The development of life goals over the adult lifespan

Levels of goal adjustment in late adulthood

In this review, we argue that in late adulthood adults adjust their goals at three levels to cope with age-related challenges: At the highest level, they narrow their goal systems by selectively pursuing fewer goals from important life domains that are mutually supportive, by abandoning goals, and by focusing on agency protection. At the mid-level of individual goals, older adults show changes in goal content, goal importance, goal orientation, and goal focus, indicating, for example, a relative increase in intrinsic goals. Finally, but worthy of future investigation, older adults may show adjustments on the level of means and strategies for goal pursuit. Individual differences in such adaptations also contribute to differences in goal commitment, well-being, and psychopathology in late adulthood.

Emotion Regulation in Couples Across Adulthood

Intimate relationships are hotbeds of emotion. This article presents key findings and current directions in research on couples' emotion regulation across adulthood as a critical context in which older adults not only maintain functioning but may also outshine younger adults. First, I introduce key concepts, defining qualities (i.e., dynamic, coregulatory, bidirectional, bivalent), and measures (i.e., self-report versus performance-based) of couples' emotion regulation. Second, I highlight a socioemotional turn in our understanding of adult development with the advent of socioemotional selectivity theory. Third, I offer a life-span developmental perspective on emotion regulation in couples (i.e., across infancy, adolescence and young adulthood, midlife, and late life). Finally, I present the idea that emotion regulation may shift from "me to us" across adulthood and discuss how emotion regulation in couples may become more important, better, and increasingly consequential (e.g., for relationship outcomes, well-being, and health) with age. Ideas for future research are then discussed.

Adjustment and maladjustment to later life: Evidence about early experiences in the family

Introduction

Previous parenting studies with European-American families have identified optimal parenting as being based on warmth combined with strictness (i.e., authoritative parenting). The present study analyzes, in adolescents and adults, their adjustment and maladjustment related to age and their early experiences in the family.

Methods

The sample consisted of 2,158 Spanish people (58.29% women): 624 adolescents, 630 young adults, 504 middle-aged adults, and 400 older adults. The families were classified into one of the four parental typologies (authoritative, indulgent, authoritarian, and neglectful) based on their scores in the two main dimensions (warmth and strictness). Child functioning was measured as components of adjustment (self-esteem, emotional self-concept, and empathy) and maladjustment (aggression and hostile sexism).

Results

Overall, only adolescents and adult children raised in indulgent families reported the highest self-esteem, emotional self-concept, and empathy, and the lowest aggression and hostile sexism. Authoritative parenting (warmth with strictness) was related to a lower emotional self-concept and greater aggression and hostile sexism than indulgent parenting (warmth without strictness). The worst scores corresponded to authoritarian and neglectful parenting.

Discussion

The present findings provide new evidence about early experiences in the family, even after parental socialization has ended. Interestingly, contrary to the main findings from classic studies with European-American families, only high parental warmth combined with low parental strictness (i.e., indulgent parenting) is always positive for greater adjustment and less maladjustment in all age groups.

OUP accepted manuscript

There is no theoretical framework to guide society to enhance social capital among older adults in the Decade of Healthy Aging. This article aims to advance scholarship by providing a theoretical framework for promoting social capital for healthy aging using timebanking as a case illustration. We provide an integrated theoretical framework to enhance social capital for healthy aging by incorporating 3 core elements: (a) facilitating emotional meaningfulness via social participation for older adults, (b) incorporating older adults as coproducers in community development, and (c) nurturing an inclusive and equitable society. We further demonstrate the utility of the integrated theoretical framework for gerontologists by conceptualizing timebanking as an intervention for enhancing social capital in an aging society.