13.3 Generativity

According to Erikson, after the stage of intimacy versus isolation comes the stage of generativity versus stagnation, when adults seek to be productive in a caring way. Without generativity, adults experience “a pervading sense of stagnation and personal impoverishment” (Erikson, 1963).

Adults satisfy their need to be generative in many ways, especially through art, caregiving, and employment. Of these three, the link between artistic expression and generativity has been least studied (although creativity is recognized as an avenue for self-expression, as we will see in the next chapter). Here we explore what has been learned about the two other generative activities: caregiving and employment. Balancing care and employment to achieve generativity is not easy, as we also discuss.

Parenthood

Although generativity can take many forms, its chief form is establishing and guiding the next generation, usually through parenthood (Erikson, 1963). Many adults pass along their values as they respond to the hundreds of requests and unspoken needs of their children each day, thus becoming generative.

Parenting has been discussed many times in this text, primarily with a focus on its impact on children. Now we concentrate on the adult half of this interaction—the impact of parenting on the parents themselves. Bearing and rearing children are labour-intensive expressions of generativity, “a transformative experience” with more costs than benefits when children are young (Umberson et al., 2010). Indeed, having a child is perhaps the most stressful experience in a family’s life (McClain, 2011).

Adults who choose parenthood willingly cope with the many stresses that come with that role. As Erikson (1963) says, “The fashionable insistence on dramatizing the dependence of children on adults often blinds us to the dependence of the older generation on the younger one” (p. 266).

Caregiving Dads Fathers are often caregivers for their young children. Most developmentalists think that men have always nurtured their children, although in modern times employed mothers have made caregiving more crucial for men.

NICOLE HILL/RUBBERBALL/CORBIS

Children sometimes reorder adult perspectives, as adults become less focused on their personal identity or intimate relationships. One sign of a good parent is the parent’s realization that the infant’s cries are communicative, not selfish, and that adults need to care for children more than vice versa (Katz et al., 2011). This generative response does not always happen in the way that developmentalists would prefer. For example, a study of 91 gang members who became fathers found that almost all of them expressed new pride and priorities, but few quit their gangs and law-breaking ways (Moloney et al., 2009).

Four Generations of Caregiving These four women, from the great-grandmother to her 17-year-old great-granddaughter, all care for one another. Help flows to whoever needs it, not necessarily to the oldest or the youngest—although everyone cares for the youngest family member, the boy in front.

PHOTODISC

Every parent is tested by the dynamic experience of raising children. Many parents learn that, just when adults think they have mastered the art of parenting, children become older, thus presenting new challenges. Over the decades of family life, babies arrive and older children grow up, financial burdens shift, income almost never seems adequate, and, if the family includes several children, seldom is every child thriving. Illness and disability require extra care. Problems and stresses increase as family size increases. This is true worldwide, at least until the children are grown (Margolis & Myrskylä, 2011). As already mentioned, adult children usually bring their parents more joy than distress, but if even only one of them is troubled, middle-aged and older parents are less happy (Fingerman et al., 2012).

Chapter 8 explained that children can develop well in any family structure—nuclear or extended; heterosexual or same-sex; single-parent, two-parent, or grandparent. Can adults also thrive in any kind of parenting relationship? Roughly one-third of all North American adults become step-parents, adoptive parents, or foster parents. These non-biological parents have abundant opportunities for generativity, but they also experience distinct vulnerabilities as they meet the challenges of each of these routes to parenthood.

Grandparenthood can be another source of generativity and intimacy, depending on national policies and customs, gender, parent–child relationships, and the financial resources of both adult generations. Most adults become grandparents in their 50s or 60s, and grandparenthood continues for decades. Worldwide, grandparents believe their work includes helping their grandchildren, especially if the middle generation is in crisis, such as experiencing divorce or illness (Herlofson & Hagestad, 2012). This topic is discussed in detail in Chapter 15, which presents the experiences of many older adults who have grandchildren of various ages and needs.

Foster ChildrenParent-child attachment does not depend on biology. Some people become parents to foster children, who may have spent their early years with their birth parents. These children may remain attached to their biological parents—even if they were not ideally generative—for example, if they were neglectful or abusive. This can impede connection to foster parents. Furthermore, a secure new attachment is hampered if both adult and child know that their connection can be severed for reasons unrelated to caregiving quality or relationship strength. Such separations often occur with foster children who may be moved from one foster home to another, or back to the birth parent, for reasons unrelated to the adequacy of the foster parents (Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, 2004). As a result, adults who are not the birth parents face the dilemma of “whether to ‘love’ the children or maintain a cool, aloof posture with minimal sensitive or responsive interactions” (St. Petersburg–USA Orphanage Research Team, 2008). A loving bond is better for both the foster parent and the child, but if that forms, separation is painful to both.

Step-ParentingAdults become step-parents when they marry someone who had children from a previous relationship. It can be challenging for step-parents to form connections with stepchildren. For example, children may be jealous that they no longer have their custodial parent’s sole attention; they may resent an outsider’s interference; and/or they may feel that that they are betraying their non-custodial parent by forming a close connection with a step-parent. In addition, step-parents may have unrealistic expectations about the kind of relationship they will form with their stepchildren (Ganong et al., 2011).

Yet, children may benefit from a step-parent’s love, guidance, and perspective. For example, studies have shown that many men become “social fathers,” providing fatherly care to children who are not their genetic progeny, benefitting both generations (Bzostek, 2008). The personality of the adults and the nature of the new marriage determine step-parents’ connection with their stepchildren and affect whether a family will weather storms (Ganong & Coleman, 2004).

AdoptionMost adoptions in Canada are “open,” which means that the adoptive parents and the birth mother have a relationship with each other and exchange information. The amount of information that is exchanged depends mostly on the closeness of the relationship between the two parties. The advantages of an open adoption are that the birth mother has more input into the adoption process, and the needs of the child are more readily met.

In any given year, there are about 78 000 children in Canada waiting for adoption. In addition, about 2000 international children are adopted in Canada every year. Most overseas adoptions are not open since the birth parents are mostly not involved in the adoption process, and are often not known. As of 2010, the most common country from which children were adopted was China (see TABLE 13.4). Other countries from which Canadians adopted children include Haiti, the United States, Vietnam, and Russia (Adoption Council of Canada, 2011). One reason for the popularity of adoptions from China is the large number of baby girls available for adoption due to that country’s one-child-per-couple policy. In recent years, it’s become more difficult to adopt from China due to new restrictions and income requirements.

Strong parent–child bonds often develop with adoption, especially when children are adopted as infants. Secure attachments can also develop if adoption occurs when the children are older (ages 4 to 7), especially when the adopting mother was strongly attached to her own mother (Pace et al., 2011). However, children who spend their early years in an institution may never have been attached to anyone, and that makes it more difficult for the adoptive parent. Such children are often mistrustful of all adults and fearful of loving anyone (St. Petersburg–USA Orphanage Research Team, 2008).

Strong bonds may be stressed in adolescence, when teenagers may want to know more about their genetic and ethnic roots. One college student who feels well loved and cared for by her adoptive parents explains:

Attitudes in the larger culture often increase tensions between adoptive parents and children. For example, the mistaken notion that the “real” parents are the biological ones is a common social construction that hinders a secure attachment.

An important factor to consider when adopting children from overseas or from North America is race. Adoptive children are often of a different race and/or culture than their adoptive parents. It is helpful to expose adopted children who are of a different ethnicity to experiences, customs, and history unique to that ethnicity, to help children establish their ethnic identity.

All the details already explained in this text, from the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (Chapter 2) to the first words (Chapter 3), from theory of mind (Chapter 5) to learning to read (Chapter 7), are accomplishments celebrated by an astute parent—no matter how parenting came about. For this, continuity of care is crucial because knowing a particular child well is essential in interpreting those first mispronounced words, understanding early emotional expressions, and knowing when to help with schoolwork. Good parents are intensely committed to a particular, unique human being—and from that commitment both the joys and the concerns of parenting arise.

Caregiving

Erikson (1963) wrote that a mature adult needs to feel needed. Some caregiving requires meeting physical needs—feeding, cleaning, and so on—but much of it involves fulfilling another person’s psychological needs. One study concludes:

Thus, caregiving includes responding to the emotions of people who need a confidant, a cheerleader, a counsellor, or a close friend. Parents and children care for one another, as do partners. Often neighbours, friends, and more distant relatives are caregivers as well.

Most extended families include a kinkeeper, a caregiver who takes responsibility for maintaining communication. The kinkeeper gathers everyone for holidays; spreads the word about anyone’s illness, relocation, or accomplishments; buys gifts for special occasions; and reminds family members of one another’s birthdays and anniversaries (Sinardet & Mortelmans, 2009). Guided by their kinkeeper, all the family members become more generative.

Fifty years ago, kinkeepers were almost always women, usually the mother or grandmother of a large family. Now families are smaller and gender equity is more evident, so some men or young women can be kinkeepers. Generally, however, the kinkeeper is still a middle-aged or older mother with several adult children. This role may seem burdensome, but caregiving provides both satisfaction and power (Mitchell, 2010). The best caregivers share the work; shared kinkeeping is an example of generativity.

Caregiving This grandfather is helping care for his grandchild in Indonesia. Multi-generational families are common in many countries.

PETER HORREE/ALAMY

Caring For Older and Younger GenerationsBecause of their position in the generational hierarchy, many middle-aged adults are expected to help both the older and younger generations. They have been called the sandwich generation, a term that evokes an image of a layer of filling pressed between two slices of bread. This analogy suggests that the middle generation is squeezed between the needs of younger and older relatives. This sandwich metaphor is vivid, but it gives a false impression (Grundy & Henretta, 2006).

Caregiving is beneficial because people feel useful when they help one another. Far from being squeezed, older adults are less likely to be depressed if they are supporting their adult children than when they are distant from them (Byers et al., 2008). On their part, many grown children get pleasure from helping their parents. For instance, researchers find that young adults often help their parents understand current culture and technological change, providing information and insight.

Many middle-aged adults have their parents living with them along with their children—three generations. Of Canadian families with children aged 14 and under, 4.8 percent had at least one grandparent living with them (Statistics Canada, 2012e). Culture, and not caring for aged parents, is often a key factor in three- or four-generational living arrangements (Statistics Canada, 2004). In 2004, multi-generational family arrangements were most common among Aboriginal people and recent immigrants. For example, almost one in every 10 grandchildren in Nunavut lived with at least one grandparent.

Because of better health and vitality throughout life, many adults do not need to provide extensive physical care for older generations. Specifics of elder care differ (see TABLE 13.5). As we will explain in detail in Chapter 15, in developed nations when elders need care, it is typically provided by a spouse or a paid caregiver. Adult children and grandchildren are part of the caregiving team, but not the major providers.

Lowered Expectations It was once realistic for adults to expect to be better off than their parents had been, but hard times have reduced the socioeconomic status of many adults.

© THE NEW YORKER COLLECTION 1992 DANA FRADON FROM CARTOONBANK.COM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

For a minority of adults—usually middle-aged women—providing care for an elderly relative affects sibling relationships, marriages, or employment. For example, although siblings usually become closer in adulthood, a caregiving burden can disrupt that. If an elderly parent needs care, one sibling usually becomes the chief caregiver, potentially causing resentment. Husbands and wives can become resentful, too, if care of one spouse’s elderly relatives is not what the other spouse anticipated. As explained next, cultures differ radically on caregiving expectations, and husbands and wives may have been raised with opposite assumptions.

Culture and Family CaregivingFamily bonds depend on many factors, including childhood attachments, cultural norms, and the financial and practical resources of each generation. Some cultures assume that elderly parents should live with their children; others believe that elders should live alone as long as possible and then enter a care-providing residence (Parveen & Morrison, 2009; Ron, 2009). Cultures also differ as to whether sons or daughters should provide more help and whether divorced, step-, or distant parents deserve care.

In North America, Western Europe, and Australia, older adults cherish their independence and dread burdening their children. Even frail parents seek to maintain autonomy, feeling that moving in with their children is a sign of failure. By contrast, in nations where interdependence is a desirable personality trait, living with family does not necessarily signify a problem (Harvey & Yoshino, 2006).

Ethnic variations are evident in how close family members are expected to be. Generally, ethnic minorities are more closely connected to family members than are ethnic majorities in that they see each other more often and share food, money, and so on. However, although people may assume that closeness means affection, for minorities particularly, closeness sometimes increases conflict (Voorpostel & Schans, 2011). Ethnic variation is also evident in arrangements for caring for older family members. For instance, most elderly Chinese have their own homes; however, if they live with an adult child, in mainland China it is usually with a son, but in Taiwan it is usually with a daughter (Chu et al., 2011).

Employment

Besides family caregiving, the other major avenue for generativity is employment. Most of the social science research on jobs has focused on economic productivity, an important issue but not central to our study of human development. Social scientists, in economics and in other disciplines, are beginning to include working as part of broader psychological theory and practice (Blustein, 2006).

As is evident from many of the terms used to describe healthy adult development, such as generativity, success and esteem, instrumental, and achievement, adults have many psychosocial needs that employment can fill. The converse is also true: Unemployment is associated with higher rates of child abuse, alcoholism, depression, and many other social and mental health problems (Freisthler et al., 2006; Wanberg, 2012). In addition, a longitudinal Canadian study indicated that unemployed men and women had an elevated risk of mortality from accidents, violence, and chronic diseases (Mustard, Bielecky, et al., 2013). Another study found that American adults who can’t find work are 60 percent more likely to die than other people their age, especially if they are younger than 40 (Roelfs et al., 2011).

Working For More Than MoneyIncome pays living expenses, but it also does far more than that. It allows people to buy items that they desire, move to safer neighbourhoods, and live healthier and safer lives. However, to understand human development, we must go beyond income and consider the generative aspects of work—and there are many. Work provides a structure for daily life, a setting for human interaction, and a source of social status and fulfillment. In addition, work meets generativity needs by allowing people to do the following:

• develop and use their personal skills
• express their creative energy
• help and advise co-workers as a mentor or friend
• support the education and health of their families
• contribute to the community by providing goods or services.

The pleasure of “a job well done” is universal, as is the joy of having supportive supervisors and friendly co-workers. Job satisfaction correlates more strongly with challenge, creativity, productivity, and relationships among employees than with high pay or easy work (Pfeffer, 2007). Workers quit their jobs more often because of unpleasant social interactions at the workplace than because of dissatisfaction with wages or benefits (LeBlanc & Barling, 2004). These facts highlight the distinction between the extrinsic rewards of work—which are the tangible benefits such as salary, health insurance, and pension—and the intrinsic rewards of work—which are the intangible gratifications of actually doing the job. Generativity is intrinsic.

A developmental view finds that extrinsic rewards tend to be more important at first, when young people enter the workforce and begin to establish their careers (Kooij et al., 2011). After a few years, in a developmental shift as an individual ages, the intrinsic rewards of work become more important” (Sterns & Huyck, 2001).

The power of intrinsic rewards explains why older employees display, on average, less absenteeism, less lateness, and more job commitment than do younger workers (Landy & Conte, 2007). A crucial factor may be that in many jobs, older employees have more control over what they do, as well as when and how they do it. Autonomy reduces strain and increases dedication and vitality. Autonomy is also seen as an important part of intrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000).

Another crucial factor is family support. Family members being appreciative and helpful regarding a worker’s job requirements benefits the person’s health. Satisfaction at work spills over to satisfaction at home and vice versa. For example, when health impairs a husband’s ability to work, divorce is more likely (Teachman, 2010).

The Changing Workplace

Obviously, work is changing in many ways. Globalization means that each nation exports what it does best (and cheapest) and imports what it needs. Specialization, interdependency, and international trade are increasing. Advanced nations are shifting from industry-based economies to information and service economies; poorer nations are shifting from subsistence agriculture to industry. Although every change has implications for human development, we focus here on only three—diversity among workers, job changes, and alternate schedules.

DiversityDramatic changes have occurred in who has a job and what they do. This is true in every nation, but we provide statistics for Canada as an obvious example. About 40 years ago, women accounted for 39.1 percent of the labour force; in 2009, women accounted for 58.3 percent of the Canadian workforce (Statistics Canada, 2011f). In 1996, 10 percent of the labour force belonged to a visible minority group; by 2006, this had increased to 15 percent (Martel et al., 2012). Of this group, an increasing number were born in Canada rather than having immigrated here.

In terms of salary, in 1980, recent immigrants earned much less than their Canadian-born peers; immigrant men and women earned 85 cents on the dollar. By 2005, the discrepancy had increased even more—immigrant men and women were making 63 and 56 cents respectively for each dollar Canadian-born workers were making.

On average over this 25-year period, immigrants’ pay decreased even though their educational attainment was higher than that of their counterparts. Low-paying jobs such as those of clerks, taxi drivers, and cashiers are more likely among immigrants with university degrees. The major reasons for these discrepancies include the person’s lack of proficiency in English as well as lack of recognition of their credentials from back home.

Immigrants from different countries experience different rates of employment in Canada (see Figure 13.4). From 2001 to 2006, immigrants born in Southeast Asia experienced similar employment and unemployment rates as the Canadian-born population. On the other hand, immigrants born in Africa faced difficulties in the workforce, regardless of when they came to Canada. For example, in 2006, the jobless rate for African-born immigrants was 21 percent, more than four times the rate of Canadian-born peers (Statistics Canada, 2010b).

FIGURE 13.4 Diversity at Work The Canadian labour force is becoming increasingly diverse, thanks in large part to high immigration rates from Asia and Africa. Ideally, all adults would have jobs that complement their individual abilities, but that is not yet the case. The next challenge is for women and people of all ethnic groups to be proportionally distributed in various vocations, management positions, and workplaces.

As mentioned above, diversity in the workplace also exists in terms of who does what job. Historically, specific occupations have been far more segregated by sex and ethnicity than they are today; for example, male nurses and female police officers were very rare in 1960 but are much more common today. Employment discrimination in gender and ethnicity is still present—but to a much smaller degree.

Changing JobsOne recent change in the labour market is that resignations, firings, and tarings occur more often. Temporary employees are also more common, as are career and job changes. It is estimated that Canadian workers will have, on average, about three careers and eight jobs over their employment life (Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, 2011). Similarly, between the ages of 23 and 44, the average worker in the United States has seven different employers, with men somewhat more likely to change jobs than women (U.S.Bureau of the Census, 2011b). Sometimes jobs are lost because employers downsize, reorganize, relocate, outsource, or merge. Sometimes adults choose to quit because of dissatisfaction or frustration.

No matter the reason for job loss, when it occurs social connections to consequential strangers are broken and workers suffer. These human costs are confirmed by longitudinal research: People who frequently changed jobs by age 36 were three times more likely to have various health problems by age 42 (Kinnunen et al., 2005). This study controlled for smoking and drinking; if it had not, the health impact would have been even greater, since poor health habits correlate with job instability.

As adults grow older, job changes become increasingly stressful, for several reasons (Rix, 2011):

1. Seniority brings higher salaries, more respect, and greater expertise; workers who leave a job they have had for years lose these advantages.
2. Many skills required for employment were not taught decades ago, and many employers are reluctant to hire and train older workers.
3. Age discrimination is illegal, but workers are convinced that it is common, especially after age 50. Even if this is not true, we know from stereotype threat that it undercuts success in job searches.
4. Relocation reduces both intimacy and generativity.

From a developmental perspective, this last factor is crucial. Imagine that you are a middle-aged adult who has always lived in Toronto, and your employer goes out of business. You try to find work, but no one hires you, partly because there are many people also seeking employment. Would you move a thousand kilometres to Calgary, where the unemployment rate is lower?

Global Labour Market These hundreds of trainees in India hope for a steady job, responding to North American callers who are confused about their computers, bills, or online orders. For millions of educated but unemployed Indians, this aspect of the global labour market may be their best hope.

GURINDER OSAN/AP PHOTO

If you were unemployed and in debt, and a new job was guaranteed, you might leave your friends and your community. But would your spouse and children quit their jobs, schools, and social networks to move with you? For you and everyone in your family, moving means losing intimacy.

Such difficulties are magnified for immigrants. Many depend on other immigrants for housing, work, and social support (García Coll & Marks, 2011). That meets some intimacy and generativity needs, but obviously any move decreases a person’s chance to have friends, family, and employment that enhance psychological and physical health.

Work SchedulesNo longer does work always follow a 9-to-5, Monday-through-Friday schedule. In Canada, only about one-third of all employees work on that traditional schedule. The service sector of the economy often includes evening, night, and weekend work, and service jobs are increasing as manufacturing and agriculture jobs decrease. In Canada, about two-thirds of all workers have non-standard schedules. In Europe, the proportion of employees on non-standard work schedules varies from 25 percent in Sweden to 40 percent in Italy (Presser et al., 2008) (see Figure 13.5). In developing nations, most workers have non-standard hours.

FIGURE 13.5 Non-standard Hours The traditional work schedule—Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.—is best for workers and their families. Employers and consumers, however, would prefer to have workers on the job on weekends and during evening and night shifts. European nations tilt toward the standard schedule, although percentages vary by nation.

One crucial variable for job satisfaction is whether employees can choose their own hours, particularly when it comes to working overtime. Workers who volunteer for paid overtime are usually satisfied, but workers who are required to work overtime are not (Beckers et al., 2008). This is true no matter how experienced the workers are, what their occupation is, or where they live. For instance, a nationwide study of 53 851 American nurses, ages 20 to 59, found that required overtime was one of the few factors that reduced job satisfaction in every cohort (Klaus et al., 2012). Similarly, a study of office workers in China found that the extent of required overtime correlated with less satisfaction and poorer health (Houdmont et al., 2011). Apparently, although work (paid or unpaid) is satisfying to every adult, working too long and not by choice undercuts the psychological and physical benefits.

Work Schedules These two skilled technicians are working on an oil rig south of Fort McMurray. Despite high pay, their jobs are hard to fill because they must spend days and even years far from their homes and families.

TODD KOROL/REUTERS/LANDOV

Weekend work, especially with mandatory overtime, is particularly difficult for parent–child relationships because normal rhythms of family life are negatively affected by irregular schedules (Hook, 2012). Some nations, including Canada and many countries in Europe, impose limits on what employers can demand of employees who are parents (Gornick & Meyers, 2003).

One attempt to provide more worker choice is flextime, which gives employees some choice in the particular hours they work. Some form of flex-time is available in over three-quarters of Canadian and American businesses. Telecommuting, when an employee works from home and uses videoconferencing and online communication to keep in touch with the office, is also becoming more common. These options are offered primarily for office and professional jobs.

Such schedules have many advantages for employees and employers. However, while they allow workers to have the benefits of greater family enrichment, the concurrent demands of family life and work can increase stress (Bianchi & Milkie, 2010; Golden et al., 2006).

In theory, part-time work and self-employment might allow adults to balance conflicting demands. But reality does not conform to the theory. In many nations (except the Netherlands, where half the workers are part time), part-time work is typically underpaid, without benefits such as health care (in the United States) or pensions (in many nations). Thus, workers avoid it if possible.

About one-third of all working couples who have young children and nonstandard schedules choose to have one parent at home while the other is at work. Mothers, particularly, are likely to rearrange meal and sleeping schedules so that they spend time with their children (Hook, 2012). However, night work and other nonstandard work schedules, especially when combined with overwork, correlate with personal, relational, and child-rearing difficulties (K. D. Davis et al., 2008; H. Liu et al., 2011).

Combining Intimacy and Generativity

Adult development depends on particulars of job, home, and personality that affect the ability to balance intimacy and generativity (Voydanoff, 2007). Employment contributes to adult psychosocial health, but other factors are important as well: Some adults are happy without a job, especially if others in their household are employed, with adequate income.

A large study of adult Canadians found that about half of the variation in their distress was related to employment (working conditions, support at work, occupation, job security), but at least as much was related to family (having children younger than age 5, support at home) and feeling personally competent (Marchand et al., 2012).

To find an ideal balance, at least three factors are helpful: adequate income, chosen schedules, and social support. For new parents in Canada, employment insurance (EI) is key. EI provides benefits for mothers and fathers who are expecting, will be giving birth, are adopting a child, or are caring for a newborn. A maximum of 35 weeks of parental benefits is available to biological or adoptive parents, which can be shared between the two parents. To be eligible, the parent must have paid EI premiums, accumulated at least 600 hours of insurable employment, and had his or her normal weekly earnings reduced by more than 40 percent (Government of Canada, 2014).

Same Situation: Far Apart: Mothers at Work Mothers have always worked while tending their babies—be it in the fields, as this Hmong woman from Vietnam (left) still does, or at home (right), where this North American woman checks her email. In many countries, work is now less physical and more cognitive, allowing many mothers to enter the labour market.

BARTOSZ HADYNIAK/VETTA/GETTY IMAGES
MONALYN GRACIA/CORBIS

When parents have children, they adjust their work and child-care hours, usually with the mother cutting back on employment, but not always—sometimes the father has fewer labour market hours and the mother has more. When mothers work full time, often fathers spend far more time with their children, and mothers do less housework (Abele & Volmer, 2011).

In many ways, family members adjust to one another’s employment, helping everyone cope. They may recognize that men, women, and children can be better off with today’s dual-income families and variable schedules, in spite of the challenges that these present (Bianchi & Milkie, 2010).

From a developmental perspective, it is clear that intimacy and generativity continue to be important to adults, as they always have been. As you will see in Chapters 14 and 15, many perspectives are possible on late adulthood as well. Some view the last years of life with dismay, while others consider them the golden years. Neither view is quite accurate.