Experiencing Young Adulthood

Caption: Human brain with mechanical cogs separating the left and right hemispheres.
http://quest.eb.com/images/132_1217547?subjectId=0&collectionId=0&keyword=cognitive+function&localizeMetaData=false 

Abstract

This paper first begins by explaining the development process of a 23-year-old adult male who is currently in the stage of early adulthood. Therefore, he is faced with the psycho-social crisis of intimacy vs. isolation. This paper goes on to explore the rewarding and challenging experiences that this particular adult is experiencing in this stage, along with coping skills and strategies they have used to overcome difficulties in previous life stages. Finally, an article regarding age-related declines in cognitive functioning will be examined. This article describes how neurobiological and cognitive aspects begin to decline in the stage of early adulthood.

Experiencing Young Adulthood

            The person I chose to interview for this assignment was my husband, Jordan. He is 23 and currently in the early adulthood stage. Erikson’s psycho-social crisis associated with this stage is intimacy vs. isolation. He is finding several aspects both rewarding and challenging during this stage. One thing that he mentioned to be rewarding is seeing the fruits of his labor. He explained how recently, he has been able to notice outcomes of his actions, in his own life and other people’s lives. One example he gave was helping classmates with problems or studying questions. Although this tends to be quite rewarding for him, he also faces challenges when those classmates come to him for help and he is unable to assist them. Another thing that he finds encouraging and difficult are achievements in his life. He feels a sense of fulfillment when he does these things well or right, but they can also be challenging to accomplish and go through. Finally, Jordan shared how balancing all the different aspects of his life poses a challenge. These aspects include school, marriage, family, and spiritual growth. Difficulty also arises when there are unexpected events, such as a death in the family, that throw off his routine and normal daily living, especially when these occurrences are monumental and influence many aspects of his life.

            When questioned about coping skills that he has utilized to overcome challenges in previous stages, Jordan alluded to a number of different spiritual strategies, such as reading the Bible and doing Bible studies specific to the current difficulty, praying, and fasting. He has also worked planting trees for a few summers, which is painstakingly hard work, and he talked about how he turned off all pain in his body by mentally shutting down his pain receptors. He explained how this was helpful for him as he was able to mask the physical pain in order to get the job done. Despite the fact that Jordan and I are currently in the same stage of development, our past experiences and coping skills are quite different. Although I also utilize my faith to overcome challenges, I often turn to family and friends for support. In previous stages, Jordan was also more involved in risky behavior, whereas I tended to play it safer. Jordan’s past experiences have helped him become more autonomous and trusting of others, as well as helped him gain a better identity than I have. I believe this to be the case partially because I was bullied, which caused me to become quite self-conscious and insecure.

            Although there has been relatively little published regarding the age at which cognitive decline begins, Salthouse (2009) believes that “some aspects of age-related cognitive decline begin in healthy educated adults when they are in their 20s and 30s” (p. 507). The article explains how a major discrepancy exists concerning the time course of cognitive aging, mainly due to inconsistent age patterns found in longitudinal and cross-sectional studies. One major reason for these contradicting trends is a result of masking age-related declines “by large positive effects associated with prior test experience” (Salthouse, 2009, p. 507).

            The article goes on to discuss a variety of neurobiological factors that are associated with cognitive functioning in young adulthood. Salthouse (2009) states, “among the variables that have been found to exhibit nearly continuous age-related declines in cross-sectional comparisons beginning when adults are in their 20s are measures of regional brain volume, myelin integrity, cortical thickness, serotonin receptor binding, striatal dopamine binding, accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles, and concentrations of various brain metabolites” (p. 507). Determining when age-related decline in cognitive functioning begins is essential for many reasons, and answering this crucial question “may also indicate which period in adulthood is likely to be most informative for learning about causes of age-related cognitive decline” (Salthouse, 2009, p. 507). According to Salthouse, the answer to this question is clear: Cognitive declines have been proven to begin in early adulthood.

 

Questions for Readers

1.     In your current stage of development, are you able to relate to any of the rewarding or challenging aspects Jordan is experiencing in early adulthood?

2.     What are some coping strategies you have personally used to overcome previous challenges?

3.     Salthouse believes that cognitive decline begins in young adulthood. Do you agree or disagree?

4.     Why do you think the age at which cognitive functioning begins to decline can vary from person to person?

References

Salthouse, T.A. (2009). When does age-related cognitive decline begin? Neurobiology of Aging, 30, 507-514. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2008.09.023