briggs, P., Hart, A., & Kerrigan, F. (2017). Understanding social media and identity work in young people transitioning to university. Computers In Human Behavior, 76, 541-553. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2017.08.021