The Experience of Competent Never Married, Over Forty Adults

ISBN-13: 9783659805165 / Angielski / Miękka / 2015 / 232 str.

Daiter Karen

Opis

Remaining single into later life is often seen from the deficit model of being unmarried but in this study older, competent, never married people are studied from a normative perspective. Using Eriksons developmental theory and relational analytic thought, six common attributes emerged: On Ones Own; On the Periphery; The Responsible One; Independent in Relationships; Comfort Zone/Make a Difference; and A Space of Ones Own. An independent sense of identity was found within a relational matrix, with a Winnicotian capacity to be alone. Marriage is secondary to ensuring a space of ones own, despite valuing relationships. Additionally, a near perfect correlation between anxiety and avoidance was found, but only in romantic attachments. Theses never married adults have a different developmental path than their married counterparts, with equally meaningful relationships and lives and high levels of life satisfaction. Using individual values and beliefs as guides rather than relying upon conventional choices or marriage, these individuals reveal prolonged singleness as a different, but successful, developmental pathway.

O autorze

Karen Daiter Ph.D. (2010), M.Ed., A.M. has a mixed private practice in Chicago, IL, working with children & adults, and providing consultation. Dr. Daiter is also the Head of School at City Elementary, a school for high functioning, neuro-atypical children and a faculty member at The Institute for Clinical Social Work where she got her doctorate.