After reading this chapter, students should be able to:

• Compare normative-crisis models of adult personality development with life events models
  
  
• Describe Erikson’s stage of generativity versus stagnation
  
  
• Explain Gould’s alternative explanation of personality development
  
  
• Describe Levinson’s seasons of life approach to personality development during middle adulthood
  
  
• Explain if the midlife crisis is a reality or a myth
  
  
• Explain whether or not personality is a stable or changing construct in middle adulthood
  
  
• Describe the nature of marriage during middle adulthood
  
  
• Explain the nature of divorce during middle adulthood
  
  
• Describe the tendency for remarriage during middle adulthood
  
  
• Describe the common evolutions of family life that occur during middle adulthood
  
  
• Describe the presence of boomerang children in the home of the middle-aged adult
  
  
• Explain the meaning of the sandwich generation
  
  
• Describe the nature of grandparenting
  
  
• Describe the prevalence of spousal abuse
  
  
• Describe the nature of abuse of wives by husbands
  
  
• Explain the cycle of violence hypothesis
  
  
• Explain how culture impacts abusive behavior
  
  
• Describe the relationship between middle adulthood and feelings about work and career
  
  
• Describe the challenges to career satisfaction
  
  
• Describe the consequences of unemployment during middle adulthood
  
  
• Explain why middle-aged adults switch careers
  
  
• Describe the reality of immigrants in the United States
  
  
• Describe the way the typical middle-aged American spends their leisure time