Human development is a lifelong process that is impacted significantly by change and stress. People have different unique ways of adapting to life transitions that result from change and stress. Life changes and shifts give people a sense of personal identity and also makes them develop a sense of social identity. Normative behaviors exhibited by people depend on the life stage and age of a person. Normative events are ordinary and universal changes. Individuals from a particular culture and at a similar stage of life are affected similarly by normative events. Such events include getting married, having children or leaving home. Biological, environmental, and social changes like puberty, menopause, singlehood, married life and parenthood have a significant influence on normative developmental changes (Luhmann et al., 2014) . Normative life events act as guiding expectations and aspirations for adults as it readies them for major life events and developmental tasks. Normative events are anticipated and usually not very stressful. People who have experienced such transitions act as role models who offer support and clear advice to those undergoing these transitions.
Non-normative events are unpredictable, not mentally rehearsed, and are usually very stressful. These events can either be favorable (for example, winning a betting jackpot) or unfavorable (for example, being fired from a job, rape, accident or death of a loved one) (Luhmann et al., 2014) . The unexpected nature of non-normative events can cause excessive stress that affects the psychological well-being of people. Such events can also decrease the immune system of a person making them susceptible to stress-related diseases like depression.
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Shields, Toussaint, and Slavich (2016) conducted a study on the impact of stress-related changes in personality traits like pessimism. The authors argued that stressful events alter neural dynamics and causes disorders that shape pessimism. Human being elicits stress responses such as the sympathetic nervous system, and the innate immune system when exposed to a stressor. Highly threatening stressors may exert sustained effects on neural functions that coordinate social working memory and threat perception. Stress can cause chronic anxiety disorders and depression which promote changes in essential aspects of personality. Pessimism result when stress disrupts social and leisure activities of people (Shields, Toussaint, & Slavich, 2016) . Pessimism trait has significant effects on human health and wellbeing. Pessimists tend to only see the negative side in any scenario they face in life. It becomes difficult for pessimists to make risky but necessary decisions either in matters relating to health, education, and finance that can significantly improve their quality of life. Optimists enjoy a better quality of life than pessimists because they tend to see the bright side in every situation.
Zoutewelle-Terovan, Liefbroer, and Castle (2017) analyzed the effect of non-normative family transitions and loneliness in later life. The author observed that deviations from family-based structures of family transitions directly correlate with later-life loneliness. Unanticipated life events such as childlessness are strongly associated with higher levels of loneliness, especially in more traditionalist countries. Exposure to loneliness at old age may is directly related to social context. However, individuals with non-normative family transitions such as the postponement of parenthood or partnership are more likely to be affected by loneliness in later years. Loneliness can significantly affect the quality of life that a person leads. Loneliness causes a discrepancy in the quality and quantity of social relationships and individual well-being (Zoutewelle-Terovan, Liefbroer, & Castle, 2017) . People who transgress transitional societal norms by remaining childless or do not enter into partnerships may face challenges such as stigmatization or become socially excluded. Loneliness affects the psychological well-being of people especially the old aged. Those facing loneliness are therefore at risk of being affected by psychological and mental disorders like clinical depression, obsessive-compulsive behavior, or anxiety disorders.
References
Luhmann, M., Orth, U., Specht, J., Kandler, C., & Lucas, R. E. (2014). Studying changes in life circumstances and personality: It's about time. European Journal of Personality , 28 (3), 256-266.
Shields, G. S., Toussaint, L. L., & Slavich, G. M. (2016). Stress-related changes in personality: A longitudinal study of perceived stress and trait pessimism. Journal of research in personality , 64 , 61-68.
Zoutewelle-Terovan, M., Liefbroer, A. C., & Castle, N. G. (2017). Swimming Against the Stream: Non-normative Family Transitions and Loneliness in Later Life Across 12 Nations. The Gerontologist , 1-13.
