A validation study of 30 married females and 30 married males was conducted on a theoretical model of stages in interpersonal development developed by Bar-Yam Hassan (Bar-Yam Hassan & Bar-Yam, 1987). According to the model, the five stages of adult interpersonal development are: (1) Social Relatedness versus Self-Insistence, or need for Approval;…

This pamphlet examines menopause and the changes associated with it. Menopause is briefly described, surgical menopause is explained, and the relationship between menopause and the reproductive cycle is discussed. Signs of menopause are described, including hot flashes and vaginal and urinary tract changes. Postmenopausal osteoporosis is explained…

This handbook, written for counselor educators, first presents a brief overview of the Special Training Project on Counseling the Aging, funded by the Administration on Aging to produce training materials on counseling the elderly for use in preservice or inservice programs. The remainder of the handbook serves as a guide for conducting and…

Are there universal characteristics of adult thought? If so, how do they evolve and manifest themselves in cultures throughout the world? Piaget's formulation of formal operations is the best known and most extensively researched answer to the question regarding universal characteristics. Theoretical alternatives to formal operations differ in the…

The sequencing of four role changes marking the transition from adolescence to adulthood--exit from school, entry into the labor force, marriage, and parenthood--is reported. The research is based on data from a study of 8500 high school students in 10 Illinois high schools in 1957-58 (Coleman, 1961) and a 15-year follow-up survey of 6500 of the…

The effects of age, sex, and curriculum upon the cognitive performance of 20 college students and 20 college-educated elderly individuals were examined. Young adult participants (M=20.55) and elderly participants (M=67.85) were given a battery of formal operational tasks, a measure of field independence/field dependence, a short-term memory…

Theories and studies of adult development are largely confined to adult male career development and ignore a moral or faith dimension of adult development. To determine the faith and moral dimension of adult couples, three hypotheses were examined, i.e.,: (1) religion is a significant dimension in their consciousness; (2) the family is integrally…

Literature on adult life stages and career development is synthesized and placed within the perspective of a career cycle model for teachers as adult learners. The teacher career cycle is viewed as a progression affected by personal and environmental factors. The stages a teacher's career proceeds through (e.g., preservice, entry, growing, stable,…

Some researchers have suggested that there are developmental stages in adult life. If adult developmental stages exist, such stages would be reflected in one's career. Individuals would progress from their career dream when they first enter the work force through a period of stability, a mid-life transition period when they compare reality to…

A study of 60 adults, ages 23-38, was done to assess the fit of life-stages (periods during which adults of similar age face common problems, events, pressures, situations) identified by writers in adult development for these ages. Focus was on (1) creating a structured interview schedule to obtain data which should be age-related and (2) creating…

Piaget's egocentrism and Witkin's psychological differentiation are important constructs in theories of cognitive development. A comparison of these concepts could lead to an increased understanding of cognitive development in the older adult. In a test of Witkin's revised model of psychological differentiation, the Portable Rod and Frame Test…

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…

Simultaneous maximum likelihood procedures were used to investigate the generality of ability factor structure in adulthood and old age. Data were analyzed for 198 subjects aged 15-32; 173 subjects aged 51-67; and 153 subjects aged 68-83. Variables were 14 ability tests marking five cognitive factors: verbal comprehension, number facility,…

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…

These proceedings from the second conference on the Epidemiology of Aging sponsored by the National Institutes of Health indicate the direction of recent research and concern in this area. Attempts are made to formulate a definition of aging other than that of chronological age. A number of biomedical correlates of aging are addressed, including…