Personal intent and discourse considerations play an important role in understanding the nature of a conversation between a youth and an elderly person. Each participant makes assumptions about the listener's knowledge and ability to communicate effectively. The way a speaker reacts to the other participant depends upon the speaker's own…

A major purpose of this study was to identify the five most outstanding black scholars in the social sciences and humanities in the United States and to determine how they achieved eminence. The study focuses on their unfolding careers, the decisive events in their lives, interconnections in their life histories, and social interaction between…

Use of the term "crisis" to define the midlife era suggests a limited sense of choice and control. The term "transition," however, emphasizes a process of change and suggests that the individual has both choice and power to grow and develop. An open-ended questionnaire was sent to professionals (N=42) in medical, psychological, sociological, and…

Midlife crises require different behavioral responses for women who have made decisions about marriage, motherhood, and career. For women experiencing midlife crises, assertiveness training has the potential to resolve conflicts. Assertiveness training (AT) consists of three components, i.e., skills training, anxiety reduction, and cognitive…

Sexual attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors evolve throughout life. Today's older persons were socialized in an environment which viewed sexuality as a procreative activity reserved for married persons in the childbearing years, thus neglecting the interpersonal and individual aspects of sexuality. A sexual psycho-educational intervention was…

This paper uses twentieth century American fictional literature to examine middle-age male development. Two historical periods, post World War I and post World War II, were chosen to provide a wide data base which could be analyzed over time. With seven American literature professors' aid, works of literary merit with a middle-aged male…

Examined was the transition made by parents to the "empty nest" phase of family development. Two basic hypotheses were tested: children's growing independence and departure from the home does not represent loss for most parents, but rather is experienced as a gain; and men and women appear to experience the transition differently and…

This report on the proceedings of a workshop on the older woman presents purposes of the workshop, including the stimulation of interest by researchers in questions currently relevant to the lives of older women and the generation of future research agenda for the two sponsoring institutes. The following areas of concern are addressed: (1)…

This paper describes a university course on counseling women designed to provide an integration of: (1) a general cognitive understanding of women along psychological, physiological, sociological, and developmental dimensions; (2) a recognition and understanding of cognitive-developmental theory as a framework within which to counsel women; and…

Faculty attitudes toward older learners were studied using an adaptation of Kogan's (1951) attitude scale and methodology. Forty-nine faculty members from various colleges and universities in Ohio and Indiana were subdivided into two groups: those who had taught in a structured higher education experience aimed at people over 60 years of age and…

Using a transcultural perspective this model of the post-parental years assumes a "parental imperative" perspective of the entire life cycle and, thus, analyzes the post-parental years in relation to the pre-parental and parental years. Through this perspective, young parents recognize needs of infants for security, and select those…

With emphasis on the developmental psychology unique to adults, the author presents a comprehensive document of research and progress pertaining to adult learning and change. Section 1 reviews age cycles of adulthood as well as changing career patterns for men and women. Also examined are changes with age in leisure and interest patterns,…

Based largely on research in adult development and aging, these readings and discussion questions pertain to such aspects of development and adjustment in middle life as the following: individual differences in aging; biological changes through the adult years; changes in the physical senses (vision, hearing, taste, smell, touch, and pain)…

After a review of the literature on past and present vocational education programs conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and private industry, 5 methodologies for use in evaluating Indian vocational programs are discussed. Research needs are then suggested. First an assessment of vocational education programs offered in BIA…

An alternative to linear lifetime patterns is a more "cyclic life plan" in which time spent on education, retirement, and non-work time would be redistributed to the center of life in the form of extended periods of leisure or education. Demographic trends, developmental stages of adulthood, method of education, social opportunity and changes,…