Adulthood: the Contemporary Redefinition of a Social Category

Social trends such as delayed or forfeited family formation, postponed home leaving and allegedly infantilising leisure practices are often marshalled in support of a long standing social scientific as well as popular assumption: successive generations take longer to reach adulthood. This article argues that this 'delayed adulthood thesis' is based on an anachronistic model of adulthood and goes on to suggest an alternative conception. Some original interview material with individuals in their late twenties as well as the notion of social recognition are utilized in this process. It is suggested that the very practices that serve as evidence for the delayed adulthood thesis are in fact productive of new, emerging modalities of adulthood that are commensurate with changed and changing social realities.Adulthood; Adolescence; Emerging Adulthood; Early Adulthood; Biography; Life Course; Recognition; Social Change

Does Identity Precede Intimacy? Testing Erikson's Theory on Romantic Development in Emerging Adults of the 21st Century

Erikson stated that healthy identity development during adolescence is a precursor of intimacy in romantic relationships during emerging adulthood. However, from a developmental contextual perspective, there are reasons to question this strict developmental ordering. Using interview and questionnaire data from a longitudinal study on 93 adolescents, the authors tested whether ego development in middle adolescence predicts intimacy in emerging adulthood. Second, the authors examined whether identity achievement at the transition to adulthood mediates this link. Results revealed direct links between early ego development (age 15) and intimacy in romantic relationships (age 25). No paths were found from earlier intimacy to later ego development. No gender differences occurred. Relational identity achievement, an integrative identity construct measured at age 24, fully mediated the association between earlier ego development and later intimacy. This study confirms Erikson's old ideas on the developmental ordering of identity and intimacy for youngsters in the 21st century. Moreover, it highlights the integrative function of relational identity for later mature intimacy

Emerging Adulthood: A Time of Changes in Psychosocial Well-Being.

The principal aim of this study was to investigate the psychosocial well-being of emerging adults using psychological states associated with this transitional phase and classic measures of emerging adulthood. We expected psychological states to be more closely associated with psychological well-being than classic markers of achieved adulthood. Data were collected in the Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors from 4,991 Swiss men aged 18-25 years. The assessment included the Short Form of the Inventory of Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA-8), classic markers of achieved adulthood (e.g., financial independence, stable relationship), and psychosocial well-being. Structural equation models (SEMs) were conducted to test the association between measures of emerging adulthood and psychosocial well-being. Overall, the results highlighted contrasting associations of measures of emerging adulthood and psychosocial well-being. Youths facing negative psychological states (dimension "negativity") and exploring life without knowing how to define themselves (dimension "identity exploration") had a decreased psychosocial well-being. On the contrary, youths exploring many opportunities with an optimistic perspective (dimension "experimentation") had an increased psychosocial well-being. By contrast, classic markers of adulthood were less related to psychosocial well-being. The IDEA-8 Scale appeared to be a useful screening tool for identifying vulnerable youths, and emerging adulthood should be measured with a focus on the psychological states associated with this period. This information may be valuable for mental health systems that have not yet adapted to emerging adults' needs

Perceived parenting styles and adjustment during emerging adulthood: a cross-national perspective

The aim of the present study is to determine whether the influence of parenting style on children’s wellbeing is sustained during emerging adulthood. This is a stage in which young people, despite feeling themselves to be adults, often remain in the family home and continue to be financially dependent on their parents. Moreover, since parents’ beliefs, attitudes and behaviors are constructed and interpreted within their cultural milieu, the study also aims to explore the situation in Spain (SP) and Portugal (PT). Those two Southern Europe countries are representative of what is known as the “family welfare regime”, in which the family acts as the main provider of care and security not only during childhood, but also during emerging adulthood. Thus, the present study examines, from a cross-cultural perspective, the relationship between perceived parenting styles and psychological adjustment among a sample of 1047 emerging adults from Spain and Portugal. The results reveal that the most beneficial styles during this stage are the authoritative and permissive ones, with the authoritarian style being more closely related to psychological distress. The study highlights intercultural similarities and the positive role played by more symmetrical relationships in the adjustment of emerging adults in both countries.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad EDU2013-45687-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad RTI2018-097405-B-I0

Why are undergraduate emerging adults anxious and avoidant in their romantic relationships? The role of family relationships

The exploration of and search for romantic relationships is one of the developmental tasks that characterise emerging adulthood, a new developmental phase halfway between adolescence and full adulthood. This study aims to explore, in a Mediterranean country, the existing relationships between the subjective perception of some parental behaviour and the anxiety and avoidance dimensions of attachment during emerging adulthood. To do so, 1,502 university students (903 women and 599 men) aged between 18 and 29 (M = 20.32 and SD = 2.13) completed a self-report questionnaire. The results revealed that perceived family support and perceived parental warmth were negatively associated with the avoidance and anxiety dimensions. In contrast, perceived parental control (both behavioural and psychological) was found to be positively associated with both attachment dimensions. Perceived behavioural control was also found to play a moderator role between perceived parental warmth and romantic attachment anxiety. Only in cases in which emerging adults of our sample perceived low levels of behavioural control was warmth found to be negatively associated with anxiety. The main conclusion of this work is the negative impact that parental control seems to have on romantic attachment during emerging adulthood. The results are discussed with a focus on the continuing importance of the family context in relation to the completion of developmental tasks, even during emerging adulthood.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad EDU2013-45687-RMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades RTI2018-097405-B-I0

Analisis Faktor Pembentuk Motivasi Bermain Game Online it Girl di Facebook pada Emerging Adulthood

Game online Girl adalah salah satu fitur game online di bidang fashion yang ditawarkan dalam jejaring sosial Facebook. Permainan ini dimainkan tentunya dengan tujuan untuk mencari kesenangan, namun ternyata juga terdapat dampak negatif. Untuk itu, penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui faktor-faktor pembentuk motivasi individu untuk memainkan permainan ini, khususnya individu yang berada pada masa perkembangan emerging adulthood. Penelitian ini dilakukan terhadap 130 orang subjek yang pernah ataupun masih memainkan game online It Girl di Facebook berusia 18-25 tahun dengan teknik incidental sampling. Penelitian ini bersifat deskriptif kuantitatif dengan menggunakan teknik analisis faktor eksploratori. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa dari 26 faktor yang dirumuskan berdasarkan elisitasi teori dan wawancara responden, diketahui terdapat 6 faktor baru yang terbentuk. Keenam faktor yang memotivasi individu pada masa perkembangan emerging adulthood memainkan game online It Girl di Facebook adalah pencapaian dalam permainan (achievement), melarikan diri dari dunia nyata (escaping from reality), relasi sosial (affiliation), kekuasaan (power), self actualization dalam bidang fashion, serta pleasure seeking. Faktor yang tampil dominan sebagai prediktori motivasi bermain game ini pada emerging adulthood adalah kekuasaan dan untuk mendapatkan pengakuan diri, baik itu dari diri sendiri maupun orang lain

The new, longer road to adulthood: schooling, work, and idleness among rural youth

This report focuses on the education and work experiences of rural youth during the emerging adult years (age 20 to 24), as they make the transition from adolescence to adulthood. It documents how rural emerging adults combine work and school and experience idleness, closely examines their educational attainment, and compares their experiences with those in central city and suburban areas

An 8-Item Short Form of the Inventory of Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA) Among Young Swiss Men.

Emerging adulthood is a period of life transition, in which youths are no longer adolescents but have not yet reached full adulthood. Measuring emerging adulthood is crucial because of its association with psychopathology and risky behaviors such as substance use. Unfortunately, the only validated scale for such measurement has a long format (Inventory of Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood [IDEA]-31 items). This study aimed to test whether a shorter form yields satisfactory results without substantial loss of information among a sample of young Swiss men. Data from the longitudinal Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors were used (N = 5,049). IDEA, adulthood markers (e.g., parenthood or financial independence), and risk factors (i.e., substance use and mental health issues) were assessed. The results showed that an 8-item, short-form scale (IDEA-8) with four factors (experimentation, negativity, identity exploration, and feeling in between) returned satisfactory results, including good psychometric properties, high convergence with the initial scale, and strong empirical validity. This study was a step toward downsizing a measure of emerging adulthood. Indeed, this 8-item short form is a good alternative to the 31-item long form and could be more convenient for surveys with constraints on questionnaire length. Moreover, it should help health care practitioners in identifying at-risk populations to prevent and treat risky behaviors

Pengaruh Optimisme dan Resiliensi terhadap Kesejahteraan Psikologis pada Emerging Adulthood

Emerging adulthood is expected to have good abilities in adapting, solving problems or resilience in facing problems and having a positive view of its goals in the future. So that emerging adulthood can have good psychological well-being and can maximize the developmental tasks that must be passed and be ready to face the next phase of development. The aim of this research is to determine the influence of optimism and resilience on psychological well-being in emerging adulthood. This research uses a multiple linear regression method with the criteria for subjects aged 18-25 years who are currently studying. The instruments used were The Personal Optimism and Self-Efficacy Optimism Scales (POSO-E), Connor Davidson - Resilience Scale (CD-RISC 25), and Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale (RPWB). The research results showed that optimism and resilience can simultaneously influence psychological well-being in emerging adulthood, indicated by a p value <.001, which means p <0.05 indicates a significant value between variables

Personality traits and disorders in childhood. Clinical evaluation and diagnosis

Objective: aim of the paper is to examine the controversial issue of personality traits and disorders in childhood. Method: a literature review of clinical and research data was performed, and a conceptual synthesis was proposed. Results: although there are still few longitudinal studies able to clarify the evolution of personality traits from childhood to adulthood, a growing number of studies confirmed emerging personality patterns in childhood and the need for early intervention and prevention. after a discussion of clinical and research data on continuity vs discontinuity in personality disorders, we propose a conceptual synthesis of emerging personality patterns in childhood, conjugating both top-down (theoretical) and bottom-up (research) perspectives. Conclusions: the literature review showed that a deeper understanding of personality and mental functioning in childhood is still required and that emerging personality patterns and disorders need specific assessment and empirical derived classication that takes into account the developmental perspectiv