Sexual minority persons (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer) are likely to encounter "minority stress", such as discrimination, concealment, expectation of rejection, and internalized heterosexism. Minority stress occurs alongside one's lifespan and has considerable implications in the context of the career lifespan trajectory.…

This study examined longitudinal changes in coping and defense mechanisms in an age- and gender-stratified sample of 392 European American adults. Nonlinear age-related changes were found for the coping mechanisms of sublimation and suppression and the defense mechanisms of intellectualization, doubt, displacement, and regression. The change…

This article integrates the guidelines of American Red Cross and the "Psychological First Aid: Field Operations Guide" (Brymer et al., 2006) with adult development theories to demonstrate the promotion of adaptive functioning in adults after a disaster. Case examples and recommendations for counselors working in disaster situations are…

Argues against the position that the utilization of the more immature defenses increases as a function of aging. Examines empirical evidence pertaining to age-related regression of defenses, and discusses aspects of the biosocial context in which aging occurs that might influence the employment of various defenses. (JAC)

Discusses Erikson's theories on aging, Baltes and Baltes' concept of successful aging, and Warnick's work on counseling issues for successful aging. (SK)

The experience of marital infertility is a major biosocial life crisis that also represents a serious threat to the development of psychosocial generativity. Psychological studies of the consequences of involuntary infertility, however, are rare. A study was undertaken to identify variations in the coping patterns used by men who have experienced…

Investigated the extent to which leisure is more than a time-filler for adults aged 40 and older. Analyzes how leisure is a social space of relative freedom for expression, development, and community through the adult life course in relation to styles of later life coping. (Author/ABB)

Describes the creation of the University of Kansas Adult Life Resource Center and the mid-life concerns addressed by the center's workshops on the adult life cycle and on career change. (SK)

Presents the key elements for training counselors of adults: a perspective on aging; a transitional, life-events framework for counseling; and skills in teaching adults how to cope. (Author)

Studies show that people who volunteer are happier and healthier, perhaps due to enhanced social support, less self-focus, and fewer goal conflicts. Volunteering seems most beneficial for people whose social activities provide cognitive support for coping with major developmental challenges. (SK)

Although the literature links the presence of a confidant with successful adaptation to loss, and widowhood with a blurring of personal identity, the relationship between these two areas has seldom been explored. To examine the relationship between the presence of a confidant and adaptation in widowhood, 70 women from northeastern Connecticut who…

Examined by in-depth interviews lived experience of aging in 32 community dwelling adults aged 50 to 80. Identified 5 categories of coping activities. Findings suggest that individuals who believe they are coping successfully see aging as positive life experience, despite acknowledgment of negative changes in themselves and people close to them.…

This staff development module is part of one of three groups of career guidance modules developed, field-tested, and revised by a six-state consortium coordinated by the American Institutes for Research. This module is designed for adults in helping roles who are experiencing or anticipating life transitions affecting their careers, or who work…

Described a psychological autopsy analyzing deaths modified for analyzing marriage and separation. This interview and investigation technique was administered to a pilot sample of divorced, married, and unmarried adults. Significant differences were found between the groups on four of the six measured variables. (RC)

In-depth interviews were used to investigate how life is experienced by persons at age 85 (N=129) and again at 92 (N=41). Seven patterns of adjustment ranging from self-realization to withdrawal emerged, and heterogeneity remained at follow-up with some changes in the characteristics of the categories and in coping strategies. (Author/EMK)