Emerging adulthood: Millennials, work, and pain

Millennials, born from 1980 onwards, may differ in important ways from previous generations. Differences have been explored in personality and occupational psychology, but largely ignored in medical and clinical psychology. Chronic pain, which peaks in incidence during puberty, can have negative effects on adolescents socially, emotionally, and physically. If unresolved, it may persist into adulthood, limiting opportunities. This brings challenges in understanding what it means to have chronic pain as a millennial and how this impacts on expectations and actions. In this chapter, we explore what we know from research on the millennial generation, including how millennials engage with work and with health care, and how an understanding of millennial generational features can help us determine how young people cope with pain. Finally, we consider what it means to be a millennial health-care provider, all within a generational framework.