Emerging adulthood
Encyclopedia
Emerging adulthood is a phase of the life span between adolescence
and full-fledged adulthood, proposed by Jeffrey Arnett in a 2000 article in the American Psychologist
. It primarily applies to young adults in developed countries who do not have children, do not live in their own home, or have a substantial income to become fully independent in their early to late 20's. 30 is when you are considered fully grown. That emerging adulthood is a new demographic is contentious, as some believe that twenty-somethings have always struggled with "identity exploration, instability, self-focus, and feeling in-between."
Emerging adulthood is a contentious idea within developmental psychology
. The concept of emerging adulthood is also closely related to the idea of a "Twixter
."
The five standard milestones used to define "adult" -- completing university
, leaving home, getting married
, having a child, and establishing financial independence—are being achieved later, or not at all. Frank F. Furstenberg, who leads the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Transitions to Adulthood, believes that “A new period of life is emerging in which young people are no longer adolescents but not yet adults.”
contexts. Within industrialized economies at the present time, young people need increasing amounts of education
to obtain jobs in many technical/professional fields. The pursuit of postgraduate training thus tends to delay marriage
and permits added years of exploration (i.e., "finding oneself") compared to earlier generations. Americans' median age at first marriage has increased. The median age at first marriage in the early 1970s in the US was 21 for women and 23 for men; it had risen to 26 for women and 28 for men by the year 2009. A majority, 54%, of American mothers have a university education, and 20% of American women in their 40s do not have children; being childless was considered bizarre in the 1950s.
suggested that emerging adults read:
The House of Mirth
by Edith Wharton
, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
by Michael Chabon
, Gustave Flaubert
’s classic Sentimental Education
, The Guermantes Way by Marcel Proust
, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
by James Joyce
, Claire Messud
’s The Emperor’s Children, and Mary McCarthy
’s 1962 The Group
.
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
and full-fledged adulthood, proposed by Jeffrey Arnett in a 2000 article in the American Psychologist
American Psychologist
The American Psychologist is the official academic journal of the American Psychological Association. It contains archival documents and articles covering current issues in psychology, the science and practice of psychology, and psychology's contribution to public policy...
. It primarily applies to young adults in developed countries who do not have children, do not live in their own home, or have a substantial income to become fully independent in their early to late 20's. 30 is when you are considered fully grown. That emerging adulthood is a new demographic is contentious, as some believe that twenty-somethings have always struggled with "identity exploration, instability, self-focus, and feeling in-between."
Summary
"Having left the dependency of childhoodChildhoodChildhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence. In developmental psychology, childhood is divided up into the developmental stages of toddlerhood , early childhood , middle childhood , and adolescence .- Age ranges of childhood :The term childhood is non-specific and can imply a...
and adolescenceAdolescenceAdolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
, and having not yet entered the enduring responsibilities that are normative in adulthood, emerging adults often explore a variety of possible life directions in love, work, and worldviews." (p. 469)
Emerging adulthood is a contentious idea within developmental psychology
Developmental psychology
Developmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes, emotional changes, and perception changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to...
. The concept of emerging adulthood is also closely related to the idea of a "Twixter
Twixter
Twixter is a neologism that describes a new generation of Americans who are trapped, in a sense, betwixt adolescence and adulthood. This Western neologism is somewhat analogous to the Japanese term parasite single.-Behavior:...
."
The five standard milestones used to define "adult" -- completing university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
, leaving home, getting married
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, having a child, and establishing financial independence—are being achieved later, or not at all. Frank F. Furstenberg, who leads the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Transitions to Adulthood, believes that “A new period of life is emerging in which young people are no longer adolescents but not yet adults.”
Causes
The study of emerging adulthood appears to be grounded within particular economic and historicalGlobalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
contexts. Within industrialized economies at the present time, young people need increasing amounts of education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
to obtain jobs in many technical/professional fields. The pursuit of postgraduate training thus tends to delay marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
and permits added years of exploration (i.e., "finding oneself") compared to earlier generations. Americans' median age at first marriage has increased. The median age at first marriage in the early 1970s in the US was 21 for women and 23 for men; it had risen to 26 for women and 28 for men by the year 2009. A majority, 54%, of American mothers have a university education, and 20% of American women in their 40s do not have children; being childless was considered bizarre in the 1950s.
Novels
The New YorkerThe New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
suggested that emerging adults read:
The House of Mirth
The House of Mirth
The House of Mirth , is a novel by Edith Wharton. First published in 1905, the novel is Wharton's first important work of fiction, sold 140,000 copies between October and the end of December, and added to Wharton's existing fortune....
by Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton , was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, short story writer, and designer.- Early life and marriage:...
, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is a 1988 novel by American author Michael Chabon. The story is a coming-of-age tale set during the early 1980s in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania....
by Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....
, Gustave Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert was a French writer who is counted among the greatest Western novelists. He is known especially for his first published novel, Madame Bovary , and for his scrupulous devotion to his art and style.-Early life and education:Flaubert was born on December 12, 1821, in Rouen,...
’s classic Sentimental Education
Sentimental Education
Sentimental Education was Gustave Flaubert's last novel published during his lifetime, and is considered one of the most influential novels of the 19th century, being praised by contemporaries George Sand, Emile Zola, and Henry James.-Plot introduction:The novel describes the life of a young man ...
, The Guermantes Way by Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a semi-autobiographical novel by James Joyce, first serialised in the magazine The Egoist from 1914 to 1915, and published first in book format in 1916 by B. W. Huebsch, New York. The first English edition was published by the Egoist Press in February 1917...
by James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
, Claire Messud
Claire Messud
Claire Messud is an American novelist. She is best known as the author of the 2006 novel The Emperor's Children.-Early life:...
’s The Emperor’s Children, and Mary McCarthy
Mary McCarthy
Mary McCarthy may refer to:*Mary McCarthy , novelist, critic, and memoirist*Mary McCarthy , former CIA employee accused of leaking information...
’s 1962 The Group
The Group
The Group may refer to:*The Group , by Mary McCarthy*The Group , by Sidney Lumet, based on the book*The Group , a group of British poets of the late 1950s and early 1960s...
.
External links
- Jeffrey Arnett's homepage
- Emerging Adulthood blog
- Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood
- University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
Transition to Adulthood Blog