30 is the New 20

How many of you have heard the phrase, “When I was your age I already had three kids!” In my family this is a commonly used phrase. My parents married during their senior year of college at the age of 20. They began having kids a couple years later, and by the time they were my age, 27, they had nestled into a small home with three kids. Things have truly changed in today’s world.

When I look back at my early 20’s, here are some things that I remember. Going to college, transferring colleges, moving from one apartment to the next, jumping from one part time job to another, bouncing from one relationship to the next, traveling, and in general enjoying life. I know my parents were enjoying their life in their 20’s too, but in a very different way, and for many different reasons. The simplest way for me to understand these difference is that the world is not the same as it was 30 years ago. Life was more simple back then. There weren’t as many options, and opportunities to explore. It is because of these changes that the theory of emerging adulthood was added to the lifespan, yet before I discuss it in too much detail I’d like to review Erikson’s (1959) psychosocial stages of development to better understand the whole spectrum of development.

In my opinion Erikson’s (1959) hypotheses were revolutionary in the field of human development, during his time. For example, he was one of the first published theorists to extend the theory of development beyond childhood. Erikson was also one of the first theorists to describe development using biological (physical), psychological (mental), and ethological (cultural) factors. In my opinion, his theories opened the door to a more holistic approach to understanding human development and have led the way to more recent developmental theories, including emerging adulthood.

Erikson (1956) described the life course as a series of eight psychosocial stages, extending from birth to death. In each stage Erikson hypothesized that an individual faces a developmental crises consisting of opposite qualities of inherent developmental traits, for example autonomy vs. shame and doubt. He also believed that each developmental crisis must be resolved before fully moving on to the next stage.

During Erikson’s adolescent stage, extending from age 12 to 18, is the stage in which individuals undergo an identity crisis, where they seek to answer the question, “Who am I?” Erikson (1956) stated that, “Identity formation begins where the usefulness of multiple identification ends” (p. 122). Erikson believed that to successfully move on to the next stage, young adulthood, crisis resolution in adolescence must occur. Yet, Erikson’s (1956) theory recognizes that ones’ identity continues to develop through the remaining three adult stages, “While the end of adolescence thus is the stage of an overt identity crisis, identity formation neither begins nor ends with adolescence: it is a lifelong development largely unconscious to the individual and to this society” (p. 122).

During young adulthood, the first of three adulthood stages, Erikson believed that individuals sought the development of intimacy over isolation through companionship and love. He believed hat during this stage individuals seek marriage and starting a family and that all of this occurs during the ages of 18 to 35. According to Erikson’s developmental stages ages from about age 12 to age 35 you are either in the adolescent stage or the young adulthood stage. Yet, what about the period of life, like my early twenties, described above, when individuals have some adult responsibilities yet are still in a stage of exploration. Where did this post adolescent and pre-adulthood age group fit in?

Finally, in 2000 Jeffrey Arnett (2000) proposed that individuals between approximately 18 and 25 years of age are in-between adolescence and adulthood. He referred to this stage as “conceptually, theoretically, and empirically” different from the other two and labeled it “emerging adulthood” (p. 463). Arnett (200) further describes emerging adulthood as “a time of life when many different directions remain possible, when little about the future has been decided for certain, when the scope of independent exploration of life’s possibilities is greater for most people than it will be at any other period of the life course.” (p. 469). Sounds adventurous and optimistic, doesn’t it?

So what changed? Why NOW, do we have this need for a new developmental stage? For decades lifespan development fit Erikson’s stages almost seamlessly. One would spend the majority of their childhood experimenting, exploring, learning one’s limits. During adolescence they would develop a sense of who they are, graduate high school and continue on to college or starting a career, forming intimate relationships along the way. Then straight out of college, they would enter into careers and start families, society followed what Moen (2002) described as the conventional lock step life course, and thus leaving little room in-between adolescence and young adulthood. For my parent’s generation the 20’s were a time for settling into long-term adult roles, living fully in young adulthood.

In today’s global, highly competitive, information seeking society life is no longer as simple as it once was. There are more options during and after college then there were years ago and the emerging adult population takes their time to explore these options. Instead of marriage and child bearing the 20’s has become a time for exploration. Arnett (2000) states that the median age for marriage in 1970 for women was 21 and for men was 23; by 1996 it had risen to 25 for women and 27 for men (as cited by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1997). Simply put, settling down occurs at a later age for today’s generation of emerging adults; 30 is the new 20.

Self-Perceptions: Emerging Adult vs. Adult

I’ve never rested easy on the notion of theories labeling individuals into age-determined expectations. For example, all 25 year olds are adults. Adulthood cannot be determined based on age alone. Other factors must be considered. Whether or not one is an adult is a very vague developmental question to consider, because definitions of ‘adult’ may differ from person to person. Many people do not consider themselves adults, yet very few people over the age of 18 would consider themselves an adolescent, hence the term ‘emerging adult’. Arnett (2000) says that “Emerging adults do not see themselves as adolescents, but many of them also do not see themselves entirely as adults” (p. 471). I have four younger siblings between the ages of 18-25. Based on age alone, I could call all four of my siblings emerging adults, but because each of them is at a distinctively unique stage in their life, they are not all emerging adults.

Arnett (2000) described three areas that provide the most information on the “distinctiveness of emerging adulthood” as demographics, subjective perceptions, and identity explorations (p. 474). He refers to demographics refer to living arrangement, marital status and school enrollment, and subjective perceptions as the way in which the emerging adult perceives themselves. Identity exploration in emerging adulthood includes exploring in the areas of love, work, and worldviews. This identity exploration is similar to Erikson’s (1956) central conflict during adolescence, yet on a larger scale that encompasses more adult behaviors and attitudes.

Blinn-Pike, Jonkman, Smith and Worhty (2008) conducted a survey of 450 college students enrolled in psychology classes in a southern state. The results to this survey showed that 41% were emerging adults, 33% were undecided and 26% were adults. Arnett (2000) found that when asked whether they feel they have reached adulthood, the majority of Americans in their late teens to early twenties answer neither “no” nor “yes” but the ambiguous, “yes and no”. This shows that even this population feels somewhere in-between adolescence and adulthood. There has to be a place for the ambiguous answerers to identity with, so it is no wonder that the transitional stage between adolescence and young adulthood has been given a name; emerging adulthood.

Arnett (2000) identified three criteria that most often most determine transition into adulthood; accepting responsibility for one’s self, making independent decisions, and becoming financially independent (pg. 473). Based on these criteria, in addition to the ages of my siblings and their demographic characteristics (marriage, housing and schooling), I can quickly pass judgment that my 25-year-old sister, who recently gave birth to her first child, is no longer an emerging adult, but rather a young adult. She has taken on responsibility for oneself, she makes independent decisions and she is financially independent. Next, my 18-year-old sister who is a senior in high school is unquestionably an emerging adult along with my 20-year-old brother who is a junior in college and my 23-year-old brother who is a year out of college and starting his own business. All three of these siblings are still in the exploration stage of life where their options are perceivably endless. However, I will argue that if a peripheral stage exists I would place my 18 year-old sister on the cusp of adolescence and emerging adulthood, because she still shows a few qualities of adolescence and I’d place my 23 year old brother on the cusp of adulthood and emerging adulthood because he has begun to take on adult roles, like financial independence.

While I can sit back and pass judgments, my view from the sideline will never be as accurate from the one on the first yard line. What really matters most is my siblings self-perception, whether or not they view themselves as emerging adults or adults. Arnett (2000) describes for us again:

Emerging adulthood is distinguished by relative independence from social roles and from normative expectations. Having left the dependency of childhood and adolescence, and having not yet entered the enduring responsibilities that are normative in adulthood, emerging adults often explore a variety of possible life directions in love, work, and world-views. (p. 469)

Based on the qualities and factors described in this post I no longer consider myself an emerging adult. I have accepted the responsibilities of adulthood, in their entirety… freedom, bills and home repairs (the good, the bad and the ugly). What about you, do you consider yourself emerging adult, or an adult?

Risky Behaviors and Emerging Adulthood

Now that I’ve discussed the need for the emerging adulthood stage, and shared with you that three of my five siblings are emerging adults it’s time to address some of the risky behaviors that are associated with this stage of development. Remember that an emerging adult is typically 18 to 25 years old and feels as though they are no longer adolescents, but not yet adults. Arnett (2005) proposed that:

Emerging adulthood is characterized by five main features: it is the age of identity explorations, especially in love and work; it is the age of instability; it is the most self-focused age of life; it is the age of feeling in-between, in transition, neither adolescent nor adult; and it is the age of possibilities, when hopes flourish, when people have an unparalleled opportunity to transform their lives. (p. 239)

The risky behaviors associated with emerging adulthood can be explained when you consider the features of emerging adulthood outline above, while also taking into consideration the increased freedom and a lack of adult responsibilities that coincide with this time in the lifespan.

Arnett (2005), Jackson & White (2008), and Bradely and Tesee (2008) all label emerging adulthood as the age period when drug use is it’s highest. Jackson & White (2008) suggest, “moving out of the constraints of high school and away from parents makes emerging adulthood a stage of the life cycle in which people are at high risk for heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems” (p. 189). Jackson & White (2008) reported that: (as cited from Backman et al. 1997)

“Among people ages 21-22, 85 percent of men and 76 percent of women have used alcohol within the last 30 days. 55 percent of men ages 21-22 and 33 percent of women ages 19-20 drank five or more drinks in a row in the past 2 weeks. People ages 18-29 have the highest rates of past-year alcohol abuse and dependence” (p. 183).

These are serious statistics that should not be taken lightly. Not only is excessive drinking bad for your body, it can also lead to more serious risky behaviors. Alcohol abuse and dependency must be taken more seriously. Substance abuse and dependence are not the only risks associated with emerging adulthood.

Bradely & Teese (2008) conducted a study examining three types of reckless behaviors in emerging adulthood; reckless substance abuse, reckless driving, and reckless sexual behavior. They measured how much each reckless behavior was influenced by impulsivity and peer pressure (in addition to perceived risks and perceived benefits). All of the predictors were found to impact reckless behaviors in emerging adulthood. Bradely & Teese (2008) found that impulsivity was the strongest predictor of sexual recklessness, and that peer pressure was the strongest predictor of substance use in addition to predicting total recklessness (p. 120-121).

I can’t help but think that the risky behaviors associated with emerging adulthood sound similar to experiences of adolescence, only with a greater magnitude. It is no wonder, that adolescence precedes emerging adulthood. Arnett (2005) summarizes the importance of understanding the emerging adult years as a separate period of the life course “rather than as simply late adolescence or the transition to adulthood” so that we are lead to consider what is “going on developmentally during this time rather than simply focusing on the timing of transition evens such as marriage” (p. 248). When it comes to the risky behaviors and dangers associated with emerging adulthood it is especially important to look deeply at the developmental characteristics that influence individuals during this time. I believe that with self-awareness and regulation, anyone can survive these dangers. I’m living proof. What about you?