Publisher's Synopsis
This 13-chapter text provides a comprehensive account of adult development and aging: covering the entire adult lifespan with extra emphasis on late adulthood. The book is divided into four parts: exploring the world of adulthood (introduction, metatheories and research methods); the world of body and mind (physical and cognitive/moral development); the social world (education, work, retirement and leisure, relationships and lifestyles, living arrangements, community support and caregiving); and the inner world (personality development, mental health, coping and successful aging, confronting death and bereavement).;All periods of adulthood are viewed with equal importance with the idea that they all provide important and challenging opportunities for growth and change, and each chapter begins with a biographical vignette about a well-known person (such as Betty Friedman and Nelson Mandela) whose life dramatizes important issues discussed in the chapter. These vignettes illustrate that adult development is not just a dry science, but a very human story. There is strong balance between theoretical, empirical and practical concerns and strong cross-cultural research - multi-cultural and multi-ethnic coverage is integrated throughout the text. Contemporary lifestyle variations are covered, including single parenting, dual earner families, homosexuality, grandparent caregivers and more.
