Emerging Adulthood

“Emerging adulthood” is a term coined by Arnett (2000) to identify the time between the ages of 18 and 25 years. According to Arnett, this is a distinct stage of young people’s development in the industrialized world. In the past, these young adults were quick to leave home for marriage or work ushering them directly into roles of adulthood. However, adults in this age group now tend to leave home later and often return to the parental house when their relationships do not work out well or when they cannot afford to live independently. 

The proportion of young adults living in their parents’ home has increased. Family related transitions to adulthood have fluctuated and transformed over time, especially with respect to leaving the parental home. In 1960, 77 % of women and 65 % of men had completed school, left home, become financially independent, married and had a child by the time they reached 30 (Henig, 2010). However, in 2012 only 50% of the women and 30% of the men had done so (United States Census Bureau, 2012). According to Arnett, individuals in emerging adulthood no longer take on the whole responsibility of independent living; by delaying some of the traditional accomplishments of adulthood, they give themselves (with help from their parents) the freedom to examine their life possibilities.

Most young people in emerging adulthood feel like neither adolescents nor adults, but somewhere in between. Arnett (1998) found that when asked whether they feel they have reached adulthood, most people in the 18 to 25 age range responded neither “yes” nor “no” but “in some ways yes, in some ways no”. However, financial and residential dependence in emerging adulthood creates challenges in the parent-child relationship. Parents may need to modify their parenting practices, but emerging adults also have a role to play in encouraging positive family relationships. To help manage this progression to adulthood, emerging adults themselves should actively promote and strengthen their family ties, the very purpose of this blog!