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Psychosocial development from college through midlife: a 34-year sequential study.
Susan Krauss Whitbourne1, Joel R Sneed, Aline Sayer
1Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003-7710, USA. swhitbo@psych.umass.edu
Developmental Psychology
|August 26, 2009
Summary
This study tracked baby boomers
Area of Science:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Adult Development
Background:
- Erikson's theory of psychosocial development outlines key stages throughout the lifespan.
- Understanding psychosocial trajectories in middle adulthood is crucial for adult development research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the longitudinal growth of psychosocial development across middle adulthood in two baby boomer cohorts.
- To investigate the influence of cohort and life history variables on psychosocial development trajectories.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study following two cohorts of baby boomers from college years to ages 43 and 54.
- Hierarchical linear modeling used to analyze psychosocial development trajectories.
- Examined Erikson's psychosocial stages, including trust, autonomy, initiative, industry, identity, intimacy, generativity, and ego integrity.
Main Results:
- Early and generativity issues showed steady increases; industry showed cohort differences.
- Identity and intimacy growth were curvilinear; ego integrity varied by cohort, with older cohort showing steeper increases.
- Women initially scored higher on intimacy but showed deceleration; a pattern of 'catching up' in psychosocial development emerged for those starting at a disadvantage.
Conclusions:
- Psychosocial development continues through middle adulthood with cohort and gender variations.
- Despite initial disadvantages, individuals can achieve favorable psychosocial outcomes by midlife.
- Life history variables interact with cohort effects to shape developmental trajectories.
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