Emerging Adulthood in the Context of Family

Author(s):  
Karen L. Fingerman ◽  
Jenjira J. Yahirun

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.

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 970-979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia A Berg ◽  
Deborah J Wiebe ◽  
Eunjin Lee Tracy ◽  
Caitlin S Kelly ◽  
Daniel Mello ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective To examine (a) changes in parental involvement across early emerging adulthood, (b) whether yearly fluctuations in parental involvement were associated with adherence and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) over time, and (c) whether higher involvement was more beneficial for those with poorer executive function (EF). Methods A total of 228 high school seniors (M age = 17.76) with type 1 diabetes reported on mothers’ and fathers’ acceptance, knowledge of diabetes activities, disclosure to mothers and fathers regarding diabetes, and adherence at four yearly time points. At baseline, participants completed performance-based measures of EF. HbA1c was collected from assay kits. Results Growth curve models revealed significant declines in disclosure to fathers and mothers’ and fathers’ knowledge of diabetes activities; no changes were found in mothers’ or fathers’ acceptance nor disclosure to mothers. Multilevel models indicated significant between-person effects for nearly all aspects of parental involvement with more acceptance, knowledge, and disclosure associated with better HbA1c and adherence. Within-person effects for disclosure to fathers, and mothers’ and fathers’ knowledge indicated that in years when emerging adults perceived higher amounts of these types of involvement (compared with their own average), HbA1c was lower. Within-person effects were found for acceptance to mothers, disclosure to mothers and fathers, and mothers’ diabetes knowledge for adherence. Disclosure to fathers and mothers’ knowledge of diabetes activities were especially beneficial for HbA1c for those with poorer EF performance. Conclusions Parental involvement in diabetes management remains important during the high-risk time of emerging adulthood, especially for those with poorer EF.


Author(s):  
Moin Syed ◽  
Laura L. Mitchell

Despite the tremendous growth in theory and research on emerging adulthood over the past decade, relatively little attention has been paid to the experiences of emerging adults from ethnic minority backgrounds. The purpose of this chapter is to fill this gap by conducting a conceptual review of the literature on race, ethnicity, and emerging adulthood. The authors begin with a discussion of conceptual issues, clarifying terms such as emerging adults, emerging adulthood, race, and ethnicity. The existing literature is reviewed pertaining to the five pillars of emerging adulthood: the age of instability, possibilities, self-focus, in-betweenness, and identity explorations. The chapter closes with a discussion of major challenges to conducting research on race, ethnicity, and emerging adulthood. Taken together, this review is intended to provide a broad overview of the state of knowledge and inspire future research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Christopher Salvatore ◽  
Travis Taniguchi

Focusing on the United States, this paper examines the impact of military service for the cohort of individuals that have experienced the social factors that characterize emerging adulthood as a unique stage in the life course. We argue that military service, as a turning point, may act differently in contemporary times compared to findings from past research. This difference is driven by changes in military service, the draft versus volunteer military service, and the prevalence of emerging adulthood. As a background, we describe emerging adulthood, examine how emerging adulthood relates to crime and deviance, explore the impact of military life on young adults, provide an overview of the demographics of military service, discuss the influence and outcomes of military life on young adults, and explore existing research linking military service and deviant and criminal behavior. We develop a theoretical model of the relationship between military service and emerging adulthood and explore the impact on criminological theory and policy.


Young ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 110330882110265
Author(s):  
Kaisa Vehkalahti ◽  
Päivi Armila ◽  
Ari Sivenius

This article discusses changes introduced into the everyday life and lifecourse dispositions of young adults in two sparsely populated regions in Finland during the COVID-19 lockdown period of spring 2020. By the age of 20, many of them had already spent some years living independently during their school years. Due to the pandemic, many had to move back to their rural home regions. This article shows that the sudden advent of the pandemic as a global risk and the restriction measures that followed affected these young, emerging adults in many ways, even though there were no infections in their immediate environments. Special attention is paid to their relationships with their remote home regions, which suddenly gained new, positive meanings in comparison to the global and national COVID-19 hotspots. The analysis is based on interviews conducted with 30 young adults in May 2020 and pre-existing longitudinal data from the same participants.


Author(s):  
Marcia Baxter Magolda ◽  
Kari B. Taylor

Many emerging adults find themselves navigating the complex transition from adolescence to adulthood while enrolled in college. The key to navigating the demands of college (and emerging adulthood) is not simply what decisions one makes but also how one makes them. This chapter foregrounds college student development research regarding the developmental capacities that underlie young adults’ decision-making processes. Drawing upon two longitudinal studies of college student and young adult development, the authors show how young adults move from uncritically following external formulas learned in childhood toward gaining the capacity for self-authorship—a journey that involves developing internal criteria for crafting one’s identities, relationships, and beliefs and yields the ability to navigate external demands. The authors emphasize that diverse combinations of personal characteristics, experiences, and meaning-making capacities yield diverse pathways toward self-authorship. They also highlight how higher education can promote self-authorship and explore further research to better understand self-authorship’s relevance across cultures.


Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Morgan

Emerging adulthood presents a unique developmental milieu for sexual orientation and identity development. Over the past 10 years, a body of research has begun delineating contemporary emerging adults’ understandings of their sexual orientation and processes of sexual identity development. This scholarship has increasingly recognized the complexity and multidimensional nature of sexual identity development among both heterosexual and sexual-minority individuals. This review covers current conceptualizations of sexual orientation and identity, traditional and contemporary models of sexual identity development, and recent empirical literature assessing developmental trajectories, consistency between and within dimensions of sexual orientation and identity, stability of these dimensions, and issues of sexual identity labeling and categorization. This scholarship suggests that increased attention to diversity within and between sexual identity groups is warranted but also reveals notable patterns and categories that should be considered as the field moves forward.


2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 286-299
Author(s):  
Jill Meyer ◽  
Vanessa Hinton ◽  
Jinhee Park ◽  
Lindsay Portela ◽  
Christine Fleming ◽  
...  

In recent years there has been a visible shift in societal norms surrounding milestones that were once associated with one's transition to adulthood due to contemporary economic and social changes. Most young adults may experience some degree of adversity, yet experiences of transitioning to adulthood can be more challenging among youth with disabilities due to an impact of disability on development, additional educational and vocational barriers, and societal attitudes toward individuals with disabilities. This manuscript explores the re-conceptualized process of development from adolescence to adulthood, known as “emerging adulthood,” while also exploring resilience, and the delivery of vocational rehabilitation services. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to examine self-esteem and satisfaction with life (i.e., well-being) in emerging adults with and without disabilities, and discuss how vocational rehabilitation services can be administered while improving resiliency for youth and young adults with disabilities. Findings and implications are discussed.


Author(s):  
Tim Clydesdale ◽  
Kathleen Garces-Foley

Few realize how much Americans’ journey through their twenties has changed during the past half-century or understand how incorrect popular assumptions about young adults’ religious, spiritual, and secular lives are. Today’s twentysomethings have been labelled the “lost generation”—for their presumed inability to identify and lead fulfilling lives, “kidults”—for their alleged refusal to “grow up” and accept adult responsibilities, and the “least religious generation”—for their purported disinterest in religion and spirituality. These characterizations are not only unflattering, they are deeply flawed. The Twentysomething Soul tells an optimistic story about American twentysomethings. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and a survey of thousands across America, it introduces readers to the full spectrum of American young adults, many of whom live purposefully, responsibly, and reflectively. Some prioritize faith and spirituality. Others reject their childhood religion to explore alternatives and practice a personal spirituality. Still others sideline religion and spirituality until their lives get settled or reject organized religion completely. There is change occurring in the religious and spiritual lives of young adults, but little of it is among the 1 in 4 American twentysomethings who have consistently prioritized religious commitment during the past half-century. The change is rather among the now 3 in 10 young adults who, though intentionally unaffiliated with religion, affirm a variety of religious, spiritual, and secular beliefs. The Twentysomething Soul will change the way readers view contemporary young adults, giving an accurate—and refreshing—understanding of their religious, spiritual, and secular lives.


Author(s):  
Barbara J. Risman

This chapter begins by providing a historical context for the Millennial generation. Growing up is different in the 21st century than before; it takes much longer. Given how many years youth take to explore their identities before they emerge into adulthood with stable jobs and committed partners, the chapter reviews what we now about “emerging adulthood” as a stage of human development. The chapter also highlights a debate in social science as to whether Millennials are entitled narcissists or a new civically engaged generation that will re-energize America. The chapter concludes with an overview of another debate, whether Millennials are pushing the gender revolution forward or returning to more traditional beliefs.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document