Arnett Emerging Adulthood

8/6/2019 Arnett Emerging Adulthood

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Em erging A dulthoodA Theory of Development From the Late Teens Through the Twenties

J e f f r e y J e n s e n A r n e t tU n i v e rs i ty o f M a r y l a n d C o l l eg e P a r k

E m e r g i n g a d u l t h o o d i s p r o p o s e d a s a n e w c o n c e p t i o n o fdeve lop men t fo r the pe r iod f r om the la te te ens th r ough thetwen t ie s , w i th a focu s on ag es 1 8 -25 . A theor e t i ca l back -gr ound i s p r e s en ted , Then ev idence i s p r ov id ed to s uppor tthe idea tha t emer g ing ad u l thood i s a d i s t inc t pe r io d de -mogr aph ica l l y , s ub jec ti ve ly, and in t e r ms o f iden t i ty exp lo -r a tions . Ho w eme r g ing adu l th ood d i f fe r s f r om ado le s cenceand youn g ad u l thoo d i s exp la ined . F ina l l y , a cu l tu r a l con-tex t fo r the idea o f emer g ing adu l tho od i s ou t lined , an d i ti s spec i f i ed tha t emer g ing adu l tho od ex i s t s on ly in cu l tu r e st h a t a l lo w y o u n g p e o p l e a p r o l o n g e d p e r i o d o f i n d e p e n d e n trole . explor at ion d ur ing the la te teens and twent ies .W he n ou r m o t he r s w e r e ou r a ge , t he y w e r e e nga ge d . . . T he ya t l e a s t ha d s om e i de a w ha t t he y w e r e go i ng t o do w i t h t he i rl i ve s . . . I , on the o t he r ha nd , w i l l ha ve a dua l de g r e e in m a j o r stha t a r e ambiguous a t be s t and imprac t i ca l a t wors t (Engl i sh andpo l i t i c a l s c i enc e ) , no r i ng on m y f i nge r a nd no i de a w ho I a m ,m uc h l e s s w ha t I w a n t t o do . . . U nde r du r e s s , I w i ll adm i t t ha tth i s i s a pre t ty exc i t ing t ime . Some t imes , when I l ook out ac ros sthe wide expanse tha t i s my future , I c an see beyond the void . Ir e a l iz e t hat ha v i ng no t h i ng a he a d t o c oun t on m e a ns I now ha vet o c oun t on m ys e l f ; t ha t ha v i ng no d i r e c t i on m e a ns f o r g i ng one o fmy own. (Kr i s t en , age 22; Page , 1999, pp. 18 , 20)

Fo r m o s t y o u n g p e o p l e i n in d u s t r i a l i z e d co u n t r i e s , th ey e a r s f r o m t h e l a t e t e en s t h r o u g h t h e t w e n t i e s a r ey e a r s o f p r o f o u n d c h a n g e a n d i m p o r t a n c e. D u r i n g

t h i s t i m e , m a n y y o u n g p e o p l e o b t a i n t h e l e v e l o f e d u c a t i o na n d t r a i n i n g t h a t w i l l p r o v i d e t h e f o u n d a t i o n f o r t h e i ri n c o m e s a n d o c c u p a t i o n a l a c h i e v e m e n t s f o r th e r e m a i n d e ro f t h e i r a d u l t w o r k l i v e s ( C h i s h o l m & H u r r e l m a n n , 1 9 9 5 ;W i l l i a m T . G r a n t F o u n d a t i o n C o m m i s s i o n o n W o r k , F a m -i l y , a n d C i t i z e n s h i p , 1 9 8 8 ) . I t is f o r m a n y p e o p l e a t i m e o ff r e q u e n t c h a n g e a s v a r i o u s p o s s i b i l i t ie s i n l o v e , w o r k , a n dw o r l d v i e w s a r e e x p l o r e d ( E r i k s o n , 1 9 6 8 ; R i n d f u s s , 1 9 9 1 ) .B y t h e e n d o f t h i s p e r i o d , t h e la t e t w e n t i es , m o s t p e o p l eh a v e m a d e l i fe c h o i c e s th a t h a v e e n d u r i n g r a m i f i c a t i o n s .W h e n a d u l t s la t e r c o n s i d e r t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t e v e n t s i nt h e i r l i v e s , t h e y m o s t o f t e n n a m e e v e n t s t h a t t o o k p l a c ed u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d ( M a r t i n & S m y e r , 1 9 9 0 ),S w e e p i n g d e m o g r a p h i c s h if ts h a v e t a k e n p l a c e o v e rt h e p a s t h a l f c en t u r y t h a t h a v e m a d e t h e l a t e te e n s a n d e a r l yt w e n t i e s n o t s i m p l y a b r i e f p e r i o d o f t r a n s i ti o n i n t o a d u l tr o l e s b u t a d i s t i n c t p e r i o d o f t h e l i fe c o u r s e , c h a r a c t e r i z e db y c h a n g e a n d e x p l o r a t i o n o f p o s s i b l e li f e d i r e c t io n s . A sr e c e n t l y a s 1 9 7 0 , t h e m e d i a n a g e o f m a r r i a g e i n th e U n i t e dS t a t e s w a s a b o u t 2 1 f o r w o m e n a n d 2 3 f o r m e n ; b y 1 9 9 6 ,

i t h a d r i s e n to 2 5 f o r w o m e n a n d 2 7 f o r m e n ( U . S . B u r e a uo f t h e C e n s u s , 1 9 9 7 ). A g e o f f ir s t c h i l d b i r t h f o l l o w e d as i m i l a r p a t t er n . A l s o , s i n c e m i d c e n t u r y t h e p r o p o r t i o n o fy o u n g A m e r i c a n s o b t a i n i n g h i g h e r e d u c a ti o n a f t e r h ig hs c h o o l h a s r is e n s t e e p l y f r o m 1 4 % i n 1 9 4 0 t o o v e r 6 0 % b yt h e m i d - 1 9 9 0 s ( A r n e t t & T a b e r , 1 9 9 4 ; B i a n c h i & S p a i n ,1 99 61 ). S i m i l a r c h a n g e s h a v e t a k e n p l a c e i n o t h e r i n d u s t r i -a l i z e d c o u n t r i e s ( C h i s h o l m & H u r r e l m a n n , 1 9 9 5 ; N o b l e ,C o v e r , & Y a n a g i s h i t a , 1 9 9 6 ) .

T h e s e c h a n g e s o v e r t h e p a s t h a l f c e n t u r y h a v e a l t e r e dt h e n a t u re o f d e v e l o p m e n t i n t h e l a t e t e e n s a n d e a r l yt w e n t i e s f o r y o u n g p e o p l e i n i n d u s t r i a l i z e d so c i e t ie s . B e -c a u s e m a r r i a g e a n d p a r e n t h o o d a r e d e l a y e d u n ti l t h e m i d -t w e n t i e s o r l a t e t w e n t i e s f o r m o s t p e o p l e , i t i s n o l o n g e rn o r m a t i v e f o r t h e l a te te e n s a n d e a r l y t w e n t i e s t o b e a t im eo f e n t e r i n g a n d s e t tl i n g in t o l o n g - t e r m a d u l t r o le s . O n t h ec o n t r a r y , t h e s e y e a r s a re m o r e t y p i c a l l y a p e r i o d o f f r e q u e n tc h a n g e a n d e x p l o r a t i o n ( A r n e t t , 1 9 9 8 ; R i n d f u s s , 1 9 9 1 ) .

I n th i s a r ti c l e, I p r o p o s e a n e w t h e o r y o f d e v e l o p m e n tf r o m t h e l a te t e en s t h r o u g h t h e t w e n t i e s, w i t h a f o c u s o na g e s 1 8 - 2 5 . I a r g u e t h a t t h i s p e r i o d , e m e r g i n g a d u l th o o d , i sn e i t h e r a d o l e s c e n c e n o r y o u n g a d u l t h o o d b u t i s t h e o r e t i -c a l l y an d e m p i r i c a l l y d i s t i n c t f r o m t h e m b o t h . E m e r g i n ga d u l t h o o d i s d i s t i n g u i s h e d b y r e l a t i v e i n d e p e n d e n c e f r o ms o c i a l r o l e s an d f r o m n o r m a t i v e e x p e c t a t i o n s . H a v i n g l e f tt h e d e p e n d e n c y o f c h i ld h o o d a n d a d o l e s c e n c e, a n d h a v i n gn o t y e t e n t e r e d t h e e n d u r i n g r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s t h a t a r e n o r -m a t i v e i n a d u l t h o o d , e m e r g i n g a d u l t s o f t e n e x p l o r e a v a r i -e t y o f p o s s i b l e l i f e d i re c t i o n s i n l o v e , w o r k , a n d w o r l d -v i e w s . E m e r g i n g a d u l t h o o d i s a t i m e o f li f e w h e n m a n yd i f fe r e n ! d i r e c t io n s r e m a i n p o s s i b l e , w h e n l i tt l e a b o u t t h ef u t u r e h a s b e e n d e c i d e d f o r c e r t a in , w h e n t h e s c o p e o fi n d e p e n d e n t e x p l o r a t i o n o f l i f e ' s p o s s i b i l i t ie s i s g r e a t e r fo rm o s t p e o p l e t h a n i t w i ll b e a t a n y o t h e r p e r i o d o f th e l i f ec o u r s e .

F o r m o s t p e o p l e , t h e l a t e t e e n s t h r o u g h t h e m i d t w e n -t i e s : a re t he m os t vo l i t iona l y e a r s o f l i fe . H o w e v e r , c u l t u r a li n f l u e n c e s s tr u c t u r e a n d s o m e t i m e s l i m i t t h e e x t e n t t o

I thank the following colleagues for their comments on drafts of thisarticle: Jack Brunner, James Cot& Shirley Feldman, Nancy Galambos,Lene Arnett Jensen, John Modell, John Schulen berg, David Skeel, Dor-othy Youniss, and James Youniss.Correspondence concernin g this article should be addressed to Jef-frey Jensen Arnett, Department of Human Development, University ofMaryland, 3304 Benjamin Hall, College Park, MD 20742. Electronic mailmay be sent to [email protected].

M a y 2 0 0 0 A m e r i c a n P s y c h o l o g i s tCopyright 2000 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0003,(166X/00/$5.00Vol. 55. No. 5,469-480 DOI: 10.1037//0003-066X.55.5.4694 6 9


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JeffreyJensen Arnett

which emerging adults are able to use their late teens andtwenties in this way, and not all young people in this ageperiod are able to use these years for independent explo-ration. Like adolescence, emerging adulthood is a period ofthe life course that is culturally constructed, not universaland immutable.I lay out the theoretical background first and thenpresent evidence to illustrate how emerging adulthood is adistinct period demographically, subjectively, and in termsof identity explorations. Next, I explain how emergingadulthood can be distinguished from adolescence andyoung adulthood. Finally, I discuss the economic and cul-tural conditions under which emerging adulthood is mostlikely to exist as a distinct period of the life course.The Theoretical BackgroundThere have been a number of important theoretical contri-butions to the understanding of development from the lateteens through the twenties. One early contribution wasmade by Erik Erikson (1950, 1968). Erikson rarely dis-cussed specific ages in his writings, and in his theory ofhuman development across the life course he did not in-clude a separate stage that could be considered analogousto emerging adulthood as proposed here. Rather, he wroteof development in adolescence and of development inyoung adulthood. However, he also commented on theprolonged adolescence typical of industrialized societiesand on the psychosocial moratorium granted to youngpeople in such societies "during which the young adultthrough free role experimentation may find a niche in somesection of his society" (Erikson, 1968, p. 156). Thus, Erik-son seems to have distinguished--without naming--a pe-riod that is in some ways adolescence and in some waysyoung adulthood yet not strictly either one, a period in

which adult commitments and responsibilities are delayedwhile the role experimentation that began in adolescencecontinues and in fact intensifies.Another theoretical contribution can be found in thework of Daniel Levinson (1978). Levinson interviewedmen at midlife, but he had them describe their earlier yearsas well, and on the basis of their accounts he developed atheory that included development in the late teens and thetwenties. He called ages 17-33 the novice phase of devel-opment and argued that the overriding task of this phase isto move into the adult world and build a stable life struc-ture. During this process, according to Levinson, the youngperson experiences a considerable amount of change andinstability while sorting through various possibilities inlove and work in the course of establishing a life structure.Levinson acknowledged that his conception of the novicephase was similar to Erikson's ideas about the role exper-imentation that takes place during the psychosocial mora-torium (Levinson, 1978, pp. 322-323).

Perhaps the best-known theory of development in thelate teens and the twenties is Kenneth Keniston's theory ofyouth. Like Erikson and Levinson, Keniston (1971) con-ceptualized youth as a period of continued role experimen-tation between adolescence and young adulthood. How-ever, Keniston wrote at a time when American society andsome Western European societies were convulsed withhighly visible youth movements protesting the involvementof the United States in the Vietnam War (among otherthings). His description of youth as a time of "tensionbetween self and society" (Keniston, 1971, p. 8) and "re-fusal of socialization" (p. 9) reflects that historical momentrather than any enduring characteristics of the period.

More importantly, Keniston's (1971) application ofthe term youth to this period is problematic. Youth has along history in the English language as a term for childhoodgenerally and for what later became called adolescence(e.g., Ben-Amos, 1994), and it continues to be used popu-larly and by many social scientists for these purposes (asreflected in terms such as youth organizations). Keniston'schoice of the ambiguous and confusing term youth mayexplain in part why the idea of the late teens and twentiesas a separate period of life never became widely acceptedby developmental scientists after his articulation of it.However, as I argue in the following sections, there is goodempirical support for conceiving this period--proposedhere as emerging adulthood--as a distinct period of life.Emerging Adulthood Is DistinctDemographicallyAlthough Erikson (1968), Levinson (1978), and Keniston(1971) all contributed to the theoretical groundwork foremerging adulthood, the nature of the period has changedconsiderably since the time of their writings more than 20years ago, As noted at the outset of this article, demo-graphic changes in the timing of marriage and parenthoodin recent decades have made a period of emerging adult-hood typical for young people in industrialized societies.Postponing these transitions until at least the late twenties

470 May 2000 American Psychologist


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l eav es t h e l a t e t een s an d ea r l y twen t i es av a i l ab l e fo r ex -p lo r i n g v a r i o u s p o ss ib l e l i f e d i r ec t i o n s .A n i m p o r t a n t d e m o g r a p h i c c h a r a c t e r i s ti c o f e m e r g i n g

ad u l t h o o d i s t h a t t h e re is a g r ea t d ea l o f d emo g rap h i cv ar i ab i l i t y , r e f l ec t i n g t h e wid e sco p e o f i n d iv id u a l v o l i t i o nd u r in g t h ese y ear s . Emerg in g ad u l t h o o d i s t h e o n ly p e r i o do f l if e i n w h i c h n o t h i n g i s n o r m a t i v e d e m o g r a p h i c a l l y(R in d fu ss , 1 9 9 1 ; Wal l ace , 1 9 9 5 ) . Du r in g ad o l escen ce , u pto ag e 1 8 , a v a r i e ty o f k ey d em o g rap h i c a r eas sh o w l i tt l ev a r ia t io n . O v e r 9 5 % o f A m e r i c a n a d o l e s c e n t s a g e d 1 2 - 1 7l i v e a t h o m e w i t h o n e o r m o r e p a r e n t s , o v e r 9 8 % a r eu n m a r r i e d , f e w e r t ha n 1 0 % h a v e h a d a c hi ld , a n d o v e r 9 5 %are en ro l l ed i n sch o o l (U .S . Bu reau o f th e Cen su s , 1 9 9 7 ).B y a g e 3 0 , n e w d e m o g r a p h i c n o r m s h a v e b e e n e s t a b l is h e d :A b o u t 7 5 % o f 3 0 - y e a r - o l d s h a v e m a r r i e d , a b o u t 7 5 % h a v eb e c o m e p a r e n t s , a n d f e w e r t ha n 1 0 % a r e e n r o l le d i n s c h o o l(U .S . Bu reau o f th e Cen su s , 1 9 9 7 ).I n b e t w e e n t h e s e t w o p e r i o ds , h o w e v e r , a n d e s p e c i a l l yf ro m ag es 1 8 t o 2 5 , a p e r so n ' s d emo g rap h i c s t a t u s i n t h esea reas i s v e ry d i f f i cu l t t o p red i c t o n t h e b as i s o f ag e a lo n e .T h e d e m o g r a p h i c d i v e r s i t y a n d u n p r e d ic t a b i li t y o f e m e r g -in g ad u l t h o o d i s a r e f l ec t i o n o f t h e ex p er imen ta l an d ex -p lo ra to ry q u a l i t y o f t h e p e r io d . Ta l co t t P a r so n s (1 9 4 2 )c a l l e d a d o l e s c e n c e t h e r o l e l e s s r o l e , b u t t h i s t e rm ap p l i esm u c h b e t t e r t o e m e r g i n g a d u l t h o o d . E m e r g i n g a d u l t s t e n dto h av e a wid er sco p e o f p o ss ib l e ac t i v i t i e s t h an p e r so n s i no th er ag e p e r i o d s b ecau se t h ey a r e l e s s l i k e ly t o b e co n -s t r a in e d b y r o l e r e q u i r e m e n t s , a n d t h i s m a k e s t h e i r d e m o -g rap h i c s t a t u s u n p red i c t ab l e .

On e d emo g rap h i c a r ea t h a t e sp ec i a l l y r e f l ec t s t h e ex -p lo ra to ry q u a l i t y o f emerg in g ad u l t h o o d i s r es i d en t i a l s t a -t u s . M o s t y o u n g A m e r i c a n s l e a v e h o m e b y a g e 1 8 o r 1 9(Go ld sch e id er & Go ld sch e id er , 1 9 9 4 ) . I n t h e y ear s t h a tfo l l o w, emerg in g ad u l t s ' l i v in g s i t u a t i o n s a r e d iv e r se .A b o u t o n e t h i rd o f e m e r g i n g a d u l t s g o o f f t o c o l l e g e a f t e rh ig h sch o o l an d sp en d t h e n ex t sev era l y ea r s i n so mec o m b i n a t i o n o f i n d e p e n d e n t l i v i n g a n d c o n t i n u e d r e l i a n c eo n ad u l t s , f o r ex amp le , i n a co l l eg e d o rmi to ry o r a f r a t e r -n i t y o r so ro r i t y h o u se (Go ld sch e id er & Go ld sch e id er ,1 9 9 4 ) . F o r t h em, t h i s i s a p e r i o d o f semiau to n o my (Go ld -s c h e i d e r & D a v a n z o , 1 9 86 ) a s t h e y t a k e o n s o m e o f th eresp o n s ib i l i t i e s o f i n d ep en d en t l i v in g b u t l eav e o th e r s t oth e i r p a ren t s , co l l eg e au th o r i t i e s , o r o th e r ad u l t s . Ab o u t4 0 % m o v e o u t o f t h e ir p a r e n ta l h o m e n o t f o r c o l le g e b u t f o ri n d e p e n d e n t l i v i n g a n d f u l l - t i m e w o r k ( G o l d s c h e i d e r &Go ld sch e id er , 1 9 9 4 ) . Ab o u t two t h i rd s ex p er i en ce a p e r i o do f c o h a b i t a ti o n w i t h a r o m a n t i c p a r t n e r ( M i c h a e l, G a g n o n ,L a u m a n n , & K o l a t a , 1 9 95 ). S o m e r e m a i n a t h o m e w h i l ea t te n d i n g c o l l e g e o r w o r k i n g o r s o m e c o m b i n a t i o n o f th et w o . O n l y a b o u t 1 0 % o f m e n a n d 3 0 % o f w o m e n r e m a i n a th o m e u n t il m a r r i a g e ( G o l d s c h e i d e r & G o l d s c h e i d e r, 1 9 94 ) .Amid s t t h i s d iv e r s i t y , p e rh ap s t h e u n i fy in g f ea tu re o ft h e r es id en t i a l s t a t u s o f eme rg in g ad u l t s i s t h e i n s t ab i l it y o fi t . Emerg in g ad u l t s h av e t h e h ig h es t r a t es o f r es i d en t i a lc h a n g e o f a n y a g e g r o u p . U s i n g d a t a f r o m s e v e r a l c o h o r t so f t h e Na t i o n a l Lo n g i tu d in a l S tu d y , R in d fu ss (1 9 9 1 ) d e -sc r i b ed h o w ra t es o f r es i d en t i a l mo b i l i t y p ea k i n t h e mid -twen t i es ( see F ig u re 1 ). F o r ab o u t 4 0 % o f th e cu r r en tg en era t i o n o f eme rg in g ad u l t s , re s i d en t i a l ch an g es i n c lu d e

m o v i n g b a c k i n t o th e i r p a r e n t s ' h o m e a n d t h e n o u t a g a i n a tl eas t o n ce i n t h e co u r se o f t h e i r l a t e t een s an d twen t i es(Go ld sch e id er & Go ld sch e id er , 1 9 9 4 ) . F req u en t r es id en t i a lch an g es d u r in g emerg in g ad u l t h o o d r e f l ec t i t s ex p lo ra to ryq u a l i t y , b ecau se t h ese ch an g es o f t en t ak e p l ace a t t h e en do f o n e p e r i o d o f e x p l o r a t i o n o r t h e b e g i n n i n g o f a n o t h e r( e .g . , t h e en d o f a p e r i o d o f co h ab i t a t i o n , en t e r i n g o rl eav in g co l l eg e , o r t h e b eg in n in g o f a n ew jo b i n a n ewp lace) .

S ch o o l a t t en d an ce i s an o th er a r ea i n wh ich t h e re i ssu b s t an t i a l ch an g e an d d iv e r s i t y amo n g emerg in g ad u l t s .T h e p r o p o r t i o n o f A m e r i c a n e m e r g i n g a d u l t s w h o e n t e rh ig h er ed u ca t i o n i n t h e y ear fo l l o win g h ig h sch o o l i s a t i t sh ig h es t l ev e l ev er , o v er 6 0 % (Bian ch i & S p a in , 1 9 9 6 ) .Ho wev er , t h i s f i g u re mask s t h e ex p an d in g d iv e r s i t y i n t h ey e a r s t h a t f o l lo w . O n l y 3 2 % o f y o u n g p e o p l e a g e s 2 5 - 2 9h a v e c o m p l e t e d f o u r y e a r s o r m o r e o f c o l l e g e ( U .S . B u r e a uo f th e : Cen su s , 1 9 97 ). F o r em erg in g ad u l t s , co l l eg e ed u ca-t i o n i s o f t en p u r su ed i n a n o n l i n ear way , f r eq u en t l y co m-b i n e d w i t h w o r k , a n d p u n c t u a t e d b y p e r i o d s o f n o n a t t e n -d an ce , . F o r t h o se wh o d o ev en tu a l l y g rad u a t e wi th a fo u r -y ear d eg ree , c o l l eg e i s in c reas in g ly l i k e ly t o b e fo l l o wed b yg rad u a t e sch o o l . Ab o u t o n e t h i rd o f th o se w h o g rad u a t ew i t h a b a c h e l o r ' s d e g r e e a r e e n r o l l e d i n p o s tg r a d u a t e e d u -ca t i o n t h e fo l l o win g y ear (M o g e lo n sk y , 1 9 9 6 ) . I n Eu ro p eanc o u n t ri e s t o o , t he l e n g t h o f e d u c a t i o n h a s b e c o m e e x t e n d e din r ecen t d ecad es (Ch i sh o lm & Hu r re lman n , 1 9 9 5 ) .Ov era l l , t h en , t h e y ear s o f emerg in g ad u l t h o o d a r ec h a r a c t e r i z e d b y a h i g h d e g r e e o f d e m o g r a p h i c d i v e r s i t yan d i n s t ab i l i t y , r e f l ec t i n g t h e emp h as i s o n ch an g e an d ex -p lo ra t i o n . I t i s o n ly i n t h e t r an s i t i o n f ro m emerg in g ad u l t -h o o d t o y o u n g ad u l t h o o d i n t h e l a t e twen t i es t h a t t h ed iv er s i t y n a r ro ws an d t h e i n s t ab i l i t y eases , a s y o u n g p eo p l emak e . mo re en d u r in g ch o i ces i n l o v e an d wo rk . R in d fu ss(1 9 9 1 ) ca l l ed t h e p e r i o d f ro m ag es 1 8 t o 3 0 "d emo g rap h -i c a ll y d e n s e " ( p . 4 9 6 ) b e c a u s e o f t h e m a n y d e m o g r a p h i ct r an s i t io n s t h a t t ak e p l ac e d u r in g t h a t t ime , e s p ec i a l l y i n t h el a t e twen t i es .E m e rg in g A d u l t h o o d Is D is tin c tSubjec t ive lyE m e r g i n g a d u l t s d o n o t s e e t h e m s e l v e s a s a d o l e s c e nt s , b u tm a n y o f t h e m a l s o d o n o t s e e t h e m s e l v e s e n t i r e ly a s a d u l ts .F ig u re 2 sh o ws t h a t wh en t h ey a r e ask ed wh e th er t h ey f ee lt h e y h a v e r e a c h e d a d u l t h o o d , t h e m a j o r i t y o f A m e r i c a n s i nth e i r la t e t een s an d ea r l y twen t i es an sw er n e i t h e r n o n o r y e sb u t t h e a m b i g u o u s i n s o m e r e s p e c t s y e s, i n s o m e r e s p e c t sn o (Arn e t t , i n p res s ) . Th i s r e f l ec t s a su b j ec t i v e sen se o n t h ep ar t o f mo s t emerg in g ad u l t s t h a t t h ey h av e l e f t ad o l es -c e n c e b u t h a v e n o t y e t c o m p l e t e l y e n t e re d y o u n g a d u l t h o o d(Arn e t t , 1 9 9 4 a , 1 9 97 , 1 9 9 8 ). Th ey h a v e n o n am e fo r th ep e r i o d th e y a r e i n - - b e c a u s e t h e s o c i e t y t h e y l iv e i n h a s n on a m e f o r i t - - s o t h e y r e g a r d t h e m s e l v e s a s b e i n g n e i t h e rad o l escen t s n o r ad u l t s , i n b e tween t h e two b u t n o t r ea l l yo n e o r t h e o th e r . As F ig u re 2 sh o ws , o n ly i n t h e i r l a t etwen t i es an d ea r l y t h i r t i e s d o a c l ea r majo r i t y o f p eo p l ein d i ca t e t h a t t h ey f ee l t h ey h av e r each ed ad u l t h o o d . Ho w-ev er , ag e i s o n ly t h e ro u g h es t mark er o f t h e su b j ec t i v et r an s i ti o n f r o m e m e r g i n g a d u l t h o o d t o y o u n g a d u l t h o o d . A s

M a y 2 0 0 0 A m e r i c a n P s y c h o l o g i s t 4 7 1


4/12

F i g u r e '1Residential Change by Age, 19985045403530

e. -~ 25oo.. 20

1510

50 k- + m b m F I

10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-44 45-54 55+AgeNote. Data are from "Geogra phic Mobility: March 1997 to March 1998, " by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, 20 00, Current Population Reports (Series P-20, No.520), Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

F i g u r e 2Subjective Conceptions of Adult Status in Response tothe Question, Do You Feel That You Have ReachedAdulthood?

Note. N = 519. Data are from Arnett (in press).

illustrated in Figure 2, even in their late twenties and earlythirties, nearly one third did not feel their transition toadulthood was complete.

One might expect emerging adults' subjective sense ofambiguity in attaining full adulthood to arise from thedemographic diversity and instability described above. Per-haps it is difficult for young people to feel they havereached adulthood before they have established a stableresidence, finished school, settled into a career, and married(or at least committed themselves to a long-term loverelationship). However, perhaps surprisingly, the researchevidence indicates strongly that these demographic transi-tions have little to do with emerging adults' conceptions ofwhat it means to reach adulthood. Consistently, in a varietyof studies with young people in their teens and twenties,demographic transitions such as finishing education, set-tling into a career, marriage, and parenthood rank at thebottom in importance among possible criteria considerednecessary for the attainment of adulthood (Arnett, 1997,1998, in press; Greene, Wheatley, & Aldava, 1992; Scheer,Unger, & Brown, 1994).

The characteristics that matter most to emergingadults in their subjective sense of attaining adulthood arenot demographic transitions but individualistic qualities o f



5/12

character (Arn e t t , 1 9 9 8 ) . S p ec i f i ca l l y , t h e two t o p c r i t e r i afo r t h e t r an s i t i o n t o ad u l t h o o d i n a v a r i e ty o f s t u d i es h av eb e e n accept ing responsibi l i ty for one 's se l f a n d makingindependent decisions (Arne t t , 1997 , 1998; Gree ne et a l . ,1992; Scheer et a l . , 1994) . A th i rd cr i ter ion , a l so ind iv id-u a l i s t i c b u t mo re t an g ib l e , becom ing financially indep en-dent , a l so r an k s co n s i s t en t l y n ear t h e t o p .

Th e p ro min en ce o f t h ese c r i t e r i a fo r t h e t r an s i t i o n t oad u l t h o o d r e f l ec t s an emp h as i s i n emerg in g ad u l t h o o d o nb ec o m in g a se l f -su f f i c i en t p e r so n (Arn e t t , 1 9 98 ). D u r in gth ese y ear s , t h e ch arac t e r q u a l i t i e s mo s t imp o r t an t t o b e -c o m i n g s u c c e s s f u l l y s e l f - s u f f i c i e n t - - a c c e p t i n g r e s p o n s i bi l -i ty f o r o n e ' s s e l f a n d m a k i n g i n d e p e n d e n t d e c i s i o n s - - a r eb e in g d ev e lo p ed . F in an c i a l i n d ep en d en ce i s a l so c ru c i a l t ose l f - su f f i c i en cy , so i t i s a l so imp o r t an t i n emerg in g ad u l t s 'c o n c e p t i o n s o f w h a t i s n e c e s s a r y t o b e c o m e a n a d u l t. O n l yaf t e r t h ese ch arac t e r q u a l i t i e s h av e r each ed f ru i t i o n an df in an c i a l i n d ep en d en ce h as b een a t t a i n ed d o emerg in gad u l t s ex p er i en ce a su b j ec t i v e ch an g e i n t h e i r d ev e lo p men -t a l s ta t u s , a s t h ey m o v e o u t o f em erg in g ad u l t h o o d an d i n toy o u n g a d u l t h o o d . F o r m o s t y o u n g p e o p l e i n A m e r i c a nso c i e ty , t h i s o ccu r s so me t ime d u r in g t h e twen t i es an d i su su a l l y acc o m p l i sh ed b y t h e l a t e twen t i es (Arn e t t , i n p r es s ) .

A l t h o u g h e m e r g i n g a d u l t s d o n o t v i e w d e m o g r a p h i ct r an s i t i o n s as n ecessa ry fo r a t t a i n in g ad u l t h o o d , i t sh o u ldb e n o t ed t h a t p a re n th o o d i n p a r t i cu l a r i s o f t en su f f i c i en t fo rma rk in g a su b j ec t i v e sen se o f ad u l t s t a tu s . P a ren th o o dran k s l o w in y o u n g p eo p l e ' s v i ews o f t h e es sen t i a l c r i t e r i afo r ad u l t h o o d fo r p eo p l e i n g en era l , b u t t h o se wh o h av e h ada c h i ld t e n d t o v i e w b e c o m i n g a p a r e n t a s th e m o s t i m p o r -t an t mark er o f t h e t r an s i ti o n t o ad u l t h o o d fo r t h em se lv es(Arn e t t , 1 9 9 8 ) . Th e ex p lo ra t i o n s t h a t o ccu r i n emerg in ga d u l t h o o d b e c o m e s h a r p l y r e s t r i c t e d w i t h p a r e n t h o o d , b e -cau se i t r eq u i r es t ak in g o n t h e r esp o n s ib i l i t i e s o f p ro t ec t i n gan d p ro v id in g fo r a y o u n g ch i l d . Wi th p a ren th o o d , t h efo cu s o f co n cern sh i f t s i n ex o rab ly f ro m resp o n s ib i l i t y fo ro n e ' s s e l f t o r esp o n s ib i l i t y fo r o th e r s.E m e r g i n g A d u l t h o o d I s D i s t i n c t f o rI d e n t i t y E x p l o r a ti o n sA k ey f ea tu re o f emerg in g ad u l t h o o d i s t h a t i t i s t h e p e r i o do f l i f e t h a t o f f e r s t h e mo s t o p p o r tu n i t y fo r i d en t i t y ex p lo -r a t i o n s in t h e a r eas o f l o v e , wo rk , an d wo r ld v i ews . Ofco u r se , i t i s ad o l escen ce r a th e r t h an emerg in g ad u l t h o o dth a t h as t y p i ca l l y b een as so c i a t ed wi th i d en t i t y fo rmat io n .E r ik so n (1 9 5 0 ) d es ig n a t ed i d en t i t y v e r su s ro l e co n fu s io n asth e cen t r a l c r i s i s o f t h e ad o l e scen t s t ag e o f l i f e , an d i n t h ed ecad e s s i n ce h e a r t i cu l a t ed t h i s i d ea t h e fo cu s o f r esea rcho n i d en t i t y h as b een o n ad o l escen ce (Ad ams , 1 9 9 9 ) . Ho w-ev er , a s n o t ed , E r ik so n (1 9 5 0 , 1 9 68 ) c l ea r l y b e l i ev ed t h a ti n d u s t r i a l i zed so c i e t i e s a l l o w a p ro lo n g ed ad o l escen ce fo rex t en d e d i d en t i t y ex p lo ra t i o n s . I f ad o l esc en ce i s t h e p e r i o df ro m ag es 1 0 t o 1 8 an d emerg in g ad u l t h o o d i s t h e p e r i o df ro m ( ro u g h ly ) ag es 1 8 t o 2 5 , mo s t i d en t i t y ex p lo ra t i o nt ak es p l ace i n emerg in g ad u l t h o o d r a th e r t h an ad o l escen ce .A l t h o u g h r e s e a r c h o n i d e n t i t y f o r m a t i o n h a s f o c u s e dmain ly o n ad o l escen ce , t h i s r esea rch h as sh o wn th a t i d en -t it y a c h i e v e m e n t h a s r a r e l y b e e n r e a c h e d b y t h e e n d o f h i g h

s c h o o l ( M o n t e m a y o r , B r o w n , & A d a m s , 1 9 85 ; W a t e r m a n ,1 9 8 2 ) an d t h a t i d en t i t y d ev e lo p men t co n t i n u es t h ro u g h t h el a t e t een s an d t h e twen t i es (Va ld e , 1 9 9 6 ; Wh i tb o u rn e &Tesch , 1985) .

Th e l o cu s o n i d en t i t y i s su es i n emerg in g ad u l t h o o dcan b e seen i n th e t h r ee m ain a r eas o f i d en t i ty ex p lo ra t i o n :l o v e , w o r k , a n d w o r l d v i e w s . I d e n t i t y f o r m a t i o n i n v o l v e st ry in g o u t v a r i o u s l i f e p o ss ib i l i t i e s an d g rad u a l l y mo v in gto wa rd ma k in g en d u r in g d e c i s i o n s , i n a l l t h r ee o f t h esea reas , t h i s p ro cess b eg in s i n ad o l escen ce b u t t ak es p l acem a i n l y i n e m e r g i n g a d u l th o o d . W i t h r e g a r d t o lo v e , A m e r -i can ad o l escen t s t y p i ca l l y b eg in d a t i n g a ro u n d ag es 1 2 t o1 4 (P ad g h am & Bly th , 1 9 9 1 ) . Ho wev er , b ecau se an y se r i -o u s c o n s i d e r a ti o n o f m a r r i a g e i s a d e c a d e o r m o r e a w a y f o rmo s t 1 2 - t o 1 4 -y ear -o ld s , y o u n g p eo p l e v i ew th e ea r l yy ear s o f d a t i n g as p r imar i l y r ec rea t i o n a l (Ro sco e , D ian , &Bro o k s , 1 9 87 ). F o r ad o l escen t s , d a t in g p ro v id es co m p an -io n sh ip , t h e fi r s t ex p er i en ce s o f ro man t i c l o v e , an d sex u a lex p er imen ta t i o n ; h o wev er , t h e i r d a t i n g r e l a t i o n sh ip s t y p i -ca l l y l a s l o n ly a f ew week s o r mo n th s (F e i r i n g , 1 9 9 6 ) , an dfew ad o l escen t s ex p ec t t o r emain wi th t h e i r "h ig h sch o o ls w e e t h e a r t " m u c h b e y o n d h i g h s c h o o l ,

I n e m e r g i n g a d u l t h o o d , e x p l o r a t i o n s i n l o v e b e c o m emo re i n t imat e an d se r i o u s . Da t i n g i n ad o l escen ce o f t ent ak es p l ace i n g ro u p s , a s ad o l escen t s p u r su e sh ared r ec re -a t i o n su ch as p a r t i e s , d an ces , an d h an g in g o u t (P ad g h am &Bly th , 1 99 1 ). B y em erg in g ad u l t h o o d , d a t i n g i s mo re l i k e lyto t ak e p l ace i n co u p l es , an d t h e fo cu s i s l e s s o n r ec rea t i o nan d mo re o n ex p lo r i n g t h e p o t en t i a l f o r emo t io n a l an dp h y s i c a l i n t i m a c y . R o m a n t i c r e l a t i o n s h i p s i n e m e r g i n gad u l t h o o d l as t l o n g er t h an i n ad o l escen ce , a r e mo re l i k e lyto i n c lu d e sex u a l i n t e r co u r se , an d may i n c lu d e co h ab i t a t i o n(M ich ae l e t a l . , 1 9 9 5 ) . Th u s , i n ad o l escen ce , ex p lo ra t i o n sin l o v e t en d t o b e t en t a t i v e an d t r an s i en t ; t h e imp l i c i tq u es t i o n i s , Wh o wo u ld I en jo y b e in g wi th , h e re an d n o w?In co n t r as t , ex p lo ra t i o n s i n l o v e i n emerg in g ad u l t h o o dt en d t o i n v o lv e a d eep er l ev e l o f i n t imacy , an d t h e imp l i c i tq u es t i o n i s mo re i d en t i t y fo cu sed : G iv en t h e k in d o f p e r so nI am, wh a t k in d o f p e r so n d o I w i sh t o h av e as a p a r t n e rt h ro u g h l i f e?

Wi th r eg ard t o wo rk , a s imi l a r co n t r as t ex i s t s b e tweenth e t r an s i en t an d t en t a t i v e ex p lo ra t i o n s o f ad o l escen ce an dt h e m o r e s e r io u s a n d f o c u s e d e x p l o r a ti o n s o f e m e r g i n gad u l t h o o d . In t h e Un i t ed S t a t es , th e m ajo r i t y o f h ig h sch o o ls t u d e n t s a r e e m p l o y e d p a r t - t i m e ( B a r l i n g & K e l l o w a y ,1 9 9 9 ) . A l th o u g h ad o l escen t s o f t en r ep o r t t h a t t h e i r wo rkex p er i en ces en h an ce t h e i r ab i l i t i e s i n a r eas su ch as man ag -i n g t h e i r t i m e a n d m o n e y ( M o r t i m e r , H a r l e y , & A r o n s o n ,1 9 9 9 ), f o r t h e mo s t p a r t t h e i r j o b s d o n o t p ro v id e t h e m w i thk n o wled g e o r ex p er i en ce t h a t w i l l b e r e l a t ed t o t h e i r f u tu reo ccu p a t i o n s (Green b erg e r & S t e in b erg , 1 9 8 6; S t e in b erg &Cau f fma n , 1 9 9 5 ), M o s t ad o l escen t s a r e em p lo y ed in se r -v i ce ' j o b s - - a t r e s t au ran t s , r e t a i l s t o res , an d so fo r t h - - - i nwh ich t h e co g n i t i v e ch a l l en g es a r e min imal an d t h e sk i l l sl ea rn ed a r e f ew. Ad o lescen t s t en d t o v i ew th e i r j o b s n o t a so ccu p a t i o n a l p r ep ara t i o n b u t a s a way t o o b t a in t h e mo n eyt h at w i l l s u p p o r t a n a c t iv e l e i su r e l i f e - - p a y i n g f o r c o m p a c td i scs , co n cer t s , r e s t au ran t mea l s , c l o th es , ca r s , t r av e l , an d



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so fo r t h (Bach m an & S ch u l en b e rg , 1 9 93 ; S h an ah an , E ld er ,Bu rch in a l , & Co n g er , 1 9 9 6 ; S t e in b erg & Cau f fman , 1 9 9 5 ) .I n e m e r g i n g a d u l t h o o d , w o r k e x p e r i e n c e s b e c o m e

m o r e f o c u s e d o n p r e p a r a t i o n f o r a d u l t w o r k r o l es . E m e r g -in g ad u l t s b eg in t o co n s id e r h o w th e i r wo rk ex p er i en cesw i l l la y t h e g r o u n d w o r k f o r t h e j o b s t h e y m a y h a v e t h r o u g had u l t h o o d . In ex p lo r i n g v a r i o u s wo rk p o ss ib i l i t i e s , t h eye x p l o r e i d e n t i t y i s s u e s a s w e l l : W h a t k i n d o f w o r k a m Ig o o d a t ? Wh at k in d o f wo rk wo u ld I f i n d sa t i s fy in g fo r t h el o n g t e r m ? W h a t a r e m y c h a n c e s o f g e t t in g a j o b i n t h e f i el dth a t s eems t o su i t me b es t ?E m e r g i n g a d u l t s ' e d u c a t i o n a l c h o i c e s a n d e x p e r i e n c e sex p lo re s imi l a r q u es t i o n s . I n t h e i r ed u ca t i o n a l p a th s , t h eyt ry o u t v a r i o u s p o ss ib i l i t i e s t h a t wo u ld p rep are t h em fo rd i f f e r en t k in d s o f fu tu re wo rk . C o l l eg e s t u d en t s o f t ench an g e majo r s mo re t h an o n ce , e sp ec i a l l y i n t h e i r f i r s t twoy ear s , a s t h ey t ry o n p o ss ib l e o ccu p a t i o n a l fu tu res , d i sca rdt h e m , a n d p u r s u e o t h e r s . W i t h g r a d u a t e s c h o o l b e c o m i n ga n i n c r e a s i n g l y c o m m o n c h o i c e a f t e r a n u n d e r g r a d u a t ed eg ree i s o b t a in ed , emerg in g ad u l t s ' ed u ca t i o n a l ex p lo ra -t i o n s o f t en co n t i n u e t h ro u g h t h e i r ea r l y twen t i es an d mid -twen t i es . Grad u a t e sch o o l a l l o ws emerg in g ad u l t s t o swi t chd i r ec t i o n s ag a in f ro m th e p a th o f o ccu p a t i o n a l p r ep ara t i o nth ey h ad ch o sen as u n d erg rad u a t es .

F o r b o th l o v e an d wo rk , t h e g o a l s o f id en t i t y ex p lo -r a t i o n s i n emerg in g ad u l t h o o d a r e n o t l imi t ed t o d i r ec tp rep ara t i o n fo r ad u l t r o l es . On t h e co n t r a ry , t h e ex p lo ra -t i o n s o f emerg in g ad u l t h o o d a r e i n p a r t ex p lo ra t i o n s fo rt h e i r o wn sak e , p a r t o f o b t a in in g a b ro ad r an g e o f l i f ee x p e r i e n c e s b e f o r e t a k i n g o n e n d u r i n g - - a n d l i m i t i n g - -ad u l t r e sp o n s ib i l i t ie s . Th e ab se n ce o f en d u r in g ro l e co m-m i t m e n t s i n e m e r g i n g a d u l t h o o d m a k e s p o s s i b l e a d e g r e eo f ex p er imen ta t i o n an d ex p lo ra t i o n t h a t i s n o t l i k e ly t o b ep o ss ib l e d u r in g t h e t h i r t i e s an d b ey o n d . F o r p eo p l e wh ow i s h t o h a v e a v a r i e t y o f r o m a n t i c a n d s e x u a l e x p e r ie n c e s ,emerg in g ad u l t h o o d i s t h e t ime fo r i t , b ecau se p a ren t a lsu rv e i l l an ce h as d imin i sh ed an d t h e re i s a s y e t l i t t l e n o r -m a t i v e p r e s s u r e t o e n t e r m a r r i a g e . S i m i l a r l y , e m e r g i n gad u l t h o o d i s t h e t ime fo r t r y in g o u t u n u su a l wo rk an ded u ca t i o n a l p o ss ib i l i t i e s . F o r t h i s r easo n , sh o r t - t e rm v o lu n -t e e r j o b s i n p r o g r a m s s u c h a s A m e r i c o r p s a n d t h e P e a c eC o r p s a r e m o r e p o p u l a r w i t h e m e r g i n g a d u l t s t h a n w i t hp er so n s i n an y o th e r ag e p e r i o d . Emerg in g ad u l t s may a l sot r av e l t o a d i f f e r en t p a r t o f th e co u n t ry o r t h e w o r ld o n t h e i ro wn fo r a l imi t ed p e r i o d , o f t en i n t h e co n t ex t o f a l imi t ed -t e r m w o r k o r e d u c a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e . T h i s t o o c a n b e p a r to f t h e i r i d en t i t y ex p lo ra t i o n s , p a r t o f ex p an d in g t h e i r r an g eo f p e r s o n a l e x p e r i e n c e s p r i o r to m a k i n g t h e m o r e e n d u r i n gc h o i c e s o f a d u l t h o od .W i t h r e g a r d t o w o r l d v i e w s , t h e w o r k o f W i l l i a m P e r r y(1 9 7 0 /1 9 9 9 ) h as sh o w n th a t ch an g es i n wo r ld v i ews a r eo f t e n a c e n t ra l p a r t o f c o g n i t i v e d e v e l o p m e n t d u r i ng e m e r g -in g ad u l t h o o d . Acco rd in g t o P er ry , emerg in g ad u l t s o f t enen t e r co l l eg e wi th a wo r ld v i ew th ey h av e l ea rn ed i n t h ec o u r s e o f c h il d h o o d a n d a d o l e s c e n c e . H o w e v e r , a c o l le g eed u ca t i o n l ead s t o ex p o su re t o a v a r i e ty o f d i f f e r en t wo r ld -v i ews , an d i n t h e co u r se o f t h i s ex p o su re co l l eg e s t u d en t so f t en f i n d t h emse lv es q u es t i o n in g t h e wo r ld v i ews t h eyb r o u g h t i n . O v e r t h e c o u r s e o f t h e i r c o l l e g e y e a r s , e m e r g i n g

a d u lt s e x a m i n e a n d c o n s i d e r a v a r i e t y o f p o s s ib l e w o r l d -v i ews . B y t h e en d o f t h e i r co l l eg e y ear s t h ey h a v e o f t enc o m m i t t e d t h e m s e l v e s t o a w o r l d v i e w d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h eo n e t h e y b r o u g h t i n , w h i le r e m a i n i n g o p e n t o f u r t h e r m o d -i f icat ions o f i t .M o s t o f t he r e s e a r c h o n c h a n g e s i n w o r l d v i e w s d u r i n gemerg in g ad u l t h o o d h as i n v o lv ed co l l eg e s t u d en t s an dg rad u a t e s t u d en t s , an d t h e re i s ev id en ce t h a t h ig h er ed u ca-t i on p r o m o t e s e x p l o r a t i o n s a n d r e c o n s i d e r a t io n s o f w o r l d -v i ews (P ascare l l a & Teren z in i , 1 9 9 1 ) . Ho wev er , i t i s n o t a -b l e t h a t emerg in g ad u l t s wh o d o n o t a t t en d co l l eg e a r e asl i k e ly as co l l eg e s t u d en t s t o i n d i ca t e t h a t d ec id in g o n t h e i ro w n b e l i e f s an d v a lu es i s an es sen t i a l c r i t e r io n fo r a t t a i n in gad u l t s t a t u s (Arn e t t , 1 9 9 7 ) . A l so , r e sea rch o n emerg in gad u l t s ' r e l i g io u s b e l i e f s su g g es t s t h a t r eg ard l es s o f ed u ca-t i o n a l b ack g ro u n d , t h ey co n s id e r i t imp o r t an t d u r in ge m e r g i n g a d u l t h o o d t o r e e x a m i n e t h e b e l i e f s t h e y h a v el ea rn ed i n t h e i r f ami l i e s an d t o fo rm a se t o f b e l i e f s t h a t i st h e p ro d u c t o f t h e i r o w n in d ep en d en t r e f l ec t i o n s (Arn e t t &Jen sen , 1 99 9 ; Ho g e , Jo h n so n , & L u id en s , 1 9 93 ).Al th o u g h t h e i d en t it y ex p lo ra t i o n s o f emerg in g ad u l t -h o o d mak e i t an esp ec i a l l y fu l l an d i n t en se t ime o f l i f e fo rm a n y p e o p l e , t h e s e e x p l o r a t i o n s a r e n o t a l w a y s e x p e r i -e n c e d a s e n j o y a b l e . E x p l o r a t i o n s i n l o v e s o m e t i m e s r e s u l ti n d i sap p o in tmen t , d i s i l l u s io n men t , o r r e j ec t i o n . Ex p lo ra -t i o n s i n wo rk so met imes r esu l t i n a f a i l u r e t o ach i ev e t h eo ccu p a t i o n mo s t d es i r ed o r i n an i n ab i l i t y t o f i n d wo rk t h a ti s s a t i s fy in g an d fu l f i l l i n g . Ex p lo ra t i o n s i n wo r ld v i ewss o m e t i m e s l e a d t o r e j e c t i o n o f c h i l d h o o d b e l i e f s w i t h o u tt h e co n s t ru c t i o n o f an y th in g mo re co mp el l i n g i n t h e i r p l ace(Arn e t t & Jen sen , 1 9 9 9 ) . A l so , t o a l a rg e ex t en t , emerg in gad u l t s p u r su e t h e i r i d en t i ty ex p lo ra t i o n s o n t h e i r o wn , w i th -o u t t h e d a i l y co mp an io n sh ip o f e i t h e r t h e i r f ami ly o f o r i g ino r t h e i r f ami ly to b e ( Jo n sso n , 1 9 9 4 ; M o rch , 1 99 5 ). Yo u n gA m e r i c a n s a g e s 1 9 - 2 9 s p e n d m o r e o f th e i r l e i su r e t im ea lo n e t h an an y p er so n s ex cep t t h e e ld e r l y an d sp en d mo reo f t h e i r t ime i n p ro d u c t i v e ac t i v i t ie s ( sch o o l an d wo rk )a lo n e t h an an y o th e r ag e g ro u p u n d er 4 0 (Lar so n , 1 9 9 0 ) .M a n y o f th e m s e e t he c o n d i t io n o f th e w o r l d a s g r i m a n dare p ess imi s t i c ab o u t t h e fu tu re o f t h e i r so c i e ty (Arn e t t ,2 0 0 0 b) . N e v e r t h e l e s s , f o r t h e m s e l v e s p e r s o n a l l y , e m e r g i n gad u l t s a r e h ig h ly o p t imi s t i c ab o u t u l t ima t e ly ach i ev in g t h e i rg o a l s . I n o n e n a t i o n a l p o l l o f 1 8 - t o 2 4 -y ear -o ld s i n t h eU n i t e d S ta t e s ( H o r n b l o w e r , 1 9 9 7 ), n e a r l y a l l - - 9 6 % - -a g r e e d w i t h t h e s t a t e m e n t , " I a m v e r y s u r e t h a t s o m e d a y Iwi l l g e t t o wh ere I wan t t o b e i n l i f e . "Other Notab le F ind ings onE m e r g i n g A d u l th o o dT h e t h r e e a r e a s o u t l i n e d a b o v e - - d e m o g r a p h i c s , s u b j e c t i v ep e r c e p t i o n s , a n d i d e n t i t y e x p l o r a t i o n s - - p r o v i d e t h e m o s ta b u n d a n t i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e d i s t i n c t i v e n e s s o f e m e r g i n ga d u l th o o d . H o w e v e r , e v i d e n c e i s a v a i l a b l e f r o m o t h e r a r e a sth a t su g g es t s p o ss ib l e l i n es o f i n q u i ry fo r fu tu re r esea rch o nem erg in g ad u l t h o o d . O n e o f t h ese a r eas is r i sk b eh av io r .Al th o u g h t h e re i s a v o lu min o u s l i t e r a tu re o n ad o l escen t r i skb eh av io r an d r e l a t i v e ly l i t t l e r esea rch o n r i sk b eh av io r i nemerg in g ad u l t h o o d ( Jes so r , Do n o v an , & Co s t a , 1 9 9 1 ) , t h ep r e v a l e n c e o f s e v e r a l t y p e s o f r i s k b e h a v i o r p e a k s n o t

4 7 4 M a y 2 0 0 0 A m e r i c a n P s y c h o l o g i s t


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d u r i n g a d o l e s c e n c e b u t d u r i n g e m e r g i n g a d u l t h o o d ( a g e s1 8 - 2 5 ) . T h e s e r i s k b e h a v i o r s i n c l u d e u n p r o t e c t e d s e x ,m o s t t y p e s o f s u b s t a n c e u s e , a n d r i s k y d r i v i n g b e h a v i o r ssu ch as d r i v in g a t h ig h sp eed s o r wh i l e i n to x i ca t ed (Arn e t t ,1 9 9 2 ; B a c h m a n , J o h n s t o n , O ' M a l l e y , & S c h u l e n b e r g ,1 9 9 6 ) . F ig u re 3 sh o ws an ex amp le fo r b in g e d r i n k in g .

Wh at i s i t ab o u t emerg in g ad u l t h o o d t h a t l en d s i t s e l ft o s u c h h i g h r a t e s o f r i s k b e h a v i o r ? T o s o m e d e g r e e ,e m e r g i n g a d u l t s ' r i s k b e h a v i o r s c a n b e u n d e r s t o o d a s p a r to f t h e i r i d en t i t y ex p lo ra t i o n s , t h a t i s , a s o n e r e f l ec t i o n o f t h ed es i r e t o o b t a in a wid e r an g e o f ex p er i en ce s b e fo re se t t li n gd o w n in to t h e ro l es an d r esp o n s ib i l i t i e s o f ad u l t li f e . On e o ft h e mo t iv a t i o n s co n s i s t en t l y fo u n d t o b e r e l a t ed t o p a r t i c i -p a t i o n i n a v a r i e ty o f t y p es o f r i sk b eh av io r i s s en sa t i o nseek in g , wh ich i s t h e d es i r e fo r n o v e l an d i n t en se ex p er i -en ces (Arn e t t , 1 9 9 4 b ) . Emerg in g ad u l t s can p u r su e n o v e la n d i n t e n s e e x p e r i e n c e s m o r e f r e e l y t h a n a d o l e s c e n t s b e -cau se t h ey a r e l e s s l i k e ly t o b e mo n i to red b y p aren t s an dc a n p u r s u e t h e m m o r e f r e e l y t h a n a d u l ts b e c a u s e t h e y a r el es s co n s t r a in ed b y ro l es . Af t e r mar r i ag e , ad u l t s a r e co n -s t r a in ed f ro m t ak in g p ar t i n r i sk b eh av io r b y t h e r esp o n s i -b i l i t i e s o f t h e mar r i ag e ro l e , an d o n ce t h ey h av e a ch i l d ,t h ey a r e co n s t r a in ed b y t h e r esp o n s ib i l i t i e s o f t h e p a ren t i n gro l e . I n o n e ex amp le o f t h i s , Bach man e t a l . ( 1 9 9 6 ) u sedlo n g i t u d in a l d a t a t o sh o w h o w su b s t an ce u se r i ses t o a p ea k

in t h e ea r l y twen t i es d u r in g t h e ro l e h i a tu s o f emerg in gad u l t h o o d , d ec l i n es s t eep ly an d sh arp ly fo l l o win g mar -r i ag e , an d d ec l i n es fu r t h e r fo l l o win g t h e en t ry t o p a ren t -h o o d . T h e r esp o n s ib i l i t i e s o f t h ese ro l es l ead t o l o wer r a t eso f r is k b e h a v i o r a s e m e r g i n g a d u l t h o o d i s s u c c e e d e d b yy o u n g a d u l th o o d .

R e s e a r c h o n f a m i l y r e l a t i o n s h i p s a m o n g e m e r g i n ga d u l t s h a s a l s o b e e n c o n d u c t e d . F o r A m e r i c a n e m e r g i n gad u l t s i n t h e i r ea r l y twen t i es , p h y s i ca l p ro x im i ty t o p a ren t sh as b een fo u n d t o b e inverse ly r e l a t ed t o t h e q u a l i t y o fr e l a t i o n sh ip s wi th t h em. Emerg in g ad u l t s w i th t h e mo s tf r eq u en t co n t ac t w i th p a ren t s , e sp ec i a l l y emerg in g ad u l t ss t i l l l i v in g a t h o me, t en d t o b e t h e l eas t c l o se t o t h e i rp a ren t s an d t o h av e t h e p o o res t p sy ch o lo g i ca l ad ju s tmen t(Du b as & P e t e r sen , 1 9 9 6 ; O 'Co n n o r , A l l en , Be l l , &Hau ser , 1 9 96 ). I n Eu ro p ean s t u d i es , emerg in g ad u l ts wh oremain a t h o me t en d t o b e h ap p i e r wi th t h e i r l i v in g s i t u a -t i o n s t h an t h o se wh o h av e l e f t h o me; t h ey co n t i n u e t o r e lyo n t h e i r p a ren t s a s a so u rce o f su p p o r t an d co mfo r t , b u tt h ey a l so t en d t o h av e a g rea t d ea l o f au to n o m y wi th in t h e i rp a ren t s ' h o u seh o ld s (Ch i sh o lm & Hu r re lman n , 1 9 9 5 ) .Th u s , f o r emerg in g ad u l t s i n b o th t h e Un i t ed S t a t es an dE u r o p e , autonomy a n d re latedness a r e c o m p l e m e n t a r yra th e r t h an o p p o s in g d imen s io n s o f t h e i r r e l a t i o n sh ip s wi thth e i r p a ren t s (O 'Co n n o r e t a l . , 1 9 9 6 ) .

F i g u r e 3R a te s o f B i n g e D r i n k i n g ( F iv e o r M o r e A l c o h o l i c D r i n k s in a R o w ) i n t h e P a s t T w o W e e k s a t V a r i o u s A g e s50454035

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Note. D a t a a r e f r o m " T ra n s i ti o n s i n D r u g U s e D u r i n g L a t e A d o l e s c e n c e a n d Y o u n g A d u l t h o o d , " b y J. G . B a c h m a n , L . D . J o h n s to n , P . O ' M a l l e y , a n d J . S c h u[ e n b e rg ,in TransitionsThroughAdolescence: nterpersonalDomainsand Context p . 1 1 8 ) , b y J. A . G r a b e r , J . B ro o k s - G u n n , a n d A . C . P e t e r s e n ( E d s .) , 1 9 9 6 , M a h w a h , N J :E r lb a u m . C o p y r i g h t 1 9 9 6 b y E r lb a u m . U s e d w it h p e rm i ss io n . D a t a a ls o a v a i l a b l e a t h t t p : / / w w w . m o n i l o r i n g t h e f u t u r e . o r g / d a t a / 9 9 d a t a / p r 9 9 t l c . p d f .



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These findings provide a foundation for research intodevelopment during emerging adulthood. Of course, muchmore work remains to be done on virtually every aspect ofdevelopment during this period. To what extent do emerg-ing adults rely on friends for support and companionship,given that this is a period when most young people haveleft their families of origin but have not yet entered mar-riage? To what extent are the explorations of emergingadulthood different for men and women? Do emergingadults have especially high rates of media use, given thatthey spend so much time alone? These and many otherquestions about the period await investigation. Establishingemerging adulthood as a distinct developmental period mayhelp to promote this research.Why. Emerg ing Ad ul thood Is NotAdolescenceIt is widely known that the scientific study of adoles-cence began with the publication of G. Stanley Hall'stwo-volume magnum opus nearly a century ago (Hall,1904). What is less widely known, however, is that inHall's view adolescence extended from age 14 to age 24(Hall, 1904, p. xix). In contrast, contemporary scholarsgenerally consider adolescence to begin at age 10 or 11and to end by age 18 or 19. The cover of every issue ofthe J o u r n a l o f R e s e a r c h o n A d o le s c e n c e , the flagshipjournal of the Society for Research on Adolescence,proclaims that adolescence is defined as "the seconddecade of life." What happened between Hall's time andour own to move scholars' conceptions of adolescenceearlier in the life course?Two changes stand out as possible explanations. Oneis the decline that has taken place during the 20th centuryin the typical age of the initiation of puberty. At thebeginning of the 20th century, the median age of menarchein Western countries was about 15 (Eveleth & Tanner,1976). Because menarche takes place relatively late in thetypical sequence of pubertal changes, this means that theinitial changes o f puberty would have begun at about ages13-15 for most people, which is just where Hall designatedthe beginning of adolescence. However, the median age ofmenarche (and by implication other pubertal changes) de-clined steadily between 1900 and 1970 before leveling out,so that now the typical age of menarche in the United Statesis 12.5 (Brooks-Gunn & Paikoff, 1997). The initial changesof puberty usually begin about 2 years earlier, thus thedesignation of adolescence as beginning with the entry intothe second decade of life.As for the age when adolescence ends, the change inthis age may have been inspired not by a biological changebut by a social change: the growth of high school atten-dance that made high school a normative experience foradolescents in the United States. In 1900, only 10% ofpersons ages 14-17 were enrolled in high school. How-ever, this proportion rose steeply and steadily over thecourse of the 20th century to reach 95% by 1985 (Arnett &Taber, 1994). This makes it easy to understand why Hallwould not have chosen age 18 as the end of adolescence,because for most adolescents of his time no significant

transition took place at that age. Education ended earlier,work began earlier, and leaving home took place later.Marriage and parenthood did not take place for most peopleuntil their early twenties or midtwenties (Arnett & Taber,1994), which ma y have been why Hall designated age 24 asthe end of adolescence. (Hall himself did not explain whyhe chose this age.)In our time, it makes sense to define adolescence asages 10-18. Young people in this age group have incommon that they live with their parents, are experiencingthe physical changes of puberty, are attending secondaryschool, and are part of a school-based peer culture. None ofthis remains normative after age 18, which is why it is notadequate simply to call the late teens and early twenties la tea d o lescen ce . Age 18 also marks a variety of legal transi-tions, such as being allowed to vote and sign legaldocuments.Although some scholars have suggested that the lateteens and early twenties should be considered late ado-lescence (e.g., Elliott & Feldman, 1990), for the mostpart scholars on adolescence focus on ages 10-18 as theyears of adolescent development. Studies published inthe major journal s on adolescenc e rarely include sampleswith ages higher than 18. For example, in 1997, 90% ofthe studies published in the J o u r n a l o f R e s e a r c h o nA d o l e s c e n c e and the J o u r n a l o f Y o u t h & A d o l e s c e n c ewere on samples of high school age or younger. Collegestudents have been the focus of many research studies,but most often as "adults" in social psychology studies.Sociologists have studied the late teens and the twentiesfor patterns of demographic events viewed as part of thetransition to adulthood (e.g., Hogan & Astone, 1986;Rindfuss, 1991). However, few studies have recognizedthe late teens through the twenties as a distinct devel-opmental period.Why the Forgot ten Hal f RemainsForgottenIn 1987, a distinguished panel of scholars and public policyofficials was assembled by the William T. Grant Founda-tion and asked to address the life situations of young peoplewho do not attend college after high school, especially withrespect to their economic prospects. They produced aninfluential and widely read repor t entitled T h e Fo rg o t t enHa l/? No n -C o l l eg e-B o u n d Y o u th in Am er i ca (William T.Grant Foundation Commission on Work, Family, and Cit-izenship, 1988), which contained an analysis of the circum-stances of the "forgotten halt"' and a set of policy sugges-tions for promoting a successful transition from high schoolto work.Over a decade later, the forgotten half remains forgot-ten by scholars, in the sense that studies of young peoplewho do not attend college in the years following highschool remain rare. Why did the Grant commission'swidely acclaimed report not inspire more enduring schol-arly attention to young people not attending college in thisage period? One reason is practical. Studies of collegestudents are ubiquitous because college students are so easyto fi nd-- most scholars who teach at colleges or universities



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h a v e r e a d y a c c e s s t o t h e m . S t u d y i n g y o u n g p e o p l e w h o a r en o t i n co l l eg e i s mo re d i f f i cu l t b ecau se t h ey a r e n o t r ead i l yacces s ib l e i n an y i n s t it u t i o n a l se t t in g . O th e r way s o f o b -t a in in g r esea rch p a r t i c i p an t s i n t h i s ag e p e r i o d mu s t b eu s e d , s u c h a s c o n t a c t i n g c o m m u n i t y o r g a n i z a t i o n s o r t a k -i n g o u t n e w s p a p e r a d s , a n d t h e s e s a m p l e s o f t e n h a v e t h el i ab i l it y o f b e in g n o n rep resen t a t i v e . T h e sa me co n d i t i o n sap p ly t o r esea rch o n co l l eg e s t u d en t s a f t e r t h ey l eav e co l -l eg e . F ew s tu d i es ex i s t o f y o u n g p eo p l e i n t h e i r mid twen -t i e s t o l a t e twen t i es , i n p a r t b ecau se t h ey a r e n o t av a i l ab l ein an y i n s t i t u t i o n a l se t t i n g . No tab l e ex cep t i o n s t o t h i s ru l ein c lu d e so me ex ce l l en t l o n g i t u d in a l s t u d i es ( t h e Na t i o n a lLo n g i tu d in a l S tu d i es , e .g . , R in d fu ss , 1 9 9 1 ; t h e M o n i to r i n gth e F u tu re s t u d i es , e .g . , Bach man e t a l . , 1 9 9 6 ; O 'Co n n o r e tal ., 1996; O ffe r & O ffer , 1975) .

H o w e v e r , t h e d e a r t h o f s t u d i e s o n y o u n g p e o p l e i nth e i r l a t e teen s an d twen t i es i s n o t d u e o n ly t o t h e d i f f i cu l t yo f f i n d in g sam p les i n t h i s ag e g ro u p . I t a l so a r i ses f ro m th el a c k o f a c l e a r d e v e l o p m e n t a l c o n c e p t i o n o f t h i s a g e g r o u p .S ch o l a r s h av e n o c l ea r l y a r t i cu l a t ed way o f t h in k in g ab o u td ev e lo p men t f ro m th e l a t e t een s t h ro u g h t h e twen t i es , n op a r a d i g m f o r th i s a g e p e r io d , s o t h e y m a y n o t t h i n k a b o u ty o u n g p e o p l e a t t h e s e a g e s a s a f o c u s f o r d e v e l o p m e n t a lr e s e a r c h . E m e r g i n g a d u l t h o o d i s o f f e r e d a s a n e w p a r a -d i g m , a n e w w a y o f t h in k i n g a b o u t d e v e l o p m e n t f r o m th el a t e t een s t h ro u g h t h e twen t i es , e sp ec i a l l y ag es 1 8 -2 5 ,p ar t l y i n t h e h o p e t h a t a d e f i n it e co n c ep t i o n o f t h is p e r i o dwi l l l ead t o an i n c rease i n sch o l a r l y a t t en t i o n t o i t .W h y E m e rg in g A d u l th o o d I s N o tY o u n g A d u l th o o dB u t ( s o m e m i g h t o b j e c t ) i s th e r e n o t a l r e a d y a p a r a d i g m f o rth e y ear s o f t h e l a t e t een s an d t h e twen t i es? I s t h a t n o t wh a ty o u n g a d u l t h o o d i s ? T h e a n s w e r i s no. T h e r e a r e a n u m b e ro f r e a s o n s w h y young adulthood i s u n sa t i s f ac to ry as ad es ig n a t i o n fo r t h i s d ev e lo p men ta l p e r i o d .

On e r easo n i s t h a t t h e u se o f young adulthood i m p l i e sth a t ad u l t h o o d h as b een r each ed a t t h i s p o in t . As we h av eseen , mo s t y o u n g p eo p l e i n t h i s ag e p e r i o d wo u ld d i sag reet h a t t h e y h a v e r e a c h e d a d u l t h o o d . T h e y s e e t h e m s e l v e s a sg rad u a l l y mak in g t h e i r way i n to ad u l t h o o d , so emergingadulthood seems a b e t t e r t e rm fo r t h e i r su b j ec t i v e ex p er i -en ce . M o re g en era l l y , t h e t e rm emerging cap tu res t h e d y -n am ic , ch an g eab l e , f l u id q u a l i t y o f th e p e r i o d .

A l s o , i f a g e s 1 8 - 2 5 a r e y o u n g a d u l th o o d , w h a t w o u l dth a t mak e t h e t h i r t i e s? Yo u n g ad u l t h o o d i s a t e rm b e t t e rap p l i ed t o t h e t h i r t i e s , wh ich a r e s t i l l y o u n g b u t a r e d e f i -n i t e l y ad u l t i n a way t h a t t h e y ear s 1 8 -2 5 a r e n o t . I t mak esl i t t l e sen se t o l u mp th e l a t e t een s , twen t i es , an d t h i r t i e st o g e th er an d ca l l t h e en t i r e p e r i o d young adulthood. T h ep er io d f ro m ag es 1 8 t o 2 5 co u ld h a rd ly b e mo re d i s t i n c tf r o m t h e t h i rt ie s . T h e m a j o r i t y o f y o u n g p e o p l e a g e s 1 8 - 2 5d o n o t b e l i e v e t h e y h a v e r e a c h e d f u l l a d u l t h o o d , w h e r e a sth e m ajo r i t y o f p eo p l e i n t h e i r t h i rt i e s b e l i ev e t h a t t h ey h av e( A r n e tt , i n pr e s s ). T h e m a j o r i t y o f p e o p l e a g e s 1 8 - 2 5 a r es t i l l i n t h e p ro cess o f o b t a in in g ed u ca t i o n an d t r a i n in g fo ra l o n g - t e r m a d u l t o c c u p a t i o n , w h e r e a s t h e m a j o r i t y o fp eo p l e i n t h e i r t h i r t i e s h av e se t t l ed i n to a mo re s t ab l e

o c c u p a t i o n a l p a t h . T h e m a j o r i t y o f p e o p l e a g e s 1 8 - 2 5 a r eu n mar r i ed , wh ereas t h e majo r i t y o f p eo p l e i n t h e i r t h i r t i e sa r e m a r r ie d . T h e m a j o r i t y o f p e o p l e a g e s 1 8 - 2 5 a r e c h il d -l es s , wh ereas t h e majo r i t y o f p eo p l e i n t h e i r t h i r t i e s h av eh ad a t l eas t o n e ch i l d . Th e l i s t co u ld g o o n . Th e p o in ts h o u l d b e c l e ar . E m e r g i n g a d u l t h o o d a n d y o u n g a d u l t ho o dsh o u ld b e d i s t i n g u i sh ed as sep ara t e d ev e lo p men ta l p e r i o d s .

I t s h o u l d b e e m p h a s i z e d , h o w e v e r , t h a t a g e i s o n l y aro u g h i n d i ca to r o f t h e t r an s it i o n f ro m em erg in g a d u l t h o o dto y o u n g ad u l t h o o d . E ig h t een i s a g o o d ag e mark er fo r t h ee n d o f a d o l e s c e n c e a n d t h e b e g i n n i n g o f e m e r g i n g a d u l t -h o o d , b e c a u s e i t i s t h e a g e a t w h i c h m o s t y o u n g p e o p l ef i n i sh seco n d ary sch o o l , l eav e t h e i r p a ren t s ' h o me, an dreach t h e l eg a l ag e o f ad u l t s t a t u s i n a v a r i e ty o f r esp ec t s .H o w e v e r , t h e t r a ns i ti o n f r o m e m e r g i n g a d u l t h oo d t o y o u n gad u l t h o o d i s mu ch l es s d e f i n i t e wi th r esp ec t t o ag e . Th erea r e 1 9 - y e a r- o l ds w h o h a v e r e a c h e d a d u l t h o o d - - d e m o -g rap h i ca l l y , su b j ec t i v e ly , an d i n t e rms o f i d en t i t y fo rma-t i o n - - a n d 2 9 - y e a r - o l d s w h o h a v e n o t . N e v e r t h e l e s s , f o rmo s t p eo p l e , t h e t r an s i t i o n f ro m emerg in g ad u l t h o o d t oy o u n g ad u l t h o o d i n t en s i f i e s i n t h e l a t e twen t i es an d i sr each ed b y ag e 3 0 i n a l l o f t h ese r esp ec t s .

E m e r g i n g a d u l t h o o d d i f f e r s b o t h f r o m a d o l e s c e n c ean d f ro m y o u n g ad u l t h o o d i n t h a t i t i s , t o so me ex t en t ,d e f i n ed b y i t s h e t e ro g en e i t y . As n o t ed , i n emerg in g ad u l t -h o o d , t h e re i s l i t t l e t h a t i s n o rmat iv e . Emerg in g ad u l t h o o di s v e ry mu ch a t r an s i t i o n a l p e r i o d l ead in g t o ad u l t h o o d , an dd i f f e r en t emerg in g ad u l t s r each ad u l t h o o d a t d i f f e r en tp o in t s . A l so , t h e p o ss ib i l i t y o f d ev o t i n g t h e l a t e t een s an dear ly twen t i es t o ex p lo ra t i o n s o f v a r i o u s k in d s i s n o teq u a l l y av a i l ab l e t o a l l y o u n g p eo p l e , an d i n an y case ,p e o p l e v a r y i n t h e d e g r e e o f e x p l o r a t i o n t h e y c h o o s e t op u r su e .T h e h e t e r o g e n e i ty o f e m e r g i n g a d u l t h o o d r e p r e s e n t sb o t h a w a r n i n g a n d a n o p p o r t u n i t y f o r t h o s e w h o w i s h t os tu d y t h is ag e p e r i o d . Th e warn in g i s to b e cau t i o u s i nm a k i n g s w e e p i n g s t a t e m e n t s a b o u t e m e r g i n g a d u l t s . A l -mo s t : a lway s , su ch s t a t emen t s n eed t o b e q u a l i f i ed b y men -t i o n in g th e h e t e ro g en e i t y o f emerg in g ad u l t h o o d . Th e o p -p o m m i t y i s t h a t t h i s h e t e r o g e n e i t y m a k e s e m e r g i n g a d u l t -h o o d a n e s p e c i a l l y ri c h , c o m p l e x , d y n a m i c p e r i o d o f l if e t os tudy .Emerg ing Ad u l thood Across Cu l tu resTh u s f a r , th e fo cu s o f t h i s a r t ic l e h as b een o n e me rg in ga d u l t h o o d a m o n g y o u n g p e o p l e i n t h e W e s t , e s p e c i a l l y i nth e Un i t ed S t a t es . I s emerg in g ad u l t h o o d a p e r i o d o f l i f et h a t i s r e s t r i c t ed t o ce r t a i n cu l t u res an d ce r t a in t imes? Th ean swer t o t h i s q u es t i o n ap p ear s t o b e yes. F o r e x a m p l e ,S ch l eg e l an d Bar ry (1 9 9 1 ) , i n t h e i r co mp reh en s iv e i n t eg ra -t i o n o f i n fo rm at io n o n ad o l es cen ce i n 1 8 6 tr ad i t i o n a l n o n -Wes t e rn cu l t u res , co n c lu d ed t h a t ad o l escen ce as a l i f e s t ag ei s v i r t u a l l y u n iv er sa l , b u t t h a t a fu r t h e r p e r i o d b e tweena d o l e s c e n c e a n d a d u l t h oo d (youth, i n t h e t e rmin o lo g y t h eyu sed ) ex i s t ed i n o n ly 2 0 % o f t h e cu l tu res t h ey s t u d i ed . Inth e cu l t u res i n t h e i r s amp le , ad u l t h o o d was t y p i ca l l y s i g n i -f i ed b y en t ry i n to mar r i ag e , an d m ar r i ag e u su a l l y t o o k p l acea t ab o u t ag es 1 6 t o 1 8 fo r g i r l s an d a t ab o u t ag es 1 8 t o 2 0



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for boys. This early timing of marriage allowed for a periodof adolescence but not for a period of emerging adulthood.

Emerging adulthood, then, is not a universal periodbut a period that exists only in cultures that postpone theentry into adult roles and responsibilities until well past thelate teens. Thus, emerg ing adulthood would be most likelyto be found in countries that are highly industrialized orpostindustrial. Such countries require a high level of edu-cation and training for entry into the information-basedprofessions that are the most prestigious and lucrative, somany of their young people remain in school into theirearly twenties and midtwenties. Marriage and parenthoodare typically postponed until well after schooling hasended, which allows for a period of exploration of variousrelationships before marriage and for exploration of variousjobs before taking on the responsibility of supporting achild financially. Table 1 shows the median ages of mar-riage in a range of highly industrialized countries, con-trasted with the median ages of marriage in selected devel-oping countries.

Although median marriage ages are typically calcu-lated on a countrywide basis, it should be noted that emerg-ing adulthood is best understood as a characteristic ofcultures rather than countries. Within some highly indus-trialized countries, members of minority cultures may havecultural practices that lead to a shortened period of emerg-ing adulthood or no emerging adulthood at all. For exam-ple, in the United States, members o f the Mormo n churchtend to have a shortened and highly structured emergingadulthood. Because of cultural beliefs prohibiting premar-ital sex and emphasizing the desirability of large families,considerable social pressure is placed on young Mormonsto marry early and begin having children. Consequently,the median ages of marriage and first childbirth are muchlower among Mor mons than in the Ame rican population asa whole (Heaton, 1992), and young Mormons are likely tohave a much briefer period of exploration before taking onadult roles.Limitations in educational and occupational opportu-nities also influence the extent to which young people can

T a b l e 1Median Marriage Age of Women inSelected C ountriesIndustr ia l ized Developingcountr ies Age countr ies AgeUni ted Sta tes 25.2 Egypt 21 .9Canada 26 .0 Morocco 22 .3Germany 26 .2 Ghana 21 .1France 26.1 Nige r ia 18.7I ta ly 25 .8 Ind ia 20.0J a pa n 2 6 . 9 I n d o n e s i a 2 1 .1Austra lia 26 .0 Braz i l 22 .6Note. Da ta a r e f r o m The Wor ld 's Youth , by J . Nob le , J . Cover , and M.Yanagishita, 1996, Wa shington, DC: Popu lation ReferenceBureau. Copyright1996 by the Population ReferenceBureau. Reprinted with permission.

experience their late teens and twenties as a volitionalperiod. The young woman who has a child outside otmarriage at age 16 and spends her late teens and earlytwenties alternating between welfare and low-paying jobshas little chance for exploration of possible life directions,nor does the young man who drops out of school andspends most of his late teens and early twenties unem-ployed and looking unsuccessfully for a job (Cote & Alla-har, 1996). Because opportunities tend to be less widelyavailable in minority cultures than in the majority culture inmost industrialized countries, members of minority groupsmay be less likely to experience ages 18-25 as a period ofindependent exploration of possible life directions (Morch,1995). However, social class may be more important thanethnicity, with young people in the middle class or abovehaving more opportunities for the explorations of emergingadulthood than young people who are working class orbelow. Alternatively, it may be that explorations are notfewer in the working class but different, with more empha-sis on work explorations and less emphasis on education.These are possibilities to be investigated.In economically developing countries, there tends tobe a distinct cultural split between urban and rural areas.Young people in urban areas of countries such as China andIndia are more likely to experience emerging adulthood,because they marry later, have children later, obtain moreeducation, and have a greater range of occupational andrecreational opportunities than young people in rural areas.in contrast, young people in rural areas of developingcountries often receive minimal schooling, marry early, andhave little choice of occupations except agricultural work.Thus in developing countries emerging adulthood is oftenexperienced in urban areas but rarely in rural areas.However, it should also be noted that emerging adult-hood is likely to become more pervasive worldwide in thedecades to come, with the increasing globalization of theworld economy. Between 1980 and 1995, the proportion ofyoung people in developing countries who attended sec-ondary school rose sharply, and the median ages of mar-riage and first childbirth rose in these countries as well(Noble et al., 1996). As developing countries are becomingmore integrated into a global economy, there is an increas-ing number of higher-paying jobs in these countries, jobsthat require young people to obtain higher education. At thesame time, as technology becomes increasingly available inthese countries, particularly in agriculture, the labor ofyoung people is becoming less and less necessary forfamily survival, making it possible for many of them toattend school instead.These changes open up the possibility for the spreadof emerging adulthood in developing countries. Economicdevelopment makes possible a period of the independentrole exploration that is at the heart of emerging adulthood.As societies become more affluent, they are more likely togrant young people the opportunity for the extended mor-atorium of emerging adulthood, because they have nourgent need for young people's labor. Similarly, economicdevelopment is usually accompanied by increased life ex-pectancy, and devoting years to the explorations of emerg-



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ing adulthood becomes more feas ible and at tract ive whenpeople can expect to l ive to be at leas t 70 or 80 rather than40 or 50 . Thus i t seems poss ible that by the end of the 21s tc e n tu r y e me r g in g a d u l t h o o d wi l l b e a n o r ma t iv e p e r io d f o ry o u n g p e o p le wo r ld wid e , a l t h o u g h i t i s l ik e ly t o v a r y inlength and content both within and between countr ies (Ar-nett , 2000a) . T he grow th and var iabili ty of eme rging adult -hoo d in countr ies and cultures around the world wo uldmake an important and fasc inat ing topic for a nascents c h o la r ly f i e ld o f e me r g in g a d u l t h o o d .ConclusionEm e r g in g a d u l t h o o d h a s b e c o m e a d i s t in ct p e r io d o f t h e l i fecourse for young people in industr ia l ized soc ie t ies . I t is ap e r io d c h a r a c t e r iz e d b y c h a n g e a n d e x p lo r a t io n f o r mo s tpeople , as they examine the l i f e poss ibi l i t ies open to themand gradually arr ive at more enduring choices in love ,wo r k , a n d wo r ld v ie ws . No t a l l y o u n g p e o p le e x p e r ie n c ethe ir late teens and twent ies as years of change and explo-rat ion, even in industr ia l ized soc ie t ies . Some lack the op-portunities to use tho se years as a vol it ion al period; o thersma y b e in c l in e d b y p e r s o n a l i t y o r c ir c u ms t a n c e s t o l imi tthe ir explorat ions or to seek a re lat ive ly ear ly reso lut ion tothem. Neverthe less , as scholars we can character ize emerg-in g a d u l t h o o d a s a p e r io d w h e n c h a n g e a n d e x p lo r a t io n a rec o mmo n , e v e n a s we r e c o g n iz e t h e h e t e r o g e n e i t y o f t h eper iod and inves t igate this heterogeneity as one of emerg-ing adulth ood's d is t inguishing character is tics.

Emerging adulthood merit s scholar ly at tent ion as adis t inct per iod of the l i f e course in industr ia l ized soc ie t ies .I t is in many respects the age of poss ibi l i t ies , a per iod inwhich many dif ferent potent ia l futures remain poss ible andpersonal f reedom and explorat ion are higher for most peo-ple than at any other t ime. I t is a lso a per iod o f l i f e that isl ik e ly t o g r o w in imp o r t a n c e in t h e c o min g c e n t u r y , a scountr ies around the world reach a point in the ir economicd e v e lo p me n t wh e r e t h e y ma y a l lo w t h e p r o lo n g e d p er io d o fe x p lo r a t io n a n d f r e e d o m f r o m r o le s t h a t c o n s t it u t e s e me r g -in g a d u l t h o o d .REFERENCESA d a m s , G . R . ( 1 9 9 9) . The objec t ive mea sure o f ego ident ity s tatus: Amanual on theory and tes t construc t ion. G u e l p h , O n t a r i o , C a n a d a :

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