Chapter 17 Early Adulthood:Biosocial Development
Growth, Strength, and Health
Young adults are strong, healthy, and disease free
Norms and Peaks
Men typically stronger than women
For both sexes, physical strength increases until 30, then declines
Death from disease is rare
violent death more likely
Signs of Senescence
Physical decline related to age
Gender Differences in Health and Senescence
Appearance seems more important for women than for men
women generally healthier and have better health habits
few fatal diseases, live at least 5 years longer than men, on average
Two ways females are at a health disadvantage
undernourishment
reproductive systems problems
Three explanations why twice as many women than men live to after age 80
biological:
cognitive:
psychosocial:
Homeostasis
Body’s attempt to keep systems in balance —homeostasis
set point is affected by genes, diet, age, hormones, and exercise
Aging makes it more difficult to recover from physical stress
Reserve Capacity
Bodies that are maintained adequately can have greater capacity to respond to stressful events or conditions, if not, our organ reserve capacity declines
organ reserve—extra capacity for responding to unusually stressful events or conditions that demand intense or prolonged effort
Sports Stars and the Rest of Us
Athletic performance peaks between ages 15 and 35
Within a sport, skills peak at different ages
super stars more likely to peak later
Impact of aging on skills depends on lifestyle
Fertility
Peak time of fertility for women: before age 30; for men: before age 40
Between 2 percent and 30 percent of all couples experience infertility—average of 15 percent
infertility—failure to conceive after a year of intercourse without contraception
Medical Advances
in vitro fertilization (IVF)—ova surgically removed, fertilized by sperm in lab, and allowed to divide until zygote reaches 8- or 16-cell stage
assisted reproductive technology (ART)— collective name of different technologies that aid in fertility
Emotional Problems in Early Adulthood
Dieting as a Disease
Set point—particular body weight that an individual’s homeostatic process strives to maintain
Dieting is common among girls, not unusual for boys
Culture and diet industry messages (via media) tell us to be thin so we will be happy and successful
Anorexia Nervosa
Restriction of eating to the point of emaciation and possible starvation
Four Symptoms
refusal to maintain body weight of at least 85 percent of normal weight for age and height
intense fear of gaining weight
disturbed body perception and denial of problem
in females, absence of menstruation
Bulimia Nervosa
Repeated episodic binge eating followed by purging
To be clinically diagnosed,
bingeing and purging must occur at least once a week for three months
the person must have uncontrollable urges to overeat
the person must show distorted self-judgment about body image
Theories of Eating Disorders
Psychoanalytic:
Behaviorism:
Cognitive:
Sociocultural:
Epigenetic:
Drug Abuse and Addiction
Drug addiction—physiological or psychological drive to ingest more of a drug
addiction begins with use
Young adults more likely to be addicts
Marked gender, ethnic, and national variations in rates of drug addiction
College students particularly vulnerable
more to alcohol
Social context encourages use and abuse
on their own
rock concerts
spectator sports
other group activities
Consequences of drug use often serious
Psychopathology
Many young adults struggle with serious emotional difficulties
Some difficulties may originate in childhood
parents abusive, neglectful, or erratic
death of mother or alcoholism of father
Typically, childhood disturbances, biological problems, and environmental stress are all involved
Depression
Between ages 20 and 35, at least 15 percent of women and 8 percent of men suffer from at least one severe episode of depression
Schizophrenia
1 percent of all adults experience at least one episode of schizophrenia
Violence
In U.S., 1 male in every 100 between the ages of 15 and 25 dies violently
Worldwide, young men more likely to die violently than women (especially between ages of 20 and 25)
Developmentalists suggest two reasons
biological;
psychological