Emerging Adulthood in the Context of Family
This chapter examines emerging adulthood within the context of family, with emphasis on how emerging adults’ relationships with their parents today compare in the past and how parents help young adults in attaining markers of adulthood such as finishing college, finding a partner, or starting a family. It begins by considering past and recent trends in emerging adults’ relationships with their parents, paying particular attention to three aspects of these relationships: contact, tangible and nontangible support, and coresidence. It then looks at changes in parental involvement with young adults and the factors underlying these changes. The chapter also discusses the roles or aspects of emerging adults’ lives in which parents are most involved and how effective such involvement is in fostering successful transitions in those areas. Finally, it analyzes theories about overparenting and the benefits of parental involvement.