According to the developmental tasks described by havighurst (1972), young adults may be starting to

Fundamentals of Nursing Practice

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A- Havighurst�s Developmental Task Theory

Robert Havighurst emphasized that learning is basic and that it continues throughout life span. Growth and Development occurs in six stages.

Developmental Tasks of Infancy and Early Childhood:
1. Learning to walk.
2. Learning to take solid foods
3. Learning to talk
4. Learning to control the elimination of body wastes
5. Learning sex differences and sexual modesty
6. Forming concepts and learning language to describe social and physical reality.
7. Getting ready to read

Middle Childhood:
1. Learning physical skills necessary for ordinary games.
2. Building wholesome attitudes toward oneself as a growing organism
3. Learning to get along with age-mates
4. Learning an appropriate masculine or feminine social role
5. Developing fundamental skills in reading, writing, and calculating
6. Developing concepts necessary for everyday living.
7. Developing conscience, morality, and a scale of values
8. Achieving personal independence
9. Developing attitudes toward social groups and institutions

Developmental Tasks of Adolescence:
1. Achieving new and more mature relations with age-mates of both sexes
2. Achieving a masculine or feminine social role
3. Accepting one's physique and using the body effectively
4. Achieving emotional independence of parents and other adults
5. Preparing for marriage and family life Preparing for an economic career
6. Acquiring a set of values and an ethical system as a guide to behavior; developing an ideology
7. Desiring and achieving socially responsible behavior

Developmental Tasks of Early Adulthood

1. Selecting a mate
2. Achieving a masculine or feminine social role
3. Learning to live with a marriage partner
4. Starting a family
5. Rearing children
6. Managing a home
7. Getting started in an occupation
8. Taking on civic responsibility
9. Finding a congenial social group

Developmental Tasks of Middle Age

1. Achieving adult civic and social responsibility
2. Establishing and maintaining an economic standard of living
3. Assisting teenage children to become responsible and happy adults
4. Developing adult leisure-time activities
5. Relating oneself to one�s spouse as a person
6. Accepting and adjusting to the physiologic changes or middle age
7. Adjusting to aging parents.

Developmental Tasks of Later Maturity

1. Adjusting to decreasing physical strength and health
2. Adjusting to retirement and reduced income
3. Adjusting to death of a spouse
4. Establishing an explicit affiliation with one�s age group
5. Meeting social and civil obligations
6. Establishing satisfactory physical living arrangement (http://faculty.mdc.edu).

  Practice questions

  Assignments

  Readings

  Quiz

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Learning Objectives

Objectives: At the end of this lesson, you will be able to

1. Discuss the developmental tasks of early adulthood.
2. Describe physical development in early adulthood.
3. Explain how early adulthood is a healthy, yet risky time of life.
4. Summarize Levinson's theory of adult transitions.
5. Distinguish between formal and postformal thought.
6. Explain dialectical thought.
7. Describe Erikson's stage of intimacy vs. isolation.
8. Question Erikson's assertion about the focus on intimacy in early adulthood.
9. Identify trends in mate selection, age at first marriage, and cohabitation in the United States.
10. Discuss fertility issues in early adulthood.
11. Explain social exchange theory of mate selection.
12. Define the principle of least interest.
13. Apply Sternberg's theory of love to specific examples of relationships.
14. Apply Lee's love styles to specific examples of relationships.
15. Compare frames of relationships.
16. Explain the wheel theory of love.
17. Explain the process of disaffection.
18. Describe some current concerns in education in today's colleges.

Developmental Tasks of Early Adulthood

Early adulthood can be a very busy time of life. Havighurst (1972) describes some of the developmental tasks of young adults. These include:

• Achieving autonomy: trying to establish oneself as an independent person with a life of one’s own
• Establishing identity: more firmly establishing likes, dislikes, preferences, and philosophies
• Developing emotional stability: becoming more stable emotionally which is considered a sign of maturing
• Establishing a career: deciding on and pursuing a career or at least an initial career direction and pursuing an education
• Finding intimacy: forming first close, long-term relationships
• Becoming part of a group or community: young adults may, for the first time, become involved with various groups in the community. They may begin voting or volunteering to be part of civic organizations (scouts, church groups, etc.). This is especially true for those who participate in organizations as parents.
• Establishing a residence and learning how to manage a household: learning how to budget and keep a home maintained.
• Becoming a parent and rearing children: learning how to manage a household with children. Making marital adjustments and learning to parent.

Exercise

To what extent do you think these have changed in the last several years? How might these tasks be different across cultures?

REFERENCES

American Society of Reproductive Medicine (1996-2011): quick facs about infertility. (n.d.). American Society for Reproductive Medicine: News and Publications. Retrieved May 07, 2011, from http://www.reproductivefacts.org

Basseches, M. (1984). Dialectical thinking and adult development. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Pub.

Benokraitis, N. V. (2005). Marriages and families: Changes, choices, and constraints (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Berger, K. S. (n.d.). The developing person through the life span (6th ed.). New York: Worth.

Bianchi, S., & Casper, L. (2000). American families. (Dec. ed., Vol. 55) (United States, Population Reference Bureau). Washington, DC: Population Bulletin.

Bok, D. (2005, December 18). Are colleges failing? - The Boston Globe. Boston.com - Boston, MA News, Breaking News, Sports, Video. Retrieved May 07, 2011, from http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/12/18/are_colleges_failing?

Bok, D. C. (2006). Our underachieving colleges: A candid look at how much students learn and why they should be learning more. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Brooks, J. M. (1997). Beyond teaching and learning paradigms: Trekking into the Virtual University. Teaching Sociology, 27, 1-14.

Carroll, J. L. (2007). Sexuality now: Embracing diversity (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning.

Casper, L. M., & Bianchi, S. M. (2002). Continuity and change in the American family. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Collins, L. (1999). Emotional adultery: Cybersex anc commitment. Social Theory and Practice, 25(2), 243-270.

Davidson, J. K. (1991). Marriage and family. Dubuque, IA: William C. Brown.

Frieden, T. (2011, January 14). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for the Centers for Disease Control (United States, Center for Disease Control). Retrieved February 12, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6001al.htm?s_su6001al_w

Gwinnell, E. (1998). Online seductions: Falling in love with strangers on the Internet. New York: Johnson Publishing.

Havighurst, R. J. (1972). Developmental tasks and education, (3rd ed.). New York: D. McKay.

Heron, M. P., & Smith, B. L. (2007). Products - Health E Stats - Homepage. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 07, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/leadingdeath03/leadingdeath03.htm

HRC | Marriage & relationship recognition. (n.d.). HRC | Human Rights Campaign | Home. Retrieved May 07, 2011, from http://www.hrc.org/issues/marriage.asp

Kerckhoff, A., & Davis, K. (1962). Value consensus and need complementarity in mate selection. American Sociological Review, 27(June), 295-303.

Lee, J. A. (1973). The colors of love: An exploration of the ways of loving. Don Mills, Ont.: New Press.

Of, T. (2006, September 21). Families and living arrangements, formerly households and families. Census Bureau Home Page. Retrieved May 07, 2011, from http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam.html

Reiss, I. (1960). Toward a sociology of the heterosexual love relationship. Marriage and Family Living, 22(May), 139-145.

Ridley, C. A., Peterman, D. J., & Avery, A. W. (1978). Cohabitation: Does it make for a better marriage? The Family Coordinator, April, 126-136.

Seccombe, K., & Warner, R. L. (2004). Marriages and families: Relationships in social context. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

Sternberg, R. (1988). A triangular theory of love. New York: Basic.

Tannen, D. (1990). You just don't understand: Women and men in conversation. New York: Morrow.

United States, U. S. Department of Education. (2006). A test of leadership: Charting the future of U. S. higher education. Washington, D. C.

Volko, N. D. (2004, September 19). Exploring the Whys of Adolescent Drug Use. (United States, National Institute on Drug Abuse). Retrieved January 23, 2007, from http://www.drugabuse.gov/NIDA_notes/NNvol19N3/DirRepVol19N3.html

Licenses and Attributions

What age is early adulthood according to havighurst?

What is havighurst developmental task?

What are the developmental stages of adulthood?

What is young adulthood development?