What themes and influences mark our social journey from early adulthood to death?
As people enter their 40s, they undergo a transition to middle adulthood, when they realize that life will soon be mostly behind them. Some argue that this is a midlife crisis. But the fact is that unhappiness, job dissatisfaction, marital dissatisfaction, and suicide don't surge during the early 40s. For the 1/4 adults who do report experiencing a life crisis, the trigger isn't age, but a major event, like an illness or job loss. effeb5c6a99b9c10e9a619dd642a38dd.png ¬
Life events trigger transitions to new life stages at varying ages. The social clock ("right time" to leave home, get a job, marry, retire) varies from era to era and culture to culture, especially for women. The social clock still ticks but people are more okay with being out of sync with it. Even chance events can have …show more content…
Sigmund Freud: "The health adult is one who can love and work."
We typically commit one person at a time. From an evolutionary perspective, monogamous pairing makes sense (parents who cooperated to nurture children more often passed on their genes to future generation). Bonds of love are most satisfying and enduring with a similarity of interests and values, emotional and material spot, and intimate self-disclosure. Those who commit with marriage more often endure, esp. after age 20. The divorce rate is 2x higher than 40 years ago, reflecting women's lessened economic dependence and people's rising expectations. Studies show that those who live together before marriage have higher rates of divorce and marital dysfunction because cohabiters tend to be initially less committed to the ideal of enduring marriage and then they become even less supporting during the