Life Stage Concepts across History and Cultures: Proposal for a New Field on Indigenous Life Stages

Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen

doi:10.1159/000453627

Cited by 30 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 79 publications

(94 reference statements)

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“…Is established adulthood a phase, period, conception, or life stage? For decades there has been a lively debate in developmental psychology over the usefulness of life stage concepts (Arnett, 2016;Elder & Shanahan, 2006). Until this debate was initiated in the 1980s, psychology had a long and unfortunate history of proposing universal life stage theories based on a tiny segment of the human population.…”

Section: Phase Period Conception or Life Stage?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Established adulthood: A new conception of ages 30 to 45.

Mehta

Arnett

Palmer

et al. 2020

American Psychologist

180

150

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In developed countries, the years from Age 30 to 45 are, for many, the most intense, demanding, and rewarding years of adult life. During this period of the life span most adults must negotiate the intersecting demands of progressing in a chosen career, maintaining an intimate partnership, and caring for children. Successes or difficulties in meeting these simultaneous demands have the potential to profoundly influence the direction of a person's adult life. As such, we believe that it is of critical importance to better understand this developmental period that we call established adulthood. This article provides a new theoretical conceptualization of established adulthood, outlining its distinctiveness from emerging adulthood and midlife in terms of physical health, well-being, cognitive development, and the career-and-care-crunch of competing work and family responsibilities. We also consider variations in the timing and experience of established adulthood, including variations by gender and social class, and provide suggestions for future research. As economic and social arrangements continue to evolve, so too will this developmental period, providing fertile ground for developmental theory and research. Public Significance Statement This article provides a new theoretical conceptualization of established adulthood, the period from 30-45. The article distinguishes established adulthood from emerging adulthood and midlife in terms of physical health, well-being, cognitive development, and the career-and-care-crunch of competing work and family responsibilities. Because successes or difficulties in handling the intensity of the intersection of work and family demands have the potential to profoundly influence the direction of a person's adult life, a better understanding of this developmental period may promote policy, programs, or therapeutic interventions to support established adults as they navigate what may be one of the most intense and demanding periods of the life span.

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Section: Phase Period Conception or Life Stage?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Established adulthood: A new conception of ages 30 to 45.

Mehta

Arnett

Palmer

et al. 2020

American Psychologist

180

150

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“…McLean and Syed (2015) further defined master narratives as including three types: episodic (e.g., 9/11), structural (e.g., redemption), and biographical-the latter of which is the focus of the present studies. Biographical master narratives concern the framework for how a life should unfold (see also Arnett, 2016;Bernsten & Rubin, 2004;Habermas, 2007). This can be conceptualized as both the types of events that should occur in a life in a given culture (e.g., graduation from school, marriage), as well as the expected timing of events (e.g., marriage before childbearing).…”

Section: The Master Narrative Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identity development in cultural context: The role of deviating from master narratives

McLean

Lilgendahl

Fordham

et al. 2017

Journal of Personality

102

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“…In particular, a biographical master narrative prescribes the types and ordering of events that should be present in one's personal identity narrative (McLean & Syed, 2015; see also Arnett, 2017;Habermas, 2007;Rubin & Berntsen, 2003), and individuals must negotiate their personal narratives within these cultural expectations. We build on this framework, introducing a novel examination of the ways in which master narratives are socialized, focusing on the domain of gender, and employing a perspective that seeks to 'reimagine' development, not as stemming from the relatively passive process of socializing dominant cultural messages, but as the dynamic and active engagement of individuals accommodating and resisting those messages (Rogers & Way, 2018).…”

Section: Personal Identity Development In Cultural Context: the Sociamentioning

confidence: 99%

Master Narratives, Gender Identity, Socialization Processes

McLean¹,

Syed²

2019

Preprint

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Gender Identity and Master NarrativesThe present studies focused on the role and socialization of biographical master narratives – cultural narratives that prescribe the types and ordering of events that should occur in one’s personal life identity narrative – by focusing on adolescent and emerging adult gender identity development. We employed a combined explanatory and triangulation mixed methods design. Study 1a (n = 414) was a survey study examining the expected biographical master narrative events for men and women, and the content of master narrative deviation and conformity in an emerging adult sample. In Study 1b (n = 14) we interviewed participants from Study 1a about their conformity and deviation narratives, as well as their socialization experiences regarding gendered biographical master narratives. In Study 2 mothers and adolescents (n = 11 pairs), engaged in conversation about expected life course events, as well as a follow-up interview about their conversation. We first found that there are more gender differences in the personal experiences of conformity to and deviation from master narratives compared to the expectations of the life course (Study 1a). Second, deviating is related to more engagement in identity processes (Study 1a). Third, emerging adults report contradictions in retrospective reports of socialization messages regarding expectations (Study 1b), a finding confirmed in a discourse analysis of mothers and their adolescents (Study 2). Overall, across the studies, we see that 1) adolescents and emerging adults are engaged in a delicate balance of negotiating between various cultural and familial messages, as well as personal experiences, about gender identity particularly in regards to gender equality and, 2) there is a complex relation between socialization messages about gender equality that may make some biographical master narratives about the expected life course events for men and women more resistant to change.

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Life Stage Concepts across History and Cultures: Proposal for a New Field on Indigenous Life Stages

Cited by 30 publications

References 79 publications

Established adulthood: A new conception of ages 30 to 45.

Established adulthood: A new conception of ages 30 to 45.

Identity development in cultural context: The role of deviating from master narratives

Master Narratives, Gender Identity, Socialization Processes

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