1) Early adulthood is a time of new commitments as young adults transition from dependence to independence and assume adult roles and responsibilities. 2) Physical development peaks in early adulthood but then begins a slow decline, while cognitive abilities remain strong but also start showing signs of decline. 3) Establishing intimate relationships and forming commitments to others through careers and families are important developmental tasks during this period.

2. The
"Settling-down age"
Childhood and adolescence are the periods of
"growing up" and adulthood is the time for
"settling down“.
In past generations, it was assumed that when
boys and girls reached the age of legal
maturity, their days of carefree freedom was
over and the time had come to settle down
and assume the responsibilities of adult life.

3. The "Reproductive Age"
Parenthood is one of the most important roles in the lives of most young adults.
Those who were married during the latter years of adolescence concentrate on the role of
parenthood during their twenties and early thirties; some become grandparents before early
adulthood ends.
Those who do not marry until they have completed their education or have started their life
careers, do not become parents until they feel they can afford to have a family.

4. Early adulthood
is a "Problem
age"
The early adult years present
many new problems, different in
their major aspects, from the
problems experienced in the
earlier years of life.
With the lowering of the age of
legal maturity to eighteen years,
young adults have been
confronted with many problems
they are totally unprepared to
cope with.

5. Early adulthood is a
time of commitments
As young adults change their role
from that of student and dependent,
characteristic of adolescence, to that
of independent adult, they establish
new patterns of living, assume new
responsibilities, and make new
commitments.

6. Physical Development

7. Physical
Development
Physical strength typically peaks in early
adulthood (the 20’s and 30’s)
Although physical changes are minimal during this
phase, the weight and muscle mass change as a
result of diet, exercise, pregnancy and lactation.
Growth and strength in early adulthood, then slow
process of decline afterwards
Decline affected by health and lifestyles

8. Physical
Development
Sensory sharpness peaks in early
20’s and then begins gradual
decline in middle adulthood
Visual acuity remains good until
middle adulthood.
Hearing decline beginning in late
20’s/early 30’s

9. Physical Development
• Changes in cardiovascular,
respiratory, and immune systems
gradually begin to decline.
• Regular exercise can increase
cardiovascular and respiratory
capacity.
• As people age, the immune
system produces fewer white
blood cells and the disease-
fighting ability of those that
remain declines.

10. Physical Development
• Fertility decreases as both sexes age.
Women
• After age 35, pregnant women are
checked for Down syndrome and
chromosomal abnormalities.
• Number of eggs in women is reduced
and the quality is not as good
• May still have healthy children into
their 40’s
Men
• Older men may contribute to
infertility as well.

11. Physical Development
Both sexes may be graying and losing hair by
the end of early adulthood
• Due to heredity, men may be bald by mid-
20’s.
Skin may begin to loosen, grow less elastic, and
wrinkle
• More so in women than in men

12. Health and Fitness

13. Health and Fitness
• Young adults tend to have healthy immune systems.
• Accidents most prominent reason for early death
• Further declines among 25- to 44-year-olds
• Cancer and heart disease kill a much larger
percentage of people aged 25 to 44 than aged 15
to 24, but they take second and third place behind
accidents
• HIV/AIDS becomes the leading cause of death
among 25- to 44-year-olds

14. Diet and Weight
• Females are more likely than males to report
dieting
• Being overweight runs in families.
• Strong heredity role
• Adaptive thermogenesis may sabotage weight
loss efforts.
• Psychological factors
• Observational learning, stress, and
emotional states contribute to obesity.

15. Eating Well
At every stage of life, diet affects future
development
Set point
A certain body weight that a person’s
homeostatic processes strive to
maintain.
Body mass index (BMI)
The ratio of a person’s weight in
kilograms divided by their height in
meters squared.

16. Exercise
• Adults 18+ need 30 minutes of physical activity five or more
days a week.
• Breaking exercise into smaller segments is beneficial
• Reduces risk of developing or dying from
• cardiovascular disease
• type 2 diabetes
• certain cancers such as colon
• Exercise helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol, prevents
or retards osteoporosis and arthritis, and reduces obesity.
• Benefits brain function and helps with some mental
disorders
• Integrating exercise into the daily routine is the best way

17. Stress and Health
• One-third of Americans report living with “extreme
stress” (APA, 2012).
• Stress negatively affects
• psychological and physical health
• social, academic, and vocational lives
• Younger adults respond to stress in unhealthy ways.
• Skipping meals, lying awake at night, smoking
more when stressed

18. Stress Management Tips
Get in touch with the
ways you experience
stress
Identify stressors such
as people and
situations.
Get in touch with the
way you handle or
don’t handle stress.
Work on creating
better ways to cope
with stress.
Take care of your
health.
Obtain social support

19. Sexual Development

20. Sexual Development
• Sexual activity peaks in early 20’s
• Sexual frequency may be due to surge of hormones and
opportunity.
• Men and women are still experiencing the flood of sex hormones
that affected them as adolescents

21. Sexual Activity
• The sexual-reproductive system is
especially vigorous during emerging
adulthood.
• The sex drive is powerful, infertility is
rare, orgasm is frequent, and birth is
easy, with fewer complications in the
early 20s than at any other time.
• Sexual-reproductive characteristics are
produced by sex hormones, which peak
in both sexes at about age 20.

22. Emotional Stress
• One consequence of current sexual patterns may be emotional
stress as relationships begin and end.
• Attitudes about the purpose of sex (Laumann & Michael):
• Reproduction
• Relationship
• Recreation
• If partners have differing ideas about the purpose of sex or the
nature of gender, emotional pain and frustration can occur.

23. Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
• STIs have always been present but the rate has reached epidemic
proportions due to sexual patterns.
• Best way to prevent STIs is lifelong monogamy.

24. Sexually Transmitted
Infections (STIs)
• Chlamydia
• Most commonly occurring STI in
young adults followed by gonorrhea,
genital warts, genital herpes, syphilis,
and HIV/AIDS
• 2.8 million new Chlamydia infections occur
each year.
• Major cause of pelvic inflammatory
disease (PID), which oftentimes leads
to sterility

25. Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
• Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)
• Major cause of genital warts and associated with cervical cancer
• A vaccine is available that prevents most young women from being infected
• Genital warts not visible on the cervix in women or in the urethra in men
• Greatest risk
• Women initiating sex prior to age 18 and engaging with multiple partners

26. Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
• HIV/AIDS
• Most devastating STI
• If left untreated, is lethal; long-term prospects of those who do receive treatment unknown
• 33 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS
• 2.5 million are children under the age of 15
• Risk factors
• Anal intercourse
• Injecting drugs by sharing needles
• Multiple sex partners
• Failing to use condoms
• Abusing drugs and alcohol

29. Menstrual Problems
50 to 75% of women experience discomfort prior to or during menstruation.
Dysmenorrhea
• Pelvic cramps
• May be brought on by hormones called prostaglandins
• Fluid retention in the pelvic region may cause bloating
Amenorrhea
• Absence of menstruation and a sign of infertility
• Symptom of anorexia nervosa and extreme exercise
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
• Combination of biological and psychological symptoms affecting women during the four- to six-day interval
preceding menstruation

30. Menstrual Problems
•More severe than PMS; a technical term used by American Psychiatric Association
Premenstrual Dysphoric
Disorder (PMDD)
•psychological discomfort, muscular tension, aches, or pains; cause of PMS may be
due to body’s responses to changing levels of estrogen and progesterone; linked
with imbalances in neurotransmitters such as serotonin and GABA
Premenstrual symptoms
include
•exercise, dietary control, vitamin supplements, hormone treatments, and
medications that reduce anxiety or increase the activity of serotonin
Treatment includes

31. Cognitive Development

32. Cognitive Development
• People are at the height of cognitive ability during
early adulthood
Improvements
• People retain verbal skills and may improve
vocabulary and general knowledge as they age
• Crystallized intelligence increases with age
Declines
• Memory shows great decline as we age
• Problem-solving speed and visual-spatial skills
decline as we age.
• Fluid intelligence more likely to decrease with
age

33. Beyond Formal
Operational Thought:
Postformal Thought
Piaget’s theory of cognitive
development ended with formal
operations, but it is possible that other
ways of thinking may develop after (or
“post”) formal operations in adulthood
(even if this thinking does not constitute
a separate “stage” of development).
Postformal thought is practical, realistic,
and more individualistic, but also
characterized by understanding the
complexities of various perspectives.

34. Postformal
Thinking
• Young adults are less egocentric than
adolescents.
• Young adults more relativistic but ideally capable
of making commitments in their relativistic world
• Young adults maintain most of the benefits of
their general secondary education; if gone on to
higher education, they have gained specialized
skills
• No scientific agreement if there is a stage past
Piaget’s formal operations

35. Perry’s
Theory of
Epistemic
Cognition
One of the first theories of cognitive development in
early adulthood originated with William Perry (1970),
who studied undergraduate students at Harvard
University.
Perry noted that over the course of students’ college years,
cognition tended to shift from dualism (absolute, black and
white, right and wrong type of thinking) to multiplicity
(recognizing that some problems are solvable and some
answers are not yet known) to relativism (understanding the
importance of the specific context of knowledge—it’s all
relative to other factors).
Similar to Piaget’s formal operational thinking in
adolescence, this change in thinking in early adulthood is
affected by educational experiences.

36. Perry’s Theory of
Epistemic Cognition
• Epistemic cognition
• Concerns our ideas about how we arrive
at our beliefs, facts, and ideas
• College students’ views on what and how they
know something becomes more complex as
they are exposed to the challenges of college
thought.
• College exposure consists of learning material,
but also learning different cultures and
backgrounds as well as different views taught
by professors.
• Students move from dualistic thinking to a
more relativistic thinking to commitment as
they mature.

37. Dialectical Thought
In addition to moving toward more practical
considerations, thinking in early adulthood may
also become more flexible and balanced.
Abstract ideas that the adolescent believes in
firmly may become standards by which the
individual evaluates reality.
Some adults may move even beyond the
relativistic or contextual thinking described by
Perry; they may be able to bring together
important aspects of two opposing viewpoints
or positions, synthesize them, and come up with
new ideas. This is referred to as dialectical
thought and is considered one of the most
advanced aspects of postformal thinking

38. Labouvie-Vief’s Theory of
Pragmatic Thought
• Pragmatic thought
• Adults must narrow possibilities into choices
(Labouvie-Vief, 2006)
• Cognitively healthy adult is more willing to
compromise and cope with the world as it is
• Cognitive-affective complexity
• The harboring of both positive and negative
feelings about career choices, partners
(Labouvie-Vief, 2006)
• Adults function best when they can accept
reality but choose goals that allow positive
feelings.

39. Labouvie-Vief’s
Theory of Pragmatic
Thought
Pragmatic thought refers
to the ability to think
practically and adaptively
in real-life situations. It
involves considering
multiple perspectives,
weighing pros and cons,
and making decisions
based on practicality and
feasibility.

40. Career Development

41. Choosing a Career
• Particular occupation may not be chosen until
college years or after
• Most career choices based on experiences
and personalities
• Some follow respected members of the
community
• Some young adults postpone career
decisions until after college
• Many young adults “fall into” careers due to
what is available at the time, family pressures,
or the lure of high income or a particular
lifestyle.

42. Career
Development
• Work provides extrinsic and intrinsic
motives.
• Extrinsic motives
• Paycheck, fringe benefits, security
• Intrinsic motives
• Opportunity to engage in stimulating
and satisfying activities
• Includes work ethic, self-identity, self-
fulfillment, self-worth, socialization, and
public roles

43. Super’s Stages of Career Development
Donald Super influenced the idea that developing a sense of self and realize that you change over time is important when
planning your career.
1. Growth/Fantasy stage
• Involves child’s unrealistic conception of self-potential and of the world of work
• Dominates until age 11
2. Exploration/Tentative choice stage
• From age 11 to 17, the focus is on some realistic self-assessment and knowledge of occupations
• Based on interests, abilities, limitations, and glamour
3. Establishment/Realistic choice stage
• Choices become narrow after age 17 as student weighs job requirements and rewards against interests, abilities, and
values
• Entry-level skill building and stabilization through work experience

44. Super’s Stages of Career Development
4. Maintenance stage
• Person settles into career role, which normally occurs in the second half of our 30s
• Career continues to develop, and there is a feeling of moving forward
• Job hopping more necessary due to corporate downsizing, mergers, and acquisitions
• Return to school for different training; may need to occur out of necessity as well as
interest
5. Decline/Retirement stage
• Individual severs bonds with the workplace; retirees often undertake second or third
careers
• Reduced output, prepare for retirement

45. Developmental Tasks in a Beginning Career
Career challenges may include:
• learning how to carry out the job tasks
• accepting your subordinate status within the organization or
profession
• learning how to get along with coworkers and supervisor
• showing that you can maintain the job, make improvements, and show
progress
• finding a sponsor or mentor
• defining the boundaries between the job and other areas of life
• evaluating your choice in the light of supervisor appraisal
• measurable outcomes
• learning to cope with the daily stressors

46. Early Adulthood: Social and
Emotional Development

47. Developmental Tasks of
Early Adulthood
Robert Havighurst describes some of the
developmental tasks of young adults. These
include:
1. Selecting a mate
2. Achieving a masculine or feminine social role
3. Learning to live with a marriage partner
4. Starting a family
5. Rearing children
6. Managing a home
7. Getting started in an occupation
8. Taking on civic responsibility
9. Finding a congenial social group

48. Separation

49. Separation
• Young adults leave home at different ages and for
different reasons.
• Healthy for young adults to separate from their
parents
• Some young adults may live at home longer to save
money until they can live on their own.
• Young adults who go away to college often have a
room at their parents’ home.
• Even some college graduates may return home to live
for financial reasons

50. Separation
(cont’d)
• Young adults in the military have housing
needs taken care of; rupture from home and
neighborhood is sudden and complete
• Many working young adults live at home for
financial reasons.
• Not uncommon for some young adults to get
married and then move in with one set of
parents
• Sometimes tolerant parents will let unmarried
child move in with them along with a boyfriend
or girlfriend

51. Separation -
Individuation
• Individuation
• Becoming an individual by means of integrating one’s own value
and beliefs with those of one’s parents and one’s society
• Men
• Most men consider separation and individuation key goals to
personality development
• Males more likely to show struggle or fight for independence
• Women
• Most women consider social relationships of primary importance
• Employment and financial independence lessen feelings of
connectedness with parents.
• College maintains these feelings

52. Intimacy versus
Isolation

53. Intimacy versus
Isolation
• Erikson (1963) saw establishment of
intimate relationships key “crisis” of
early adulthood
• Young adults with firm identity seek
to fuse relationships into marriage
or abiding friendships.
• Erikson believed it is difficult to
commit to others until ego identity
is achieved.
• Erikson believed it was normal to
develop intimate relationships and
bear children within a generally
stable and nurturing environment
during early adulthood.

54. Seeking Intimacy:
Erikson’s View of Young Adulthood
• Erikson explains that during early adulthood,
individuals are in the stage of intimacy-versus-
isolation during which individuals focus on
intimate relationships with others.
• Individuals are confronted with issues related to
degrees of selflessness, sexuality, and devotion.
• Those who are unsuccessful resolving the crisis
of this stage are often lonely, isolated, and
fearful of relationships.
• Those who are successful resolving the crisis are
able to form intimate relationships with others
on a physical, intellectual, and emotional level.
54

55. Attraction and Love:
Forces That Bind?

56. Attraction and Love:
Forces that Bind?
• In developed nations, young adults are
free to choose with whom they will
associate as well as with whom they
will develop romantic relationships.
• Attraction and love
• The emotional forces that fuel
these associations

57. Attraction
• Attraction: psychological forces that draw people together
• Physical appearance is the key factor in consideration for partners for dates, sex, and long-
term relationships.
• Culture is a determinant as to which qualities are attractive
• In some African tribes, long necks and round, disk-like lips are signs of feminine beauty.
• In U.S., taller men are considered more attractive by women.
• In U.S., there is pressure for both males and females to be slender.
• Experiments in which men rated the same woman as being more attractive when her
photograph was shown against a red background as compared with white, gray, and a
variety of other background colors

58. Sex
Differences in
Perceptions of
Attractiveness
• Women are more attracted to socially dominant
men than men are attracted to socially dominant
women.
• Outgoing men found to be more attractive
• Men put off by outgoing, self-expressive women
• Tall women not seen as attractive; opposite true
for tall men

59. Are
Preferences
Concerning
Attractiveness
Inborn?
• Evolutionary psychologists maintain certain traits more
attractive due to reproductive advantage
• Cleanliness, good complexion, clear eyes, good teeth, good
hair, firm muscle tone, and a steady gait universally
appealing to both sexes
• Possibly markers of reproductive potential
• Biological clock limits females’ reproductive potential
• Physical characteristics associated with women
• Ability to provide for family associated with men

60. The
Attraction-
Similarity
Hypothesis:
Do “Opposites
Attract” or
“Do Birds of a
Feather Flock
Together”?
• Attraction-similarity hypothesis
• People develop romantic relationships with
others who are similar to themselves in
attractiveness and other traits.
• Opposites do not attract
• People in committed relationships are most
likely to be similar to their partners in attitude
and cultural attributes.
• Partners are like us in race and ethnicity, age,
level of education, and religion

61. Reciprocity: If You Like
Me, You Must Have
Excellent Judgment
• Reciprocity
• When we feel admired
and complimented, we
tend to return these
feelings and behaviors.
• Important determinant of
attraction

62. Forging Relationships:
Intimacy, liking and
loving during early
adulthood.

63. The
Components of
Happiness:
Fulfilling the
Psychological
Needs
63
Culture impacts what psychological needs are most
important—in the United States satisfaction with
experiences related to the self hold primary importance.
Components of happiness during early adulthood tend to
be related to psychological needs and not material ones.
Feelings of independence, competence, self-esteem, relation
well to other people, being chosen for a job, develop a deep
relationship, moving into their own path.

64. The Social
Clocks of
Adulthood
64
Each person has a psychological
timepiece which records the major
milestones of one's life.
Social clocks used to be relatively
uniform across people.
In today's society social clocks are
more heterogeneous—the clocks of
women have changed dramatically.

65. Women’s
Social
Clocks
65
There are patterns of development in the female personality:
women become increasingly more self-disciplined and
committed to duties as they age and feel more independent
and confident and are better able to cope with stress and
adversity.
Traditional feminine behavior increases from 21 to 27 years old.
(the increase and decrease was found to be related to level of
involvement with children during certain periods of life). Less
tradition roles when the children grow up.
As long as a woman selects a social clock that is socially
acceptable, her personality is not adversely impacted.

66. Friendship
Friendships include reciprocity, compatibility,
respectability & proximity.
– Reciprocity: mutual helping & support
– Compatibility: feeling tone of relationship
– Respectability: emphasizing role modeling &
values
– Proximity: frequency of interaction in
duration of relationship
Relationships need to provide individuals
with emotional support & stability
66

67. Falling in Love: When
liking Turns to Loving
The stimulus-value-role theory explains that there is a
similar progression to most relationships and that
progression goes through three stages:
• the stimulus stage is when relationships are
built on surface, physical characteristics;
• the value stage occurs between the second and
seventh encounter and is characterized by
increasing similarities of values and beliefs;
• the role stage is when specific roles are
adopted by each individual.
This theory has had some critics who believe that
not all relationships follow this very specific pattern.
67

68. Love as Appraisal of
Arousal
• Love
• State of intense physiological arousal
• The cognitive appraisal of that arousal
• Perception of being in love consists of
1) state of intense arousal that is
connected with an appropriate love
object
2) cultural setting that idealizes romantic
love
3) attribution of arousal to feeling of love
for the person

69. Sternberg’s Theory:
The Three Faces of Love
Sternberg explains that love is made up of three components:
• intimacy (encompassing feelings of closeness, affection,
and connectedness),
• passion (comprising the motivational drives relating to
sex, physical closeness, and romance)
• decision/commitment (involving cognition that one loves
another and the commitment to maintain that love on a
long term basis).
By considering these three components, eight combinations of
love can be formed (e.g., when all three components are
absent, nonlove is displayed; when all three components are
present, consummate love is displayed).
69

70. Sternberg’s Triangular
Theory of Love
• Sternberg’s (2006) “triangular love” theory consists of three building
blocks
1) Intimacy — the experience of warmth toward another person that
arises from feelings of closeness and connectedness, and the desire
to share one’s innermost thoughts
2) Passion — intense romantic or sexual desire, accompanied by
physiological arousal
3) Commitment — desire to maintain the relationship through good
times and bad
• In this theory, couples are well matched if they possess corresponding
levels of passion, intimacy, and commitment

72. Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love (cont’d)
Being in love
• Refers to states
of passion;
friendship is
based on shared
interests, liking,
and respect; do
not necessarily
overlap
Romantic love
• Has passion and
intimacy but
lacks
commitment
Fatuous love
• Has passion and
commitment
but lacks
intimacy;
usually dies
down when
couple realize
they’re not well
matched
Consummate love
• Relationship
with passion,
intimacy, and
commitment

78. Filtering Models:
Sifting Out a Spouse
• People put potential mates through filters,
first looking for factors relating to broad
determinants of attractiveness and
eventually looking for more specific and
defined determinants of compatibility;
compatibility is often determined by
homogamy (the tendency to marry
someone who is similar in age, race,
education, religion, and other basic
demographic characteristics);
• The marriage gradient also impacts
perceived compatibility.
78

79. Attachment Styles
and Romantic Relationships
The influence of one's attachment style during
infancy affects romantic relationships later in life. For
example:
• Infants with a secure attachment status tend to grow
up to be adults who readily enter into relationships and
feel positive about the future of the relationship.
• Infants who display an avoidant attachment status
tend to grow up to be adults who are less invested in
their relationships, break up with mates more often and
often feel lonely.
79

80. Gay and Lesbian
Relationships
• Homosexuals and heterosexuals identify similar
characteristics of a successful relationship and seek out
the same qualities in their relationships (e.g., long term,
loving relationships)
80

81. The Course of Relationships

82. Marriage and other
Relationship Choices
• During adulthood, couples can
• cohabit,
• get married,
• or remain committed while not sharing a living
space;
• Cohabitation is becoming more common with young
adults who choose cohabitation over marriage because:
• they are not ready for a lifelong commitment,
• they are "practicing" for marriage,
• they reject the institution of marriage,
• they think spending one's life with one person is
unrealistic.
• Chances for divorce are somewhat higher in those that
cohabit.
82

83. Marriage and other
Relationship Choices
• Marriage is the preferred way to share a relationship during early
adulthood.
• Couples decide to marry because:
• it is the logical step in a loving relationship,
• it is the "right thing to do" after reaching a particular age,
• of the roles the spouse can fill,
• it is the only widely accepted way of having children in our
culture.
• Fewer people are married now than in the last century due to
increase in divorce rates and decisions to postpone marriage.
83

84. Types of
Marriage
•Marriage between one person and another person
Monogamy
•Person has more than one spouse (of the other sex) and is permitted
sexual access to each of them
Polygamy
•Males are permitted to have multiple wives as in Islamic societies
Polygyny
•Families of the bride and groom more or less arrange the union of their
children; found in traditional societies such as modern-day India
Arranged marriage
•Marriage between two males or two females
Gay marriage and Civil Unions

85. Whom Do We
Marry: Are
Marriages Made in
Heaven or in the
Neighborhood?
• Cinderella’s story is an exception to the
rule
Young adults tend to
marry others from the
same area and social
class.
• Similar in height, intelligence,
educational level, religion, even similar
in alcohol and tobacco use
Young adults marry
others similar in physical
attractiveness,
background, and
interests.
• “Like marrying like”
• These marriages tend to be more stable
Homogamy
• People marrying late or remarrying
tend not to select partners so close in
age
Age similarity prevalent in
young adulthood

86. What Makes Marriage Work
Partners in successful marriages:
• show visible affection for one another.
• communicate with little negativity.
• think of themselves as part of an
interdependent couple.
• and experience social homogamy.
86

87. Healthy Relationships

88. A relationship should be a source of
joy, support and friendship, and
should not cause
anxiety, insecurity or isolation.
A healthy relationship is based on:
Emotional Responsibility – Each person is responsible for his
or her individual happiness and sense of self-worth.
Mutual Respect – Each partner should be respectful of the
other in words and actions. Boundaries should be established
and then honored.
Trust – Trust creates a safe connection between partners
where each is affirmed by the other. Partners who trust each
other do not feel threatened by each other’s successes or joys
but rather encourage the other’s growth and success.
Honesty – Honesty goes hand-in-hand with trust. You should
not have to lie or hide things from your partner in a healthy
relationship.

89. Support – In a healthy relationship, your
partner should provide a shoulder to cry on
during tough times and celebrate with you
during good times.
Equality – Relationships are about “give and
take.” One person should not be fighting to
get his or her way all of the time.
Separate Identities – A healthy relationship
allows each partner to take personal time,
explore his or her own interests and spend
time with friends outside of the relationship.
Open Communication – Each partner should
feel safe discussing his or her desires,
expectations, needs and limits. Both
partners should feel free to express
themselves and talk through conflicts.

90. While healthy relationships are based on mutual respect, understanding, compassion
and individuality, unhealthy relationships are usually based on power and control.
Unhealthy relationships can be physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting.
Sometimes, unhealthy relationships can even become abusive.
There are many signs of an unhealthy relationship. It is not healthy if
you or your partner:
• Is consistently inconsiderate, disrespectful or distrustful.
• Is possessive or jealous.
• Trying to emotionally or financially control the other.

91. Keeping the other from getting a job or gets the other fired.
Humiliates the other online or in front of friends.
Threatens to out the other to family.
Is jealous of time spent alone, or with friends and family.
Constantly criticizes the other’s ideas or appearance.