Developmental psychology/Chapter 13/Generativity: The Work of Adulthood

To be generative, or be of use to the future, adults become parents, caregivers or seek meaningful employment.

Parenthood

• Parenthood - Generativity, according to Erikson, is summarized as "establishing and guiding the next generation". Having a child, however, is an extremely stressful task, both mentally, physically, and financially. The reason why the success rates of marriage drop within its first 2 years are that intimacy has to be put on hold while generativity flourishes. Although movements have been pushed for equality with both parents, the traditional way of raising a child is what most couples approach - the only thing that has changed is the flexibility in these roles. Having more children leads to an increase in stress as each child has different problems that must be attended to, especially kids with special needs.
  • Adoptive Parents - Some parents may give up their children to adoptive parents in fear that they may not take care of their children adequately. Secure bonds can take place, but children that have been institutionalized may suffer from reactive attachment disorder. In this disorder, a young child cannot make any attachments to anyone. Children who have had their biological parents can attain this as well. This may cause conflict when the child grows older who may try to seek out their "real" family. The notion that biological parents are the "real" families is simply not true. Multi-ethnic adoptive families are actually a positive rather than a negative, but the kids may face some type of backlash for their racial makeup. This applies to kids who have homosexual parents.
  • Stepparents provide obvious conflict. Major changes in young childhood are disruptive, such as moving location, loss of friends, or puberty. Since the average age of stepchildren is 9 years old, they may feel strongly attached to their previous parents. Stepchildren may face their new stepparent with hostility, but cohesiveness can be achieved if the stepparent is patient and continues to try and make amends.
  • Foster parents is the most problematic parenting. Foster children require a lot of attention and effort but the lack of connection is what ends up being the most difficult task to climb over. Children with foster parents usually return to their biological parents within a year's time. Since most foster children have experienced traumatic abuse, it makes the task of foster parents difficult as they have to deal with children who may not open up to them like how they expected.
  • Becoming grandparents is another source of generativity. They serve as companions rather than authoritative figures. On the flip side, according to studies, it is better if the grandmother and mother do not live in the same household when raising a child. It is thought that women conflict when caring for a child. Usually grandparents love to help and provide for their grandchildren, but it can get stressful when the child becomes an adult and deals with adult-conflicts that may be out of their realm of sole control.

Caregiving

Caregiving can meet phsyiological or physical needs

• A kinkeeper is someone who keeps the family connected, such as informing the family about someone's passing to rounding up family members for the holidays. This may include the sandwich generation, the middle-aged folks in the family who have to tend both the needs of the elderly and the youngins. Family members care for each other more on past experiences vs. obligation. The "sandwich generation" most likely takes care of their elders more culturally than economically/physically, as they are usually capable of taking care of themselves but may be dumbfounded by technology.

Employment

This section focuses on the effects of employment on growing people.

• Work allows people to contribute to their community in a positive note, use their skills efficiently and express creative energy. The purposes of work showcases extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, with generativity being intrinsic. This is why it is better to perfect the working environment vs. increasing pay for work satisfaction. Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motiation in regards to the workplace has explained why, for the most part, older workers are more dedicated to their work vs. younger workers. This may also explain why workers gear their anger towards the how/reasoning behind their wage rather than the wage itself.
• This also leads into the discussion about unemployment, which, if lasting for more than a couple weeks, can be destructive both mentally, physically and financially. NEET people are people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training. Risk of attaining depression and developing a habitual intake of harmful drugs increases when one is unemployed, regardless of age. Longitivty in life decreases when one is unemployed.
• Income disparity is the worry about the wage gape - but this isn't significant because people believe that they can earn more as time flies by.
• In terms of development, employment has experienced major shifts in diversity among workers, job changes, and alternate schedules. The first change, diversity, is welcomed in modern society. Having female bosses or a foreign co-worker who may not speak proficient English is common and isn't seen as special. The other two changes are not so dearly liked. Job changes can bring about many negative consequences, such as losing seniority and social support, lack of skills taught that may have not been taught decades ago (that may be beneficial to modern-day employers), age discrimination, and loyalty and generativity decreases. Lastly, the standard 9-5 M-F schedule is being abandoned, introducing early and late night employees. Studies have shown that a dramatic change in schedules can result in obesity and illnesses (particularly as a result of sleep deprivation). Weekend work also reduces time with family, including the spouse and children. Other methods of work, such as part-time and temporary work, have their own significant drawbacks, being that part-time work's reputation as being "underpaid" sways people away from it while job uncertainty increases job dissatisfaction.

The Appropriate Balance

So, what is the balance to all of this? A balance must be sought by the individual within their spouse first. Having a spouse that can help you mend with your active schedule can provide emotional and financial benefits. Even one's friends and family can serve as a buffer to everyday problems. Since generativity is a natural urge for adults, it is crucial for generativity to contribute to one's balance of all of life's shambles. In the next few chapters, we will dwell into the lives of the elderly and see how they plan out the last few decades of their lives.