Examined a series of decisions made by 95 subjects over a period of 18 years. Results indicated that decisions made at earlier stages of development are more likely to be of an exploratory nature and decisions made at later stages are more likely to be of a terminal nature. (Author)

Examined whether graduate students (N=40) experienced developmental transitions similar to those suggested in adult development theories by using a structured interview protocol to collect data on developmental tasks. Findings indicated that the developmental transitions reflected in a composite developmental framework were applicable to graduate…

Examined the theoretically predicted adult career outcomes of individuals who engage in different developmental patterns of commitment to choice. Results indicated minimal support for the hypothesis that those who engage in increasing commitment and who do not revert to earlier behaviors would experience the most desirable outcomes in adulthood.…

Younger men are both less engaged from the world and more efficient processors of information than older (especially less educated) ones. (Authors)

The age-status system in adulthood was investigated, using a 58-item instrument which divided adulthood subjectively into three periods: normative expectations for various adulthood developmental tasks (marriage, parenthood, employment, retirement, etc.); the lower age constraints ("too young") for these behaviors. In addition, 22 items regarding…

Personality theorists have suggested the critical importance of parenting characteristics on the development of a child's personality. Missildine's (1963) classification of parenting characteristics and their effects on the adult personality were investigated using an experimental measure, the Inner Child Inventory (ICI), to assess perceived…

Young (N=38) and 2( older career changers in business-managerial occupations were compared to 45 young and 40 older vocationally stable controls with respect to several characteristics. Results showed career changers were characterized by high incongruity, emotional maladjustment, and fear of failure, and low differentiation and consistency of…

Surveyed 928 older Bostonians and found a negative correlation between age and alcohol consumption among older adults. Retrospective data suggest that there are cohort or generational patterns of drinking behavior by older adults. Survey provides no insight into the historical factors which account for the differences in alcohol use. (Author/JAC)

This article describes a six-session career development program for adults. The theoretical basis and rationale for various activities are included, along with some suggestions of ways of adapting standard career materials to meet the needs of an adult clientele. (Author)

Research on personality and aging has been limited by several factors, including nomethetic assumptions about traits; overreliance on morale scales as measures of adaptation; and the confounding of cohort, time of measurement and age effects. An idiographic approach, which focuses on traits that individuals subjectively feel as important, may help…

Based on work with university students and on the psychoanalytic literature on Separation-Individuation it is hypothesized that for certain students the university milieu becomes a surrogate family. Graduation is a trauma-ridden experience akin to expulsion from one's family and is often accompanied by regressive behavior and clinical depression.…

This paper considers a number of variables in examining the roles of both formal and nonformal education in the process of acculturation among the adult Mayan Indians of Guatemala. (Author/EB)

The author maintains that mid-career changes should be viewed as a natural step in a career pattern rather than a radical shift that forsakes all that went before. She outlines some considerations for counselors. (Author)

Women face mid-life crises that are unique. The pattern of child rearing and return to work has inherent problems and women need particular help through counseling. (Author)