Early adulthood

• Early/Young Adulthood


  18-40 years
• Emerging adulthood


  Late teens-early 20's as a transition period
• Setting up your developmental trajectory

  • Cumulative effects (e.g., smoking, diet/cholesterol)
• Compensation


  Attenuating the effects of primary ageing and attempting to prevent aspects of secondary ageing
• Good health/ageing


  • Being optimistic, experiencing positive emotions and behaviours such as adequate exercise and following medical advice
• Physical illness/poor ageing/mortality


  • Anger, hostility, pessimism, depression, social isolation, hopelessness, lack of exercise, poor diet, smoking and substance abuse
• Brain changes in early/young adulthood

  1. Development of inhibitory processes as frontal lobes become fully formed

  2. Regulation of emotions

  3. Volume loss, which produces slower information processing

  4. Production of new neurons is driven by physical exercise and environmental stimulation
• Biological changes in early/young adulthood

  • Reduced ability to conceive/higher miscarriage rates (but there are IVF options)
  • V02 max, 1% decline per year from age 35
  • Failure of immune system to fight off disease
• Linking social support to the immune system/response to stress

  Bouhuys et al. (2004)
• Relationship formation


  Intimacy vs. Isolation - Engage in a supportive affectionate relationship without losing a sense of self
• Single people


  • Less healthy and less satisfied (Robards et al., 2012), but perhaps more scope for autonomy/personal growth
• Psychological changes in early/young adulthood

  • Emotional disturbance is highest at 18-24
  • Learning to dealing with abstract concepts
  • Dip in IQ during mid-30s but not in all aspects
  • Peak creativity at 30-35 (Dietrich, 2004)
• Social changes in early/young adulthood

  • Parenthood is stressful but an emotional high point, single parent - having a child can prevent career progression
  • New relationships formed/detachment from family (based on proximity), reduced number of friends by middle adulthood
  • Occupation - career choice, committing to a future, financial reward vs. service to the community, education and family influence, gender biases in work, job satisfaction rises from early adulthood to retirement, dependent on job security/work-life balance
• Life expectancy has increased steadily over past decades; from 62.9 in 1940 to 81.5 in 2021
• The proportion of older adults exceeds the rate of population growth, putting increasing strain on economy/health care resources
• Optimal ageing


  Measures to counteract secondary factors
• Successful ageing


  • Absence of disease and disability, high cognitive and physical function as well as engagement with life (Rowe & Kahn, 1998)
  • 5 ways to shorten your life: Being overweight, drinking/driving, not eating fruit/vegetables, being physically inactive, smoking (Kamimoto et al., 1999)
  • Well educated (McLaughlin et al., 2010)
  • Emphasise autonomy and independence as integral to ageing well (World Health Organisation)
• Successful ageing - Biological

  • Exercise compensates for physical and cognitive change and predicts well-being, sedentary lifestyle predisposes to health threats
  • Obesity contributes to high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnoea, coronary heart disease, hypertension and asthma
  • Changes in diet when leaving home often signal a decline in nutrition, contributing to obesity, bowel cancer, type 2 diabetes, eating disorders
  • Smoking leads to increased risk of lung cancer, mouth and throat cancer, and other smoking-related illnesses, immediate effects of quitting
• Successful ageing - Psychological

  • Self-efficacy - belief in yourself that you can make things happen
  • Sense of control - internal locus promotes action/responsibility
  • Women who rated themselves successful agers scored highly in "psychologically" protective factors (Vahia et al., 2012)
  • Education predicts physical and cognitive functioning, which also predicts subjective well-being
• Successful ageing - Social

  • Socioeconomic status impacts on lifestyle choice
  • Life stress impacts on psychological/physical functioning, 'organ reserve' to deal with stress in those who look after their health
  • Gender - women live longer than men, but male attitudes to health are changing to narrow the gap
  • Social network - social support plays a large role, quality > quantity, important to keep in contact with friends and family, adults with adequate social support have lower risk of disease, depression and premature death
  • Social networking (mobile phone use) - the rise of FOMO, reduction in life satisfaction, having to always be available produces stress and anxiety
• Primary ageing


  The natural and intrinsic changes that occur in the body as a result of the passage of time. These changes are inevitable and cannot be prevented.
• Secondary ageing


  The changes and damage that occur in the body as a result of external factors, such as lifestyle choices, environmental exposures, and disease. Unlike primary ageing, some aspects of secondary ageing can be prevented or minimized through healthy habits and lifestyle choices.