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Unit 16 Launching and Contracting Families

1. List the developmental tasks of young adults and middle-aged adults.

• Developmental tasks of young adults are:
  • Establishing one’s autonomy as an individual.
  • Planning a direction for one’s life.
  • Getting an appropriate education, training or skill.
  • Appraising love and sexual feelings,
  • Becoming involved in love relationship/s,
  • Selecting a marriage partner and being married, and
  • Manageing additional responsibilities as a spouse and parent.
• Developmental tasks of middle-aged adults are:
  • Correct imbalances in separateness and togetherness,
  • Rearrange physical facilities and resources,
  • Meet the costs as launching centre families,
  • Re-define and re-align relationships with siblings and other family members of their own generation,
  • Cultivate and maintain a support network of friends,
  • Maintain open systems of communication between the family members, and
  • Widening the family circle through release of young adult children and recruitment of young members by marriage.
  
  

2. Write a short note on family as launching centre

The launching stage is the period when children begin to leave home; some may go for higher education to college or universities or even for Jobs whereas others may get married. The launching of the last child cannot be the marker of middle stage of family life as there is a tendency to overlook voluntary or involuntary childless couples. 

However, for married couple with children middle life stage is associated with launching of children. Most parents play active role over a considerable period of time in getting their young adults successfully launched into the world. Parents take it up on themselves to smoothly launch their children and this can lead to tremendous strain on the filial relationship

3. Write a short note on empty nest syndrome.

Empty nest refers to the post-parental stage of family life, which began as a value-laden term based on the assumption that parents, particularly mothers, would feel lonely and depressed once their children had grown and left home; it is often associated with negative stereotypes of the menopausal woman. The cause of such conflicting feelings is that children leaving home precipitate a life change involving personal shifts in role involvements and social identity.

4. Fill in the blanks:

• Erikson’s psychological conflict of midlife is called generativity versus stagnation
• In families having existing resources such as open and effective communication and a sense of emotional connectedness and support, there is less vulnerability to stress.
• Those persons who are concurrently responsible for caring for their parents and for their own children are known as sandwich generation.
• Erikson’s theory suggests, highly generative people tend to be psychologically fulfilled and healthy.

5. Explain how families become launching centres.

Families act as launching centres as they provide a supportive base for young adults as they transition into greater independence. This stage of the family life cycle involves children gradually moving out of the family home to pursue education, employment, or establish their own families. 

The family facilitates this process by offering emotional support, financial assistance and practical guidance, allowing their children to become more autonomous adults. The launching phase also includes the family adjusting to the absence of children in the family home.

6. Discuss how relevant is the ‘empty nest’ syndrome in the Indian context by citing examples.

The concept of 'empty nest syndrome', while traditionally associated with Western cultures, has some relevance in the Indian context, though it may manifest differently due to cultural differences. In India, it is not as commonly experienced due to joint family systems where parents may still have their children living with them. However, in nuclear families, parents may experience feelings of loss, sadness, and loneliness when their children leave home. 

Mothers, who may have been the primary caregivers, may find it difficult to adjust to their new role. However, many parents will have close and loving relationships with their adult children and so it is not always a time of loss or sadness. With more women working outside the home, and families becoming more geographically dispersed, the experience of 'empty nest' is becoming more common and may have a greater impact.

7. Examine the stage of midlife and enumerate the issues that parents face in this stage.

Midlife is a significant period in the family life cycle where parents face a range of issues related to their own development, as well as changes within the family dynamic.

• Adjusting to Physiological Changes: Midlife often involves changes associated with ageing, such as menopause in women and the beginning of andropause in men, which can impact physical and emotional well-being.
• Re-evaluating Values: Individuals in midlife may re-evaluate their values, beliefs, and life goals, sometimes leading to a shift in personal priorities.
• Parenting Adult Children: Parents need to redefine their relationship with their children as they transition into adulthood.
• The Empty Nest: Parents may face challenges in adjusting to the absence of their children in the home, sometimes leading to feelings of sadness, loss or loneliness, and a loss of purpose in their lives, or conversely, a new found sense of freedom.
• Career Adjustments: Midlife can be a time of career stagnation, job loss, or a desire for change, leading to new career pursuits, or conversely a sense of frustration.
• Marital Relationships: Marital relationships may undergo a period of change, requiring partners to renegotiate roles and redefine their connection, sometimes couples may find they have grown apart from each other.
• Caring for Ageing Parents: Middle-aged adults may also have to cope with the responsibility of caring for their own ageing parents. This can be emotionally, physically and financially demanding.

8. Discuss Erikson’s theory of generativity versus stagnation and assess if it is applicable in the middle phases of the life cycle.

Erikson's theory of psychosocial development proposes that midlife is marked by the conflict between generativity and stagnation. Generativity involves making contributions to the next generation, often through parenting, work, or community involvement, and giving back to the community. People who successfully navigate this stage often feel a sense of purpose, accomplishment and satisfaction. 

Stagnation, on the other hand, is characterised by a feeling of self-absorption and lack of personal growth, leading to a sense of being unproductive and disconnected. Erikson’s theory is highly applicable to the middle phases of life, as it captures the essence of personal development during this stage. 

Many people do feel the pull between wanting to make a positive impact on the world and feeling like they have not done enough with their lives, or that their life is lacking in meaning or purpose.