Emerging Adulthood
“Research reveals that most 18 to 25-year-old individuals do not consider themselves to be adults.” (Journal of Adolescent Research, Vol. 20, 2005)
Dr. Jeffrey Jenson Arnett coined the phrase Emerging Adulthood in 2001 in a widely cited article in American Psychologist. In general, Emerging Adulthood can be defined as a period of independent exploration or individualism for young adults.
As recently as 1970, the typical 21-year-old was married or about to be married, caring for a newborn child or expecting one soon, done with education or about to be done and settled into a long-term job or the role of a full-time mother.
Today, however, more often than not, marriage is at least five years away. The same is said for parenthood. Education can last several more years, and job changes are frequent. While they leave home at age 18 or 19, most do not marry, become parents and find a long-term job until their late twenties. Instead, these young adults explore the possibilities available to them in love and work. Their move toward making lasting choices is gradual. This reflects the development of a new period of life for young people in the United States and other industrialized societies. In general, it lasts from the late teens through the mid to late twenties. (Emerging Adulthood, Jeffrey Jenson Arnett)
There are five main features of emerging adulthood: (Emerging Adulthood, Jeffrey Jenson Arnett)
- It is the age of identity explorations, of trying out various possibilities, especially in love and work.
- It is the age of instability.
- It is the most self-focused age of life.
- It is the age of feeling in-between, in transition, neither adolescent nor adult.
- It is the age of possibilities when hopes flourish, when people have an unparalleled opportunity to transform their lives.
For more information on emerging adulthood, please visit www.jeffreyarnett.com.*
The 7-Step Guide to Family Building offers new tools to assist you in cultivating an adult relationship with your children during this transitional time period between parenting and grandparenting.
*The Family Building Institute only cites information from Dr. Arnett’s website. While we recognize him as the foremost expert in this field, the two organizations are not affiliated.