In dealing with middle-aged male protagonists, fiction writers have produced dramatic portrayals of mid-life changes that provide useful insights into adult development. (SK)

Describes the creation of the University of Kansas Adult Life Resource Center and the mid-life concerns addressed by the center's workshops on the adult life cycle and on career change. (SK)

Issues such as the nature of maturity, relationship between work and family, and social class differences in adult development will affect the content and planning of future continuing education programs for adults facing mid-life change. (SK)

Members of an elders writing workshop reveal what the workshop meant to them. (FL)

Provides an overview of five assessment instruments and discusses their contribution to adult career development: (1) California Personality Inventory; (2) Myers-Briggs Type Indicator; (3) Personality Research Form; (4) Occupational Stress Inventory; and (5) Personal Career Development Profile. Includes information about publishers, intended…

Agrees with Levenson and Crumpler's critique of ontogenetic theories as overly stressing biological determinism. Disagrees with their proposal, in discussing sociogenic and liberative models, that social influences be confined to a weak determinism. Suggests that a problem for developmental theories is to understand ways of increasing individuals'…

Sees Levenson and Crumpler's liberative model as idealistic, and critiques apparently anti-materialistic implications of the model. Maintains that Levenson and Crumpler's suggestion that the goal of adult development is to free the individual from environmental and biological influences is bad science but constitutes a valuable sermon. (BC)

Highlights a changing, rather than static view, of the story of "Snow White" by interpreting the story's symbol of the mirror in three roles: guide, trap, and tool of wholeness. Suggests that these interpretations illustrate that developmental processes that entrap individuals may constitute necessary developmental steps and that gains…

Increases in life expectancy and living conditions are changing perceptions of traditional adult development. The Long Careers Study of 150 adults revealed three patterns of change: homesteaders who stayed in one career, transformers who made one major change, and explorers who changed careers frequently. (SK)

Suggests that, in order to respond to change, adult educators should cultivate a broader perspective through vision-logic, a stage of consciousness beyond the rational that is more encompassing, coherent, and integrative. (SK)

Research shows that younger and older adults derive benefits from close reciprocal relationships; current health care training may lack a relational component. A small survey of 15 women aged 18-22 indicated that 12 had meaningful relationships with older women and 10 would consider working with the elderly. Those without such relationships were…

A first-half/second-half view of adult life affects the human resource development profession. In the first half, young adults measure worth in terms of competence and acquisition. The mature adult emphasizes integrity and values. Management of human resources must take these differences into account. (JOW)

Demonstrates how different educational climates (i.e., authoritarian, permissive, and democratic) are rooted in the attitudes of the adult toward the growth process. Analyzes the impact of these climates on a child's development. Concludes that an educational model should reintroduce the authoritarian support essential for children's growth. (DMM)

Considers retirement as widespread developmental transition. Seeks to exploit and advance Erikson's life cycle model by noting major transition challenges between generativity and integrity; distinguishing between tasks and outcomes in such transitions; and viewing such tasks as derived from historical, biological, psychological, and sociocultural…

Traces two accounts of moral maturation--love and reason--from Greek philosophy through Saint Augustine to Kohlberg. Considers that the moral perspective of any age level falls short of an entirely satisfactory conception of morality, allowing the possibility for moral wisdom in both children and adults. (SK)