Middle Adulthood 2

The Dictionary of Social Work roughly defines middle adulthood as the period between forty-five and sixty-four years of age. There are four main tasks in this stage. They include meeting intimacy and family needs, satisfying achievement needs, taking care of elderly parents, and coping with end of life issues. Erikson identifies the need for achievement during midlife, which fits into his stage of generativity vs. stagnation. Success in adulthood is defined by feelings of connectedness …

…is usually the time of greatest productiveness and fulfillment. Lynn has successfully achieved three of the four major tasks of development: she has met intimacy needs, family needs, and satisfying achievement needs. She is beginning the process of coping with end of life issues as she confronts her father's death. Lynn is well prepared for Erikson's last stage of the lifecycle: integrity vs. despair and she will certainly face her life choices with much integrity.