Take an minute or two and look through the list of social roles throughout adulthood laid out by Robert Havighurst. Is there anything that stands out to you? Is there anything you would take out or add on to this list?
Early Adulthood (18-30)Later Maturity (55-) --Selecting a mate --Adjusting to decreasing physical strength and health --Learning to live with a marriage partner --Adjusting to retirement and reduced income --Starting a family --Adjusting to the death of a spouse --Rearing children --Establishing an explicit affiliation with one's age group --Managing a home --Meeting social and civic obligations --Getting started in an occupation --Establishing satisfactory physical living arrangements --Taking on civic responsibility --Finding a congenial social group Middle Age (30-55) --Achieving adult civic and social responsibility --Establishing and maintaining an economic standard of living --Assisting teen-age children to become responsible and happy adults --Developing adult leisure-time activities --Relating to one's spouse as a person --Accepting and adjusting to the physiological changes of middle age --Adjusting to aging parents (Knowles, 1970:46-47)