Adult development is influenced by very many factors some having been carried along from childhood to adulthood. This is so because development according to Wrightsman (1994) can be measured quantitatively (p.56). The research was conducted on both genders in their adulthood. One of the factors is finding a mate whereby many said that it mainly occurred against their wishes and with minimal support from their parents both financially and emotionally. This leads to getting children which could be accidental or by choice. Of the interviewees, the men claim to have been deceived into getting children while the women are majorly the masterminds behind this. This leads to conflicts between the parents and influences their religious beliefs at some point as some had experienced. Some said that they experienced intimacy fully while others’ worlds have collapsed because of lack of success in their marriages leading to isolation. The other factor is employment where some find vocations after studies while others are in post-graduate education which takes much of their early adulthood. Some work for the sake of their families making them feel in charge of everything. They work to establish a stable environment. Additionally, fears of inactivity and meaningless as per the research were evident with some interviewees especially in this hard economic period. They have become stagnant especially the men due to failure to get through this life successfully. Another factor is the conflict between desires and limits. Some men proved to be going through a very hard time balancing their budgets because of the changes in the financial situations. Buying of mortgages and the risk of losing home was witnessed. Some have withdrawn from the rest because of lose of a job making their lives hard to live. Others have found themselves changing careers at this stage, sexual orientation changes, divorces and re-marriages too were some of the things that some interviewees are in.
The factor of personal development was evident in the interview. Many have undergone psychotherapy, joined support groups and found new hobbies, which is a comparison also with the research. Re-socialization too is a factor that majored in the interview. Women mostly said to have let go old acquaintances and acquired new ones even getting new churches. Getting cars, change of philosophies, risking divorces and religious crisis too were evident with many if not all having had indulged in two or all of these. Many of the interviewees especially in the mid-adulthood and late-adulthood found themselves in addictions like books, alcohol and other drugs. Others are dealing with one or more illnesses and medical establishments. Culture change as a factor was too brought about by many of the interviewees in their late adulthood. They associated this with the pressure to join social media networks, more shocking adornments, change in music, and obscenity in language among others. The interview saw some looking back at their lived lives with despair while others with happiness and content feeling fulfilled with a deep sense that life has a meaning. Some seemed to accept death as the completion of life. Others despaired because of failures and thick experiences leading to the fear of death while struggling hard to find purpose to their lives at their end of lives.
There are community services that assist the old in the process of aging, illness, death and dying. These include among others: social care given by welfare departments that help in dealing issuing of material support as well as setting up of self help groups with others with similar problems. Enriched social clubs also help especially the disabled. They help in counseling and guidance, physical exercises as well as therapies. Others help in doing repairs in their homes. Other services include sheltered housing for elderly who are functionally independent. Medical accessories service helps the elderly to improve their functioning. Additionally, employment services help them that are unemployed to get a job that boosts their morale for life and help them die peacefully having achieved something in life and contributed to the society.
REFERENCES
Wrightsman, L. (1994). Adult Personality and Development: Theories and Concepts.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
