Immediately after probably one of the most confusing times in a young adult's life(adolescence) comes something called emerging adulthood. When I first began reading chapter nine I must say, I was unaware emerging adulthood was even a stage. I believed for as long as I can remember it has always gone from adolescence to teenager and on to young adult. When reading through the table on page 208 titled American Rites of Passage table 9.1 it became more clear how large this portion of a young adults life is. I have hit many of these milestones, I have a checking account, a credit card, I got my first real job a few years back (or what seems to be a few years), and next weekend I will be getting married. I've never been "hazed" and honestly I'm okay with that after hearing some horror stories! All around the world people have traditions or ceremonies transitioning these young people into adulthood! It's all so fascinating.
A few things in chapter nine really stuck out to me the first one being the obesity rates. If I read the map on page 213 correctly it showed only one state had a less than 20% obesity rate. This is insane to me! I only say this because as I look around and started to really observe the people around me I didn't feel like I saw too many adults over 20 that were obese. There are many things I believe to incorporate into this to make this chart more accurate and really get a good look at what is going on. The first one would be to take out the percentage of people with chronic disease or illness that contributes to their weight. I feel that it is along the lines of being "unfair" to incorporate these people into a general population overview.
Something else that really stuck out to me was the binge drinking chart. It's really no secret that most people drink or that underage people drink- that's been happening as long as I can remember. But when I looked at the gender, I was a little surprised that men held the higher percentage. However, when I reflect back to my personal experience I can say there was generally more men at the bars drinking at the bar over women.
On page 223 there is a table, Table 9.3 Number and rate* of births to unmarried women and married women in the United states. I've heard over and over again there are more people having children out of wedlock and I hold no judgement because I am one of those women. With that being said I am not surprised that since 1980-2006 the number of births to unmarried women has gone up a little over 20%. As I look around now, I see many people who have chosen to wait until into their thirty's and married. I just read an article the other day that said women were waiting to have children until they were settled within their career and married.
On page 244 the text begins to talk about Erikson's seventh stage of psychosocial development ages 25-65. This stage is called Generativity versus stagnation. If I understood this stage correctly Erikson believed at this stage adults either became useful to themselves and society(Generativity) or bored, self absorbed, and unable to contribute to society. Something on page 244 really hurt to read was that people who have procreated and fall into stagnation resent the neediness of their offspring? What I want to know is how this can happen or why? I look at my children everyday and wonder where I would be without them, I could never resent them. I'm sure a few sleepless nights get to me and they probably think I am just a crabby person, but I could never "resent" them. It's very sad that a child would be subjected to a parent that feels in such a way.
Both of my parents came from broken homes. Both of them were abandoned by their parents. One went into foster care and the other went on her own and somehow made it. I would not say they successfully completed all prior psychosocial crises that define the human lifestyle. But what I would say is that they are both successful adults who are in the Generativity phase, Eventually, I would like to do more research on this to see really how "true" Erikson's theory has proved to be.
Really great statistics and tables you pointed out. Hopefully, everyone takes a second to look at them as well. The part I will focus on is the binge drinking research. There is a concept in research referred to as the social desirability effect that states even when given anonymity we still are not honest and minimize "bad" behavior. The scary things is the statistics are probably much higher considering that forms of binge drinking in some cultures have become normalized behavior.
ReplyDeleteI am also surprised by many of the statistics in these chapters and some of them were not surprising. The obesity rate is very scary. You mentioned that some of this may be medical issues that are out of a persons control. This is true. There are also so many people who are overweight because of an unhealthy life style. It sounds so easy; eat right and exercise. It is not easy for everyone. As adults we get caught up in our busy lives. I used to always put myself last and take care of my family first. I learned that taking care of myself will benefit my family.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised that men have are more likely to binge drink than women. Binge drinking could be a very dangerous habit. You also discussed how it has become more common for people to have kids before marriage. Times have changed so much. The divorce rate is high and it is not unusual to have children without being married like it was in the past.
The last thing you mentioned about your parents reminded me of the Steve Jobs video we watched this week. Steve jobs started his life as a baby that was given up for adoption. He was not wanted by his birth mother or the first set of chosen parents. Despite this and other challenges he was able to become successful. This shows that success is possible regardless of where you came from.
First Congratulations on your Wedding! However, I also found the statement about parents resenting their children very difficult to read as well. I love my children and I could never resent them. I would also like to do more research on Erickson's Theory.
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