PROFESSOR Commentary:

1.1 Adulthood
-using age-based criterion to classify adulthood does not account for unique cases
(chronological age vs. psychological age)
-adult: someone who is capable of assuming responsibility for their own affairs (Aiken, 1998)
-BUT: relying solely on chronological age as a determinate of the entry point into adulthood
also is not reflective of the variation in maturity that occurs in real life
-> difficult to set ages for “adult behaviour” (eg. drinking, voting)

1.2 A Historical Perspective

-there is a history of difficulty in finding an exact definition of “adulthood”
-> adulthood hasn’t always been known as a distinct stage of life
-the concept of adulthood emerged by a process of exclusion
-> the final product resulted from prior definitions of other stages in the life cycle
(Jordan, 1978)
-adulthood was recognized as a discrete stage of life (characteristics/challenges) only after
childhood, adolescence, and old age were recognized
-no interest in the study of adulthood until latter half of 20th century

1.3 Adulthood in Context

-factors that determine when a person enters adulthood depends on the sociocultural context
-> there is no universal age that marks transition into adulthood, instead it is culturally-
specific
-> adolescence is indicated by biological events (puberty)
-for some cultures, adulthood is becoming economically independent/marriage right after
puberty, while in other cultures (North America) there is an extended period of adolescence
-emerging adulthood (in industrialized countries) = period between adolescence and adulthood
-primary weakness in adult development research = lack of cross-cultural research
-> most research done is based on North American samples
-> problematic to generalize results of small groups to large populations

1.4 Development
-designation of changes as developmental or non-developmental depends on norms of the
sociocultural context
eg. evidence of the individualistic nature of Western society is evident in numerous
adult development theories
-development through adulthood has manifestations that are stable and those that change
-development is continuous and marked by stages
-there are outer changes that are apparent to others, but also inner changes that can
influence development
-age is better understood as an integration of biological, psychological, and social functioning
-> not simply the amount of years since birth
-> need to take into account genetic/environmental, personal differences