Psychosocial development and life experiences in adulthood: a 22-year sequential study

In this study, a model was tested postulating reciprocal relationships between psychosocial development and life experiences in adulthood. A sequential design compared college alumni (n = 99) who were age 20 in 1966, age 31 in 1977, and 42 in 1988 (Cohort 1) with college alumni (n = 83) who were 20 in 1977 and 31 in 1988 (Cohort 2). Path analyses testing specific hypotheses provided partial support for the reciprocal model. For Cohort 1 men, lower socioeconomic levels at age 31 were associated with higher industry versus inferiority scores at age 42. For Cohort 1 women, higher identity scores at the age of 31 predicted full-time homemaker status by age 42. The findings from 20 to 31 years were more consistent for Cohort 2, with college psychosocial scores predictive of greater success and commitment in the areas of occupation and family life. Differences between the cohorts were interpreted in terms of sociohistorical factors including differential socialization between men and women in the 1960s versus the 1970s, as well as peculiarities of the period of the 1960s that appeared to influence specifically men who were in college.