Adulthood

Adulthood is an accessible text which deals with the vital area of adult psychological development. It combines detailed accounts of the main theories and evidence on the psychology of adulthood with thorough discussion and commentary, presented in a concise and friendly form. The book's approach encourages engagement with the main theories of this highly relevant topic, as well as including less well-known models of adulthood for discussion.

The book begins with a definition of lifespan psychology, and further chapters include early and middle adulthood; the life events approach; marriage; parenting; divorce; and old age. It includes some modern slants on the classic research, as well as the up-to-date theories, and alternative theories are introduced. Cross-cultural issues and examples have been included in every chapter, and various biases are identified and explained. The final section has sample essays on this topic with extremely helpful examiner's comments, as well as a useful glossary.

Evie Bentley has written an ideal guide to this topic, which requires little or no background knowledge. It provides a useful introduction for both A-level and undergraduate students of psychology or sociology, and will also be of interest to anyone in the health or social care professions and to those with a general interest in developmental psychology.

Evie Bentley is Head of Psychology at Hillview School for Girls and at Hugh Christie Technology College, Tonbridge, Kent. She is also an Adult Education Psychology Tutor, West Sussex (Burgess Hill and Crawley), and Tutor and Second Year Module Leader in Developmental Psychology for International Correspondence School's online Psychology degree. She has chaired the Association for the Teaching of Psychology (1999 - 2002), and edited the ATP Newsletter and Journal.