Phases of Adulthood

Phases of Adulthood

Pamela Talley

CNLS / 504

April 12, 2011

Hakeem Lumumba

Phases of Adulthood

The stages of adulthood have three different phases. There are many differences within each phase. Each phase serves as a preliminary framework for the study of the largest period human development. The three phases are:

 Early adulthood (18-40)

 Middle adulthood (41-65)

 Late adulthood (66+)

By the time a person has reached early adulthood they have spent a long time developing.

Physical Development

In early adulthood the body grows into full height by late teens and physical strength increases into the 20s and early 30s. Manual alertness and coordination and sensory capacities such as vision and hearing are at their highest level. But change is imminent, even in these basic capacities. Some decline in the perception of high-pitched tones is found by the late 20s and manual dexterity begins to reduce in the mid-30s (Whitbourne, 2001). Women and men hear differently. Women can hear higher tones better than men. In general, though, the hearing of both men and women is quite good. The other senses such as taste, smell, and sensitivity to touch and feel pain are good in early adulthood and they are good throughout early adulthood. People who are in the early adulthood stage for the most part are healthy, energetic, and strong.

In middle adulthood, people experience a variety of external and internal physical changes. The external changes are seeing grey hair growing, hair thinning, wrinkles appearing in the face, and noticing weight gain. The internal changes are the reduction in the efficiency of the cardiovascular, respiratory, and nervous systems (Whitbourne, 2001). These changes continues on in the late adulthood.

Health and Biological factors

During early adulthood, people are less acceptable to colds and other minor illnesses than they were as children, but when they do get sick they tend to get over it quickly. A person in their 20s and 30s has a higher risk of dying from automobile accidents than any other cause. There are other causes of death that people in their early adulthood faces such as AIDS, cancer, heart disease, and suicide.

The biological factor is a person's genetics. In early adulthood a person with a family history of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis or strokes is at risk of developing this disease will increase as they move into the next phase of adulthood which is middle adulthood. If a person whether in middle adulthood or in late adulthood don't take medication which is prescribed by a doctor, exercise, and change their eating habits they may not make it through middle or late adulthood. If a person actually makes it to late adulthood this person really have to take care of their selves.

Cognitive Development

By the time a person reaches early adulthood they are capable of the levels of reasoning that we would expect for normal operative in adult society. Most young adults can deal with cognitive tasks in a more intangible way than when they were adolescence. In life it is discovered that it is often unclear and difficult.

When a person is in middle adulthood they are more mentally stable than they were in early adulthood. Now the person in middle adulthood performs better cognitively than the early adulthood person. By the time a person reaches late adulthood they may not measure up as well cognitively as the person in early adulthood or middle adulthood.

Relationships

In early adulthood their