Passing The Torch Sue Ann

Slide 1: Adult ObservationI Runninghead: ADULT OBSERVATION Passing Torch the PSY250HumanDevelopment, Spring2004 University of Alaska Southeast

Slide 2: Adult Observation 2 Absfract This case study provided a glimpse into the life of a youog adult participant's biosocial, cognitive and psychosocialdevelcpment.Infornation gatheredby obseruationand personal interview, cross referencedwith information provided in the fifth edition of T,heDeveloping Berger, (2001), confirmed that as the life PersonThrough the {,ife Spanby Kathleen Stassen spanprogresses importance experiertce cognitive development the of on continues be essential to to cognitive gpowth.The research the Big Five P€rsonalityTraits conducted on longitudinally by other researchers over the yearsis.confirmedin this study.This studyilluminated the possibility of adult/parentingskills that have raots or basis in observablechildhood behavior.Intepctive activitiesusedby the researcher suppof informationgathered thmugbthe interviewprosess,

Slide 3: Adult Observation 3 Passing Torch the For many young people,running through adolescence, long trek to adulthoodtums the into a race that they cannot seemto ruo fast enough.The furish line of adult freedomstaunts pize, awardedby the passage of them like a covetedpnze.They do not know that the venerated will be both a burdenand a joy to carry time, experience, the acceptance responsibilities, of and like a torch. How well their torch illurninates and that they will passit on to the next generation the lives of otherswill dependon the wisdom they useto light it now. The purposeof this case studyis to illuminate the rtniquea$pects young adulthoodbringsto the lifespanperspective. that The experience cognitive disequilibriumcanhavea profoundeffect on an individual if of employment,relationshipsand health take off in a different direction than previously expected, may result in a different look at Reflectingon changes what is important in life often changes. the road lesstraveled,and lives can changedirection. The view of one's purposecan come into sharpfocus,revealingnew horizoosand goalsto achieve.The influenceof a geneticpropensity for optimism, level of cognitive maturation,and wisdom gainedfrom psychosocial experiences of the individual can enableresiliency and direct a positive choicethat is in synchronywith the social construct. Succumbingto a negative downward spiral of despair.and self-defeating just as easily. Much of the success resiliency depends the of on behavior,however,can happen cognitive maturatinnof the young adult as well as supportaffordedthem by their family, peers, and society parentsas Young adults vacillate betweenbeing independent and becoming"theiroo of they juggle the demandsof financial stability, romantic relationships,parenthood,in-laws, amidst the many politics and practically everythingelse, and struggleto retain a sense-of-self roles they undertake the adult world. As the yearsseemto zip by andthey m61urs, mostyoung in

Slide 4: Adult Observation4 adultswill leam to pacethemselves they age.Changes skia and hair textureare someof the as in first signs of senescence seen,but as senescence inn reducedenergy and organ reserveas sets well as latent health problems can become apparent all too scon. Assessmentand active participation in health related facetsof adulthoodthat are addressed young adulthoodcould in havepositive outcomes many.Regularattentionto diet and exerciseand lifestyle canmakea for differencein comfort,mobility andhealthlater in adulthood. Adulthood ofTersmany options that can affect the quality of adult life as well as the quahty of life of the future gengrations. Responsiblechoices made during this stageof the lifespan are not necessarily easier than at other periods of development-The ability to opposition and instability is a skill most adults gain through acknowledgeand accommodate and useto influencenew perspectives influencetheir reactions experience, like milestones, that and choices.Whenfacedwith a situationrequiringmoral reasoning, Carol Gilligan contends that their questions morality from different directions.Shebelievesthat men and womenapproach of men approachwith a concem for rights and justice and women approachwith a concernfor When making moral judgments,young adultsmake determinations personalrelationships. using what l,awrenceKohlberg arguedwere a universaland invariablesequence stages cognitive of of development. Kohlberg's Stages Moral Development divided into threemaia levels,each of are and gaugesix stagesof moral reasoningfrom early childhood with two developmental stages, though late adulthood.Are tlrerecritical adulthood/parenting skills that havetheir roots or basis in observablechildhoodbehaviors,habitsand disciplines?This studywill look at aspects the of participant'seady childhoodandthe possiblecorrelationwith his adult behavior. Like the map of a racecourse, maturationprocessof the HumanBeing is predictable. the The courseof developmentis only a guideline, however, for there are many detoursand rest

Slide 5: Adult Observation 5 stopsalong the way. Somereaphadulthoodwith relative ease,somestruggleuphill for a long time, and somenevermakethe effort to reachtrue adult status.Thosethat do reachadult status coaxtheir light to shinewith the breathof their own generational stake,hold their torch high, and cast the light provided by their wisdoms and epiphaniesinto the shadows of the future generations- The purposeof this present study is to examine a participant who is currently engagedin young adulthood and will focus on where he falls in the continuum of adult development. Method Participant At the time of this studythe participant,referredto asNike throughoutthis study,was an year old Caucasian unmarriedtwenty-seven male who was six feet tall and weighed 150pounds and had no known diseases disabilities.Nike, clean-shaven dressed or and n€a:tly clothesthat in fit, presented relaxedand groomedimageeachtime the researcher with him. He had lived a met in JuneauAlaska for twenty-sevenyears and at the time of the study, he cohabitatedwith the mother of his biological-son,12 monthsold, and two stepdaughters, three and six yearsof age. Although Nike was unmarriedat the time of this study,he maintaineda committedrelationship witlr, Athena the mother of his son and did not differentiatebetweenhis natural child and his stepchildren,but parentedthem all as his own. Nike completedhis high school educationon time, and had supplemented edlcation with a correspondence his study couffiein electronics.At the time of this study, he was not engagedin formal education. Employed by the state governmenl Nike worked an average 40 hotns per week and fell in the middle-classincome of bracket.He ownedhis own car andhad moneyin the bank.Nike's parentsdivorcedwhenhe was twenty yearsold andboth of his parentssubsequently remarried.

Slide 6: Adult Observation 6 Procedure Observation. The researcher Nike for over an hour on two separate observed occasions. took placeat a joint birfhdaycelebrationfor his two stepdaughters, The fnst observation Psyche, who was celebrating third birthday,and Persephoneo was celebratingher sixth birthday- her who The party took place at a large child centeredfacility that focused on large motor skills. Approximately 2A children attended,as guests,with their parents.Psycheand Persephone's traveled&om out of statefor the girls' birthdays. biological father,Hades, togk placeat Nike and Athena's homewhere approximately The secondobservation ten children, ranging in age from four months to sixteen years, gatheredwith their parents to the celebrate first birthdayof Nike andAthenaos son,Cupid. Interaction. The researcher interactedwith Nike via three interactiveexercises, which took a total of 20 minutes,at a local restaurant wherethey met for lunch. The researcher related the story of Heinz, his sick wife and the druggistto Nike and posedthe question"Do you think Heinz shouldhavestolenthe drug?"Nike responded verbally.Nike alsorecordedhis response to two observational activities, "The Right Time for Life Eventso'questionnaire, usedto measure the participant's attitude towards sociefy's social clock and the Big Five Inventory (BFI-54), used to rnap the participant's lrrsonality traits. The researcherscored Nike's resllonses according specifi insffuctions. to ed Interview. The researcher. conductedan interview with Nike, which lasted 30 minutes atrdtook placeon a weekday,at lunchtime,at a local restaurant. posedquestions The researcher relating to adult life and focusedon aspectsof family life pertaining to parentingo marriage, physical and psychosocial health and the future. Although Nike glanced at his watch periodically, throughout the interview and lunch, he appearedrelaxed and attentive. The

Slide 7: Adult Observation 7 also consultedNike's mother through,personalinterview, for information regarding researcher his early family life and development. Results Biosocial Carriedto term, Nike was the eldestof four and the only male child in his family. He weighed8 pormds4 ouncesand was 21 inchesin length when he was"born.Nike's family modeledhealthyeatinghabitsandNike hasbeenirrterested the culinary artsfrom a young age. in Nike's motherreportedthat he was a healthychild with a normal amountof colds in his yolmger yearsas well as contractingthe chickenpox when he was ten yearsold. This healthy trend has from the age of eight and an active continuedinto adulthood.Nike was active in skateboarding form the ageof twelve to the present. the time of this study,he had neverbroken At snowboarder any bonesor beenin a seriousaccident. Nike's motherreport€dthat he was smallerthan most of his peerswhen he was fourteen years of age, but that by his sixteenthyear he had achievedhis adult heiglrt, and was taller or equalin proportionto his peers.Nike reportedthat he hadmaintained height andweight since his he was sixteenyearsof age-His Body Mass Index was between20 and 21, which was in the askedhow he felt abouthis normal arngefor an adult male of his height. When the researcher body, Nike responded he would like to gwn20 morepcunds.He had no eatingdisordersand that appeared be maintaininghis setpoint. He had nevertaken steroids.Regardinghis own firture to about a possible genetic trend in connectionwith his patemal health Nike was unconcerned and rmcleboth dying suddenlyfrom heartattacks.He statedthat he "didn't eat that grandfather bad" and that he felt he took good care of himself and thereare "a certainamountof things you can't control, [so there's] no usebeinga control freak aboutit.-

Slide 8: Adult Observation I Nike confided that he has a busy lifestyle and that his intsractionswith three active children provide regular opportunitiesfor bending, stretching,and brisk walking, although he Dwing the interviewingprocesses Nike revealedthat doesfind time in the winter to snowboard. yearsof age,and that presently he had beena "social smoker"sincehe was sixteenor seventeen he smokedapproxirnately cigaretteper weelqif he went out to a bar. A few grey hairs on top one of his head,and speculationaboutthe needfor glasseswere the only signs of senescence Nike had noticed.He reportedto the researcher he had no wrinkles, no hearingloss, and that his that reducedenergylevel in the mornigg wasprobably due to getting up at all times of the nigbt. He state{ *With kids you listen all night long, even if you are asleep."Nike appeared have no to fertility problem and a month beforethis interview had undergone vasectomywith no adverse a affect. Cognitive The strdy of adult cognitive development tetheredlooselyto clronological age.Adult is cognitive growth is multidirectional as well as multicontextualand the influence of experience has a profound effect on the cognitive development the individual, making each experience of valuablein someway. Nike's rnotherreportedthat he was an aboveaveragestudentthroughelementary, middle and his first years of high school. She also noted that he has always been interestedin organizationand liked to line his toys up in rows. As he moved through the school years,he would categorize them in tackleboxesfor storage, Nike brainstormed methodof storage, this she confided as a way to keephis small toys out of his youngersisters'hands. presented moral dilemmaof Heinz,his sick wife andthe pharmacist The researcher the to Nike and askedif he thougtrtHeinz should stealthe drug or not and why. Nike's response was

Slide 9: Adult Observation9 that *[Heinz should steal the drug], becauseHeinz would be honoring his commitmentto his wifeoto take care of her in sicknessard in health. If he were to be caughtand prosecuted, the judge would probably sentence him to makerestitutionpayments the druggist,which is what to he had wanted to do anyway." Nike's responsecorrelated with Level III, stage five of Kohlberg's Stages Moral Development of and showedthat by shifting the sourceof authorityto Heirlr,, Nike was operatingon the Principled or Postconventional Morality level. Stagefive is foundedon self-chosen principles and focuseson individual dghts' and the social contract.Nike had reachedthe seeondhighestleyel of moral development, accordingto Kohlberg, with stage six reserved the, rare,altnristic person. for Psychosacial At the time of this study Nike continuedto live in the samecity he was raised,and he maintaineda closerelationshipwith his parentsand threesisters.His motherreportedthat he was bom with an easytemperament was a securely-attached and child. Nike was an only child until he was 2.5 yearsold when his first sister was bom. Brother and sister shareda bedroomuntil Nike was 8 yearsold. He was 7.5 yearsold when he attended birth of his secondsister at a the birth center,and took an active role in the homebirthof his third sisterwhen he was 10.5years old. Nike's mother con{idedthat he madefriends easily and had close friends of both gender. She stated that his fine motor skills were highly coordinatedat a young age and that he preschoolenvironment, fransitionedsmoothlyinto a co-operative which he attendedfrom the age of four to six yearsand was a popularplaymate.Nike attendedpublic schoolkindergarten six at yearsand graduated from high schoolwhen he was 18 yearsof age.Nike hasbeenindependent and self-supportingsincehe movedinto his own apartment monthsbeforehe graduated six frorn throughouthis school years,although high school. He was a well-liked aboveaverage-studeat

Slide 10: Adult Observation l0 his mother repoded that his gradeswere not as consistentlyhigh tlroughout his high school career. Nike and his family lived a rustic lifestyle without runningwater or electricity until Nike was 14 years of age. Although Nike lived without the amenitiesof his peers,he had all the comfortsof his p€ers"as well as the benefitsof forest and beachto aid in his cognitive,physical and psychosocialdevelopment. tiving without television Nike and his family read books and engaged imaginativeplay with playmates were importedto his rural home. in that Nike has maintaineda joy" interactingwith chitdren and adultsthrough out his life. For examplehe inleraetedfreely with both adultsand children at his children's bitthday partiesand always knew where his daughtersand son were. The researcher observedseveralinsknces of this attentivefocus,at Cupid's party. was after Nike had beenin the garagesettingup more balloonsfor the One suchinstance adult dart-toss. Whenhe re-entered living area,he scanned room, and satdown on the rug the the and played with Cupid. "'Where'sPsyche?"he said to no one in particular,regainedan upright stance walked into the adjoiningbathroom,wherehe found Psychebusily rmrolling yardsof and toilet paper.The researcher Nike tell his daughter overheard "...peopledon't usethat muchtoilet pap€rwher they usethe potty, Psychg or it clogs it all up." Observations both birthday celebrationsrevealedNike was cornfortablein his adult at role with Athena as he sharedthe responsibilitiesof family life joyfrrlly, and was an attentive father'ilith eyesin the backof his head". providedNike with the Big Five Inventory, designedby Oliver P. John. The researcher The Big Five becomestablein adulthoodand remainquite stableas we age.Presuming test this was valid and reliable for adult white males of middle olass,Nike scoredhigh in all five-

Slide 11: Adult Observation11 personalltytraits. The scoringrangefor four of the five traits was between9 and 45. His lowest Nike scored in agreeableness, in emotionalstability,and44 42 39 scorewas 33, in extroversion. was between18 and 90. Nike's scorefor in conscientiousness. scoringrangefor openness The opeaness 81. was *right timeoo life events.He for Nike also participatedin a survey that focusedon the agreedthat the specifiedagerangewas appropriate only threeof the nine activities or events, in He which all relatedto later adulthosd.Nike verbally expormded his reasons disagreeing. for on oobest timeo'to marry, for either a man or a that there was an appropriateage for a disagreed ureallt''worked out that way. He believedthat woma4 and statedthat he did not believethat life the besttime to marry was when you found the right person.He basedhis disagreements the on conceptthat "real-life" was not confined to a timeline and that the best time to do things was clock. bettermeasured opportunity,ratherthanthe pressure meeta socially constructed to by Berger(2001) notedthat the 1991U.S. Bureauof Census recordedthe majority of adultsin has alreadydivorced. their twentiesandthirties arenot yet married,with a very small percentage At the time of this study, the researcherconcluded that Nike had passedthrough Development, stageof Intimacy vefsusIsolation and the Erikson's sixth stageof Psychosocial was in the seventh stage of Generatively versus Stagnation,in which adults seek to be productive.Nike was in a committed relationship,with his partner Athen4 and was actively home.Nike and parentingthree children, agesone, three and six yearsold, in a child-centered Athenahad recently decidedthat the time was right to mary and they had begunplanningtheir wedding.Nike reportedthat he was looking forward to purchasing moving his young family and into their own homethe following month.

Slide 12: Adult Observation12 Discussion The resultsof the studyindicatethat Nike had settledinto a comfortableecologicalniche and showeda oonormal" pattem of yormgadult development with exceptionsin his consistently high scoresin the Big Five Penonality Traits and his Postconventional thinking. The researcher concluded that Nike's emly, clo$e, involvement with his sisters could have had a strong influential impacton his cognitivedevelopment the psychosocial in domain. His rural upbringing coupledwith his easytemperament consistentexposureto the and feminine point of view had been"consistent throughouthis life at the time of this study. The found the possibility that theseinfluencesilray have contributedto Nike's high BFI researcher scoresintrigurng and was open to explore them through further study. Nike's rural upbringlng and imaginativeplay in the forestoas well as his early preschoolexperience, where children's play wasviewed as a "job'oalso seemed supportthe conceptof a long-range to impactof an early childhood influenceon adult personalityscores. Nike's penchantas a child for tlre organization of his toys might also be observedin his adult world by his well-ordered toolbox and his attentionto the welfareof his children.His closeinvolvernentwith the birth of his sistersandhis strongsupportivefamily connections might be manifestingin his adult life asemotionalstability. His easytemperament combinedwith his ability for openness new experiences to could account for his high score in agreeableness. score in extroversion,which is still above the mean, His might be explainedby his beingthe only male child in his family as well asbeing the first-bom. Nike leamedhavingthreeyoungersisters. Being assertive may havebeena survival technique broughtto young adulthoodfrom eady childhood,often hide in the The unique aspects shadows,if brought into the light they could enlighten our understanding ourselves.Some of uril cognitive development advanced a point asp€ctsseemto needto hide in the shadows to is

Slide 13: Adult Observation 13 where the young adult could look at the memories objectively. Some aspects seem to make the torch burn brighter. Nike and Athena brought strong familial support to their union as well as a strong network of friends, who were also family orientated. Neither Nike nor Athena had been married before and they were very committed to the welfare of their children. As Nike and Athena enter into a marriage contract life has the potential to take on a new dimension of intimacy and commitment. As Nike continues to age, he will be faced with new opportunities for creative problem solving, in the biosocial,.cognitive and psychosocial domains. Becausehe is conscious of his health, Nike could frnd it wise to look into preventative health measures. Based on the physical similarities between Nike's father and paternal grandfather, such as height and weight, the researcher concluded that Nike's physical appearancecorrelated with a strong genetic component. Nike's healthful eating habits and his interest in food preparation at an atypical young age, probably has influenced his diet, and what appears to be his set weight. Based on this familial similarity the researcher is concemed that Nike had not taken active steps to influence the course of his health in regarding heart disease.Nike could do several things, to reducehis risk of heart diseasesuch as regular medical check ups, regular exercise,avoiding the use of tobacco, continuing to limit his intake of alcohol and actively consuming heart healthy foods. The researcherwas not aware of any delays nor effects of delays in the participant's development. Nike's ecological niche will evolve as the years mn by and he could evolve as well, with the discovery of new interests and possibilities he was not aware of before. Nike and Athena's families emotional support will be a stroag asset in the coming years as their children enter

Slide 14: Adult Observation 14 adolescence. wilt bs tesfed m two teenagegirls and one prepubescent Nike's stoeagths boy becomeanxiousto run their own racesinto adulthoodandthe torch is passed. Engagingin this study illuminated the aaanngstabitity of personalitytraits. Given this little bit of light on the subject and the evidencepointing to the impact of early childhood influenceson later adult behardor, is unfortunateandunbelievable tlere are so many issues it that plaguingour world regardinglack of nwturing caregiven to the childrenof the world. As I concludethis research, reflsct on the responsibiliryeachone of us hasto bum our I torchesbrightly, andpasson the rryisdoms gleanfrom our experiences. havea tremendous we We responsibilityas Human Beingsto make the world a ktter place and learn as much as we can abouteachother.Whenwe do then we will find that we will alsolearnmuch aboutourselves.