Life-Span Developmental Psychology: Normative Life Crises is a compilation of papers that deals with various points of view between the academic perspective - studies in developmental psychology and applied perspective - and the practical efforts of social workers to help individual clients. Part I discusses normative life crises from the two perspectives that include human behavior theory in social work education. This part also includes an interdisciplinary approach covering developmental, social, sociological, economic, and psychological fields. Part II covers the normative life crises in individual development such as discussions on death, ego development, and a practioner's response on models of ego development. The book also discusses an abstract model versus an actual individual experience in dealing with crises, as well as the meanings of adaptation and survival during old age. Part III presents the normative life crises in the family circle covering topics such as parenthood, sex roles, depression, widowhood, and an example of situational stress. Part IV deals with the normative life crises and the social system, including socialization, life course, changing work cycles, and public policy on death. This book will prove valuable for psychologists, psychiatrists, sociologists, social workers, and behavioral scientists.

List of ContributorsPreface AcknowledgmentsNormative Life Crises: Academic and Applied Perspectives 1. Normative Life Crises: Academic Perspectives I. Introduction II. Academic and Applied Perspectives: The Uneasy Interface III. Temporal Constraints: A Lesson from Practitioners IV. Contextual Constraints: Perspectives from Other Disciplines V. From Conference to Proceedings References 2. Normative Life Crises: Applied Perspectives I. Human Behavior Theory in Social Work Education II. Life-Span Theory and the Social TraditionNormative Life Crises in Individual Development 3. Is Death a Life Crisis? On the Confrontation with Death in Theory and Practice I. Purpose and Scope II. Death: Some Definitions and Interpretations III. Do We Die in Stages? IV. Death in Theory and Practice: Selected Problems References 4. Ego Development and Preferential Judgment in Life-Span Perspective I. Introduction II. A Critical Evaluation of Life-Span Ego Theories III. Metatheory for a Theory of Ego Development IV. Stages of Ego Development V. An Illustrative Empirical Evaluation VI. Discussion of Selected Issues VII. Summary Characteristics of the Proposed Scheme of Ego Development References 5. Formal Models of Ego Development: A Practitioner's Response I. Overview of Selected Issues II. Development: An Open-Ended Process III. Crisis Theory IV. Whither Theories of Ego Development and the Practitioner? V. Conclusion References 6. Adult Life Crises: A Dialectic Interpretation of Development I. Introduction II. Contradictions and Crises in Adult Life III. Conclusions References 7. Crises: An Abstract Model versus Individual Experience 8. Adaptive Processes in Late Life I. On the Nature of Crisis II. A Framework for Looking at Hypotheses Relevant to Discriminating between Successful and Unsuccessful Adaptation III. Empirical Illustrations of the Predictive Framework References 9. Adaptation and Survival: New Meanings in Old AgeNormative Life Crisis in the Family Life Cycle 10. Parenthood: A Key to the Comparative Study of the Life Cycle I. Adulthood and Parenthood: Neglected Topics in Psychology II. Sex Differences and the Parental Emergency III. The Normal Unisex of Later Life IV. New Life Styles and the Parental Imperative References 11. The Further Evolution of the Parental Imperative I. The Parental Imperative: Directions for Future Change II. The Parental Imperative: The Limits of Explanation References 12. Sex Roles and Depression I. Introduction II. Background and Methods III. Sex Differences in Depression IV. Disenchantment with Homemaking V. Occupational Strains and Depression VI. Summary and Conclusions References 13. Situational Stress: A Hopi Example I. Sex Roles and Depression: Cross-Cultural Findings II. Hopi Women and Stress III. Stress and Depression IV. Stress and the Life Cycle References 14. Widowhood: Societal Factors in Life-Span Disruptions and Alternatives I. Widowhood II. Widowhood in the Lives of Women III. Social Roles of Women in Modern Societies IV. Social Roles in the Lives of Widows in Modern Societies V. Summary and Conclusions ReferencesNormative Life Crises and the Social System 15. Adult Socialization: Ambiguity and Adult Life Crises I. Adult Socialization II. Social Learning Approach to Adult Socialization III. Anticipatory Socialization IV. Adult Life Crises V. Conclusion References 16. A Clinical Approach to the Theoretical Constructs of Failure and Normality 17. The Life Course, Age Grading, and Age-Linked Demands for Decision Making I. The Life Course II. Age Grading III. Age-Related Demands for Decision Making IV. Turning Points in the Life Course V. Conclusion References 18. The Changing Life Cycle of Work I. Introduction II. Hours and Income, 1870 and 1970 III. The Changing Work Cycle and Worker Dissatisfaction IV. Some Speculation about the Future References 19. Accommodating Old People in Society: Examples from Appalachia and New Orleans I. The Societal Perspective II. Retirement to the Porch III. Accommodation of the Old in Urban Settings IV. Accommodating Old People in Society References 20. Death and Public Policy: A Research Inquiry I. Background of the Problem II. Public Policy and Death: Needs of Future Research ReferencesSubject Index