Adulthood
Adulthood is said to occur between the ages of 19 and 65. It is the stage of life during which individuals are able to assert their personality, autonomy and independence and make important choices, for example, in relation to occupation, family and friends, and lifestyle. The formative experiences which occurred in earlier life stages are important in preparing adults to accept responsibility for and the consequences of their decisions. Adulthood is also a time of exposure to many challenging major life events, both predicted, such as leaving home and parenthood, and unpredicted, such as divorce, redundancy and serious injury. The learning and understanding gained from life events and personal experiences gives adults an opportunity to further develop their personalities and their intellectual, social and emotional skills, to re-assess the choices they have made and to adjust the way they live their life.
Older adulthood
Older adulthood is the stage of life commencing with the 65th birthday. It is characterised by a decline in the function and appearance of the body, known as ageing that can affect the way people think about themselves and their lives. But alongside this physical decline is a growth in wisdom and an opportunity to review life events and achievements with a view to enjoying a positive and productive old age.
D1
Diet- can affect us physically as if we eat too much, we may put on weight- or if we don’t eat enough, we may develop an eating disorder and lose weight. If we put on weight, we may get low self esteem as we may be unhappy with how we look and get scared of going out because of what other people think about us so we have a negative self concept. We may miss school and learning opportunities so this affects our intellectual development and level of education. We may become ill from all the stress and worry. If we miss out on school, our employment prospects will be affected. Also if we are overweight, we may be unsuitable for some jobs. If we stop going out with friends our social development will become affected also.
Education- By law, a child must receive an education until he or she is sixteen years old. Generally, people who go on to study at university will earn more and work in a more pleasant and secure environment. They will go on to get better jobs and have more opportunities in life. A child’s education is affected by the quality of teaching in school, so if teaching isn’t very good, intellectual development will be affected. If teaching is good, you are more likely to succeed. A person who goes to school regularly can learn more knowledge and skills. People who go to school also meet more friends and socialise. This affects their Social Development. If you go to school and have lots of friends, you are more likely to have high self esteem.
Employment/Unemployment- Employment means to have a job for which you are paid. Some people however work for themselves- they are self-employed. People who are employed will be able to afford a more expensive houses, cars and holidays with their family and friends so will have high self esteem. People who are unemployed (out of work) have less money for their home and for luxuries so they may have low self esteem. They may not have enough money for basic things like food and shelter. However they may lose weight and become ill. Their physical health will then be affected. Some jobs involve physical exercise. This again can affect physical development. People who work learn new skills every day. This relates to intellectual development. People who have a job and can buy nice things will feel happy. This affects our emotional development. People with jobs have busy lives. They meet new people at work. This affects their social development.
Ethnicity/ Religion- Ethnicity is used to describe a group of people who share the same way of life and Culture. A group of people who belong to a different race from the majority of people in society is called an ethnic minority. A religion is a set of beliefs often focused on one individual (i.e. God or Allah). The way a person behaves is often influenced by religion. Often, one of the things that a group of people have in common is their religion. For example, many white people are Christians. People who belong to ethnic minorities tend to have poorer housing and do less well in school than the general population. This can affect their opportunities in life. Their intellectual development would be affected because they didn’t go on to university and if housing is poor (i.e. no heating, unclean), they may develop physical illnesses. In summary, ethnicity can affect development in a number of ways- Ethnic minorities may for example not be given a job due to discrimination (being treated unfairly due to race or religion), may not have access to education (university) and may not be able to access health care due to language barriers.
P2
P3
Self-esteem
-Genetic inheritance
-Diet-
-Physical exercise
-illness or disease
physical and mental health, physical= cold, flu, illnesses mental= depression and anxiety
Social & Emotional factors
-Gender
-Family relationships
-Friendships
-Education
-Ethnicity/religion
-Life experiences
-Marriage
-Divorce
-Death
Economic Factors
-Income
- material possessions
Environmental factors
-Housing
-Pollution
-Access to health and welfare services
Self Concept
-Age and appearance
-Gender
- Culture
- Emotional maturity
- Education
- Relationships with others (family, friends, neighbours)
- Sexual orientation (gay or straight)
- Life experiences (How are we affected by life experiences such as starting school and getting married etc?)
M3)
Age:
Mature with experience, so people say the older in age the more experience you have. and some people have an actual problem with the number, may lower their actual age buy a few numbers. How young or old you view yourself in your head also matters. you may feel really old which will affect yourself concept.
Appearance:
Your appearance is how pretty, ugly, thin, fat or however you perceive yourself or how others perceive you. This has a huge influence on self concept. If you feel ugly and fat you automatically think others are thinking it too. This isn’t necessarily always correct. But as you feel it’s true then it puts you down and influences your self-concept.
Gender:
Gender is not the same as sex. Someone's sex is determined by their genes. Gender is about the way society expects individuals to behave. Gender affects self-concept because individuals have to learn how other people expect someone of their sex to behave. This is called gender role. Women tend to choose different types of jobs. They are more likely to interrupt their career to look after children. They appear still to put the needs of family before their career so that their progress in the workplace is held back.
Culture
Different people have different customs and ways of thinking. Your family or the community where you grew up may have different beliefs and expectations from other families and communities. These differences influence the way we think. We call this range of influences ‘cultural influences’. This is called ‘norms’ by sociologists.
Culture is shared beliefs, customs and values. It includes things such as language, religion and other faiths, diet, sport and music. It also includes ideas about things like personal modesty, morality and gender roles. Culture binds society together. It gives people a shared identity and a sense of belonging. This is why it is important for someone’s self-concept.
Relationships with Others:
If, on the other hand, a person has poor relationships, particularly within their family, they may lack confidence and probably feel that they are not loved or valued. This could result in them being unable to form lasting relationships in adolescence and adulthood.
An important part of a person’s self-concept is what they believe others think about them. Communication is an important part of all relationships. Good communication skills can help us to form positive relationships. It is in relationships that people find out what others think about them. If a person has a trusting and honest relationship with another person, such as a friend, they may learn from them that others have a higher opinion of them than they thought. This will improve their self esteem.
Education:
Our ideas are strongly influenced by our experiences at school. Young people spend more than half their time they are awake at school, doing homework or meeting friends from school. Later experiences at college or university can also confirm our change what we think about ourselves.
