Emerging adulthood has been proposed as a new life stage
between adolescence and young adulthood, lasting roughly from ages
18 to 29. Five features make emerging adulthood distinctive:
identity explorations, instability, self-focus, feeling in-between
adolescence and adulthood, and a sense of broad possibilities for
the future.
Emerging adulthood is found mainly in developed countries,
where most young people obtain tertiary education and median ages
of entering marriage and parenthood are around 30.
In developing countries, although today emerging adulthood
exists only among the middle-class elite, it can be expected to
grow in the 21st century as these countries become more
affluent.
Perhaps the most distinctive characteristic of emerging
adulthood is that it is the age of identity explorations. That is,
it is an age when people explore various possibilities in love and
work as they move toward making enduring choices. Through trying
out these different possibilities, they develop a more definite
identity, including an understanding of who they are, what their
capabilities and limitations are, what their beliefs and values
are, and how they fit into the society around them.
The explorations of emerging adulthood also make it the age of
instability. As emerging adults explore different possibilities in
love and work, their lives are often unstable. A good illustration
of this instability is their frequent moves from one residence to
another.
Emerging adulthood is a time between adolescents’ reliance on
parents and adults’ long-term commitments in love and work, and
during these years, emerging adults focus on themselves as they
develop the knowledge, skills, and self-understanding they will
need for adult life. In the course of emerging adulthood, they
learn to make independent decisions about everything
Finally, emerging adulthood is the age of possibilities, when
many different futures remain possible, and when little about a
person’s direction in life has been decided for certain. It tends
to be an age of high hopes and great expectations, in part because
few of their dreams have been tested in the fires of real
life.
Emerging adults experience multiple stressors that may result
in psychological disorders like anxiety and depression.In
addition,lack of parental involvement has been identified as
another possible reason for the increasing rate of
psychopathology.Moreover,the stress related with college life and
finding a steady job is another potential cause which has a mental
impact on emerging adults.
Researchers are now considering this age range to be an
extended period of development termed "emerging adulthood."
Individuals who perceive themselves to still be developing during
this stage (perceived emerging adults) are at higher risk of
identity crisis, stress levels, and depression.