Age-related development in the period of adulthood

The aim of the contribution is to examine the peculiarities of age-related development of adults. In this context it introduces the notion of “age-related development”, discusses the principal differences of development in the period of adulthood from childhood development. It also examines the indices of quality of age-related development – integral satisfaction with life and viability. It is noted that there are two main approaches to age-related development of adults. The first is the research of development throughout the duration of life, i.e. tracing the smooth changes in various psychological phenomena and processes. The second is the research of dynamics of life events – evaluation of influence which essential events have upon a person (marriage, childbirth, retirement, etc.). The contribution pays specific attention to the role of age-related crises in the development of adults. It shows their interrelation with existence in our culture of a negative stereotype of old age, describes the specifics, including the interrelation between the person’s attitude toward lifetime and existence of the fear of future as a “launching” situation of an age-related crisis.

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