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