Overview of the content
Sneed, Whitbourne, Schwartz and Huang authored the article titled “The Relationship between Identity, Intimacy, and Midlife Well-Being: Findings from the Rochester Adult Longitudinal Study.” The article was released in 2012 with a total volume of six pages. The article sought to utilize a longitudinal cohort study to establish the extent to which intimacy and identity among middle and early adulthood can predict the wellness of an individual. The article also examined the relationship between identity and intimacy in an individual’s lifetime during adulthood (Sneed, Whitbourne, Schwartz & Huang, 2012). The authors used Erikson’s psychosocial theory as a theoretical framework to help understand the process of adulthood psychosocial development.
Design and procedures
The article tested that hypothesis that identity and intimacy during early and middle adulthood stages predict the wellness of an individual. The researchers tested Erikson’s theory using longitudinal data spanning 34 years. The study operationalized the concept of well-being as a cognitive component using subjective approach.
The researchers utilized 182 respondents, including 104 men and 78 women obtained from a set of alumni who attended the University of Rochester between the 1960s and the 1980s (Sneed, Whitbourne, Schwartz & Huang, 2012).
Discussion of the findings or conclusions
The study used a confirmatory factor analysis to establish the relationship between identity and intimacy and how they operate to determine an individual’s well-being during middle life. The test pointed at the significance of identity and intimacy in establishing wellness. The results of the study showed a statistic correlation between intimacy and identity. The article confirms findings of previous studies that found a relationship between these components.
The present findings point to the importance of Erikson’s theory in understanding the psychosocial development process during adulthood. The study established one primary finding that identity and intimacy were crucial elements in emerging development of an individual’s psychosocial capacities (Sneed, Whitbourne, Schwartz & Huang, 2012). The study asserts that identity during midlife was significantly correlated with well-being more than intimacy.
Discussion of the strengths and weaknesses
The analysis of the article shows that the authors begun by giving a firm background of the key concepts of intimacy and identity as relates to adulthood. This critical overview of the topic gave the authors an opportunity to develop a strong literature background. The use of relevant and recent literatures from studies that focused on the topic is eminent. The authors of the article consulted various studies, which gives the article a sense of authority (Bee & Bjorklund, 2003)
Findings of the study can be used to generalize future studies concerned with college, upper-middle class men and women, and individuals who passed through the university. A review of the article reveals that attrition observed among participants in cohort by 54 years may have introduced potential bias in the final results of the study.
However, these results may not help to generalize observation of identify and intimacy as determining wellness among adults who did not pass through college and university education (Sneed, Whitbourne, Schwartz & Huang, 2012). These findings have limitations of application to groups of individuals depending on their level of schooling and nature of learning institution.
The Relevance to the field
These research findings have significant implications on the field of psychology in a number of ways. The researchers suggest that future research is required to investigate the efficacy of familial, educational, psychosocial approaches that may help to promote the growth of identity and capacity of intimacy during one’s lifetime. Therefore, the study will help upcoming professionals in the field to enrich their knowledge on the significance of identity and intimacy in promoting healthy living. This means that findings of the study can be used to inform the development of a curriculum that meets the psychosocial needs of people in different phases of adulthood (Bee & Bjorklund, 2003).
References
Bee, H. L., & Bjorklund, B. R. (2003). The journey of adulthood. New York, NY: Prentice Hall.
Sneed, J. R., Whitbourne, S. K., Schwartz, S. J., & Huang, S. (2012). The Relationship between Identity, Intimacy, and Midlife Well-Being: Findings from the Rochester Adult Longitudinal Study. Psychology and Aging, 27(2), 318–323.