Social Development in Adults – Library Article Summary

PSY/201 – Foundations of Psychology

October 16, 2011
Helen Tretiak-Carmichael

Social Development in Adults – Summary of University Library Article

The article chosen is entitled “Psychosocial Development From College Through Midlife: A 34-Year Sequential Study.” The article is relevant and creditable. The range of issues covered during the adult development phase of life and the additional study of Erikson’s theory the class has been studying over the last two weeks provides credence to the relevancy of the subject matter. This article would be an excellent reference for an assignment on the topic of Social Development of Adults. The study referenced in the article uses subjects found from the alumni of the University of Rochester in school from the 1960s through the 1980s whose contact information was obtained and solicited in a number of ways. The study spans a time of at least 35 years as well as a range of ages. The study focused on growth within “[t]he eight Eriksonian psychosocial issues” which it define as “…trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt, initiative versus guilt, industry versus inferiority, identity achievement versus identity diffusion, intimacy versus isolation, generativity versus stagnation, and ego integrity versus despair.” (Whitbourne, S., Sneed, J. R., & Sayer, A., (2009). The article provides psychological background on its subject material and its purpose of studying the growth of social development of subjects from college age to midlife (43 and 54). The article also provides information on how the participants were obtained, their range of participation, and their demographics. The study classifies the participants with several variables and provides explanation of how these classifications affect the study results. Some