Submitted by: Submitted by deandrebenson
Views: 10
Words: 1430
Pages: 6
Category: Business and Industry
Date Submitted: 04/14/2016 09:08 AM
Early to middle adulthood is a time of independence, identity seeking, and lifestyle forming. This is also the period in time that individuals start to develop a since of independence, build relationships and establish social and health-affecting habits. Although the basic needs of individuals remain consistent from middle adulthood through young adulthood; however, the social needs embody the attitude of revolution regarding relationships and vocations that moves from fluidity to stability. Health concerns are factors that play a part in young adulthood such as diet, exercise, and drug use that impacts individuals later in adulthood.
Erikson believed that people need constant contact with others throughout their lives, from birth to death, whether that contact is romantic intimacy or a relationship with friends and family. In romantic relationships, young adults tend to be “serially monogamous” [ (Berger, 2010) ], or remaining emotionally or sexually involved with only one person for a period of time, though the relationship is rarely permanent, and the young adult may have many of these relationships during this stage of his or her life. This is typical for the age group, which is characterized by an unwillingness to commit permanently to a job, a spouse, or even an educational program. Young adults today are markedly different from young adults in the previous generation, in that they marry later and may not start families or enter a permanent vocation until they are well into middle adulthood, or around their late twenties or early thirties; this is in part due to greater life expectancy and more accessible birth control, allowing young adults to experiment before settling down to permanency [ (Berger, 2010) ]. Relationships with friends and family can be considered close for young adults, who (at least in most Western cultures) prize autonomy and individualism. However, since many young adults during this time are pursuing higher education and are not...